Over this winter, we have been very critical of the Cleveland Indians organization. This would lead people to believe that we think the upcoming 2010 season is hopeless. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. The various publications who are saying the Tribe is one of the worst teams in the major leagues are dead wrong.
In fact, we feel the Tribe will finish in third place in AL Central this season, winning about 75-78 games.
That’s why it galled us that the front office did virtually nothing this off-season. They weren’t as far away as they thought they were.
The biggest question mark with this ballclub is the pitching, both starting and relief. There simply isn’t one guy you can hang your hat on as an anchor to this pitching staff. And the front office didn’t do anything to rectify this during the off-season.
So, when the season opens on Monday, the rotation will consist of Jake Westbrook, who hasn’t started a big league game since 2008; Fausto Carmona, who won 19 games in ’07 but has done little since; Justin Masterson, who has more experience as a relief pitcher; David Huff, who is in his second season; and rookie Mitch Talbot.
Not exactly, the rotation the team had in 2007 is it?
In the bullpen, there are some good arms, but they belong to hurlers largely unproven in the majors. Chris Perez will open the season as the closer replacing the injured Kerry Wood, and he was impressive as a set up man last year, but he has yet to show he can fulfill this role at the big league level. Rafael Perez has had success, but had a poor 2009, and the rest of the relief corps is unproven. Aaron Laffey will be the long man out there, and Joe Smith can be effective against right-handed hitters.
The pitching woes mask the fact that this team will score runs. A healthy Grady Sizemore will be the centerpiece of the attack, with Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera forming a very good top of the lineup. There is also guarded optimism for Travis Hafner, who seems to have put his shoulder woes of the past two seasons behind him.
Matt LaPorta looks like he can provide a solid right-handed power bat at 1B or LF, and Jhonny Peralta will provide his usual numbers at third. Michael Brantley will open the season on the big league roster, providing the ability to get on base and some speed at the bottom of the order. It will be interesting to see if the youngster acquired in the C.C. Sabathia trade will be Grady Sizemore to Russell Branyan’s Juan Gonzalez in 2005.
That is to say, if Brantley gets off to a good start, Branyan may be in a reserve role when he comes back.
At second base, Luis Valbuena will platoon with someone, probably Anderson Hernandez. Just 23, we feel Valbuena will be a fine major league player. Yes, he could improve defensively, but more and more, second base is regarded as an offensive position in today’s game, and Valbuena can be a plus offensive player if he can become more selective at the dish.
All in all, this isn’t a great team, but it’s not the worst team in MLB by a longshot. If the pitching is decent, this club will contend in a division where there is no great teams. The Twins can hit, but without Joe Nathan, their pitching is questionable. The White Sox and Tigers can pitch, but their hitting is a little soft. The Royals are well, the Royals.
At the 76-78 wins we project, the Indians will be within 10 games of first at the end of this campaign.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 