Season Preview Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians surprised much of the baseball world in 2011 by contending for the AL Central crown for much of the year before eventually finishing 80-82 and a long way out of the playoff conversation.  Following their trade for Ubaldo Jimenez, the Indians seemed to loose their magic as “that team that just keeps winning” (possibly because they started losing).  Moving on, what should we expect out of the Cleveland team in 2012?  They clearly think they have the talent on the roster to compete, but I’m not sure they should.

Projected Lineup:

1. Grady Sizemore (CF)
2. Jason Kipnis (2B)
3. Asdrubel Cabrera (SS)
4. Carlos Santana (C)
5. Travis Hafner (DH)
6. Shin-Soo Choo (RF)
7. Casey Kotchman (1B)
8. Michael Brantley (LF)
9. Lonnie Chisenhall (3B)

Projected Rotation:

1. Ubaldo Jimenez
2. Justin Masterson
3. Fausto Carmona*
4. Josh Tomlin
5. Derek Lowe

Strengths:

Depth:  The Indians are a solid, if not unspectacular team throughout.  None of their players excites me too much, but none of them make me cringe (and that’s important when building a roster… You want to avoid those players that make bloggers cringe).  Shin-Soo Choo looks to have that breakout year that we all thought he would have last year before the leg injury and the team seems prepared to deal with the possibility that poor Grady Sizemore can’t stay healthy and neither can Travis Hafner.

Carlos Santana:  Santana wacked 27 homers last year and appears ready to have an MVP caliber season.  He’s got all the tools and plays a premium position.  Santana, at age 26, appears ready to make that jump.

Logo: I’ve decided that the Indians logo is my favorite logo in sports. It is so entertaining to look at and really captures the magic of the Indians.  The problem is that the logo makes me think of a lovable loser.

Bullpen:  The Indians bullpen ranked 5th in the AL in ERA last year and is spear headed by closer Chris Perez who is one of the best under-the-radar guys out there.  He may or may not be ready for Opening Day, but this Indians ‘pen is still strong without him.  Vinnie Pestano struck out 12.2/9 IP last year and Joe Smith sported the 4th best reliever ERA in the AL (2.01).  Tony Sipp is also very good.

Weaknesses: 

Training Staff:  It’s impossible to talk about the Indians without mentioning their injury history and at least some of that has to be chalked up to a subpar training staff.  I’m entirely serious here.  If the Indians are able to field their complete team all year, they could be a very dangerous club.  However, injuries have already been sustained by Grady Sizemore and closer Chis Perez.

Asdrubel Cabrera is your Number 3 hitter:  Cabrera is in this strange stage in his career where nobody believes in him, but he’s the best hitter on his own team.   Cabrera figures to hit third for these guys this year and if he struggles, or is anything other than 2011 Cabrera, this could be very very bad. Consider that before 2011, Cabrera managed to hit 18 home runs in 1415 at bats and never hit as many as 10 jacks in a minor league season.  I’m not saying it was definitely a fluke, but I am saying that Joe Mauer has yet to approach his 28 home run pace from 2009 again.

Derek Lowe:  Ask any Braves fan the worthiness of Derek Lowe’s roster spot and you’ll understand why this is a weakness.  The salary conscious Atlanta Braves team is paying $10 million this year for Derek Lowe to just go away.  He’s at the end of his not-so-good career and is good to give up 4-8 runs every time out.

Storylines:

Carmona: His real name is believed to be Roberto Hernandez and the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona was recently released on bail in his native Dominican Republic.  His status for pitching in 2012 is entirely unclear right now as he works out his visa and deportation issues.  Kevin Slowey appears to be his replacement.  I really hope I’m not the only one who finds it absolutely hilarious that the Indians will be extremely handicapped because one of their pitchers is going through visa issues.  God really must hate Cleveland.

Can Grady Sizemore get healthy in time to earn himself a paycheck at the end of this year?

Does Travis Hafner have 600 at bats in those big hands of his?

Are Ubaldo and Justin Masterson really that good?

Prediction:

80-82, 4th Place, AL Central.  We really believe the three way race between the Twins, Royals, and Indians will be separated by just a few games and the Indians appear to have the worst shot at winning.  There are too many question marks and too few marquee hitters for me to really like this team.  That said, I don’t cringe when I see them and that’s a step in the right direction for any team in Cleveland.

Bold Predictions:

• Justin Masterson has a great year:  3.29 ERA with 175 strikeouts.
• Ubaldo Jimenez has another terrible year: 4.85 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP.
• Grady Sizemore plays 129 games, but goes 20 Homers, 20 Steals in that time.
• Derek Lowe is murdered by Travis Hafner…. I can only wish (jk, I can’t wish death on anyone)
• Carlos Santana finishes 7th in the MVP voting after hitting .312 with 29 homers.

-Sean Morash