Choo Looks Good at Top of Order

Sometimes, fans over think the importance of a manager to a baseball teams. Many baseball experts figure the difference between a top-notch skipper and a guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing is about five games.

It basically comes down to the talent a particular team has.

A little over a week ago, Indians’ manager Manny Acta decided to shuffle his batting order and put Shin-Soo Choo in the lead-off spot.

Right now, the initial returns have been extremely positive. Choo looks like a different hitter than he was in April and early May.

The right fielder has thrived there, hitting .394 (13 for 33) since being moved there. He’s scored six runs, and last night, started rallies in three innings in which the Tribe scored.

Perhaps Choo felt a need to drive the ball when hitting in the middle of the order because since moving to the top, he’s been hitting the ball where it is pitched more often, and as a result his batting average is climbing.

When you think about it, he’s a logical choice to hit lead-off, probably more so than Grady Sizemore, who Tribe managers have put first in the batting order for many years, and Michael Brantley, who looks like he should be a lead-off man, but doesn’t have the numbers to support it.

You see, Shin-Soo Choo has a lifetime on base percentage of .384. The man gets on base frequently, which is the primary goal at the top of the order. He also can run a little bit too, with two 20 stolen base seasons on his resume. Brantley stole a career high (yes, Choo’s been around longer) 13 bases last season.

His ability to get on base ahead of Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera has helped spice up an offense in need of a spark.

Which brings us to a growing concern, DH Travis Hafner.

Yes, Hafner delivered in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Tigers, but the Indians need him to provide a power bat in the middle of the lineup, and at least this month, he has not put up many extra base hits.

He still has decent numbers (795 OPS), but that figure is arrived at because of a high on base percentage. Don’t get us wrong, not making outs is a good thing, but his slugging percentage is just .419, less than Jack Hannahan and about the same as Jason Kipnis, a middle infielder.

In 20 games in May, Pronk is hitting just .191 and slugging just .382 with only six extra base hits. Just for point of reference, that’s the same number as Casey Kotchman, and less than Asdrubal Cabrera, Choo, and Kipnis. Jose Lopez has one less in 39 less at bats.

Carlos Santana is keeping his batting average up at .262, but he’s in Hafner’s situation as a player Acta needs to provide pop, yet he is only slugging .414 on the year, and also has just six extra base hits in May.

The Tribe doesn’t have too many players who can change a game in one swing of the bat, and the two guys who usually hit fourth and fifth in the order are hitting like guys who hit at the top of the order.

If Hafner and Santana can start belting out extra base hits, it doesn’t have to be home runs, doubles and triples will do, fans will see the Indians batting attack take a big step forward.

Somehow, we see Santana as more apt to oblige in this area, since Hafner’s slugging has declined in recent years, probably due to injury.

The Indians are getting runners on base, leading the league in walks, however, that statistic doesn’t do them any good if their big boppers aren’t driving them in.

Perez Should Have “Saved” His Comments

After saving Saturday’s 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins, Indians’ closer Chris Perez decided to vent about being booed and the poor attendance at Tribe games this season.

This is one of those things you cannot mention even if it is true, just like telling your boss he’s treats people poorly.

There is little to be gained by making such comments.

There is some truth to what Perez said, the Indians are playing well right now and there is no question attendance has been disappointing.

However, crowds are starting to catch on and almost 30,000 showed up Friday and Saturday with the return of warmer weather to Cleveland.

So, not only should the reliever have kept his thoughts to himself, they were also ill-timed. It’s another case of someone with the Indians trying to put a wet blanket on fans’ enthusiasm.

As for the booing, Perez should understand a couple of things: First, it’s just a handful of people vocalizing the negativity. The majority of fans don’t boo as a general rule.

Secondly, fans aren’t usually booing the player. They are criticizing the manager for making the decision to put the player in that position. No one is expecting Perez to understand this, but more than likely that’s what the jeers were about.

Fans know that Perez’ history is that he doesn’t pitch as well in tie games as he does when he’s protecting a lead. Yet, Manny Acta brought him in anyway, that’s what the fans were upset about.

(By the way, there should be no issue with bringing the closer in at home, there can’t be a save situation).

The fact is Cleveland fans have sat through eight losing seasons in the last ten years. No matter how well the Tribe has played this season (in only a quarter of the season), fans haven’t experienced sustained winning (if you call sustained two straight winning years) since 2001.

Also, last year’s team started even better than the 2012 Indians, getting off to a 30-15 start, yet finished under .500 for the season.

So forgive the team’s supporters when they look at this year’s ballclub with a jaundiced eye.

It would have been understandable if Perez had made his comments following Thursday game in which he was booed, but to wait until he strikes out the side two days later, and then spout off, well, he lost the higher ground on this argument.

Remember that the closer has been known to speak off the cuff. He criticized an opponent in his first season as closer because they had the audacity to win by bunting in a situation that Perez didn’t deem appropriate.

After another blown save, he criticized his catcher for allowing a passed ball.

Since then, Perez appeared to have matured until his comments on Saturday. But he threw himself under the bus.

As for his comments about people not wanting to play in Cleveland, the same things were said in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Why? Because the Indians were a losing organization.

Over the last decade, they have returned to that status.

Ask the players who wore the Cleveland uniform from 1990-2001 if they enjoyed their time here. Guys like Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Orel Hershiser, etc. loved it here and are loved back in return.

The fans love them because they won.

Fans want to have that same feeling about Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Kipnis, etc., but they feel the players are short-term here, and management can’t afford to keep them.

Chris Perez doesn’t understand that, and that’s his prerogative. He’s a ball player.

He still should have kept his mouth shut. Nothing good can be gained by criticizing the people who buy tickets.

Tribe Schedule Not That Easy

With the Cleveland Indians currently sitting in first place in the American League Central Division with a 22-17 record, several experts have said this is due to the club early season schedule.

It probably viewed that way because the Tribe hasn’t played a lot of games against the traditional big boys of the league, the Yankees and Red Sox. Obviously, those “experts” haven’t looked at the standings which show those two squads sitting at the bottom of the AL East.

Now, at this juncture of the season, no one is saying the Yankees are an also-ran, and even though the Red Sox have struggled thus far, most feel they will be in contention when the calendar hits August and September.

This isn’t to say the Indians have had to fight through a slate of the ’27 Yankees and ’84 Tigers in the first quarter of the season, but if you look at the American League, how many teams would you consider very good right now?

The obvious choice for the best team in the league is the Texas Rangers, and Cleveland took two of three from the two-time defending American League champions in early May, and next week’s three game set versus Detroit is another good test for the Tribe.

Everyone considered the Angels a contender before the season started, and they have fulfill those expectations before the year’s end, but right now they aren’t playing like one, and the Indians took two of three from them as well.

Besides the Yankees, the only teams with good records the Tribe hasn’t faced are the Orioles and Rays, who sit a top of the Eastern Division. The Rays have made the playoffs in three of the last four seasons, and there is no doubt they are a quality team, but the Orioles are in a similar boat as Cleveland, most don’t take them seriously at this point.

You can only play who you are scheduled to play. When people complained this week that the Indians won four in a row against the lowly Twins and Mariners, would they really have preferred the Tribe lose to them? Victories against those teams count exactly the same in the standings as wins against New York or Boston.

Besides, those same Twins who lost two to Cleveland early in the week, then played Detroit and beat them in both games.

In baseball, anyone can beat anyone else on a given day.

The point is there aren’t a lot of great teams in the American League at this point in the season. Think about the teams you may fear as a fan? How many are there?

From our perspective, the Rangers are a team to be reckoned with and so are the Tigers. It will be huge for attendance if the Tribe can win the series that starts on Tuesday night. It would provide those negative people with some proof this team can compete with Detroit.

The Rays and the Yankees should also be viewed as very good opponents because of their track record. The Red Sox’ pitching is shaky and they have a lot of injuries.

The rest of the American League teams are beatable, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if the Indians can take two out of three against them. And remember, the Tribe still has 17 games left against the Twins, who look to be the worst team in the AL, at least on paper.

While the Indians haven’t gone through a series of juggernauts to get to this point, they haven’t played a bunch of AAA teams either. There are only five other teams above .500 in the league, and Cleveland has already played two of them.

Teams that contend have to win against the teams who aren’t very good. They shouldn’t have to apologize for doing it.

Fans should focus on how Cleveland does this week against Detroit. That’s the best team they will have an extensive amount of games with, and holding their own against them will keep the Tribe in contention.

The Damon Question

When the Indians brought Johnny Damon to the major leagues on May 1st, it was done without the benefit of having the veteran play any minor league games.

He did play some games in extended spring training, but the pitchers down there are mostly guys who haven’t been assigned to minor league teams, or those rehabbing injuries.

There is no question the quality of pitching would have been better in Columbus or Akron.

However, the terms of the contract Damon agreed to had a clause that he had to be on the big league roster on May 1st, so he was activated.

To date, the results haven’t been positive.

He has played 12 games thus far, and he’s batting .149 with an OPS of 419. Just to clarify, no one survives long in the majors with that low of a figure in that category.

There is no question that Damon hasn’t hit his stride yet, because it is unlikely that a player could lose it this quick. At 37 years old last season, he still batted .261 with a 743 OPS.

Yesterday, Indians’ manager Manny Acta dropped the veteran from the top of the order and had him batting 7th. With his offense struggling, the skipper needed someone getting on base at the top of the order.

He’s not striking out excessively (only six thus far), but he does seem to be popping a lot of balls up, meaning he needs to get on top of the ball better.

Unfortunately, at this point in his career, if Damon doesn’t contribute with the bat, he can’t be in the lineup because defensively, he no longer is average.

His range has been cut down because he is older, and his arm has never been any good. And right now, he’s not making a case that he is the answer to the Tribe’s LF question.

The problem is the Indians are in first place and have a big series against the Tigers, the defending AL Central Division champs next week. So, how long can they wait for Damon to get it going?

The 50 plate appearances he’s received thus far isn’t a large enough sample. Most major league hitters have periods where they go through this type of slump during the season.

For example, right now, Travis Hafner has gone 9 for 46 since the first of May, and Shin-Soo Choo went through a 5 for 31 stretch earlier this season.

Nobody is counting them out as guys needed to have a big year for the Indians to be successful.

Unfortunately for Damon, when you are 38 years old, hitting slumps are magnified. Another problem is that the Tribe isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, and they can’t afford to have The Caveman struggling while others in the lineup are doing the same.

In terms of a roster spot, there is no pressure to do anything with Damon until Grady Sizemore is ready to come back to the active roster. As for playing time, the next five games will be a guide for Acta as to whether or not he can play him against Detroit.

It’s probably not fair to a guy who’s been in the big leagues since 1995, but who said baseball is fair.

For a team that needs hitting, the Tribe can’t afford to wait on Johnny Damon much longer.

CSP Potpourri

As Cleveland celebrates the opening of the Horseshoe Casino this evening, we just want to express some thoughts on what is going on in the wide, wide world of sports.

LeBron Gets His Third
The former Cavalier received his third MVP in four years, and to be quite frank, we were a little surprised.

Why?

First, the NBA writers are known to have long memories, and they remember last season’s NBA Finals when the supposed most talented player in the game stayed away from the ball in clutch situation like it had “cooties”.

James’ stats were incredible, as usual, but most of the season he was criticized for staying away from game deciding shots in favor of Dwyane Wade, so how can he be the MVP of the league?

Don’t the best players step up for their teams when it matters?

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant or San Antonio’s Tony Parker would have been better picks for the award.

Browns Rookie Mini-Camp
If the Browns’ rookies played in a first year player Super Bowl, apparently they would win. They were that impressive this weekend.

Take it easy!

Look, it is good that QB Brandon Weeden showed a strong arm, RB Trent Richardson is a physical specimen, a “freak” according to Weeden, and WR Travis Benjamin is as fast as advertised.

However, they weren’t wearing pads! They weren’t playing real defense! No one was smacking Weeden as he dropped back to throw!

Nothing has changed since the day GM Tom Heckert drafted these players and signed others as undrafted free agents.

There should be optimism about the draft, it appears the Browns have improved the offense quite a bit. But until they start hitting and playing for real, the jury is still out.

Tribe Roster Moves
In addition to dropping three straight games to Boston after winning the series opener, the Indians also made a few roster moves.

One was required after Josh Tomlin had a sore wrist, and Zack McAllister filled in nicely, giving Manny Acta seven innings Saturday night in a 4-1 loss.

Another came after reliever Dan Wheeler imploded Sunday, giving up six runs in an inning of work. Wheeler joins Jamey Wright and Chad Durbin as failed experiments bringing in veterans relievers. Hopefully, the front office will stay away from these types of guys again.

The last move, sending Jason Donald back to Columbus, is a tad curious, if only because it makes Jack Hannahan the backup shortstop according to Acta.

Look, if Hannahan could play that position decently, he would play there because historically his bat hasn’t been up to par for the hot corner.

The Indians’ roster has been ill-conceived from the get go, and this latest move doesn’t help.

Kyrie Gets An Award
No one should be surprised by the news that Cavs’ point guard Kyrie Irving has been elected the NBA Rookie of the Year. In fact, the only mystery is will he be given the award unanimously.

It wasn’t all that long ago that fans were saying GM Chris Grant should take Derrick Williams with the first pick and then Brandon Knight with the fourth selection last June.

When you have the first pick, you have to take the best player. Kyrie Irving was clearly the best player in the 2011 draft, so Grant made the correct selection.

And the Cavs have a cornerstone for the future of the franchise. Remember, point guard and center are the two toughest spots to fill on a team.

MW/JD/KM/JK

Tribe Bats Being “Left” Out

Coming into this season, the Cleveland Indians went against conventional wisdom, and went with a predominantly left-handed hitting lineup. The organization had two reasons to support this move.

First, their research showed that left-handed hitters did better in Progressive Field that those who hit from the right side. Although it didn’t bother Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Matt Williams and several other right-handed hitters who had big years in Cleveland’s home park.

The other reason was that many of the hitters were good hitters, and good hitters can hit any kind of pitching.

Thus far, however, the Tribe has had all sorts of problems vs. southpaws, hitting just .217 against them as a team.

To be fair, some of those lefties are simply good pitchers. John Danks of the White Sox comes to mind. He’s a solid big league starter who has had ERA’s under 4.00 in three of the last four seasons.

Still, that .217 average just means that the Indians will likely see more southpaws as starters, and they will see a lot of situational lefties coming out of opponent’s bullpens until they start having some sort of success.

When right-handers take the mound against Cleveland, they usually see a lineup of entirely left-handed sticks. This has paid dividends as in the past couple of weeks, the Tribe has beaten pitchers such as Colby Lewis and Yu Darvish of Texas, and Josh Beckett of Boston.

But when a lefty goes, manager Manny Acta usually adds a couple of right-handed hitters to switch hitters Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera to try to balance the lineup, but so far it hasn’t worked.

One reason is that a couple of the righty bats put into the lineup haven’t hit. C Lou Marson gets the bulk of his limited playing time when a lefty takes the hill, but thus far he is 1 for 10. Jason Donald hit lefties very well last season, hitting .377 against them, but thus far he just 2 for 21, and yesterday was sent down to Columbus in favor of Jose Lopez.

That move costs the Tribe a legitimate backup shortstop, as now Jack Hannahan assumes the role.

Shin-Soo Choo, a lifetime .258 batter against southpaws is just 4 for 36 this season. Travis Hafner is looking more and more like a strict platoon player at this point in his career, batting just .156 in 32 at bats.

The only players batting over .250 against left-handers are Cabrera, Santana, Shelley Duncan (who should be Hafner’s platoon partner), and Michael Brantley. After those guys, the next best batting average is Jason Kipnis at .218.

This is exhibit A is why GM Chris Antonetti should have signed or traded for a right-handed hitter in the off-season. Someone like Josh Willingham, currently hitting .313 with 7 homers for Minnesota.

Because right now, left-handed pitchers are sticking it to the Cleveland Indians.

It is understandable that fans do not want to hear that Aaron Cunningham, Lopez, and Marson need to be in there against southpaws on a regular basis, and that they probably need to be given more at bats periodically because they haven’t been able to stay fresh. However, Acta needs to get some production against lefties.

Players like Choo and even Hannahan have had better numbers against lefties in the past and probably deserve continued plate appearances because of this season’s small sample size.

However, the Indians need to start getting some better efforts against southpaws otherwise we will see more performances like the one Saturday night against a nondescript Felix Doubrait.

If they are going to contend, they have to improve or Antonetti will be forced to find a right-handed bat, a weakness that has plagued the Indians for several years.

Tribe Pitchers are Walking Too

One of the early season surprises for the Cleveland Indians is their propensity for taking walks.

In fact, Tribe hitters have taken 21 more walks than any other team in the American League, a key reason they are 3rd in the league in on base percentage, despite ranking 9th in batting average.

The base on balls has definitely been a key component of their offense so far in 2012.

Unfortunately, it has worked both way for the Indians, as their pitching staff has allowed the second most free passes in the AL.

What makes it worse is that Cleveland pitchers also rank 12th in the junior circuit in striking out hitters, which gives them the worst strikeout to walk ratio in the league.

And the main culprits in dishing out bases on balls are the starting pitchers. The relievers are generally doing a good job.

The most obvious bad thing about the walks is that it puts a runner on base. Of course, there are times that it is a strategic move, but mostly it allows a hitter to reach base without having to swing the bat.

The hidden problem with the walks is that it requires hurlers to throw more pitches, which runs up pitch counts, and doesn’t allow them to get deeper into games.

This puts more of a burden on the bullpen, which has thrown the 4th most innings in the league. The Tribe relief corps has been very good, perhaps even the strength of the team, but history tells us than putting a burden on relievers early in the year sometimes comes back to bite a team in the behind.

Check out the strikeout to walk ratio of the Cleveland starters:

Justin Masterson 29K’s/25 BBs
Ubaldo Jimenez    20K’s/25 BBs
Derek Lowe             10K’s/12 BBs
Josh Tomlin            27K’s/ 7 BBs
Jeanmar Gomez     15K’s/ 4 BBs

As you can see, it is the veteran pitchers who right now are having problems finding the strike zone.

The only bullpen pitcher having issues with walking hitters is the much maligned Dan Wheeler, who has walked five against just two strikeouts.

Granted, the Indians don’t have a lot of strikeout pitchers in the starting rotation. Masterson and Lowe are sinkerballers, and Tomlin usually gets the job done by getting ahead in the count and expanding the strike zone.

He doesn’t have typical swing and miss stuff despite ranking second among the starters in strikeouts.

Jimenez is most definitely a power pitcher, and Gomez’ new found slider is developing into a swing and miss offering.

Acta and pitching coach Scott Radinsky both stress the importance in getting ahead in the count. Other baseball experts will tell you the best pitch in the game is strike one. Right now, some of the Tribe starters are having a problem throwing that pitch.

There is no doubt that Acta is concerned about the wear and tear on his bullpen. He kept Chris Perez and Vinnie Pestano out of Monday’s doubleheader, and he said Pestano wasn’t available last night.

Those two and sidearmer Joe Smith have been in too large of a percentage of the Indians’ games.

A lot of that is because the Tribe plays a lot of close games, and those three are the skipper’s most reliable guys, although rookie Nick Hagadone is starting to earn Acta’s trust.

However, any success the Indians will have this season is predicated on the starters giving the team innings, and they can stay in games longer if they throw strikes.

As much as taking walks helps the Cleveland Indians, giving up too many has to be a concern.

A First Analysis of the Tribe

The Indians’ front office will disagree with evaluating the team at this time, but after the first game of today’s doubleheader against the White Sox, the Tribe has played 27 games, or one-sixth of the schedule.

The standings say the Indians are in first place in the AL Central Division with a two game lead over the Tigers.

Although many locally are quick to proclaim Cleveland contenders, it is too early to make that claim. You can’t win the division in April, but you can lose it, and the Indians have played well and are still in it after the first month.

Before you start ordering playoff tickets, remember that the team with the best record in the AL is the Baltimore Orioles, and no one thinks they can win the Eastern Division.

At this point, the Tribe ranks 8th in the league in runs scored, and 9th in the AL in ERA, ranking virtually in the middle of both categories.

Those numbers seem to say that Cleveland is a .500 type team. Their runs scored vs. runs allowed say their record should be 13-13, so they have been a little lucky so far.

This is reflected in their mark in games decided by one run, which is 6-1. Success in these games is not indicative of a good or great team. The ’10 Orioles were 29-22 in these games, yet finished 66-96.

Still, teams with good bullpens and average offenses play a lot of close games, and can win them by holding opponents from adding on. Heck, it’s better to win them than to lose them.

Going back to runs scored vs. runs allowed, it is clear that to be a contender, the Indians will have to improve in both areas.

Offensively, Manny Acta is still looking for at least one more productive hitter. Perhaps it can be Johnny Damon or Michael Brantley, but based on the past, you have to feel 3B Jack Hannahan’s numbers will regress at least a bit.

The biggest concern should be 1B Casey Kotchman, who is hitting .163 with a 506 OPS at this point. If Kotchman went 10 for his next 20, he’d still be hitting .230, which doesn’t cut it if you want to contend.

And let us repeat: No matter who good he is defensively, it doesn’t make up for being non-productive with the bat.

It is doubtful the Indians want to bring up Matt LaPorta from Columbus, so perhaps Shelley Duncan will get some reps at first, or maybe Lonnie Chisenhall gets a call (when he’s healthy again) with Hannahan moving to 1B.

As for the pitching, we detailed last week how important Ubaldo Jimenez is to this ballclub winning. Hopefully, he turned the corner after yesterday’s great performance against the Rangers, but until he shows that kind of pitching regularly, he’s still a question mark.

Josh Tomlin is another starter who need to throw like he did in the first half of last year. He’s had five outings, including one in relief, but only one could be considered good (8 IP, 1 ER vs. Seattle).

He and Jimenez need to get deeper into games, in order to take a burden off the relief corps, which has been overworked thus far.

If the bullpen collapses later in the year because of overuse, it could be devastating. The Indians do have some relief depth in the minors in guys like C.C. Lee and rapidly rising Cody Allen, and southpaw Nick Hagadone is already here, but losing games late can be a tough thing to overcome.

So, what can be decided about the 2012 Indians? They are still in it! They haven’t played their way out of contention, but they do have areas they need to shore up.

After another 27 games, the picture could get a little clearer.

A Different Look at Browns Schedule

After the 2012 NFL schedule was made public a few weeks ago, Browns’ fans and radio talk show hosts immediately turned it into a negative, saying than Cleveland would likely go 4-12 again, or perhaps even 3-13 because they have the 3rd toughest slate in the league.

Certainly, Pat Shurmur’s team isn’t playing college or high school teams, but that statistic is a little misleading.

One reason is that the statistic takes into account the teams’ divisional schedule, and last year, three teams from the AFC North made the playoffs, two of them (Pittsburgh and Baltimore) winning 12 games. No other division in football had two squads that both won that many games.

That doesn’t make the games any easier, but Cleveland plays the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals every year! They know that going into the season. In fact, do you know who has the 4th toughest schedule in the NFL according to 2011 win/loss records? The Ravens. And really, their schedule is tougher because they have the Browns in that stat.

Everyone is all worried because Cleveland inter conference match up in 2012 is the big, bad NFC East, featuring the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. However, how many of you realize only one team, that being the Giants, in that division had a record over .500 last season?

Dallas and Philadelphia, the Browns opponent in the opener last year, both had records of 8-8.

Last year, Cleveland played the NFC West, another division where only one team won more games than they lost, that being San Francisco, who went 13-3.

The fear here is based on reputation. The Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys are historically strong franchises, so fans assume that Shurmur’s team will lose those games. Heck, after 12 games last season, Philly had the same record as the Browns, with both teams being 4-8.

Another reason Cleveland’s schedule looks worse on paper is that they only play one team, Indianapolis, who had a terrible record in 2011. Because of their fourth place finish in the division last year, the Browns play the other 4th place teams in the AFC. However, Buffalo was 6-10 and Kansas City was 7-9.

If you rank all of the records of the teams finishing last in their respective divisions, you will find that those teams had the best records. Remember, the strength of schedule takes into account the entire league, so NFC last place teams finished 5-11 (Washington), 4-12 (Tampa Bay), 3-13 (Minnesota), and 2-14 (St. Louis).

When you take into account that a seven game difference would give the Browns the 14th most difficult slate for 2012, which would be kind of in the middle, tied with Cincinnati (another team whose stat includes the four win Browns), playing the last place teams with the best schedules swings things considerably.

The AFC North also pairs up with the AFC West this season, and virtually every team in that division finished .500, except for the Chiefs (7-9), this is somewhat redundant, but again, there are no terrible teams to lower the winning percentage of opponents.

No matter what the statistics say, any success the Cleveland Browns will have depends on their play within the division. Last year, they went 0-6. If they can manage to win two games in 2012, they will have a better season mark. Until, Shurmur’s team can compete against the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals, and win, their record will not be good.

No matter who else is on the schedule.

Can Tribe Count on Ubaldo?

Going into the 2012 season, most experts agreed that the Cleveland Indians best chance to contend for the post-season was for Ubaldo Jimenez to have a big season.

The big right-hander, acquired from Colorado at the trade deadline last season, could form a formidable one-two punch with Justin Masterson, giving the Tribe two solid starting pitchers.

Right now, having Jimenez put together two consecutive quality starts would be a victory.

Hopefully, the mechanical adjustment discussed in today’s The Plain Dealer will fix the former Rockie. But if this doesn’t work, it is looking more and more like GM Chris Antonetti didn’t get the ace he thought he was getting.

There is no question Jimenez’ velocity has dipped in recent years. That could be a mechanical issue, an injury to his shoulder, or just age.

According to Baseball Prospectus.com, Jimenez’ average fastball was close to 98 MPH in 2007, his rookie year. It has steadily dropped to 96 MPH in 2010, to 94 MPH in ’11, to 93 MPH this season.

Still, there are plenty of pitchers who don’t throw 95 MPH that win consistently in the big leagues.

The bigger problem is throwing strikes with regularity.

Ubaldo has never had pinpoint control. In recent years, he’s walked 3.7 batters per nine innings. Not exactly a Greg Maddux like figure.

However, it’s not really a problem because he’s averaged around 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings. And if you can strikeout twice as many as you walk, it’s one of the signs you are a good pitcher.

He also has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched, another sign of being effective on the mound.

Even last year, in his 11 starts with the Indians, which no one is labeling as a success, Jimenez allowed 68 hits in 65-1/3 innings, and struck out 62 while walking only 27 hitters.

So far, this year he has not put up those kinds of numbers.

The hits per innings pitched isn’t too bad, he’s allowed 30 hits in 28-2/3 innings, although that figure is helped by throwing seven, one hit frames in his first start.

The biggest negative factor is the walks. He’s allowed 20 bases on balls against just 14 strikeouts. It was pointed out that it took him 92 pitches on Tuesday before a Chicago hitter swung and missed. That’s disturbing.

If you walk hitters without the ability to strike anybody out, you have big troubles ahead. That’s where Jimenez is.

The inability to find the strike zone also means the righty can’t get deep into games.

This year, he hasn’t been able to get through six innings in a start since his first start in the second game of the season. Josh Tomlin is a guy who pretty much is a six inning pitcher.

There’s nothing wrong with Tomlin, he’s a good solid starter. But to be sure, the Tribe front office certainly expected more when they traded for Jimenez last July.

So far, he hasn’t delivered it. He’s more of a back of the rotation starter, right now he’s kind of a Roberto Hernandez (Fausto Carmona) clone. Manny Acta can’t be sure what kind of outing he’s going to get when Jimenez toes the rubber.

It’s tough to win and count on a player when his level of performance goes up and down.

It’s still early and there is plenty of time for Jimenez to get straightened out and have a solid season for the Indians. His next start will be Sunday and here’s hoping the adjustment works out.

Because he’s facing one of the AL’s best hitting teams in the Texas Rangers. A tough test for a pitchers who is trying to get himself on the right track.