Tribe Needs Five Players to Come Through in 2014

The Cleveland Indians will open their season less than a week from today and they are pretty much the same team that lost the wild card game against Tampa, 4-0.

The question is will that be enough again this season?

A lot probably depends on the other teams in the Central Division.

The Tigers seems to not be as strong as they were last season, losing Prince Fielder, Jhonny Peralta, and Doug Fister, plus they have suffered a rash of injuries in spring training.

However, they still have Justin Verlander, Max Sherzer, and Anibal Sanchez at the top of their rotation, perhaps the best 1-2-3 combination in the major leagues.

The Royals stayed in the race until the middle of September and their young core of talent is starting to mature. They’ve also added 2B Omar Infante, leadoff hitter Nori Aoki from Milwaukee, and starting pitcher Jason Vargas.

If ever Kansas City is going to make the leap into the playoffs, this looks to be the season.

While the Royals were adding to the roster, the Indians lost two starting pitchers from last year’s squad, Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir, who the Tribe is trying to replace from within.

We don’t think the Indians will win 92 games again this season, but we also see them in contention because we don’t believe any team in the Central will win more than 90 games.

It will be a three team race with the White Sox hanging around the fringe, with the Tigers, Indians, and Royals all winning between 84 and 88 games.

For the Tribe, their success depends on better seasons from their two big free agent signings a year ago, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, and a free agent to be at the end of this season in Asdrubal Cabrera.

All three had down years in ’13, and an adjustment to their career averages would certainly help the offense that finished 4th in the league in runs scored. They will need the extra production because it is doubtful that Ryan Raburn will duplicate what he did last year.

Last year, the Indians jumped into contention because of their pitching which finished the year 7th in team ERA as new pitching coach Mickey Calloway performed magic with his young starters and also salvaged Jimenez’ career.

The front office is asking Calloway to do it again, putting more pressure on him to duplicate the success Corey Kluber had last season, and to bring along fireballing phenom Danny Salazar, and making him a successful starter for an entire season.

Because if the Tribe wants to get back to the post-season this fall, the starting pitching needs to be better than it was last summer. And that means Kluber and Salazar have to perform at a high level.

Justin Masterson will give Terry Francona 200 innings as usual. Carlos Carrasco, if he indeed starts the year in the rotation, is the wild card, capable of winning 10 or more games, but he could also be in the bullpen by May.

The Indians need Kluber and Salazar to be consistent; giving the ballclub quality starts throughout the season. If they can, Cleveland will contend.

If they can’t the organization will be scrambling for replacements. Josh Tomlin looks like the 2011 version of himself, but is Trevor Bauer ready to take a regular turn in the rotation?

They would be the next pitchers up.

The key to whether or not this will be a fun summer at Progressive Field depends the how the Tribe’s young starters will perform. In what should be a competitive division, that could make all the difference.

Tribe Starting Pitching Still a Bit Scary

Indians’ GM Chris Antonetti did a major rehaul over the off-season to his baseball team, mostly concentrating on the offense, adding Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and Mark Reynolds to what was a moribund attack in 2012.

As for the starting pitching, not so much. He did sign veteran free agent Brett Myers to provide innings, and he traded for highly regarded Trevor Bauer to give help down the road, but overall he was hoping for bounce back seasons from Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez.

Now we understand this is spring training, and things may be totally different down the road, but so far we haven’t seen anything that makes us any more confident about the starting rotation when the season begins a week from Tuesday in Toronto.

Both pitchers have done okay, but they don’t look like the top of the rotation guys that Detroit (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer), Chicago (Chris Sale, Jake Peavy), and even Kansas City (James Shields) have.

Masterson doesn’t have bad numbers in camp, allowing the same number of hits as innings pitched and striking out 19 in 17-2/3 innings. But in the Tribe’s first televised game last Sunday, he gave up two home runs in a five run first.

That didn’t exactly inspire confidence that much has changed from 2012.

Jimenez is serving up batting practice in Goodyear, but he’s not exactly dominating either. While his walks are down and he’s throwing strikes (just three walks in 18 innings), he’s allowing hits by the boatload, giving up 26 thus far this spring.

Neither pitcher has shown an ability to limit damage either after starting an inning poorly. That may be due to not having stamina as of yet, but it is concerning because it was a problem for both last season.

Right now, it appears that Cleveland has a bunch of #3 and #4 starters, but no clear-cut ace at this point.

They do have more depth than at this time last season, with Zack McAllister showing signs he may be a solid major league starters, and it is likely that both Carlos Carrasco and Bauer will start the season in Columbus.

Myers has a long history of being a solid starter, but he’s an innings eater type, not a top of the rotation guy. That’s not to say those guys aren’t important. If Myers can go out there every fifth day and provide six or seven solid frames, that’s invaluable to a pitching staff.

McAllister had solid numbers in ’12, his first extended look at big league hitters. He has the potential to move up in the pecking order this season, but still has to develop consistency on an outing to outing basis.

The Tribe’s fifth starter will likely be Scott Kazmir, who is intriguing because he is coming off a year where he pitched in an independent league. Kazmir is a former big league all-star, and has regained the velocity he once had. Still, it’s hard to see him as the ace of the staff this season.

There is no question the Indians will score more runs than 2012, they have replaced many of the holes their lineup had with established major league hitters.

However, whatever success the Tribe has in 2013 will depend on the success of the starting pitching. Terry Francona needs someone to step up and be a guy the team feels can win every time they take the mound.

Right now, it doesn’t look like that guy will be on the team when Opening Day hits. The biggest hopes may be Carrasco and Bauer, both of whom have ace “stuff”.

A Few Suggestions for the Tribe.

It appears the last gasp of the 2012 baseball season for the Cleveland Indians was the four runs outburst in the seventh inning to beat Justin Verlander last Thursday night at Progressive Field.

It’s been downhill ever since both on the field and in the front office.

Fans of the Tribe are understandably both frustrated and infuriated as the organization sits back and does nothing while there are still a chance to compete for the division title.

Now, it appears very likely that the franchise will endure another season below the .500 mark, the ninth in the last 11 years under the Dolan/Shapiro/Antonetti stewardship.

The baseball season is over for the most part, and we can thank the inactivity of the front office, both in the off-season and during this season for that.

The funniest comment made yesterday by GM Chris Antonetti was that the organization learned in discussing trades was how other teams judged the Indians’ players.

The hidden message was opponents don’t think much of what the Tribe has on the big league roster and the upper levels of the minors.

So, what can the Indians do going forward to help repair their relationship going forward? Here are a few suggestions…

First, end the “what if” advertising campaign. With the lack of moves and winning, the commercials have become a source of ridicule for the organization.

Yes, the period from 1994-2001 may have been the best span in club history. It’s over! Showing us clips of Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, and Sandy Alomar Jr. just makes fans angry that the Indians refuse to compete now.

Focus on the present. Tell fans why they should come to Progressive Field now. And if you can’t come up with a good reason, that’s another problem altogether. Get better as an organization.

Second, it’s time to get better at player development. When support is written or said for the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, the main argument is that Drew Pomerantz and Alex White aren’t doing anything with the Rockies.

That’s an indictment of the scouting system since they were both first round draft picks.

This organization has just one drafted player (Jason Kipnis) among its starters, and another Lonnie Chisenhall, who would start if he wasn’t injured and the manager didn’t have a man crush on Jack Hannahan.

For a small to mid market team, that’s a recipe for disaster. And that’s why the Indians is consistently under .500.

If you look at the best prospects in the game, only one player from the Cleveland organization is on the list, 2011 first round pick SS Francisco Lindor.

The talent in the organization has to be improved, or the failure rate is going to continue.

The last thing Antonetti should do is start building for 2013 right now. We are echoing what several people have said already.

It is time for departure to players who aren’t going to be part of group that meets in Goodyear, AZ next spring.

That means good-bye to Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman, Shelley Duncan, Derek Lowe, and Jack Hannahan.

Let’s take a look at some of the players from Columbus, who by the way leads the International League in batting average and runs scored.

We have said this many, many times. Russ Canzler, Matt LaPorta, Ezequiel Carrera, Tim Fedroff, Corey Kluber, and Chris Seddon can’t be any worse than the players whose place they would be taking.

They should be called to the big leagues immediately.

It would also allow for some players from Akron to be moved up. The Aeros have a lot of players repeating the AA level for the second time, and it’s time to see if those guys are prospects or not.

At least it would make the games somewhat worth watching for hardcore fans.

The Dolan family, Shapiro, and Antonetti have some fence mending to do. It may already be too late.

Don’t Worry About Chicago Series, Worry About This…

Before the baseball season started, we felt the Cleveland Indians were a fourth place team. This was based on the feeling that the offense hasn’t really improved from last season, and the starting pitching was not up to par.

So, our expectations for this season were not really high. As life long Indians fans, we hope to be wrong. We watch every game with the anticipation of a Tribe win, and no one hopes our prediction is wrong more than us.

It would be the ultimate thrill for the Indians to win the AL Central Division and bring home the first World Series title for this city since 1948.

That’s why it’s funny to read the reaction of some fans after this past weekend’s disaster in Chicago.

Thursday evening, Tribe fans were fired up after a three game sweep against the Tigers that gave Cleveland a 3-1/2 game lead over the White Sox and six games over Detroit. Heck, the Wahoos even beat defending Cy Young Award winner and league MVP Justin Verlander in the series finale.

Today, many of these same fans are wondering if the Indians will ever win another game.

Right now, the Indians rank 8th in the American League in runs scored, and 12th in team ERA. Not exactly the right combination for a team that wants to contend for a division title.

But that’s the beauty of baseball.

The 1987 Minnesota Twins were outscored on the season by their opponents, and arguably are the worst team to ever win the World Series. However, they still have the trophy, and Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, and Bert Blyleven all wear their championship rings proudly.

As for this weekend, it reminded us of a series in 1991 involving the Tribe and the Oakland A’s, then the defending AL champs. The Tribe scored 35 runs against them in consecutive games, with Chris James knocking in nine in one contest.

The Tribe finished that season 57-105, the worst in franchise history. As for the A’s, they won the next two games against Baltimore, allowing just three runs in both contests.

Remember that in baseball, momentum is today’s starting pitcher. If Josh Tomlin gives Manny Acta six solid innings today against Kansas City, the memory of White Sox hitters crossing the plate with frequency will soon fade.

If you want to worry, be concerned about the performance of Ubaldo Jimenez, who leads the league in walks, and can’t get hitters out away from Progressive Field. Worry about how the Indians have the statistics of a team who should be 22-25, not 26-21, because they’ve allowed 18 more runs than they’ve scored.

Question how the team has only five solid hitters in their lineup, when good teams have seven. Worry about the health of DH Travis Hafner, one of those five, whose loss would be significant even if he hasn’t been productive this month.

The left field spot has turned into a “vortex of suck” with Johnny Damon hitting .158 and Shelley Duncan batting .200. And fans can be concerned about a bench that has everyone with a batting average under the “Mendoza line”, except for Jose Lopez.

Series like the one over the weekend against Chicago happen to most teams in a given year. If the Indians can have a good week at home against the Royals and Twins, a week from now, it will be mostly erased from memory.

The Tribe doesn’t play the White Sox again until late September. A whole bunch of players could be changed by that point in time.