2012 Summary: The Indians finished last season with a 68-94
record, good for fourth place in the American League Central Division, 20 games
behind the division-winner Detroit Tigers and just two games ahead of the last-place Minnesota Twins. At the All-Star
break last year, the Tribe were three games over .500 and stood three games out
of first place in the division behind the Chicago White Sox…then the second
half happened. They went 5-24 in August
and ended up with the fifth-worst record in all Major League Baseball.
Offseason Review: It was an unusually active offseason for
the Indians, a team that normally is very cautious with their spending and
tends to trust in developing their young players from year to year. It began just before the Divisional Round of
the playoffs last year when the team hired Terry Francona to be their new
manager. Francona, who led the Boston
Red Sox to two World Series Championships in eight years, would have been
enough by himself to get fans more excited about this team. But they weren’t done there. The Indians traded soon-to-be free agent
Shin-Soo Choo in a deal with the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks that
returned outfielder Drew Stubbs and pitching prospect Trevor Bauer. They then signed all-or-nothing slugger Mark
Reynolds, former Buckeye Nick Swisher and veteran pitcher Brett Myers to
free agent deals. Just when fans thought
the moves were done, they struck a deal with speedy outfielder Michael
Bourn. The moves added much needed depth
and experience to the team and has baseball fans anxious for the upcoming season.
The Infield: The Tribe will roll out Swisher at first base,
Jason Kipnis at second base, Asdrubal Cabrera at short, Lonnie Chisenhall at
third and Carlos Santana behind the plate.
Kipnis had a great first half last year, hitting .277 with 11 homeruns
and 20 stolen bases before the break.
After the All-Star game, Kipnis, like the rest of the team, struggled
hitting .233 with 3 HRs and 11 SB.
Getting more consistent production out of their second baseman will be
key for the Indians in 2013. At the hot
corner, Lonnie Chisenhall will be entering his third season at the big league
level. His first two were cut short due
to minor league stints and injuries, but this season the starting job is
his. The former first round pick will
have to produce for the team because there are few players on the club that
could fill in should Chisenhall get off to a slow start.
The Outfield: The Indians might have the fastest outfield in
the Majors. Drew Stubbs has averaged 33
stolen bases over the last three seasons, Michael Bourn has averaged 51 and
Brantley, although his SB totals haven’t been huge in the Majors, has posted
totals in the 30’s and 40’s in the minors.
The plan is to start Bourn in center, Stubbs in right and Brantley in
left. The question here is whether
Stubbs will be able to make the transition from center field to right.
In 486 career games he has never played right field. Offensively, Stubbs will have to cut down on
his strikeouts if he wants to stay on the field. He has above-average power and can run like a deer, but he also swings and misses a ton.
With the other two guys, Bourn and Brantley, you know what you’re
getting. Bourn will lead off and will
put pressure on the defense with his blazing speed. Brantley is a solid bottom of the order
hitter who won’t beat himself at the plate.
The outfield should be a strength of the team and should be fun to watch
out in the field.
The Pitching: The top three spots in the rotation are
set. Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez and Brett Myers will all hold spots on Opening Day. The last two slots are up for grabs for guys including Mike McAllister, Carlos Carrasco, who is recovering from Tommy John
Surgery, newcomer Trevor Bauer and veterans Scott Kazmir and Daisuke
Matsuzaka. With all the offensive
offseason additions, the area that seemed to be neglected was the rotation. There are a number of potential candidates,
so hopefully for Indians fans the competition brings out the best in the
staff. The bullpen, which was supposed
to be a strength of the team last season, had a team 3.99 earned run average
which was second-worst in the AL in 2012.
The main fixtures are still there with Chris Perez closing out games and
Vinnie Pestano setting him up, but the other pieces are a little
different. The Tribe added Matt Albers
and Bryan Shaw but lost lefty Tony Sipp in the three-way trade with the D’Backs. With the potential for a shaky
starting rotation, the “Bullpen Mafia” will need to step up their game in 2013.
Upcoming Player to Watch:
The main piece of the Choo deal was starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. In 2011 he was rated as the #9 best prospect
in baseball by Baseball America. He
dropped to #14 this year, but that's probably due to his struggles in the majors late last season. In four starts
with the D’Backs he was 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA and 13 walks in 16.1 innings. On the bright side, he did strike out more
than a batter per inning with 17 K's. He
supposedly had some issues with the Arizona coaching staff with not taking their
advice which was part of the reason they were willing to let him go. He’s a unique guy with an unorthodox routine,
but the results have been positive his entire career, and if he can win a spot
in the Indians rotation, he could be a potential Rookie-of-the-Year candidate.
Three Questions:
1. Will Nick Swisher be able to translate his power
numbers from the short porch at Yankee Stadium to the “regular porch” of
Progressive Field? There are lots of
doubters, but if you look at his career stats, his homerun totals weren’t that
inflated during his four years in New York.
Count me in the group saying he’ll be fine.
2. Will Carlos Santana step up his offensive
game? Santana hit 27 and 18 homeruns in
his first two full Major-League seasons respectively, but he is a career .247
hitter. With the likes of Drew Stubbs
and Mark Reynolds now in the lineup, the Indians will need Santana to be a
better hitter even if that means sacrificing some power. The last couple seasons he’s been one of the
major pieces of the lineup. Maybe with the new additions there will be a little
less pressure and he’ll perform better than ever. He's still only 24 by the way.
3. Can Justin Materson bounce back to his 2011
form? In 2011, Masterson had a 3.21 ERA
in his 33 starts. Last year he had a
4.93 ERA in 34 starts. He had his good
days and his bad ones, but for the most part he was flat-out more hittable last
year than he was in ’11. He’ll need to figure
it out because the team will only go as far as its pitching, and as the staff
ace it will be his responsibility to be the man.
X-Factor: Ubaldo Jimenez.
In 2010, he finished 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA. Since then he has struggled mightily.
Last year he was 9-17 with a 5.30 ERA.
It's frustrating watching him pitch because you can see his “stuff”,
but he almost never seems to be able to consistently throw for strikes. He may not be as
good as the guy in 2010, but he isn’t as bad as he showed last year. If he can find some middle ground and be more
consistent this season the Indians will be in good shape.
Prediction: I am an Indians fan, so perhaps my views are a
little biased. I like what the team has
done, but I’m not going crazy about the teams’ chances of winning it all. There are lots of questions, but they
definitely should be better than they were last year. Everyone loves the Detroit Tigers in the AL
Central this year and rightfully so.
Luckily for the Tribe there are two Wild Card spots. With the additions they made in the offseason, some improvement from their young
players, and some rebound from their disappointments last year, the Indians will
finish 86-76 and win the second Wild Card spot.
Unfortunately, they’ll lose the Wild Card Game to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5.
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