Tribe Strengths, Weaknesses Show in First Week

Week one of the new baseball season has come and gone, and it is always funny to hear fans go crazy about one week of a 26 week season.

If the same results happened in late June, no one would think anything of it. This would apply to being shutout on back-to-back nights, which happened to the Cleveland Indians this week.

Because of the extremely small sample size, results in the first week are greatly magnified. No one really thinks (at least we hope not) that Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera will hit .100 for the season, yet there they are, struggling at the onset of the new campaign.

On the other hand, let us get supporters ready for the reality that Justin Masterson will not win every one of his starts in 2013.

Still, one thing that could be a trend for the Tribe is the streaky nature of their offense, mostly because of the contact issues of many of the hitters in their everyday lineup. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the hitting had a few instances where they have problems scoring, just like they did in the first two games of the Tampa Bay series.

And the reason for that is they have a lot of all or nothing hitters. The trade-off to this is they will have streaks where they probably bludgeon their opponents as well, just like they did on Sunday afternoon in a 13-0 win.

It’s still better than last year, when the Indians had one of the worst offenses in baseball and had several hitters in their lineup where the opposing pitcher could relax during a game.

The other weakness that raised its ugly head was the starting pitching, which provided three or four (depending on how you feel about Zack McAllister’s outing on Friday night) good starts and three bad ones, most notably Brett Myers start in game three and Ubaldo Jimenez’ start in yesterday’s home opener.

That the worrisome thing about this year’s Indians, can the starters give them a chance to win on a night in, night out basis. That didn’t happen in Myers start, and it didn’t happen against New York.

Many fans and media members are concerned about Myers, who didn’t have a good spring and then pitched home run derby, Canadian style. But Myers has been better than Jimenez in the time period that has occurred since the latter was traded here in 2011.

Jimenez looked very good in his first start, but that’s exactly the thing that ticks people off most. In his second start, he was back to the Ubaldo we saw last season: unable to throw strikes consistently, his velocity down, and a lack of concentration that resulted in a stolen base by Chris Stewart, the Yankee catcher who had such a big jump he went in standing.

McAllister gave manager Terry Francona a good start, but he again gave up runs after his defense let him down, allowing two insurance runs in what was a 2-0 game after an error by 3B Mike Aviles. Francona said the big right-hander tries too hard to pick up his defense when miscues happen and that could be the cause of his problems allowing unearned runs.

Trevor Bauer had trouble locating his fastball in his start, walking seven in five innings, but he showed his stuff was good, allowing just three runs. If he can throw strikes with the heater, he could help before the year is out.

No overreactions here, just observations. However, nothing that happened in the first week should change any preconceived notions about the Cleveland Indians.

OKC “Model” Won’t Work in Cleveland

Much of the news out of the Cavaliers camp lately has centered on the relationship between coach Byron Scott and his team, and whether or not he will remain the coach next season.

However, once the season ends, the focus will shift to GM Chris Grant, who will be involved in the deciding if the Cavs need a new coach and also be in charge of reconstructing the roster.

It has been three years since LeBron James left and the wine and gold aren’t close to becoming a competitive basketball team. And while many around town talk about the Oklahoma City “model”, the truth is right now Cleveland only has one all-star player out of the last three drafts, the oft-injured Kyrie Irving.

For that model to work, they need to add a lot of talent, and with patience starting to wane, they have to do it quickly. And quite frankly, it looking at the upcoming draft, they aren’t going to find another star piece using that process.

Dion Waiters’ knee injury was a tough blow for Grant and Scott because it ended the evaluation process, perhaps for the rest of the season.

The rookie from Syracuse was averaging 14.7 points a night and was showing better shot selection as he gained experience as a pro. However, it is still up in the air as to whether Waiters can be a starting #2 guard in the NBA or will be better suited in a sixth man role, being able to play both the point and off guard spots.

Tristan Thompson has shown he’s a legitimate starter in the Association, averaging 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. However, it is clear that he’s not as good of a player when on the court with Anderson Varejao, and he still needs to improve his offensive game. He needs to develop a reliable jump shot to go with the push shot he’s used inside.

The more you see Alonzo Gee, you realize that he’s a bench player. He’s a solid defender, but takes too many poor shots offensively, accounting for his 40.5% shooting percentage.

That means that Grant needs at least two starters, maybe three if Waiters is judged to be the sixth man. If Tyler Zeller can pound weights in the off-season and still retain the basketball skills he has, he could claim one spot. He’s getting 8.1 points and almost six boards a game, but is over matched in the strength department regularly.

We’ve talked about the draft a little in recent weeks, and will repeat once again that there doesn’t appear to be anyone there, even at the top of the draft, who will be able to step in right away and make an impact.

So, how does Grant put the Cavaliers in a position to make a big leap forward in 2013-14?

He has a boatload of draft picks that he may have to dip into to acquire a player who can help immediately. He also has Varejao, who if he can demonstrate he is healthy, should be able to be dealt for more young players.

Utah may be looking to move either Al Jefferson or Enes Kanter this summer, either would be a help in a Cleveland jersey.

Or could Grant take a shot at Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, a player of great ability but one with maturity issues?

Regardless of who it is, the Cavs’ fans and probably their owner will not be patient enough for another season where the win total doesn’t approach 30, let alone 40.

The Oklahoma City plan isn’t going to work here. The draft simply isn’t strong enough.

Nightly Blowouts Spell Trouble for Scott

Byron Scott is most definitely his own man. He said he learned very early in the coaching profession to do it his way, because that way you don’t have to second guess yourself if you lose your job.

If things don’t turn around soon for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he may once again experience what that feels like.

The wine and gold lost their 10th straight game last night to the Brooklyn Nets in an embarrassing effort at home, getting beat by 18 points. The game wasn’t really that close as the Cavs outscored the Nets by nine points in the fourth quarter.

It is true that Scott’s team has been affected by injuries, as Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters have missed most of the last ten contests, and others will remind you than Anderson Varejao has been out as well for most of the season.

Still, that doesn’t excuse the seeming boredom the team plays with, and it doesn’t excuse the pathetic defense the team has played the three years in which Scott has guided the team.

And regardless how many injuries the team has suffered, it doesn’t mean they can’t play hard and smart, especially on the defensive end. Most nights, the Cavs are horrible on that end of the floor.

That is not to say the coach doesn’t preach defense, and his past coaching gigs suggest he can teach NBA defense. However, for whatever reason, the message isn’t getting through to the players. The same mistakes are made night after night.

The coach says he is working on it, but the errors keep occurring. At some point, the coaching staff has to take the blame. There seems to be no repercussions for not playing hard and not correcting mistakes. Even though the wine and gold is lacking in talent, there has to be accountability when things aren’t done correctly.

A recent report from Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has surfaced indicates that there is dissension among the players, with guys complaining about tough practices. This certainly can be written off as losing games breeds unhappiness, particularly among the ones getting no minutes.

If the players don’t want to be worked hard, they should play better. It’s simply easier to blame the coach.

However, as the old saying goes, it’s easier to replace one coach than fifteen players.

Another thing in Scott’s minus column has been blown leads. They have wasted two leads of over 25 or more points this season, one early in the year against Phoenix and the other against Miami. Add in a recent collapse against Boston at home, and you can see why people are unhappy.

No one is saying the Cavaliers should be a playoff team, they certainly don’t have that kind of talent. But they did go 10-9 in a recent stretch, and played very competitively in January and February. Now they are getting blown out against teams like New Orleans and a Philadelphia team that is struggling mightily. The latter loss was at home.

The 10 straight losses have been by an average of 13.5 points.

The Cavs have eight games remaining in the season. Although some fans are happy with the losses, because it means a better position in the draft lottery, the reality is this draft isn’t that good.

These final games have even more meaning. Byron Scott is likely coaching for his continued employment in Cleveland.

QB Switch Makes Sense for Browns

Within the last week, the Cleveland Browns have changed the dynamic at the quarterback position.

First, they signed free agent passer Jason Campbell, late of the Bears, but before that a starter in Washington and Oakland to a two-year deal, and then yesterday, they traded Colt McCoy to San Francisco with a sixth round pick for a fifth rounder and a seventh rounder.

Campbell, as former coach Pat Shurmur famously called him, is a “big, pretty thrower”. At 6’5″ and 223 pounds and blessed with a big arm, he is very similar in size and style to Brandon Weeden. This means no matter who is the Browns’ starter this season, the offense that Norv Turner advocates, one that stresses downfield throws and a strong running game, can remain the same.

Besides the similarity in style, the switch also gives Rob Chudzinski and Turner a more experienced quarterback than the one that departed. Campbell has made 71 starts, with a career 31-40 record.

On the other side, McCoy has made 21 starts with a 6-15 record.

Campbell has a lifetime touchdown to interception ratio of 76 to 52. McCoy’s is 21 to 20.

The newest Brown’s career completion percentage is 60.9% and his average yards per attempt is 6.7, roughly the same numbers McCoy had during his rookie season, a year that had many feeling McCoy could be the Cleveland quarterback of the future.

That means that Campbell over his seven years in the league on average is as good as McCoy’s best. Of course, we all know that for whatever reason, Colt McCoy never played as well as he did his first year in the league again.

Since leaving Washington, Campbell has been better than he was with the Redskins, with an 11-8 record as a starter, firing 21 touchdowns while throwing 14 picks.

In 2010, a year the Raiders finished 8-8, they may have made the playoffs had Campbell not missed three games with injuries. Oakland lost all three contests and lost the division to Kansas City by two games. The following year, Oakland was off to a 4-2 start before the Browns, ironically ended Campbell’s season with a broken collarbone.

The Raiders acquired Carson Palmer in a horrible deal to try to make the playoffs that season, and the former Auburn Tiger never got his job back. He was a backup for the Bears last season.

There is no question he will provide real competition for Weeden for the starting job.

As for McCoy, for whatever reason, his career was never the same after the Jets game his rookie year, when he led a drive to tie the game and send it into overtime, and had a game winning drive snuffed out when WR Chansi Stuckey fumbled close to field goal range.

The Browns’ season fell apart, Eric Mangini was fired, and Pat Shurmur and his Stone Age offense came in.

Instead, Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell are the guys going forward. And based on statistics, there is no way you can say team president Joe Banner and GM Mike Lombardi didn’t improve the roster with this move. Campbell has better numbers than McCoy no matter how you slice it.

After all the hand-wringing about the change in management and the change in defensive scheme, it is tough to say the Browns’ roster isn’t better than it was at the end of last season.

That should be all that matter.

Young Vets Ready to Make Impact for Tribe

Much of the optimism for this year’s Cleveland Indians has centered on the money spent by the Dolan ownership, which resulted in the signing of free agents Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds, Michael Bourn and Brett Myers.

However, another reason for the Tribe’s improvement offensively will come from three young players who have been on fans’ radar for more than a year. These three, 2B Jason Kipnis, LF Michael Brantley, and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall are poised to take the step into being better than average players at their position.

Kipnis, who will be 26 next week, burst on the scene when he joined the team half way through the 2011 season, posting a 841 OPS in 150 at bats. He got off to a solid start to the 2012 season, hitting .280 with 8 HR and 30 RBI through the end of May.

The pitchers adjusted after that and Kipnis hit just .246 with 6 HR and 46 RBI the rest of the season. He didn’t slug over .400 in any month for the balance of the year.

Besides the different way he was being pitches, fatigue also may have been a factor because it was difficult to give Kipnis a day off because the Indians had very little depth. This year, that shouldn’t be a factor.

The “JK Kid” has a great track record of hitting in the minors (863 OPS in almost 1000 at bats), so we feel confident he will bounce back and more resemble the ’11 edition of Kipnis rather than the guy who struggled the last four months in 2012.

Brantley has spent time in the big leagues every year since 2009, so it seems like he should be older than 26, which he will turn in May. He had his best season last year, hitting .288, 6 HR, 60 RBI, 750 OPS, but has steadily improved in each of the last three seasons, and at his age that should continue in ’13.

His improvement has come in both his on base percentage and slugging percentage, so it wouldn’t be a stretch if he could get the OPS over the 800 mark this season, which would make him a very good offensive player. He had 47 extra base hits in 2012, and as he gets stronger, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that some of the 37 doubles he had last year start to fly over the fence.

That extra base hit number represents an increase of 12 from the year before. It wouldn’t be a shock if Brantley had close to 60 extra base knocks in 2013, figure about 45 doubles and 15 homers.

Chisenhall, 24, is finally free of the managers’ infatuation with defense at the hot corner and will get his shot at being the everyday third baseman. He has 12 HRs in 350 big league at bats, which figures to 17 dingers in 500 plate appearances.

His struggles against southpaws are overblown because he’s had only 88 at bats vs. lefties in his brief time in the bigs, and still has managed five homers in those chances. That’s not to say we wouldn’t give him a day off against a guy like C.C. Sabathia, but he should get an opportunity to play virtually everyday.

He’s had a monster spring, which doesn’t always translate, but he has a smooth left-handed swing, and seems to be more selective at the plate. That may be because Terry Francona basically told him the job was his to lose and he relaxed at the dish.

These three guys, along with the free agent acquisitions, are the reason the Indians’ offense will be much better than the past two seasons. They will allow Francona to play most days with tough outs throughout the lineup.

American League teams need seven out of nine guys to be able to provide quality at bats. The Tribe has that in 2013.

Sorry, Starting Pitching Ifs Spell 4th Place for Tribe

There is no question the Cleveland Indians are an improved baseball team in 2013.

There is no question the front office and ownership breathed new life into what has been a stagnant franchise over the last three or four years.

There is also no question that the American League is filled with good to very good teams, and that it looks like only the Twins and Astros have no realistic chance to contend for a playoff spot in 2013.

That’s why it is difficult to make the next statement. The Cleveland Indians will finish fourth once again this season.

It won’t be the same kind of fourth place team as last season, one in which the Tribe lost over 90 games.

The Indians will stay in contention most of the season and should finish over the .500 mark. They may finish 4^th and still be within 10 games of first place at the end of the season.

But as the team stands right now, they don’t seem to be better than the Tigers, Royals, and White Sox.

Why?

Starting pitching.

The Indians simply don’t have enough to win based on the guys who are opening the season.

Justin Masterson has a good arm, but tends to lose his release point and when that happens, we struggles to get it back. He is prone to big innings because of that trait. If he can throw strikes he can be a quality pitcher.

Still, he’s had three years as a starter in the majors and in only one of them has his ERA been under 4.00.

Ubaldo Jimenez has looked much better this spring than he did last year, and he is throwing strikes. However, his ERA since coming to the Tribe is over 5.00 and he’s made over 40 starts with Cleveland.

Brett Myers is a workman like guy who provides solid innings and lots of them. He’s not an ace of the staff guy though.

Zack McAllister showed promise after being called up in the middle of last season, but he doesn’t have a full year of major league experience, so it is tough to depend on him.

Scott Kazmir was pitching in an independent league last season, and although he has a great comeback story, you wouldn’t want to bet your house on him giving Francona 25 quality starts this season.

Last year, the Indians staff ERA was 4.78 while the league average was 4.08. That means new pitching coach Mickey Calloway needs to shave more than a half run per game to be just average.

The pitchers would have to do even better to rank in the top half of the league in this category.

The two hopes are Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer, who will be in Columbus’ rotation to start the year. Perhaps they can provide a boost should the rotation struggle.

Offensively, the Tribe lineup is much deeper replacing the Jack Hannahans and Casey Kotchmans of the world with players like Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, and Lonnie Chisenhall.

They also have alternatives if something doesn’t work out. For example, if Drew Stubbs hits like he did last year (.213 with 610 OPS), Francona can move Swisher back to RF, put Mark Reynolds at 1B, and use Mike Aviles and Jason Giambi at DH.

Last year’s squad had little power and little speed, meaning they needed three hits in an inning to score. In the off-season, GM Chris Antonetti added two players who hit more than 20 HRs last year (Swisher and Reynolds), and two more who stole 30 bases or more (Bourn and Stubbs).

Add in the continued development of Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, and Chisenhall, and throw in the steady Asdrubal Cabrera, and this team should be able to put runs on the board.

However, it all comes down to stopping the other team from scoring and there are too many question marks in the rotation.

If Jimenez and Masterson can get their ERAs under 4.00, this team has a chance to make the post-season and possibly win the division.

This is a talented team and it will play exciting baseball. But right now, fourth place is where they will end up.

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”.

Note to Haslam: Losing Won’t Be Tolerated Anymore

The Cleveland Browns had another bad public relations moment on Tuesday.

You might think it was Phil Dawson’s announcement that he is signing with the San Francisco 49ers, ending his tenure as the last Brown remaining from the 1999 expansion team.

The way the team handled Dawson’s free agency wasn’t smart, with team president Joe Banner seemingly indifferent about the departure.

However, in the long run, the front office was just adhering to Branch Rickey’s long ago theory: It is better to get rid of a player a year too early, than a year too late.

At Dawson’s age, even though he’s had great seasons the last two years, you can make that argument.

Dawson should be commended for a great career here, and someday his name and number will be on the team’s Ring of Honor, but he’s a kicker. There isn’t a great deal of difference between the best field goal kicker in the NFL and a middle of the road guy.

The real story though should be owner Jimmy Haslam’s comments regarding Dawson at the owner’s meetings in Arizona. Haslam said it’s not like the Browns are going 13-3 next season.

Really?!

We’ve said this before, but there is no more patience with this football team, and no one cares about new ownership, new front office, and a new coach.

The Browns were 5-11 last season with a poor (to say the least) offensive coaching staff. It would not be a stretch to say Cleveland could have been a 7-9 team with better offensive game plans and better utilization of a few offensive players.

So, for the owner to dismiss a turnaround to a playoff contending season is not something to ignore. Did his right-hand man Joe Banner tell him that with all the changes being made, winning is impossible in 2013?

Teams make quantum leaps in terms of success every year in the NFL. Last year, the Indianapolis Colts went from having the leagues worst record to a playoff spot.

A year earlier, San Francisco hired Jim Harbaugh and immediately became one of the better teams in the NFC.

That’s the type of improvement that Haslam, Banner, and Mike Lombardi should be expecting at this point in the off-season. Not telling the fan base that they should expect another year of mediocrity.

It’s simply not acceptable. When former GM Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur were let go, it wasn’t done as part of another “five-year plan”. Haslam was viewed as an owner that felt losing was not an option.

He said he wanted to build the right way, through the draft, and not have the Browns have one year of solid football and go back into mediocrity. But it appears, he and his people feel the team needs another year or two of rebuilding.

The owner may be trying to slow down optimism a bit with his comment, but he should know better than to say something like that. With a new head coach, an experience offensive coordinator in Norv Turner, and a hot defensive headman in Ray Horton, the Browns better be closer to 13-3 this season than they are to 3-13.

If they aren’t, the goodwill from buying the franchise that Haslam has will be as short-lived as Shurmur’s tenure here as head coach.

Draft Prospects Should Have Fans Wanting Cavs to Win

Around this time of year, many fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers start hoping for losses, so the wine and gold have a better chance of improving their position in the NBA draft lottery.

With every loss, these people shout with glee, happy that the Cavs dropped another game.

This year, that’s not smart.

Why? Because of two reasons. First, what most fans don’t understand is that winning breeds winning, and the rest of this season should be about establishing a winning attitude for the 2013-14 season.

The second reason is that this year, more than perhaps the last few seasons, there isn’t a clear-cut first pick in the draft, not that Cleveland can sink low enough to have the best chance of getting the first selection.

This year is one of those seasons where there are very few finished products available to teams having one of the top five selections in late June. You can almost call this year’s draft a crapshoot.

For example, right now if the standings remained where they are and the lottery held to form, the Cavs would have the 7th pick in the selection process. Several mock drafts have GM Chris Grant taking Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel, who is 6’11” and weighs a whopping 211 pounds or UNLV forward Anthony Bennett.

Noel has missed at least half of this year’s season with a knee injury and obviously needs to bulk up to be able to play and contribute at the NBA level. Tyler Zeller, the Cavs’ rookie center, weighs 250 pounds and is still getting pushed around by veteran big men on a nightly basis.

Just think what would happen to Noel. And with a young core of Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, and Dion Waiters, the wine and gold need to win as soon as next season. Noel probably won’t be able to be a real contributor for a few years.

That’s the challenge for Grant. Not only does he need to find someone good coming out of college, but someone who can contribute to the team as soon as next season. Taking a project doesn’t help this young team in the short-term.

Bennett may be a better choice because he has an NBA body (6’7″ 240 pounds). The problem with him though is he may be a tweener, too small to play power forward and not quick enough to play small forward. Right now, his offensive game is more like the former, and the Cavs already have Thompson.

That’s the point. If you look at the players ranked from 4-12 that are likely to come out in this year’s draft, there are no finished products. While that may be true of most years, this year is really a gamble.

Looking at the top ten prospects projected to come out this season, it shows seven freshmen and three sophomores. Of those who have spent two years in college, one, Georgetown’s Otto Porter is ranked in the top three and probably won’t be available to the Cavs. The other two are Cody Zeller (brother of Tyler) and Alex Len of Maryland, who needs to get stronger to play in the NBA.

The point is it is not likely that the Cavs will get anyone who can provide a huge boost for next season. And they need a huge boost if they want to challenge for the playoffs next season.

This might be one of those years it may be better to deal with teams looking to move someone for salary cap relief.

Following the Oklahoma City model likely won’t be possible with this year’s college crop.

Only a Few Roster Battles Remain for Tribe

Opening Day is a little over two weeks away, and you can see the roster for the Cleveland Indians beginning to take shape.

In the last week, Zack McAllister was told he will be the fourth starter in the rotation and Cody Allen was informed he will be in the bullpen in Toronto on April 2nd when the Tribe opens the season.

Both youngsters deserved it based on how they performed last season.

That doesn’t leave many spots left on the 25 man roster.

Figuring that Terry Francona will keep 13 position players and 12 pitchers, there figures to be perhaps one spot left on the bench, the fifth spot in the starting rotation, and a battle for the what figures to be two spots for southpaws in the bullpen and one spot for a right-hander.

The starting lineup figures to be something like this–

Michael Bourn CF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Jason Kipnis 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Carlos Santana C
Michael Brantley LF
Mark Reynolds DH
Lonnie Chisenhall 3B
Drew Stubbs RF

For sure, Mike Aviles, who is performing very well at the World Baseball Classic, will have one bench spot and figures to be in the lineup three or four times per week. Ryan Raburn looks like his versatility will earn him another spot, as he can play 2B, 3B, LF, and RF. And Jason Giambi will claim the third spot, getting at bats at DH and/or 1B.

That leaves the backup catcher with Lou Marson and Yan Gomes vying for that spot. Marson’s problem is his hitting and he can’t play another position. He’s hitting .214 (3 for 14) in spring training, although he has walked eight times. He’s a .220 lifetime hitter with a .301 slugging percentage for his career.

Gomes has hit well thus far (1o for 26 with a home run), and can play 1B, 3B, and LF as well. He’s not as accomplished defensively as Marson, not by a long shot. But when Marson plays, many times Santana will not get a full day off because Francona would hit for Marson in a key situation.

The guess here is the Tribe wants Gomes to catch on an everyday basis to develop his craft, so Marson makes the squad.

The fifth starter looks like it is between veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer. As of right now, Kazmir is the leading candidate. Francona and GM Chris Antonetti probably want Carrasco to be eased back in after coming back from elbow surgery and Bauer to get more AAA experience.

Which brings us to the bullpen. Chris Perez, Vinnie Pestano, Joe Smith, and now Allen are locks, although there is a chance that Perez opens the season on the disabled list.

It appears Francona will carry two lefties and with Rich Hill being added to the 40 man roster a week ago, it’s a good bet he will make the team. That leaves Nick Hagadone, Scott Barnes, and maybe David Huff for one spot. Hagadone has had the better spring and has power stuff. He’s allowed just two hits and struck out seven in five innings. He would appear to be the leader in the clubhouse.

The last spot in the ‘pen figures to be between three pitchers who weren’t with the Tribe in 2012: Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw, and Matt Capps. Capps has had the most big league success with 138 big league saves, but Shaw has pitched the best so far allowing one run in five innings with seven strikeouts.

This battle figures to go all the way to the end of camp, but keep in mind that Capps isn’t on the 40 man roster.

If the roster goes this way, it means the Indians will have to put some players with major league experience on waivers, guys like Ezequiel Carrera, Huff, Capps, and/or Albers. That’s something different for this organization after the last few years.

If you want to compete in baseball today, you must have some depth. These Indians finally have some.