Tribe is rewriting the rules on elite reliever use with Miller

The curse of covering the Friday morning news & notes is that Thursdays are often off days, so there’s no Tribe baseball to write about. The good news is that the Indians don’t have another off day for like, eighteen weeks. So I hope you enjoyed the rest while it lasted, because it’s NON-STOP PENNANT RACE EXCITEMENT from here on out!

Indians news & notes

The Indians and Andrew Miller are reshaping how we think about elite reliever usage | The Ringer - Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman are two of the best relievers in the game, and the Yankees traded both of them at the deadline. But the way they’ve been used since the trades is radically different. Chapman, for instance, hasn’t entered before the 9th inning of a single game he’s played in. He also hasn’t recorded more than three outs in an appearance. Miller, as we know, has been used less like a typical closer and more like a Bill James-ian relief ace. The Indians are doing something special here - something even the Cubs and their darling manager/GM are afraid to attempt.

Looking back on the Andrew Miller trade | Did the Tribe Win Last Night? - Though it’s a bit too soon to assess, Joe Toth rounds up a “where are they now” look at how the former Tribe prospects are fairing since they were packaged up and swapped for Miller Time.

Five questions facing the Indians as they enter the home stretch of the regular season | Cleveland.com - From the tough schedule to the continually suspect performance of Tribe catchers, there’s a lot the Tribe will need to figure out on the fly as they make a push for the playoffs.

Tribe has eyes on prize as stretch run arrives | Indians.com - No matter how many questions there are to be answered, there’s no doubt we’re in for a hell of a finish. Sixteen home games and 14 road games, 20 games against teams over .500, and a potential photo finish in respective series against Detroit and KC. Buckle up.

Indians catcher Yan Gomes to began rehab assignment on Friday in Akron | Cleveland.com - No one knows if Yan can ever return to being the All-Star-caliber catcher he was a few years ago, but this is a start back on the right path.

Tribe activates Salazar, adds Crisp as rosters expand | Indians.com - The awe-inspiring trio of Erik Gonzalez, Cody Anderson, and Joe Colon will also make the trip up I-77 I-71.

Are the Indians built for cold weather? | Waiting for Next Year - Michael Bode assesses the Tribe’s readiness for games late into October, when the air is cooler and the ball doesn’t fly as far.

Ryan Merritt should replace Josh Tomlin in rotation | Wahoo’s on First - With recent news that Tomlin’s next time through the rotation is going to be skipped, Matt Bretz makes the case that the following time shouldn’t necessarily be handed to Mike Clevinger.

News from around the league

• As recent scoreboard-watching frustrations can attest to, the Rangers are one of the most clutch teams in recent history
• Sports Illustrated shows us why Jeff Francoeur is all smiles despite his long, weird baseball journey
• I love power rankings but I know most don’t care for them, so I’m only sharing Jonah Keri’s latest for the vomit-inducing pic of the Texas catcher
• Seven Tribe players rank in CBS’ top 100 players list, including one in the top 10
• The Dodgers attempted a trade for Zack Greinke, but they plan to hold on to him until at least July of next season