A local sports talk show host today said he is optimistic about the Cleveland Indians. WKNR’s Tony Rizzo said the Tribe had some pieces in place, and were in better shape than most people think.
This is brought up because despite what is written in this space, that is true. The Indians do have some good players, however, the hole in Rizzo’s statement is the management of the team refuses to do anything to supplement the talent.
There are many positives things that can be said about the 2011 Cleveland Indians.
RF Shin-Soo Choo may just be the most underrated player in major league baseball. He will be 29 years old this summer, and has been remarkably consistent, hitting .300 each of the last two years. He’s also belted 20 and 22 HR’s the last two years, and has put up OPS of 883 and 885 in ’09 and ’10.
SS Asdrubal Cabrera has been a big league regular for three and a half years and is just 25 years old. He’s a lifetime .284 hitter and had 52 extra base hits in 2009.
C Carlos Santana will not turn 25 until a week after Opening Day, and although he missed the last two months of last year with a knee injury, he showed the potential people have talked about for the last two years, especially from a hitting standpoint.
And Michael Brantley showed promise in the second half as well, hitting .284 after the All Star break, although he needs to add a little more pop. He won’t be 24 until May.
From the pitching side, Fausto Carmona’s ERA last season was 3.77 as he showed signs he can be an effective major league pitcher after two horrible years. He’s just 27 years old.
Carlos Carrasco pitched well in his September call up, and should have earned a spot in the 2011 rotation at the age of 24.
Add in the return of Grady Sizemore, another year of health for Travis Hafner, and some farm system products very close to the big leagues, and it isn’t a stretch to say the Indians could be competitive in 2011.
However, they need some help from management.
With all of these young players, why couldn’t the front office pony up some cash for an experienced player. Not one who has seen better days, but someone who could contribute to a winning ballclub.
It didn’t have to come in free agency, you could have made a trade. Two young starting pitchers were traded this off-season for nothing more than prospects.
Would you feel better about the Tribe’s chance if a Zack Greinke or Matt Garza was in their starting rotation? Both of those guys are under 30 years old and would have been in the Indians’ control for at least two years.
Instead, the front office is banking on the minor leaguers.
This is not to say the team should ignore the farm system. For a mid-market team, it is a necessity to keep developing young talent.
However, if you can trade unproven young players for proven young players, you should make that move. Sometimes, the minor leaguer never does a thing in the big leagues.
Of course, the Cleveland Indians spend most of their time talking about “the process”, and the inequities of the finances in major league baseball. That’s their fallback position on everything.
They would rather feel sorry for themselves than put themselves in position to win.
That’s why the fans have checked out on the current regime.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 