CLEVELAND — An ugly four-game series came to an ugly end Sunday, so following Cleveland’s 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, Indians manager Terry Francona called a team meeting to discuss all things ugly.
There was plenty to talk about.
In getting swept at home in the four-game series, the Indians were outscored 26-5 by the lowest scoring team in the American League. In losing all four games, the Indians, now 45-52, fell into last place in the AL Central. This from a team that was expected to be a strong contender for a postseason berth, perhaps even as the Central Division champion.
Instead, the Indians, losers of eight of their last 11 games, spent time after Sunday’s game doing a lot of soul searching.
“We’re playing like (explicative). It’s embarrassing,” said Jason Kipnis. “There’s no fight. We’re giving up early, and people are worrying more about their own thing. We need to get our heads out of our butts and play better baseball.”
Francona said he’s taking responsibility for the team’s dismal play.
“We talked about what we want to be as a team,” he said of meeting. “We need to start attacking better. I’m responsible for that. It’s not going the way I want it to, but that will change. It’s going to get better.”
Kipnis said the Indians poor play isn’t due to a lack of character in the clubhouse.
“We’ve got good character and good guys in here,” he said. “It’s just a matter of things are going wrong, so how are we going to handle it?”
It won’t get any easier for the Indians. After getting swept in a four-game series at home to the White Sox, who were in last place when they arrived in Cleveland, the Indians will now host first place Kansas City in their next three games.
“It’s been a frustrating season, and this was a frustrating series, to say the least. Especially our offense. We’ve got to do better,” Kipnis said.
“Everyone wants to do a good job, but we need to start playing like a team. It’s time to wake up,” said right-hander Danny Salazar, who took the loss Sunday, despite pitching into the seventh inning and allowing just two runs.
Kipnis pointed to the Indians’ 10-3 loss on Saturday, when the White Sox handed ace Chris Sale a 5-0 lead after the top of the first inning. “Everyone acted like that was an impossible mountain for us to climb. It can’t be that way,” said Kipnis.
“There has to be respect for every play, for every out,” said Francona. “And as hard as a loss can be, you’ve got to be able to move on to the next day.”