Commentary: Jose Ramirez should be savored as he tries to save the Indians' offense

At this point, what's left to say about Jose Ramirez? Only this: Enjoy him. He was hard to miss Wednesday, when he did everything but drive the Kansas City Royals to the airport following a tour de Jose performance in the Indians' 4-2 victory. The chunky clubber clubbed the Royals into submission by driving in all the Indians' runs and scoring two of the Indians' runs. "This just in, Josey is pretty good," manager Terry Francona said after the Indians won for only the second time in five tries this season. Through five innings — stop me if you've heard this before — the Indians were losing 1-0, mostly because in 17 plate appearances they managed just one hit. Then Jose started doing his Jose thing — a two-run home run in the sixth inning and a two-run home run in the eighth inning. Before you could finish the "Jose! Jose! Jose!" chorus, the Indians had turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead and, one inning later, a 4-2 victory. Unlike years past when he was an important cog in the Indians' scoring machine, Ramirez this year is the scoring machine. Following three years of systematic dismantling of one of the league's best lineups, Ramirez is being counted on to do much of the heavy lifting himself. Opposing teams know that, which theoretically should make it even harder for Ramirez to Ramirez games in the Indians' favor. But on a summer-like Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field, Ramirez did exactly that. "He was becoming more hitterish as the day progressed, which is never a bad thing," Francona said. Especially on this day, when two of the nine players in the Indians' starting lineup did not have a batting average when the game began, and five of the nine were hitting under .200 after the game. Never mind runs. Through five innings, the Indians only had one hit, and Ramirez had struck out and flied out in his first two at-bats. Fortunately for the Indians, Shane Bieber, who struck out 12 in his opening day start, struck out 12 more in this one. Through five innings, he already had nine strikeouts and held the Royals to two hits and one run. "Shane was terrific," Francona said. "He knows we're not throwing a bunch of runs up on the board. That's not the easiest way to pitch." That, indeed, was the not-so-hidden message produced by this win. The Indians' two best players are Bieber and Ramirez, and when they have a bad game, the chances of the Indians having a good one are greatly diminished. Bieber pulled the plow into the seventh inning, striking out almost half of the 26 batters he faced. Bieber then flipped the keys of the car to Ramirez. It was 2-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. When Ramirez completed his at-bat in that inning, the Indians led 4-2 as Jose hosed a line drive into the right field seats for his second home run and third and fourth RBI in the span of three innings. "He's a gamer," Bieber said. "We rely on him so much, and he constantly comes up in big moments like he did today. That's why he's our guy." For now, anyway. Ramirez is in the last year of his contract, which are chilling words to Indians fans, who realize what that usually means. This, however, doesn't necessarily have to be Jose's last rodeo in Cleveland. The Indians hold a $11 million club option on him for 2022 and a $13 million club option for 2023. That's the good news. The bad news: That would be a combined $24 million for an Indians team that has been tossing big salaries overboard like lifeboats on the Titanic, leaving them with the lowest payroll in the majors this year. Last year's closer, Brad Hand, had only a $10 million club option, and Indians officials let him walk without blinking. Ramirez, in fact, may be hoping the Indians don't pick up those club options. It would allow him to become a free agent, where a player with top-three finishes in the MVP voting in three of the last four years could expect to be handsomely rewarded. If Indians officials have already decided they won't be picking up those club options, Ramirez could even be in play as a trade piece this year, should this season go sideways. For now, however, his job is to throw the offense on his back and slug his way into giving the team's elite pitching staff a fighting chance to make a difference. "He's a really smart hitter," Francona said. "His skills are off the charts, and he's a smart kid when it comes to playing baseball." He's all of that, and he comes with his own jingle. Enjoy him. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.