Guardians notes: Manager Terry Francona admits pitch clock rule not perfect but doesn't see any changes coming

CLEVELAND — Guardians manager Terry Francona admits baseball's pitch clock rule could use some tweaking, but he's not sure there's a way to improve it without affecting the desired result of quicker games. For many, the most glaring deficiency is when a batter gets a called third strike after violating the rule, sometimes in a key situation. But with game times down around 30 minutes, Francona doesn't see it changing anytime soon. "Every time I think we could tweak this, then you think, 'OK, but then what's the tweak do to (the time of games)?'" he said. "I think they've had to be kind of rigid, at least for now. I get it. I really don't know if they're going to say, 'OK, we sped the game up, we took out some of the fat. Can we do that? I really don't know. "If there was a way to have your cake and eat it, too, that would be good. I don't know if there is and I'm not smart enough to figure it out. So (you) just try to abide by the rules." Limitations on throwing to first base make it more difficult to control the opposition's running game, which is why there has been an increase of stolen bases. Guardians catcher Mike Zunino has struggled in the department, throwing out only four of 26 runners attempting to steal through Sunday. He also led the majors with three passed balls. "It's never just your catcher. Your pitching staff has a lot to do with the success rate of your catchers," Francona said. "I think it's important now (more) that you be able to throw, because if you don't, I think teams are going to try to expose it." Who's this guy? David Fry has been on the roster since May 1, but made his first career start in the series opener against the Tigers on Monday night. Fry, 27, played first and batted fifth after making his MLB debut as a pinch runner the day he was called up from Triple-A Columbus. "We need to play him, and off a guy (Detroit's Joey Wentz) that's been kind of carving up lefties, it seems like a good day," Francona said. "I didn't want to go much longer." Fry was the player to be named from a trade with the Brewers for pitcher J.C. Mejia in November 2021. Rocking in Detroit The Tigers arrived hot, winning five of six after their five-game winning streak was snapped Sunday. "I think they feel pretty good about themselves right now," Francona said of the Tigers, who entered Monday four games behind first-place Minnnesota and a half-game behind the Guardians in the Central Division. "The way we're going right now, I don't think it matters who we play. We just need to take care of what we take care of. And normally if we do that, we're OK." Though at 40 he no longer powers the team, shoo-in Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is still the most recognizable Detroit player. "He's one of the best right-handed hitters I think baseball's ever seen. I don't think that's going out on a limb," Francona said of Cabrera, a two-time MVP and 12-time All Star with more than 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. "And even now, when he comes up in a situation where he has the ability to beat you, it makes you worry because he is such an intelligent hitter. That's never going to go away." Francona was asked to share memories of Miggy. "I remember him hitting a home run in the snow off of (Shane) Bieber," he joked. "I didn't even see the ball. I don't think he did, either. I remember Frankie (Lindor), on his first major league hit, rounding first and (Cabrera) messing with him when Frankie tripped over first." Roundin' third Since 2017, Jose Ramirez had 84 runs, nine triples, 27 homers, 95 RBIs, 63 extra-base hits and 14-game winning RBIs against the Tigers through Sunday, accounting for the most in the majors in all categories over the span. Ramirez (2013-present) played in his 1,172nd game for Cleveland on Monday, passing Bill Wambsganss (1914-23). Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.