MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 27: Jason Kipnis #22 of the Cleveland Indians hits a two-run double against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of the game on April 27, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

With two weeks remaining in the 2016 MLB season, the Cleveland Indians have a comfortable seven-game lead in the AL Central. Barring an unexpected collapse and surge by the Detroit Tigers, the Tribe will be in the postseason.

Yet the Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s Paul Hoynes believes the Indians’ playoff run won’t last very long after the team lost starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco for the remainder of the season due to a broken right hand suffered in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Detroit. Cleveland had already lost Danny Salazar to a strained forearm, and his ability to pitch in the postseason looks doubtful. Combine that with catcher Yan Gomes suffering a broken wrist during a rehab assignment, and suddenly the team that has been one of the best teams in the American League throughout the season is significantly short-handed going into October.

Writing that the Indians’ season was essentially over didn’t go over well in the Tribe’s clubhouse, nor among the team’s fanbase. Second baseman Jason Kipnis took to Twitter to suggest that Hoynes shouldn’t bother covering the team (or showing up at Progressive Field) if he’s already decided that the Indians have no chance.

Hoynes actually wasn’t at the ballpark to cover the Indians game on Sunday — a 9-5 loss to the Tigers — which led pitcher Trevor Bauer to assert that Hoynes didn’t want to show his face in the Tribe’s clubhouse after saying their season was over.

That could be taken as a joke, a player teasing a long-time columnist for not being around to answer for what he’d written. (If there’s one thing that can adversely affect how much a columnist or beat writer is respected by players and colleagues, it’s not being on the scene after writing something critical about the team. If you’re going to rip someone, be there the next day to stand up for what you said.)

But Bauer made it clear in a subsequent tweet that he wasn’t joking, asserting that Hoynes was avoiding the Indians players because of what he wrote.

However, Hoynes had a perfectly reasonable explanation for his absence from Progressive Field on Sunday. It was his day off. Though he covers the Indians, he’s not the team’s beat writer and wasn’t scheduled to work that game.

Does it look bad for a columnist to not be around the day after writing a piece that was sure to draw disagreement and rebuttal from the players? Probably, but Hoynes has covered the Indians for more than 30 years. He’s not a national guy helicoptering in and out of town, who hasn’t established any sort of relationship with the players, nor developed a feel for a clubhouse’s inner workings. He’s not a new or younger writer who wrote a hit piece, then stayed at home to avoid any repercussions. Hoynes didn’t write his column after not watching the Indians all season and drawing a uninformed conclusion.

Kipnis’ remarks and gripes from Indians fans again present the misguided idea that reporters and columnists who cover a particular team are supposed to be fans of that club. Certain players and fans believe it’s a writer’s job to support and provide positive coverage, rather than report anything that might present a team or organization in a bad light or criticize performance in any way. Is it really necessary — especially to readers of Awful Announcing — that it’s not the media’s job to be public relations or cheerleaders for the team being covered? For a columnist like Hoynes, it’s his job to express an opinion and scrutinize what he covers with a critical eye.

To be fair, Kipnis may have just been upset about what he read and balked against the idea that the Indians have no chance in the playoffs because they’ve lost some key players. Cleveland still has several star players who can make an impact in a postseason series, and by virtue of being in the playoffs, there’s no reason to think that the Tribe can’t make it to the ALCS and World Series. You can imagine that the Indians are building the “no one believes in us” and “no one respects us” motivation that may indeed fuel a sustained postseason run.

What Bauer said is a bit more troubling, but he’s certainly entitled to his opinion and can choose not to speak to a particular writer. Will other players in the Indians’ clubhouse take the same stance, however? As Hoynes said, he’ll be back at Progressive Field on Tuesday when the Indians host the Kansas City Royals. He probably shouldn’t expect a warm reception, but if he’s there to answer for what he wrote, he should be allowed to do his job and get the necessary information to develop an informed opinion for his readers.

Besides, the Indians can always try to prove Hoynes wrong and follow the immortal words of Jake Taylor in Major League.

[Cleveland.com]

About Ian Casselberry

Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.

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