Indians struggling, but don't panic

The Indians won last night. That's the good news. Carlos Carrasco and three relievers (particularly Chris Perez) handcuffed a strong Yankees lineup, shutting them out. But of course, the Tribe is still just 5-14 since starting the season 30-15. And it was just their second victory in the last 11 games, and both of those were 1-0 games started by Carrasco. Obviously, Carrasco's recent performance is highly encouraging. The fact that the Indians suddenly can't seem to score any runs, on the other hand, is highly discouraging. They've scored just 22 runs in those 11 games, being shut out three times over that stretch.

But does this mean the Indians are a truly terrible team that somehow managed to get off to a hot start? That seems unlikely. They played like the best team in baseball for a month and a half. When a team plays like the best team in baseball for a week or two, it's often a fluke. But a month and a half?

As we all know, the Tigers have managed to virtually tie the Tribe for first place thanks to this cold snap. And that's who we're playing in a three-game series that starts tonight in Detroit. A mid-June series is never crucial, but this is about as important a series as there can be at this point in the season. If the Indians go in and win this series, it could turn their season around, at least temporarily. But if they leave Detroit in second place, they could continue sliding until they fall into third place or worse.

On the other hand, it's only three games. They could go get swept by the Tigers and then win 12 in a row. This is baseball. You just never know.

Still, it sure would be nice to win two or three games up there this week.