When the defense needed to step up vs. Oregon, it failed the test. Once again the offense found itself trying to make up for the defense's poor showing. The rest of the schedule will show us if the Oregon game was an aberration defensively, or whether the Buckeye D just isn't that good against good teams......and there are some good teams left to play. OSU is playing the toughest B10 schedule.

What bothers me more than anything is the almost complete lack of a pass rush, and against the Ducks Dillon Gabriel had a clean pocket virtually the whole game, and the Buckeye D paid the price for it.

The Buckeyes can win out if the defense will play up to their ability. They are the better team in every remaining matchup.

Alex Cobb is out for the rest of the ALCS with a back strain, and Ben Lively has been added to the roster in his place. Good to see Ben get a chance to pitch the other night because he was a big part of why we are where we are right now.

I am like Tiffin2B......I really do believe the Dolan's want to win. Just look at his FO......Chris Antonetti, 2022 MLB Executive of the Year; Michael Chernoff, top notch GM. Paul Dolan may not be the biggest spender, but he knows that if you hire good people to run your business, you can win that way. No one can deny that the Guardians organization has built an admired reputation throughout MLB for the ability to draft and develop good pitching. 5 Cy Young winners since 2000, more than any other AL team. That's the result of a great FO and scouting department. It's not luck, just people with good baseball knowledge and instincts.

It's not easy to win a WS, even getting to the ALCS is really hard. Look at the Yankees.....they haven't won a WS since 2009 and they spend lavishly. The Dodgers have spent more than anybody and they flamed out in the playoffs early the last couple of years.

Paul Dolan didn't exactly get Jose Ramirez or Andres Gimenez on the cheap. Lane Thomas has proven to be a valuable pickup at the trade deadline.......without that GS vs. Skubal, where would we be? Antonetti and Chernoff struck gold on that acquisition. 

We Guardians fans all want to win the WS, but my perspective might be different than other fans. I grew up watching the Indians fumble and bumble as the worst organization in MLB. I never thought in my lifetime that I would see my beloved team go to 3 WS and be a consistent playoff participant. The last 30 years has been a joy for me as a Guardians fan. There has been some heartbreak along the way with some tough WS and playoff losses, but I'll take that over being an irrelevant, moribund franchise that anybody who has lived long enough to see how bad things were would hopefully appreciate what the Cleveland Guardians are now.

Heard last night on the Cavs' preseason game vs. Detroit that Coach Atkinson wants Darius Garland to shoot more 3's. Probably a good idea because it seems like Darius hasn't shot the trifecta as well recently, perhaps because of low volume. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it seems like 2 years ago Garland shot the 3 ball better than he did last season. Darius averaged 6 threes per game in 2023-24, and I believe they want him to put up 10 at least.

NHBuckeye: Good call on Nussmeier of LSU. I've watched him a number of times, and playing in the SEC, he's faced a lot of tough competition and has held his own very well.

Undercoverbuck: I hear what you're saying, but I'm hoping we can things turned around sooner than 2026 or 2027. 2025 will be easier to accept if we struggle but show at least a pulse of getting better.

OSU ALUM 05: You are absolutely spot on. We've made the Yankee pitchers a lot better by doing just that.

I know the odds are long, but we can still win this series!! Must win 2 of 3 at Progressive, 3 of 3 would really put the Yankees in a nervous spot going back to New York. It's not like NY has pounded us into the ground.

Hope is still alive!! 

Started a Part 3 thread today with this one nearing 300 posts. Still a lot of baseball left.

Still hopeful........need to win at least 2 of 3 at Progressive. Please don't let the Yankees clinch on our home field!!

We had tons of baserunners last night.......I think we left 10 stranded, and we let Gerrit Cole off way too easy. But we couldn't get the clutch hit. We really should have had at least 5 runs, maybe more if we could have done better with RISP. Bases loaded twice, and didn't get much out of it. Once again, Aaron Judge hits another bomb.....we have got to keep NY in the park in Progressive.

The production at the plate with the C position is poison to the offense. Hedges came up with bases loaded, and predictably struck out. Much as I like Hedges for his defense, his offense is a severe liability as is Bo Naylor's. Naylor has barely put the ball in play, and still is looking for his 1st hit in the postseason.

I was skeptical about Alex Cobb starting in the postseason because he hadn't pitched that much going into the playoffs......and it showed both times. He barely lasted into the 3rd inning both starts, putting a burden on an already taxed bullpen.

On the positive side, I really like how Brayan Rocchio has produced at the plate. His stock going into 2025 is way up. His defense is above average, and he's got base stealing speed. A lot to like about him.

If the Browns end up in the top 5 of the draft, either they should draft a QB or trade the pick for some more picks later on. Me personally, I would take a QB if the pick is in the top 5. Carolina still has Bryce Young, Jacksonville has Trevor Lawrence, so that's 2 teams that could be above Cleveland in the draft order and most likely won't pick a QB. So the Browns might have the best position to take Shadeur Sanders, Quinn Ewers, or Jalen Milroe, with those 3 being the most likely QB's taken high in the 1st round. Of course some teams might move up to be above the Browns, maybe the Raiders or the Titans.

Even though this season is headed for disaster, in all honestly Andrew Berry has a pretty good record of drafting. The DeShaun Watson signing may have been more Jimmy Haslam then Berry. Of course Berry had to sign off on it if Haslam demanded to sign him.

If we end up trading out of the high 1st round, I would say that getting some offensive line help should be a top priority. DeShaun certainly hasn't played well, but the Browns lead the league in allowing sacks, so the offensive issues aren't all on DeShaun. Plus the running game has been very pedestrian, another reason to bolster the O-line. 

Hmrivera76: I agree with you that the defensive issues might just be a coaching problem rather than a talent problem. What I see from our defensive line, as you said, is almost a total lack of pass rush which is critical to defending good QB's like Dillon Gabriel. Our D-line is full of experience, so it's mystifying to see them unable to pressure the QB.

I support Coach Day.......but he has got to raise his defense to championship level if he wants to win the B10 and NC......and right now it is far from that. His struggles in the big games are due to defensive issues. His offenses have proven they can score a good number against anyone.

Another dreadful performance by the Browns' offense.......6 games down, and still haven't scored at least 20 points in a game. No surprise that we're now 1-5 and in the basement of the AFC North.

Only losing by 1 point to a legitimate #3 team in their stadium is no shame. I just would like to see the defense improve. It shouldn't be acceptable that good teams should just automatically rack up 30 or more points on the Buckeyes. A few more stops, please. It is very doable, especially when it's 3rd and long. Have to get off the field and make the other team's punter work a little bit. Too many times we've seen our offense trying to overcome the defense's liabilities. 31 points should be enough to win "big games", or at least the great majority of them.

JBOSUFan1: You bring up some excellent points. These Guardians are a team that prides itself on making contact, yet we've seen on many occasions of swinging at pitches way outside the SZ, especially down in the dirt. We've seen guys go to their knees swinging at pitches. Need more plate discipline tonight, or Cole will be even tougher than he is already.

I, too, would like to see Will Brennan more; he's come up with some big hits this season but he's only made a cameo appearance so far........and where is Ben Lively? I would think he's earned the right to at least give us something.

I don't know how it will play out, but going forward the rest of this series and into 2025 we need more plate production from the C position. Whether it is Bo or someone else, it hurts the offense to have a .202 hitter in the regular lineup for most of the season. Rocchio was in that neighborhood too, but at least he's showing signs that he's trending upward for the future.

One more point.......as far as Cole having our number, so did Skubal, and we finally got to him. The same could happen to Cole tonight.

The defense has got to improve or the ultimate goal of winning a NC will be unattainable for the Buckeyes. Giving up 30 or more points on a frequent basis in the "big games".......Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Oregon.......is not championship level defense. What's most frustrating is that this defensive version of the Buckeyes is full of veterans.

Coach Day has fired and hired and fired and hired defensive coaches, but the defensive albatross remains. The results are not matching the talent, or just maybe the talent isn't quite what it is advertised to be.

Going forward, I am much more concerned about the defense. If the Buckeyes are to achieve the ultimate goal of a NC, the defense has to improve. If it doesn't, that ultimate goal will be unattainable.

Quite a few "big games" in which OSU couldn't hold the opposition to under 30 points. Michigan, Georgia, Oregon, Alabama......all scored over 30 and even 40 points against the Buckeyes in the "big game" under Coach Day.

I'm a supporter of Coach Day, but he has got to get this defensive albatross figured out.

First chance to post today after a few days off.......

Very proud of the Guardians to beat Detroit in the ALDS......Lane Thomas stepping up with a GS and 9 RBI's in the series. We've accomplished so much this season, and we're not done yet. Steven Kwan with 3 straight games vs. the Tigers with 3 hits. Felt going in that Skubal was due to give up some runs. Brayan Rocchio had a great series, and excited for his future with Cleveland. Took a while for him to get in a hitting groove, hopefully he can carry this improvement into 2025.

If we can get Game 2 vs. the Yankees, the series should swing in our favor. Tanner needs to come up with a great start, and hopefully keep Soto, Judge, and Stanton in the park.....no HR's. We've beaten Gerrit Cole before, so this series is far from over. One thing......we can't K with runners at 2nd or 3rd with no outs or 1 out.......take full advantage of RISP. Bunt if we have to. Need something out of Bo Naylor at the plate, and hopefully he can block any wild pitches that doomed us in Game 1.

I agree with the comments above about us swinging at bad pitches......in so many cases I've seen our guys get themselves out......don't make it easy on Cole because he's even a better pitcher when batters swing at bad pitches.

Being down 1-0, can't afford to go down 2-0. Winning 4 of the last 5 vs. the Yankees may be too tough to overcome.......but hope is alive in The Land!!

Hoping that we can get some possessions with a short field, and vice versa for the Ducks.

Whoever is the HP umpire, I'm hoping he has a tight strike zone. If he can squeeze Skubal a bit, maybe he'll get frustrated. As good as Tarik is, he's due to give up some runs. Remember that in Game 2 he pitched a shutout but we also pitched 0's until that fateful 9th when Kerry Carpenter hit that 3 run bomb. We did get 2 doubles off Skubal in Game 2.

It wouldn't hurt the Guardians at all to play little ball today. It worked to perfection in Game 4 with David Fry and the safety squeeze. Get them on, get them around, get them in........couldn't be more important than today.

Thanks, Keith, and I appreciate you and all the info that you've contributed to these threads.

Hoping to go 2-0 on my birthday tomorrow with the Guardians and the Buckeyes. Blessed to be 68 tomorrow and cancer free as of right now. Thanks to everybody for participating in all these Guardians threads. Would love to get a chance at the Yankees.

With almost 350 posts, I am starting a new thread to discuss Game 5 and anything after that.