Tribe Doesn’t Need Rebuild.

The 2012 baseball season ended just two weeks ago, and already the Cleveland Indians are worrying us in terms of next year’s season.

Why? Because there are many indications that GM Chris Antonetti is prepared to do another total rebuild. The Indians will point to the success the Oakland A’s had this year in using that tactic, but really, how often does dealing for a bunch of prospect have an impact the very next season?

If it happened all the time, then everyone would do it.

This thought comes from the rumors that the Tribe is taking offers on SS Asdrubal Cabrera, OF Shin-Soo Choo, SP Justin Masterson, and closer Chris Perez.

Sounds again like the front office is giving up on 2013, much the same as they gave up on the 2010 season when they dealt Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee at the trading deadline.

Enough is enough.

While certainly the Indians should look at dealing a couple of those guys, most notably Perez, to try to fill some holes, trading all of them makes long time fans think of the 1970’s and 1980’s when the Indians routinely traded their best players.

That list is as long as your arm.

If Antonetti is going to go down that path, he has to get major league ready players, not guys who won’t be contributors in Cleveland until 2014 or 2015.

Also, Oakland’s rebuild was helped significantly by going out and signing Cuban free agent Yoenis Cespedes to a big contract. In a normal year, by that meaning no Mike Trout, Cespedes would have been the AL Rookie of the Year.

How many people think the Dolans will make a big financial commitment to anyone?

So far this winter, the Indians had a chance to get either Ervin Santana or Dan Haren from the Angels for basically a one-year contract. It would have been a lot of cash, but for one year, why not?

At the end of the season, most people agreed that the Indians had some solid young players, like Cabrera, Michael Brantley, Carlos Santana, and Jason Kipnis. Why not add to those guys and try to win now?

The desire to trade Choo is understandable. He will probably be looking for a four or five-year deal, and since the outfielder is 30 years old, that might be pushing it. A three-year deal would work for the Indians, but his agent Scott Boras is sure to want more.

Masterson has shown to be no better than a #3 starter, too inconsistent to be a staff ace. If you can fill one of your holes at LF or 1B by dealing him, it may be worth it.

And we’ve discussed the organizational depth in the bullpen as a reason for dealing Perez.

But trading all of them and include Cabrera as well seems like a total rebuild.

The Indians would then need a first baseman, shortstop, left fielder, right fielder, designated hitter, and three starting pitchers.

Would you buy tickets to watch that?

Instead, why not get 1B/3B/DH Kevin Youkilis for a two-year deal, sign Joe Blanton as a starting pitcher, and trade one of four rumored to be dealt for more pitching and/or a LF?

That way, you have a chance to win next year without being on the hook for a bunch of crazy contracts.

It’s not as though the Cleveland Indians have a lot of age on the roster. So why not build on the talent already there.

Tribe Trade Is A Good First Step

The Cleveland Indians made their first move of the off-season on Saturday, dealing reliever Esmil Rogers to Toronto for infielder Mike Aviles and C/INF Yan Gomes.

Although Rogers was pretty effective for the Tribe since coming over from Colorado on waivers during the season, and may have been a closer option should the team trade Chris Perez in the off-season, it was a good move for GM Chris Antonetti, and an aggressive move at that.

If the Indians have any depth in their organization it is in the bullpen where they have several young arms ready to move up to the major leagues.

We have said the Tribe needs to get better with every move they make this off-season, and they did so with this move.

The 2012 edition of the Indians did not have a legitimate utility infielder to give SS Asdrubal Cabrera or 2B Jason Kipnis a day off. This took its toll after the all-star break when both were running on fumes and were producing.

Aviles, who will be 32 at the beginning of next season, is a legitimate major leaguer with a .277 lifetime batting average. However, last year was his first year with over 500 at bats and his hitting suffered, with his average dipping to .250.

So it appears he would be solid in a reverse role. He can hit lefties, with a lifetime .295 batting average and 797 OPS.

If the plan is to trade Cabrera and use Aviles everyday at short as a stop-gap until Francisco Lindor is ready, then it is not a good plan.

Aviles is not regarding as a good defensive shortstop and has a lower range factor than Cabrera did in 2012.

Still, the veteran is a better stick than Jack Hannahan and Brent Lillibridge, so the Indians are better after the deal than they were before, and that’s exactly what the front office needs to do.

Gomes is another right-handed hitter, which means perhaps the organization has come off the all left-handed hitter theory they embraced last season. He’s a corner infield guy who can also catch, meaning he’s a good bench player. And he has some pop in his bat, hitting four home runs in 111 big league at bats.

He hit .328 at Las Vegas last season, but the Pacific Coast League is a notorious hitters circuit and Vegas is one of the chief reasons for that reputation. From his minor league numbers, he looks like a free swinger. So he will likely open the season at Columbus and provide organizational depth.

After a slow hot stove season last winter, the Indians took a step toward addressing one of their weaknesses very quickly after the 2012 season ended. They should get kudos for doing that and for the move they made here.

Hopefully, this is the first move in a busy winter for Antonetti. And we also hope he is working very closely with Terry Francona to assemble a roster that the manager wants.

It feels like in recent years that the manager and front office weren’t on the same page when it came to who should be on the roster and get playing time.

Building some roster depth was needed, but the Tribe still needs a 1B, LF, and a DH or a catcher if Carlos Santana is moved to fill one of those other needs, as well as a couple of starting pitchers.

It may be that Francona has brought the sense of urgency that has been lacking since the Ubaldo Jimenez trade in July 2011.

That might be the new skipper’s biggest impact of all.

Time to Evaluate the Tribe (Part 1)

The Indians are spending the month of September playing the role of spoiler and evaluating some of the players they have added to the roster for the last month of the season.

However, everyone has seen enough of the players who have been here for a while, so we can start rating those players right now.

First, the infielders…

People who read this blog on a regular basis know we felt the signing of Casey Kotchman was a bad idea. Yes, he’s a great glove man at first base, but he’s not a good hitter. Last year’s .300 batting average with Tampa was an aberration.

Kotchman will not be back next season.

2B Jason Kipnis is a keeper, but he’s not having as good of a season as people may think.

The average OPS in the American League is 732, and four Indians with over 300 at bats have figures higher than average. Kipnis isn’t one of them.

As the season went on, Kipnis stopped driving the baseball, so he’s become a singles hitter. That’s fine, but he should be doing better than that. Since this is his first full season in the big leagues, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but he needs to improve in 2013.

At shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera made the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. However, he’s faded in each of the last two seasons, and apparently needs to stay in better shape. His defense has slipped as well.

Several people have talked about dealing Cabrera, but the Tribe has no one in the wings to replace him. Cabrera would seem to benefit from a manager who is more demanding of him. He should be at short on Opening Day 2013.

As for Jack Hannahan, apparently the Indians front office thought his career year in 2011 would be the norm going forward, which was not the case.

This is another spot where the Tribe needs an upgrade, and Lonnie Chisenhall should be the ’13 Cleveland starting 3B barring a spring training in which he hits .050 or he gets hurt.

As for the reserves, the season began with Jason Donald being the utility infielder. It is hard to judge him offensively because of inconsistent at bats, which comes with the job. He seems to hit left-handers, but looks to have a big swing.

Defensively, he’s not the answer. He has developed the “yips” with his throwing and the front office started looking at him as a super sub, being able to play both infield and outfield.

His best position looks like 2B, a problem because of Kipnis at the big league level and Cord Phelps at AAA.

Brent Lillibridge has done okay since coming over from Boston, and his ability to play all four infield spots could give him the job going into next season.

As for Phelps, he should get a good look in September to determine if he can play everyday somewhere on the field or be used as trade bait over the off-season.

Phelps had his second straight OPS over 800 at Columbus, so he can hit, and he’s only had 80 big league at bats.

At first base, it would have been nice to see Russ Canzler and/or Matt LaPorta get regular at bats throughout August and September to see if they can be part of the solution at first base.

We will look at the outfield and catching spots as well as the pitching staff later this month.

As for the infield, trying to replace half of your starters is never a good thing. However, the front office didn’t realize the options put in place weren’t going to work going into 2012.

Tribe Missed An Opportunity

One of the best things one can say about the Mark Shapiro led Cleveland Indians is they didn’t waste downtime.

When the Tribe fell out of contention in a given season, Shapiro didn’t hold on to players who weren’t part of the future in Cleveland, mostly players who were not coming back the following season.

If the player’s contract expired at the end of the season, the then-GM made a move to try to get something for that player.

That’s how the Indians acquired several key players: SS Asdrubal Cabrera came in exchange for Eduardo Perez. Ben Broussard was traded for Shin-Soo Choo, and Mark De Rosa was sent away to get Chris Perez. Carlos Santana was picked up for Casey Blake.

Unfortunately, the current GM, Chris Antonetti forgot the organizational roots.

After an 11 games losing streak and relative inactivity at the trading deadline (getting Brent Lillibridge doesn’t count as doing something), the time to start looking toward 2013 would have been August 1st.

For some reason, the Tribe front office still isn’t looking forward, and that is mind-boggling.

It is apparent that the players currently on the roster who will be free agents don’t have any value to other teams, and certainly aren’t going to bring back another team’s good to very good prospect, like a Choo or Cabrera.

Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t moves that can be made.

People can pretty much be sure that players like Casey Kotchman, Jack Hannahan, and Shelley Duncan will not be wearing a Cleveland uniform when spring training starts next February.

Yet, they are still on the major league roster, and manager Manny Acta continues to give them at bats.

That’s crazy!

The organization will tell you there aren’t any prospects in Columbus, no one that can help the big league club.

The response to that is how can they be sure? They are the same people who think the three players listed above could be contributors on this season’s team.

Matt LaPorta was just added to the roster last Friday, and right now he needs to play every day, not just against left-handers. A decision must be made on him, and the only way it can be decided he’s not part of the future is by giving him regular and consistent playing time.

He’s probably not the answer, but why not find out for sure?

The same with Russ Canzler. Obviously, Antonetti saw something in him last winter when he claimed the right-handed hitter off waivers from Tampa Bay.

He ranks in the top ten in most slugging categories in the International League, so why isn’t he getting some at bats in the majors to see if those numbers can translate?

We’ve said this before about Canzler…you cannot classify him as a AAAA hitter because he’s had a grand total of three at bats in the big leagues.

You can make the same argument about looking at Jared Goedart and Tim Fedroff.

The Indians had a tremendous opportunity to get at least a few of these players perhaps as many as 200 at bats to find out if any of these guys could help the ’13 version of the Tribe.

Why it hasn’t been done is just one more mystery for the Shapiro/Antonetti leadership, adding to several others that have caused fans to roll their collective eyes this season.

Although all of those guys could get a September look, baseball people understand that you have to look at stats compiled in this month with a jaundiced eye.

This is another reason to be critical of the current administration. Another “could have” moment.

Tribe Has Much to Do Before ’13

A few weeks ago, we advocated that the Cleveland Indians be buyers to try to stay in the race for the AL Central Division title.

They were around 3 games out at that point.

We aren’t backing off that statement because if you are that close, you owe it to your ballclub and your fans to try to win and get into the playoffs.

That seems kind of ridiculous considering what has happened since the All Star break.

The purge has started with veterans Derek Lowe, Johnny Damon, Jeremy Accardo, and Jose Lopez all being jettisoned recently, and more moves are likely to follow.

So, if the front office is looking ahead, then we need to as well. And the future is very pretty, at least for 2013.

The lineup has just six players who figure to be in the Opening Day line up for certain: CF Michael Brantley, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis, RF Shin-Soo Choo, C Carlos Santana, and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall.

That leaves gaping holes at 1B, LF, and DH. Oh, and also, the Indians need a quality right-handed hitter to fill in at least one of those spots.

The starting rotation is a mess right now. Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez are the only for sures that have any kind of track record, and both are those hurlers have been inconsistent to say the least.

Josh Tomlin? He has marginal stuff and needs pinpoint control to win. He can’t be counted on.

Zack McAllister? No track record. He’s made less than 20 major league starts.

Roberto Hernandez? Another up and down pitcher, and he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues this year.

That’s not to mention other guys who haven’t proven anything in the majors like Jeanmar Gomez, Corey Kluber, and dare we say, David Huff.

That’s no way to go into next season expecting to win, having a starting rotation full of question marks.

So, from this view, the 2013 Cleveland Indians need at least one solid bat (same as last year), two other regular players, and two solid starting pitchers.

With a farm system without a lot of talent in the upper levels, how does the organization accomplish this?

Well, one way would be to fill a hole by signing a free agent. The Indians have a lot of money coming off the books this fall (Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore’s deals expire, among others), so there may be room to sign one. A reliable starter would be a good choice.

Another avenue to explore is to deal from strength, and the Indians have a pretty good bullpen. Perhaps dealing Chris Perez, who despite recent struggles has proven to be an elite closer, to fill some holes is a move that needs to be made.

Keep in mind what former Indians’ GM John Hart used to say, “closers grow on trees”, meaning they come in all different forms.

Vinnie Pestano is perhaps the game’s premier set up man. Can he close? No one knows for sure, but he is used to pitching in pressure situations.

Heck, for all anyone knows, Esmil Rogers might turn out to be the closer. Did anyone think Jose Mesa would be a good closer when he was a back of the rotation starter for the Indians in the early 90’s?

No matter how they do it, it isn’t just a piece or two that the Tribe needs to address for next season. It’s four or five pieces.

So, Chris Antonetti or someone else has a tall task.

If the Indians want to compete with the White Sox and Tigers next season, they have to do a lot more than they did last off-season.

Who Is Tribe Management Talking About?

As the Cleveland Indians’ season continues to fall into oblivion, one of the mantras GM Chris Antonetti chants consistently is the players currently on the roster have to do better.

That’s easier said than done.

However, who is Antonetti talking about? How many players on the current roster are underachieving?

Certainly, the starting pitchers have not done as well as the organization thought going into the season. Justin Masterson, in particular, looked like a guy who turned the corner in 2011, and has been terribly inconsistent this season.

Ubaldo Jimenez? He’s been up and down since coming over from Colorado last July. Has he under performed? If you compare him to his excellent 2010 season, yes.

But if the front office expected great things based on what we did last year, then they are crazy.

Josh Tomlin had a solid year in ’11, but he’s a control guy with marginal stuff, and struggled in the second half of last season. It can’t be a total surprise that he hasn’t been good this year.

On the offensive side, no one can complain about the job being done by SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis (although he’s slumped lately), CF Michael Brantley (a breakout player this year), and RF Shin-Soo Choo.

You can’t expect more out of those four players.

Carlos Santana has been a disappointment after last season. His minor league numbers show he’s too good of a hitter to be consistently around .240. He does walk a ton, and lately has started to be productive.

Even in a disappointing season, he still ranks third on the team in RBIs, behind Kipnis and Brantley.

So, what players are failing?

Travis Hafner is having a disappointing season, particularly with his batting average, but the truth is, he hasn’t been really productive since 2007. Why would the front office expect more?

Casey Kotchman is a journeyman 1B, who had a good season in ’11 with Tampa, hitting .306. However, he has a lifetime .263 batting average. It doesn’t take a great deal of vision to see he probably wasn’t going to hit that well this season.

What are the front office’s expectations for Kotchman? It seems they may be looking for too much.

Jack Hannahan? He’s a journeyman as well. He’s 32 years old and has had over 400 at bats in a season just once. Why? Because he’s not a good hitter.

Was the front office fooled into thinking he woke up one morning and became Mike Schmidt?

The management completely ignored the LF issue, unless you consider signing the oft-injured Grady Sizemore as a remedy. Most people, including the fans and media, thought that was a bad idea.

So, again we ask, who exactly has underachieved?

It appears it is the front office because they deluded themselves into thinking that players who haven’t been productive for several years, or who have no real track record for hitting were going to start hammering the baseball.

That’s foolish, and it’s one more reason changes need to be made on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

There aren’t many players on the Cleveland Indians who aren’t doing what was expected. The disappointment comes from a management team who was expecting the impossible from certain players, who weren’t capable of performing.

Perhaps Antonetti is deflecting attention from the inactivity that has plagued this organization over the past 12 months.

The only people who need to perform better are in offices at Progressive Field. For the most part, the players are doing exactly what should be expected.

Tribe Front Office Needs to Look in Mirror

The news broke yesterday that the local television ratings for the Cleveland Indians are down significantly from last year. This shows the interest in the team is definitely waning, and they are starting to lose even the hard-core fans.

This can’t be good news on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie.

The powers to be in the front office will probably issue the usual spin they put on things, and try to bamboozle the fan base with corporate babble and say the numbers are incorrect based on their research.

Much like they did when Forbes Magazine said they made a tremendous profit last season.

What Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti, and the Dolan family aren’t hearing is their fans are fed up with the way things are with this franchise.

It’s time they looked in the mirror and realized their “process” isn’t getting it done.

First, if the Indians finish under .500 in 2012, that will be 9 out of the last 11 seasons that has been the case. Sounds a lot like the 1960’s and 70’s, doesn’t it?

The front office will freely admit they have drafted poorly over these years, with just one first round draft pick, Lonnie Chisenhall, that was drafted prior to 2011 still being in the organization.

Moreso, only one home-grown player, Jason Kipnis, can be considered a regular right now, and Josh Tomlin is the only starting pitcher originally drafted by Cleveland.

For a small market team that doesn’t attract free agents, that’s completely unacceptable.

The people who pay tickets realize it’s just a matter of time before Shin-Soo Choo will be dealt away or leave as a free agent, and the same is true for Asdrubal Cabrera.

That’s based on history.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds, at least a similar size market (most likely smaller) decided to pay their best player, Joey Votto, so he will spend the majority of his career with the team.

How can they do it?

That’s the question Tribe fans keeping asking and they are dissatisfied with the answers they are getting. They feel betrayed by an ownership and front office that does nothing more than offer excuses and reminds everyone that they are losing money at very opportunity.

At some point, doesn’t someone stand up at a staff meeting and say this isn’t working? Right now, that won’t happen because the organization is loath to hire someone from another team.

Yes, the organization has made some good moves, but name one from recent vintage? Is signing Jose Lopez, a limited bench player really a success?

The front office blew it in the off-season by not getting the right-handed bat it sorely needed, and they made a huge mistake in handing $5 million to the oft-injured Grady Sizemore.

They complain about attendance, but tickets are sold in the off-season, and the team did NOTHING in the winter to spur interest in the team. That’s not something that can be blamed on the fans, that’s on the guys who run the Indians.

They need to do something that excites the fans. If that takes spending money, then so be it.

Fans are tired on the same old, same old.

After last year’s great start, a season in which the team was in contention for most of the year, they didn’t capitalize, and the people buying tickets found something else to spend money on.

Perception is reality, and the reality is the fans don’t trust the Dolans, Shapiro, or Antonetti. That’s why fans seem to cater to the Cavaliers, they trust Dan Gilbert.

They believe he wants to win. They don’t have that same feeling about the Indians.

Change for change sake usually isn’t a good idea. After 11 years of mostly mediocre baseball, it’s time for an internal audit.

That last comment is something the corporate front office of the Indians might understand.

Below the Radar Needs for Tribe

Our nation’s birthday arrived on the same date as the halfway point of the baseball season for the Cleveland Indians and the Tribe finished up the first half at 42-39, putting them on pace to win 84 games this season.

Based on the relative strength of the American League Central Division, finishing with that record could put them in the race all the way to the end of the season, because it’s doubtful the winner will be able to garner 90 wins for the campaign.

The main weaknesses of the Indians are pretty well-known, and we have touched on them several times in the past month. They need a right-handed hitter and another starting pitcher.

Fans know it, the front office knows it.

However, there are some other subtle moves the front office needs to make for the Indians to stay in contention.

The first is to have a legitimate utility infielder on the roster, meaning a guy who can play shortstop reasonably well.

Whether that means Jason Donald stays, who knows, but Manny Acta can’t continue to go through the rest of the season using Jack Hannahan, who has appeared in three major league games at the position (one this year), as his reserve for Asdrubal Cabrera.

And he needs a better defensive option at second base too. Jose Lopez made an all-star team at 2B in Seattle, but at the point in his career, he’s more suited to be a corner infielder.

The reason for a legitimate middle infield reserve is to give some rest to Cabrera and Jason Kipnis during the dog days after the all-star break, so they can be productive for a possible stretch run.

It is understandable that Acta doesn’t want to take either out of the lineup, but they can be used at the DH spot so they can hit and not be out on the field.

Keeping two of the most productive bats fresh is a must do for the skipper, and he can’t do it without having someone who can play solid defense at 2B and SS. On that basis, Donald needs to stay on the roster.

The other need is to strengthen the bullpen so that Acta doesn’t have to use the trio of Joe Smith, Vinnie Pestano, and Chris Perez in every game the Tribe has a chance to win.

These three are a major key to the Indians’ success, and keeping them fresh into September and perhaps October is very important.

Perhaps one piece is already in place in Esmil Rogers. Rogers arrived in Cleveland after compiling a 8.06 ERA in Colorado, but in nine games with the Tribe, he’s allowed just two earned runs in 11-1/3 innings, striking out 15 hitters and walking just one.

More help could come from veteran left-hander Rafael Perez, assuming he can return from the disabled list. Perez could give Acta someone he is comfortable with against the tough left-handed batters which populate the American League.

Right now with Tony Sipp and Nick Hagadone struggling, the manager would rather use one of his righties in that role, and sometimes that’s not fair to those pitchers.

These smaller scale moves are just as important as getting the right-handed stick and starting pitchers because it keeps the players who constitute the strengths of this team fresh, and at top performance.

They may not be the flashy, high impact moves, but taking care of these problems definitely help the ballclub.

Here’s What Tribe Won’t Do.

There is plenty of speculation on whether the Cleveland Indians will be buyers or sellers when the major league trading deadline comes around at the end of July.

Most likely, because of the division they are in, they will look to add to their current roster to stay in the AL Central Division race. It looks very much like around 85-88 wins will get you a division title and a trip to the playoffs. That means if they hang around the .500 mark for another month, which isn’t that absurd, they will definitely be in the thick of it.

It is funny to hear talk show hosts speculate on who the Indians would deal in order to improve the team. Here is a partial list of players who aren’t going anywhere.

Chris Perez
In the off-season, this was a possibility and one that was suggested here and by others. Now, it would be idiotic to deal a guy who is having a very good season, probably getting another All-Star berth.

Perez and Vinnie Pestano, another player it would be silly to deal, represent the only reliable pitchers currently in Manny Acta’s bullpen. If it seems like the Indians can only win when the duo pitch, it should. Perez has saved 10 of the last 13 victories for Cleveland.

When the Indians have the lead after seven innings, it’s a solid bet that Pestano and Chris Perez will close it out for the Tribe.

Any of the Indians Solid Hitters.
It makes no sense for GM Chris Antonetti to deal one of the few players currently hitting on the ballclub. This would mean SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B Jason Kipnis, CF Michael Brantley, and RF Shin-Soo Choo. Especially because all of them will be back in Cleveland for the 2013 season.

Think about it, it really doesn’t help the team by trading a player who is productive to fill another hole. That is unless there is someone to take that player’s spot.

For example, if someone was interested in Jack Hannahan (probably there isn’t a big market for him, no offense to him), you might consider dealing him because you have Lonnie Chisenhall.

Let’s say Antonetti dealt Choo for a right-handed power hitter. Who plays rightfield?

The object of a deadline trade is to strengthen the team as a whole, not fill one spot by creating another.

Trade Francisco Lindor
Last year, Antonetti dealt two of his best pitching prospects to get Ubaldo Jimenez from Colorado. We can debate the merits of the deal for hours, but unlike the time the Indians traded back-to-back Cy Young Award winners, they will not trade their top prospect two consecutive years.

So-called experts who talk about trading the shortstop currently at Lake County, are showing they are idiots.

Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein saw Lindor in spring training and said in a few years, people will wonder why he wasn’t the first player taken in last year’s draft. He’s playing and succeeding (making the Midwest League all-star team) in a full season league, and he won’t turn 19 years old until November.

Besides, the player you likely will get in any deal this year will be an older player (early to mid 30’s) who can still contribute. You don’t trade a player with Lindor’s future to get a guy like that.

Antonetti is looking for a right-handed stick (a familiar need) and some help for his pitching staff. The Tribe have some useful players in the minor leagues to get some veteran help.

However, he is unlikely to disrupt his major league roster or trade a guy like Lindor to help get players of that ilk. It’s simply too high of a price.

Tribe Offense Looks for Balance

A look at the American League leaders in offensive statistics, at least the traditional one, doesn’t show a lot of players who toil for the Indians.

Yes, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner are in the top ten in walks received, and Asdrubal Cabrera is among the leaders in doubles and on base percentage, but by and large there aren’t many names among the lists.

For example, there are ten AL players who have driven in 30 runs this season. None wear a Cleveland uniform.

The Tribe ranks in the middle of the pack (8th) in the league in runs scored, so they can’t be considered to have a great offense or a poor one. The absence of a big bat probably is the reason for this ranking. Still, the Indians’ attack has gotten it done with balance.

With the season in between the quarter pole and the one-third mark, the Tribe has several players who are on pace to drive in between 80 and 90 runs this year. It’s that type of balanced attack that has kept the offense above water so far in 2012.

To date, Santana and Jason Kipnis have led the team in RBI’s with 24, with Hafner close behind at 23. Cabrera has driven home 20. All four players are on pace to collect more than 80 ribbies this season.

Jack Hannahan has knocked home 18 runners despite missing the last 10 games with a back problem. He likely would have more than 20 had he stayed healthy, although his career track would contradict maintaining this pace for an entire season.

The biggest problem for Manny Acta right now is that the guys in the middle of his lineup, Santana and Hafner, are not driving the ball. The three players leading the team in extra base hits are Cabrera with 19, followed by both Shin-Soo Choo and Michael Brantley with 16.

Santana and Hafner have just 12 each.

Doubles have been the hit of choice for the three leaders, with each of them ranking in the AL’s top ten in that category. If the middle of the order joined the extra base hit party, the Cleveland offense would be much improved.

One problem that has been quite evident of late is the lack of production from anyone off the bench, save for Jose Lopez.

While Lopez has been a huge bonus since returning from Columbus, going 12 for 39 (.308) with a home run (a game tying blast vs. Seattle) and seven runs batted in, the rest of the bench bunch has been impotent at the plate.

Backup catcher Lou Marson has been completely out of sync, with just three hits in 30 at bats (.100). Marson looks to be guiding his bat through the strike zone rather than swinging at the ball. Shelley Duncan has returned to being, well, Shelley Duncan, hitting just .200 in 95 at bats, striking out in one third of them.

Aaron Cunningham is the only back up CF, and that’s why he remains on the roster despite batting just .192 with a 519 OPS.

It’s a chicken or the egg thing. The bench probably needs more playing time to hit better and stay sharp, but it’s tough for Acta to take out one of his regulars for a player who can’t hit, especially when the number of good hitters in the lineup is short.

The bottom of the usual Tribe lineup has 1B Casey Kotchman (.216) and LF Johnny Damon (.162), two guys who a struggling. Why add a third or fourth poor hitter if you don’t have to?

It’s another thing that GM Chris Antonetti may have to address sooner than later. Until then, or until Santana and Hafner can turn singles into doubles and home runs, Acta will have to hope the balanced attack continues to provide enough runs to get a lead and turn games over to the bullpen.