It's Time For The Cleveland Guardians To Hit The Panic Button

The Cleveland Guardians are in freefall and may be facing a must-win scenario against the Minnesota Twins in the final two games of their four-game series.

Aug 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) looks on after striking out during the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports / Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians have been playing for a while now, but we all tried our best to ignore it.

Little by little, what seemed like an impenetrable lead in the AL Central dwindled. The Guardians once led the Minnesota Twins by nine games for the division lead. That was a month-and-a-half ago. But as time passed, the Twins chewed into their deficit more and more.

That bring us to now, where Cleveland's edge over Minnesota has all but evaporated. After losing the first two games of a four-game set against the Twins on Friday (it was a doubleheader), the Guardians' AL Central lead has shrunk to one-and-a-half games (one in the loss column).

Lose these next two games to Minnesota, and Cleveland will suddenly find itself in unfamiliar 2024 territory: the role of the hunter rather than the hunted.

The Guardians have lost seven straight games when it looked like they were finally starting to gain some separation during their previous five-game winning streak.

Just about everything has gone wrong for Cleveland throughout this stretch. The Guardians aren't hitting. Their starting pitching has been abysmal. Their bullpen is starting to show cracks in the armor. Their "big" trade deadline additions of Lane Thomas and Alex Cobb have been failures thus far.

Cobb made his Cleveland debut on Friday evening, surrendering four runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings. In his defense, it was his first outing since last year, as the veteran right-hander was recovering from hip surgery and a shoulder injury. But perhaps the Guardians should have traded for someone that had thrown a pitch in 2024?

As for Thomas? He's making Will Brennan look like Manny Ramirez. The former Washington Nationals outfielder has gone just 5-for-38 with a .398 OPS in his first 10 games in Cleveland. Small sample size? Yes. Concerning given that the Guardians' division lead is slipping with less than two months remaining in the regular season? Also yes.

We knew that Cleveland had problems all year along. Its starting rotation has been among the worst in baseball, and its offense has been maddeningly inconsistent. And now, all of those issues seem to be coming to a head in the heat of the pennant race.

The Guardians cannot afford to lose this series to the Twins. Not with the brutal slate of games they have coming up afterward, including back-to-back road series with the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees.

Even more worrisome for Cleveland is that Minnesota is clearly hitting its stride at the right time

And consider this: since their 36-17 start, the Guardians have gone just 31-32. They have been a sub-.500 team for over two months. It's not just a bad stretch at this point. It's a long duration of pedestrian baseball that could ultimately upend a playoff quest that seemed like a sure thing earlier in the season.

It's panic time in Cleveland, and the Guardians need to start expressing a sense of urgency. Recently, manager Stephen Vogt tried to find the positives in his team's losing skid. Well, now, it's time to stop looking for silver linings and start winning ball games.