MLB podcaster critiques current Cleveland roster: "The 2023 Guardians team is the most pathetic Guardians team I've seen in a while"
Approaching the finale of the MLB trade deadline, the Cleveland Guardians had a realistic chance of making the playoffs. After going 4-4 in the month of September, any hopes of squeezing into a wild card slot seem to have disintegrated.
The Guardians are currently 68-74 and trail the first place Minnesota Twins by 6.5 games in the American League West. They trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 10.5 games with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers all ahead of them in the wild card picture.
Cleveland dropped a close game to a young and Shohei Ohtani-less Los Angeles Angels team on Thursday. They led 2-1 entering the bottom of the ninth before conceding two runs late.
It was a game they let slip away and if Cleveland continues to relinquish late leads, they may have to start looking ahead to 2024. In his latest video, MLB Podcaster Fuzzy was highly critical of the Cleveland roster after the astonishing loss.
"The 2023 Guardians team is the most pathetic Guardians team I've seen in a while," said Fuzzy
Fuzzy went on to call out the entire offense (except for Josh Naylor) for not being good enough and believes the bullpen could use some new faces.
Fuzzy - (1:40)
The well-known podcaster singled out pitcher Emmanuel Clase after his dreadful ninth inning.
"He is the most hittable relief pitcher in baseball right now," added Fuzzy
This season, Clase is 2-8 this year with a 3.06 ERA. He allowed four hits and two runs against the Angels on Thursday.
Offense has been a problem area for Terry Francona's Cleveland Guardians in 2023
Cleveland started the year with one of the better rotations in the MLB, but did little to improve their offense in the offseason.
"This is the Guardians GM after being asked what the problem is with Cleveland’s offense… the same guy btw who traded away Yandy Diaz, Nolan Jones, Yainer Diaz and Will Benson." - Fuzzy
The club has struggled offensively througout the season. They currently rank 28th in the league in runs scored (576). Only the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics have scored fewer. Terry Francona's team ranks last in home runs (106), 27th in team OPS (.691) and 24th in OBP (.312).
Cleveland has reached the playoffs in five of the last seven seasons but is at risk of missing out this year. If they fail to qualify, the organization will need to make some changes on the offensive front.