Indians’ window of opportunity is closing

CLEVELAND — Indians manager Terry Francona hunched forward in his chair and began talking about interleague play. He might as well have been referencing his team.

“Any time something is not new anymore, people get used to it,” Francona said of the American League vs. National League regularseason matchups that began in 1997 and have morphed

into a daily dose of ho-hum. “That doesn’t make it bad. It just loses some of its uniqueness.”

Cleveland vs. Cincinnati? The Ohio Cup? Nothing special. Ditto the Indians, who besides their sensational shortstop and starting pitching — when it’s healthy, which it hardly ever is — are just another team. Not a bad team, mind you. Just average. Or about .500, if math is your thing and average is too subjective. (The Reds, meanwhile, are not as awful as they were last season. Hey,

it’s something).

As the baseball season climbs the last few steps to its halfway point, the question for the Indians becomes whether something special can be rekindled? Or is this a team — or thinking bigger picture, a franchise — that needs to go to seed so it can grow again?

My hunch is that Tribe Time has passed. Teams have windows, especially ones with relatively shallow-pocketed owners like the Indians’ Paul Dolan, and such franchises need to make hay while the harvest is ripe. For the Indians, that time was 2016, when Rajai Davis hit a twoout, two-run homer that tied Game 7 of the

World Series against the Chicago Cubs.

I know plenty of Indians fans who halt their memories right there. Pre-rain delay. Except for this: They remember that ’16 team was special. Not incredibly talented, but special.

The next two years saw the Tribe win two more AL Central titles, but this season is like watching a novice water-skier from the boat — when will the fall happen?

As mentioned, the starting pitching can be potent; if only games were played in hospitals. Corey Kluber (broken right arm), Mike Clevinger (back) and Carlos Carrasco (blood condition) are sidelined,

which puts added pressure on an offense that resembles an 80-yearold escaping a bean-bag chair. Not pretty.

The Indians’ .227 batting average entering Tuesday’s game was second-lowest in the American League. Only the Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays had scored fewer runs. The injuries and insulting lack of punch at the plate explain why the Indians started the day trailing the Minnesota Twins by 10½ games and their postseason prospects appear limited to a wildcard spot at best.

What to do? In the next few weeks the front office will need to consider whether to sit tight

or shore things up (without breaking the bank) in hopes of making a run at a wild card. The alternative is to take a longer view and begin rebuilding in hopes of creating something special down the road.

Could shortstop Francisco Lindor be on the block? Should he be? Lindor is under contract through 2021, but has shown little inclination to sign a long-term deal. Prediction: Frankie will be wearing Yankee pinstripes or Dodger blue before 2021 arrives. If a rebuild is in the offing, the Indians need to maximize Lindor’s value by trading him near the July 31 trade deadline. It would be an extremely unpopular decision for

Dolan, who already is in the doghouse for slashing payroll during the offseason. Lindor is one of the few bright spots on the roster. But trading him would bring building blocks necessary to create another window of opportunity.

Lindor isn’t worried about what may come.

“We know what could happen, but at the end of the day we get paid to play baseball, not to manage or run the front office,” he said.

The players have maybe three more weeks to earn that pay or risk forcing the hand of the front office. Play ball. Or else.