Puckett's Pond » Cleveland Indians

Previewing the AL Central: Cleveland Indians

Stuart Dickison — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:38:02 +0000

Mar 22, 2013; Gooodyear, AZ, USA; Cleveland Indians right fielder Nick Swisher (33) smiles in the dugout before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Opening Day is a week away. I’ve been previewing the American League Central. A few days ago, I looked at the Chicago White Sox. Up next, the Cleveland Indians.

2012 Record: 68-94
Standing: Finished 4th in the AL Central.

2013 additions:

Nick Swisher, OF; Michael Bourn, OF; Brett Myers, RHP; Mark Reynolds, IF; Drew Stubbs, OF; Mike Aviles, IF; Scott Kazmir, LHP; Jason Giambi, DH; Matt Capps, RHP; Trevor Bauer, RHP; Matt Albers, RHP; Terry Francona, Manager

Re-signed:

Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP

Losses:

Travis Hafner (Yankees), Grady Sizemore (Free Agent), Shin-Soo Choo (Reds), Jack Hannahan (Reds), Jason Donald (Reds), Casey Kotchman (Marlins)

Outlook:

The Indians had the most productive offseason in the division. With many needs to address in their lineup, they did it. Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher bring power to a lineup already headlined by Carlos Santana. Michael Bourn adds speed at the top and elite defense in centerfield. Mike Aviles should provide production as well. New manager Terry Francona has had success before, with two World Series rings in Boston to prove it. Is Cleveland ready to be the “Win-dians?” Not so fast. This team certainly has sleeper potential to play in October, but has some question marks. Similar to the Twins, the Indians feature a lineup with run potential, but a not very deep starting rotation. With the projected starting rotation featuring Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimnenez, Brett Myers, Zach McAllister and Scott Kazmir, it is vital Cleveland provides plenty of run support. The bullpen should fare better with a healthy Chris Perez and new addition Matt Albers.

Who to watch for:

Michael Brantley, OF

July 28, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley (23) against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Twins defeated the Indians 12-5. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Brantley played to a .288/.348.402 in 2012. He is an extension candidate for the Indians, so he should be looking to prove he deserves a big pay day.

Trevor Bauer, RHP

The gifted 22-year old prospect will start his season in AAA, but he should find his way to Cleveland’s starting rotation at some point in 2013. He boasts a career 3.00 ERA through two seasons in the minors, and only projects to get better.

Nick Swisher, OF

Swisher comes to Cleveland with the opportunity to bat in their middle of the lineup and produce big time results. The Indians gave him a nice contract, will he hold up his end of the deal and produce?

Justin Masterson, RHP

Oct 2, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson (63) delivers in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Masterson is the ace of the staff. After finding success in 2011, he lost a step in 2012 going 11-15 with a 4.93 ERA. With a better lineup for support, can Masterson pitch like an ace?

Brett Myers, RHP

Myers, a starter-turned reliever returns to starting this year for the Indians, slated as the #3 pitcher in the rotation. The Indians hope Myers can find the success he had with Houston in 2010, where he went 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA before dropping off in 2011 going 7-14 4.46 ERA.

Matt Capps, RHP

He makes the list as a former Twin. On a minor league contract, Capps has already been told this Spring he’ll start the season at AAA.

Can the Twins beat them?

The Indians and the Twins are arguably the two most comparable teams in the American League, maybe even all of baseball when looking at these 3 things:
1. Ugly 2012 season.
2. Promising lineup.
3. Questionable pitching.
I anticipate a near even season series.

2013 Predicted Finish: 4th Place, AL Central

Talk to Contact: Ep 21, Twins Fest, the Tribe and Seth Stohs

Paul Pleiss — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:58:18 +0000

Episode 21 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

Greg Gagne, the wrestler, not the Twins HOF’er

Once again the Pleiss brothers get together to talk Twins baseball. Continuing their look around the AL Central division they are joined by Lewie Pollis (@LewsOnFirst) from WahoosOnFirst.com and BeyondTheBoxScore.com to talk about what’s been happening with the Cleveland Indians since the end of their season and what we can expect from the Tribe in 2013. Later in the podcast Seth Stohs (@SethTweets) joins the podcast to talk about the recent release of his Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013. By the end of the podcast you will have learned something about the Heart of Darkness, Greg Gagne, Josmil Pinto and a whole slough of other Twins news and notes.

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Check out the Talk to Contact Podcast (@TalkToContact) or email the show: talktocontact@gmail.com

Cleveland Indians Q&A

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 19:08:54 +0000

After watching Derek Lowe shut down the Twins again, I'm sure we're all interested in learning more about the Indians. Photo by David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

Before the Indians took game 1 of this three game series, Puckett’s Pond posted the series preview. Often in these series previews, we include a Q&A with the writer(s) from the other team’s Fansided site. Unfortunately, due to editorial time constraints, we were unable to include the Q&A yesterday. With my apologies for the delay, here are three questions and answers about the Cleveland Indians, courtesy of Lewie Pollis from Wahoo’s on First.

Question 1: Is it just me, or does Ubaldo Jimenez’s stat line look a lot like Francisco Liriano’s? Jimenez has won a few more games, and his ERA is actually about two runs lower, but like Liriano, he’s walked a ton of batters. It almost makes me sad that he’s not starting in this series. What’s going on with the former Colorado ace?

LP: He’s lost both his stuff and his command. His fastball velocity is down almost 4 mph from two years ago and he can’t locate his pitches. He’s always been a heavy-strikeout guy, but now he’s whiffing just 5.3 batters per nine innings. Worst of all, he’s walking almost seven batters per nine—the line I like to use here is that he’s gone from “effectively wild” to just plain wild. He’s supposedly working on some mechanical issues, but he’s clearly not the same pitcher the Indians thought they were getting when they traded for him last year, let alone the powerhouse he was in 2010.

Question 2: With summer fast approaching, the rumor mill is soon going to start heating up even faster than the weather. Cleveland may be in a position to be a buyer this year. Do you think they’ll make any moves?

LP: I think they will if they can, but it’s hard to see how they’d be able to swing a deal that makes both sides better. This is an incredibly deep team so it’s not as though there are any real gaping holes on the roster—that’s obviously a good thing, but the problem is that makes it harder to upgrade. Barring a major injury it really would take a star player to make a significant improvement, and the Indians don’t have the payroll space or the collection of close-to-MLB-ready prospects they’d presumably need to land a marquee player.

Question 3: Which Indians players do you think deserve an All Star selection this year? Do you think they’ll actually get selected?

LP: Both halves of Indians’ double-play duo should be represented on the AL starting squad. Regardless of your thoughts on his defense (and there are some who love his glove) Asdrubal Cabrera is the best offensive shortstop in the league, and the only second baseman in the league who’s hit better than Jason Kipnis is Robinson Cano, who’s had the benefit of playing in Yankee Stadium. I’d also happily give a nod to Chris Perez and while he probably wouldn’t be the best choice you could do a lot worse than adding Derek Lowe to the stable of arms as well.

I’d say all those guys have at least somewhat realistic chances of making it. Cabrera and Perez are recognizable enough names to make it (they both have before), but Kipnis will probably be overshadowed by more famous players and much as I hate to say it Lowe won’t keep up an All-Star pace through mid-July.

Bonus Question: The draft is coming up so soon that I have to ask about it. Which draft prospects would you like to see in an Indian uni?

LP: I don’t feel as though I’m in a position to really judge specific players—I’ve never seen any of them in person so any thoughts I’d have to offer would just be synthesized and regurgitated from other people. That said, I was thrilled when Scouting Director Brad Grant said that his philosophy is to target the best possible player without worrying about specific positions or current needs. That’s the perfect mindset to have going into something with so much uncertainty as the draft.

Who knew Francisco Lindor would fall to the Tribe last year? If the Indians had been stuck on taking a pitcher or a college player they’d have missed out on one of the best prospects in baseball.