April in the city of Cleveland represents a few different things, almost all sports related. It means the end of the regular season is nearing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the hope a long playoff run is quick to follow. April signals the final weeks of preparation for the city’s annual Super Bowl – the NFL Draft, where the Cleveland Browns once again have a high pick fans pray doesn’t become another bust.

And, of course, April marks the return of Cleveland Indians baseball. Unfortunately, for the past few seasons, said return hasn’t really been that good.

Since Terry Francona took over as manager of the Tribe in 2013, the team has always had trouble getting its season off to a good start. The past two years in particular have seen whatever potential the Indians may have had get decimated by a sloppy opening month.

So, as Cleveland prepares for yet another season in which expectations are high, one of the primary keys to success is a simple one. If the Indians finally want to live up to the hype which surrounds them once again, they need to avoid another lackluster April.

Francona has made no secret on how he feels about the way his club has opened the past few seasons. Throughout last year, as the Indians were once again trying to make up for a bad first month, their manager would get a little agitated any time April was brought up. Like the fans following the team, he was equal parts confused and frustrated by the holes Cleveland tends to dig itself coming out of the gate.

You can’t blame Francona for being perturbed by the Tribe’s April slumps, as they’ve only gotten worse since his first year.

The 2013 Indians had a lukewarm opening month, coming into May with an 11-13 record. However, a strong push had them back above .500 by the time the calendar turned to June. The Tribe of 2014 wasn’t so lucky, though. Those Indians finished up April at 11-17, losing their final six games of the month. The team remained inconsistent throughout the first half of the year, making a late playoff push which was all for naught thanks to the damage done early in the season.

However, things hit a new low last year. Though they were picked by Sports Illustrated to win the World Series, the 2015 Indians quickly erased any hope of this coming true. Cleveland started the year 2-1, then were never above .500 again until late September. The team went 7-14 in April, spending the rest of the season trying to get back on track.

If we’re using this trend to predict how the Indians will start this season, fans should definitely be concerned. Cleveland’s opening months have progressively gotten worse since 2013, and another rough start could once again quickly erase the optimism for this year’s team.

This is why the Indians can’t afford another sloppy April. Despite the fact Cleveland is coming off a rough season, there is plenty of reason to believe this year can be a successful one.

The Tribe has a strong core group of players in Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes. It is the first full season for rookie sensation Francisco Lindor, whose impact could be felt almost immediately after he was called up last June. The Indians also boast one of the most impressive starting rotations in the bigs, a main reason why so many pundits are predicting a big year for the club.

The thing is, though, a lot of the aforementioned pieces of the team were present last season, too. Gomes got hurt early, and Lindor was called up a little too late, but outside of this Cleveland’s core was intact.

As you can see, it’s amazing how quickly things can all go to waste if the team is tripping over itself coming out of the gate.

A strong April won’t guarantee a playoff spot for Cleveland, but it’ll certainly help the cause. The Indians simply must figure out how to start the year on the right foot, otherwise they could once again end it by watching the playoffs at home.