Guardians Prove Classic Life Lesson With Clinch

Never give up.

I’ll admit it. When this Cleveland Guardians team was down six games in the division to the Chicago White Sox, I’d given up. I even said that they should “sell” at the trade deadline instead of wasting future talent/picks for mediocrity. I even said that head coach Stephen Vogt was just “one of the guys” and not as the impactful as the leader of the team that he needs to be.

Well, I’m actually happy I was wrong.

To be fair to myself, I wasn’t the only one expressing my disposition about the team because it was a frustrating year of wasting great pitching, with horrific hitting being the biggest problem. Many, I believe, felt the same way as I did about the team around the All-Star Break in what the Guardians should do.

And as I’m writing this, the job is not finished even in the regular season (9-25 morning) because the team has the opportunity to win the division and not just settle for a Wild Card spot, with one series left in Kansas City to decide the AL Central with the competing Chicago White Sox. Take a look at the current standings

The White Sox finish out their season at home against the Colorado Rockies, who are 57-102. The Guardians are playing in Kansas City again against the Royals, who are 68-91. While I joke, both head coaches should take the opposing coach to lunch this and say…

“Hey, I’ll get the bill if your team, like, kinda sorta purposely continues to suck because you know it, I know it and these games actually matter for us still. Expensive lunch, my friend, no?

What sucks for the Guardians is that the White Sox do have the tiebreaker (wrote about this – link at end) and so if the teams tie their records at the end, Chicago takes it. What’s great with the current standings is that if the Guardians win all three, they close out the season on top of the AL Central.

It’s on us now.

BUT, all of this wouldn’t be possible without a change of not just play, but spirit, resiliency and desire to make this season possible. Additionally, those that the front office traded for actually made a solid impact. I reference the ROCKY III slogan, “Eye of the Tiger,” and that is exactly what was found with the aforementioned qualities obtained and unlocked.

So, what now?

Well, there was abosolutely nothing wrong with celebrating a playoff spot clinched, but as described, the job is not finished and the team has an opportunity this regular season weekend to make that path easier on top of the video.

Personally, this hasn’t been the easiest of years. I expressed my excitement HERE:

Well, a lot to be decided I in the coming days, but what a ride it’s been so far. At least the team has the confirmation of something playoffs, but we may have a chance to make that incredible run just that much better this weekend.

To close, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. I’m happy with this season regardless of a playoff run or not just because of how special the run was to get to where the team is at!