2011 Cleveland Indians

• royal_k

  

  Buck is hitting 435 with 4 HR and 12 RBI
• royal_k

  

  LaPorta continues to struggle....hitting a whopping .174
• like_that

  

  royal_k;721583 wrote:LaPorta continues to struggle....hitting a whopping .174

  
  SMH, what a great trade for the tribe.
• Commander of Awesome

  

  Almost time to write him off imo. A first baseman that cant hit is pretty much worthless.
• grodt

  

  It comes as no surprise but Josh Tomlin was named the 5th starter today. Acta stated that the order will be 1. Carmona, 2. Carrasco, 3. Masterson, 4. Tomlin, 5. Talbot.
  
  Also Jack Hannahan and Jack Buck were named to the Opening Day roster along with Shelley Duncan. That pretty much means that Hannahan will be the OD 3B.
• Tigerfan00

  

  Not that it matters but Im sure you meant Travis Buck who actually had a very good spring training. If Buck and Duncan made the roster then what about Crowe and Kearns?
• royal_k

  

  Crowe will start the season on the DL along with Sizemore. Kearns will be starting in LF with Brantley in CF and Choo in RF.
• HitsRus

  

  Less than impressive lineup. With the exception of Choo and Druby Cabrera, a whole lot of question marks. Both Santana and Sizemore coming off injuries...Can Brantley be an impact player? Aging vets in Kearn and Cabrera....Can Hanahan actually be(@ age 31) an everyday 3B?....can Buck stay healthy?....and then there is Jason Donald who I can't see as anything but a utility guy.
  
  As COA states ...and what of LaPorta?..this is a put up numbers season for him, in much the same way it was expected of Valbuena last year.
  
  And what of the starters....Carrasco @ #2? He hasn't proven he can even get major league hitters out! Carmona's game is fragile...if he's a little off things can be like some previous season's blow-ups.
  It is almost embarrassing that they are calling this a major league team.
• Mulva

  

  I actually like Travis Buck if he can stay healthy. Good backup option if LaPorta bombs.
  
  Outside of 3rd base I have no problem with this lineup. The rotation has a bunch of question marks, but the positive is that guys like Huff and Gomez are there in the wings if somebody does really struggle. I still feel good about where this team is in relation to the last 2 years.
  
  Still feeling about 75 wins.
• BRF

  

  I wish that we wouldn't have to be talking about winning like 75 games and instead be talking about 90 or so. The way I see it, it's going to be another LONG season.
• HitsRus

  

  what's Buck's contract?...if he hits a ton, are we gonna trade him in July? The thing that bothers me the most, is that the best we can hope for is to have some of these players develop into solid major league players. But even if they do, are we going to be any better off, as we approach the back end of our veteran's contracts? there seems to be no willingness to spend anything to keep anyone, and it seems that we are bound to repeat the process of trading anything of any value that costs anything.
• Tigerfan00

  

  Imagine how bad the payroll will be once Sizemore and Hafner are gone.
  
  Mulva, there is nothing positive about David Huff.
• HitsRus

  

  The 'best' ERA on the starting staff this spring is owned by Tomlin @ 4.15....followed by Carmona at 4.50 Now I would expect Carmona's toi be up a bit as he has a spot locked down, and he's just working on his pitches. The rest of the guys were pitching for their spots in the rotation! Mitch Talbot's ERA is approaching 9!... Our "#2" guy Carrasco is almost 8!
  I suppose you could be optimistic that Gomez is waiting in the wings...but Huff pretty much has proved he's a AAAA pitcher, which is why he's going to Columbus and Talbot and Carrasco are not.
  Fortunately we have a pretty good back end of the bullpen....but can we get there? It's not like we have a powerful hitting lineup that's going to outslug the opposition. Our starters are going to have to be nearly lights out. I don't see it. I don't see it at all.
• dave

  I'd be shocked if this team wins 70 games. I honestly don't know why anyone would pay Dolan a penny to see a game. Go see the Aeros, Clippers, or Captains.
• burt07

  The one positive I can get out of the rotation, and it might be stretching, is that they're all innings eaters. Each guy is pretty consistent at least getting about 6 innings in. I have my questions about all of them, mostly Talbot and Carrasco, but a big thing this year is going to be getting the game to the bullpen, which is probably the strongest aspect of this team. The only problem is, innings eaters are good when you have a solid lineup to back them up but it uhhh is not appearing that way when you have guys like Jack Hannahan holding it down at the hot corner. I like some of the bats we have but when you have gaping holes like that in your lineup it doesn't bode well for consistentcy.
• royal_k

  

  If LaPorta continues to be a bust, look for Buck or someone else to see a lot of playing time at 1st base. He has to drive in runs playing that position. With what he's done before and this spring, I just don't see it. Chad Huffman has had a very good spring. But the outfield is crowded, so he starts the year in Cbus. 341 with 3 HR and 12 RBI
• royal_k

  

  The Tribe has 3 ST games left, with wednesday's game against the Clippers in Cbus at 1:00 on STO.
  
  Opening day friday....anticipation......
• jordo212000

  

  I cant believe how much Laporta struggles once he plays against big league talent. He has looked great every time I have watched him in Columbus. Went up there about 4 times last year. He is like the 2nd coming of Andy Marte
• royal_k

  

  Carrasco was very good yesterday. 6 inn 3 hits 1 run 5 SO and no walks
• jordo212000

  

  royal_k;727832 wrote:Carrasco was very good yesterday. 6 inn 3 hits 1 run 5 SO and no walks

  
  Good to hear. I remember that he was the main "guy" they got back for Cliff Lee. They need him to breakthrough
• royal_k

  

  Don't forget Donald and Marson....neither have overwhelmed thus far. The other player in the trade was RP Jason Knapp. Baseball America had him rated 64th best prospect in 2010. He pitched in Lake County last year. If he would ever get to his potential, this trade would look much better.
• Commander of Awesome

  

  Unless he's a cy young winner the trade was one sided.
• royal_k

  

  Commander of Awesome;727997 wrote:Unless he's a cy young winner the trade was one sided.

  
  Definately agree. Pitchers like Cliff Lee are few and far between.
  
  The Dolans can suck my you know what....
• dave

  You could take Lee out of that trade and it's still one sided for philly.
• HitsRus

  

  Yeah, If I remember, Knapp was the sore armed pitcher that was a key ingredient in this trade. The guy was a big time prospect, albeit at a low level, and was having some arm issues. What happens to him probably will be what determines if this was a good trade, or one of the worst in franchise history. Carrasco, initially was projected out to be a #3 pitcher. Obviously the trade improves if he becomes better than that.