N&N: Challenging offseason ahead for Indians

Here’s to a week with more good than bad.

ALCS

Rays 2, Astros 1

Recap | Box Score

Tampa Bay showed off its impressive bullpen (again) to win Game 1. Go Rays!

Tribe News

For the Cleveland Indians, after a draining season comes a bigger challenge | cleveland.com

From Terry Pluto:

Antonetti outlined a bleak financial picture for the Tribe.

“Baseball was an industry that lost billions of dollars,” he said. “As a team, we lost tens of millions, more than we expected...It’s a real cash loss...and we had to borrow a of money to be able to fund it.”

Several other teams are in that position, but the Indians have been cutting payroll since the end of the 2018 season.

“We have had to actively manage our roster for over the last 18-24 months and we’ll do it again in the off-season,” Antonetti said.

The Indians don’t know if there will be fans in the stands next season because of the virus. Even with a vaccine, will fans want to be a part of crowds?

My sense is the Tribe is preparing for the worst. It’s why Antonetti was so candid when talking about the team’s finances.

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