Today is the day baseball fans have yearned for since the end of last year’s World Series: Pitchers and catchers report today to Goodyear, AZ.
The sports’ pundits have conflicting opinions on the Cleveland Indians. Many of them feel the Tribe can contend for the AL Central Division title if they stay healthy, but there are several experts who feel the Indians did pretty much nothing in the off-season, and blew a chance to be in the race.
However, you have to remember that Cleveland was in the race for much of the 2011 campaign. And with the struggles expected in Minnesota and Chicago, it appears the Tribe and Royals will be the chief challengers to Detroit in 2012.
For that to happen, a few things will have to break the Indians way.
The biggest things would be performances of three players, one pitcher and two hitters. These guys must show significant improvement for Cleveland to contend.
Ubaldo Jimenez. The guy who came in the big trade last season is the biggest key to success in ’12.
If the big right-hander pitches like the guy who toiled for the Rockies in 2010 (19-8, 2.88 ERA), suddenly Manny Acta has an imposing top two to his rotation (with Justin Masterson).
If he doesn’t, the rotation is filled with soft tossers who will depend on defense for success. Winning teams have starters who can strike people out, and with the other spots being filled by guys like Josh Tomlin, Derek Lowe, Kevin Slowey, and Jon Garland, Cleveland needs Jimenez to provide a consistent power arm.
The good news is he’s coming from a hitter park in Colorado to a pitcher’s park in Progressive Field.
The bad news is there are a lot more good hitting teams in the American League.
If the big righty struggles, not only does it make the trade look bad, the rotation will be short the dominant top two needed to win.
Carlos Santana. This might sound crazy, because he hit 27 home runs and knocked in 79 in his first full year as a big leaguer.
However, his batting average was just .239 and that must be raised if the switch-hitting catcher is to become the lethal offensive player he was thought to be during his days in the minors.
Santana’s lifetime average in the minors was over .290, and if he can raise his average to around the .270 level, his on base percentage, which was .351 last year, will jump close to .400 and with his power, he would become an elite middle of the order hitter.
That’s what the Indians’ lineup has lacked since Travis Hafner’s heyday in the mid-00’s.
Being able to pencil a hitter like that in the batting order everyday changes the entire offense.
Santana will be just 26 this year and should be ready to take the next step. If he does, the entire offense will be better.
Shin-Soo Choo. Choo’s return to being the player he was from 2008-10 would be a significant help to the batting attack. In those three years, the right fielder hit over .300 every year and averaged 19 homers during that span.
His lowest OPS in that period was 883, meaning he was an elite offensive player in those years. He was getting on base 40% of the time and his slugging percentage hovered around .500.
Having Choo and Santana both at top form would form a formidable 3-4 punch for the Indians, and together with SS Asdrubal Cabrera would give Cleveland a potent top of the batting order.
Three players like that can provide a spark that the rest of the lineup can feed off of. It would also take the pressure off young players like Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, and would make the club less dependent on oft-injured veterans Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner to contribute.
If the Indians are going to contend this season, these three players must contribute in a big way.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 