2011 Cleveland Indians

• OQB

  

  With Spring Training starting, and baseball season right around the corner...what are everyone's thoughts on the 2011 version of the Indians?
  
  Improve from last season?
  Do worse than last year?
  Who will be this teams #1 guy?
  
  Talk it up!
• BRF

  

  I'm in, brotha!
  
  There's really no place to go but up. Hell's bells, it wasn't even close to our worst seasons, though. What's this Cabrera and Cabrera business at SS?
  
  Go Tribe.....and looking forward to NCF posts!
• karen lotz

  

  Cleveland made history by being the first MLB team to take batting practice off of a female. So they have that going for them.
• BR1986FB

  Acta needs to get this "Grady Sizemore is our leadoff hitter" shit out of his head. Grady needs to be either in the 3 or 5 hole.
  
  They will improve from last year. Young guys with another year under their belts should help. Third base is going to be horrible. I like the outfield of Brantley, Sizemore & Choo. After Carmona, who isn't exactly the picture of consistency, the rotation is a crapshoot. And I think they have a solid closer.
• karen lotz

  

  What's going on with Santana? Is he healthy and in camp?
• BR1986FB

  karen lotz;686603 wrote:What's going on with Santana? Is he healthy and in camp?

  
  He's supposed to be ready by the season opener.
• OQB

  

  That lady wanted to be Orel hershiser sp? Thought that entire story was funny...
• Laley23

  

  Cautiously optomistic. They have the pieces to compete if EVERYTHING falls their way. I say this meaning they can compete with the Tigers/Twins/Sox if they get lucky, unlike in the East where they would be dead no matter how well they performed.
  Here is the line-up I think we should/will see.
  
  LFBrantley. Showed signs of life and improving. Had a really good hit streak going in the second half, despite the average of the streak only being .300. If he can improve his OBP the top of our line-up wil be twice what it was last year.
  SSCabrera. I just love him as a 2 hole hitter. But he wont be effective if Brantley isnt on base. If he is, I think Asdrubal could see his best offensive year to date, especially with the Choo-Choo train behind him. If Brantley struggles and Asdrubal is the de-facto lead-off hitter or is moved to lead-off we will see him at the .275 range with no power and no walks. I think he can be around .290 and if runners are on and he is moving them along, thats all I can ask for.
  RFChoo. Not much to say. I dont think he will improve the numbers too much, nor do I think we see a decline. RBI could go up to over 100 pending, again, the 1/2 hitters. If all goes well, .315, 120 RBI, 25 HR, 90 R. But id bet more along the lines of .295, 95, 20, 80
  CSantana. One of the 3 big questions imo, along with Brantley and LaPorta. If he develops as the clean-up hitter and thrives. Look out for this line-up to be one of the better ones in the AL. But that is hinging on a lot.
  CFSizemore. Another what if. We know what he brings to the table when healthy, but Ill keep my expectations rather tempered. I doubt he is as bad as last year, pre-injury...but his best days are gone. I would be pleased with .270 and 20 HR. RBI and Run numbers I cant logically predict cause he probably will move around the line-up more than anyone.
  1BLaPorta. This is his spot and he needs to run with it for the Tribe to do anything. We were expecting him to be great, and its time to show it. If he is still in the 6 hole at years end, the Indians will have had a poor season. We need him to garner arguments to move him to the 3 or 4 hole. I fear however, we will be hearing more arguments for Hafner to be batting 6th or even 5th if Grady fails or goes down to injury.
  DHHafner. His best years are clearly behind him. But down at the bottom of the line-up like I would have him, we dont need the power. If be pleased with a guy who hit for average and occasional power (basically, another 2010 season).
  3BNix. Showed he can get hot for a week span or so. But I wouldnt be expecting much out of him other than the 3 or 4 times he gets hot over the year. Hopefully someone takes his spot by years end.
  2BCabrera. Well...its the nine hole. Just glad we have a proven veteran down there.
  
  As for pitching. Im not going to go through individuals, but I think the rotation COULD be solid. Carmona will be himself. Sub 4 ERZ and about .500 from the "Ace" spot. Masterson and Carrasco showed glimpses of being really, really good. If they take a step up thats a solid front 3. Talbot and whoever is the 5th starter are what worries me...that could be a disaster.
  The bullpen is ok. Sipp, Perez, and Lewis/Smith are a solid relief core and I think Wild Thing can be a top 5 closer in baseball.
  
  So again, if everything goes right and we dont have a rash of injuries and the 5 main guys we need to make the next step all do so, I think we are looking at a team who can go about 85-77 and be in the race all along. I however see us taking more of a, 73-89 record to the offseason.
• Laley23

  

  karen lotz;686603 wrote:What's going on with Santana? Is he healthy and in camp?

  
  From what I hear, he is completely cleared for all baseball activities, and this was before he reported. I havent heard anything contrary to those reports.
• wes_mantooth

  

  I will not watch them until they find a way to sign Ben Watson to a multi year deal.
• BR1986FB

  wes_mantooth;686640 wrote:I will not watch them until they find a way to sign Ben Watson to a multi year deal.

  
  While I'll be enjoying them with my season tickets after returning home from my law office. SPOT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!??????///////$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
• wes_mantooth

  

  BR1986FB;686643 wrote:While I'll be enjoying them with my season tickets after returning home from my law office. SPOT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!??????///////$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  
  haha....#nod2shelly
• Mulva

  

  We'll have the worst 3rd baseman in MLB, and I'm not sure Orlando Cabrera can make it through an entire season at age 36, but outside of that I think there will be a definite improvement from last year. At least it looks like Valbuena is finally out of the mix.
  
  Sizemore isn't ever going to be the perennial all-star a lot of pundits were predicting 5-6 years ago, but if he can get back to even a 2007 type level (.275/25/80 and 20+ steals) I'd be thrilled. Not worried about Choo or Druby, they'll just keep doing what they do. If Santana and LaPorta progress the way I'm sure the front office is banking on them progressing then I like this offense a lot.
  
  There isn't a single definite in the starting rotation. No idea what Fausto we'll be getting, whether Gomez and Carrasco will be able to handle a full season in the bigs, if Masterson will improve his consistency, etc.
  
  I feel much better about this team than I have the past 2 seasons. I'm leaning towards about 77 wins.
• grodt

  

  Grady's probably going to start the season on the DL. It would be a nice story if he could be ready for opening day but I think in the long run he'll be better off taking it slow and making sure he's fully ready for the season. If that happens then Brantley moves over to center and Kearns most likely replaces him in left. Then the line-up looks like:
  Brantley CF
  A. Cabrera SS
  Choo RF
  Santana C
  Hafner DH
  LaPorta 1B
  Kearns LF
  Donald 3B
  O. Cabrera 2B
  
  I just hope that Orlando holds up long enough for Kipnis to get ready for the show. In all likely hood he's the second baseman of the future and there is hope that he'll be ready for the bigs by the summer.
  
  As for the starting rotation, outside of Carmona we really don't know what we're going to get. Manny keeps pointing to how everyone finished strong last season. The problem with that is guys don't always carry that over into next season. I'd be happy if Masterson supplied an ERA in the 4.00-4.25 range and lead the team in Ks and cut down on his BBs. Last year Talbot went 10-13 with a 4.41 ERA. If he can pick up a few more wins, which I think will be easier with an improved lineup, and cut the ERA down to below 4 the season would be a success for him. As for Carrasco and whoever wins the 5th spot (and right now I like Tomlin or Gomez) we only know what they're capable of. Who knows how they'll perform over a whole season. Best case Carrasco shows that he'll be a front-end guy for many years and the 5th guy proves to be a solid rotation pitcher. Worst case we see a revolving door at the back end of the rotation all season as no one is able to pitch effectively.
  
  Right now I think this team has the capability to win 80-85 games but a lot has to go right. The safer guess would be 72-75.
• september63

  

  76 wins, but I thought the Cavs would win 27 too.
• jordo212000

  

  I need Sizemore to bounce back this year. Picked him towards the end of one of my fantasy drafts. He seems like a good bounceback candidate
• OQB

  

  Lost first Spring Training game to the Reds yesterday 6-7.
  
  http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110227&content_id=16754520&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
  
  They play the Reds again today...
• devil1197

  Good thing for Cleveland is that they play in the weakest division in the AL, no team really is up there with NY, BOS, LAA etc.
  
  The Indians will be relying too much on the young guys for me to be highly optimistic, but these guys were top notch prospects who have the abilities to perform at a high level.
  
  LaPorta, Santana, Brantley etc all have to have their breakout years for Cleveland to be in the race. Pitching is the same way with Carrasco, Masterson and the other young guys.
  
  Overall, I am planning on them ruining my summer and will be surprised if they win above 80 games.
• grodt

  

  I wouldn't consider the Central to be the weakest. It is yearly one of the most competitive in baseball and also has the most parity with 3 of the 5 teams winning the division in the last 10 years. Now they might get a bad rap in the playoffs because the Twins seem to choke every year, but the Tigers and White Sox have both won the pennant in the last 5 years.
  
  Now it is not a division with historic big spenders, although this year the Sox, Tigers and Twins all have payrolls over $100 million, and maybe that's why people think that it is a weak division. I'd say there's just as much talent in the Central as there is in the other divisions.
• Mulva

  

  grodt;695098 wrote:I'd say there's just as much talent in the Central as there is in the other divisions.

  
  It is nowhere near the AL East.
  
  I'd say it's at least on par with the West though.
• OQB

  

  Not really shocking or breaking news, but Fausto Carmona was named opening day starter by Manager Acta.
• OQB

  

  Indians shutout reds, 12-0
• shook_17

  

  hear me out. pre known steriod era, travis hafner was a stud, throwing up solid numbers. hitting homeruns driving in runs. what the last two or three years he hasn't done shit. maybe he had something to do with steriods or its just coincidence.
• dave

  shook_17;695630 wrote:hear me out. pre known steriod era, travis hafner was a stud, throwing up solid numbers. hitting homeruns driving in runs. what the last two or three years he hasn't done shit. maybe he had something to do with steriods or its just coincidence.

  
  breaking news here
• Laley23

  

  shook_17;695630 wrote:hear me out. pre known steriod era, travis hafner was a stud, throwing up solid numbers. hitting homeruns driving in runs. what the last two or three years he hasn't done shit. maybe he had something to do with steriods or its just coincidence.

  
  Your a bit late. Im not sure I know an Indians fan who doesn't think he is a prime roider.