The August Guardians are the worst team I have ever seen.

The Guardians entered last night’s game with a one-game lead in the division and played like a team with a one-game lead over the White Sox.

Gavin Williams threw five solid innings. Then there was a two-hour rain stoppage. When play resumed, he was down 2-1, but Stephen Vogt noticed the deficit and did what he always does when he falls behind: He sent his weak players into the game. Nick Sandlin was up first and actually threw a scoreless inning.

Then came Scott Barlow. Barlow hasn’t thrown any strikes all season, and teams noticed that a few dozen games ago. He should have been DFA’d right that second. But he wasn’t, and Vogt thought this was a good time to play on Wednesday. The team noticed that. Barlow threw no strikes and gave the Royals runs with walks and wild pitches. Long reliever Pedro Avila was next, and he pitched averagely as usual. To close out the final innings, Anthony Gose got the ball. Gose doesn’t belong anywhere near an MLB game in 2024, but he keeps getting chances because the Guardians lack the normal depth a team has for a season.

While all of this was happening, the offense slept through another game. No adjustments were made during the game or during the offense; that never will be the case. Chris Valaika could not even show up to work and the results would have been the same and he would have faced the same consequences.

The batting lineup on the roster never changes either. Roster changes only happen when a pitcher is needed. Tyler Freeman can go up there and assign outs to pitchers, but he’ll never be sent down to AAA. Brayan Rocchio may have no chance of ever reaching base, but his defense keeps him on the roster. Lane Thomas apparently got Havana Syndrome when he hit Valaika. 15 batters batted after the delay. None reached base.

Will Brennan and Johnkensy Noel, who have been hitting the ball well over the last month? They weren’t on the field last night.

Until changes are made, I will continue to wonder if the Guardians have fist fights before every game – or if the person who captured Calvin Ridley should take a closer look at this organization.

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