Tribe Talk: The Perils of Playing In The Worst Division In Baseball

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week we discuss whether the AL Central is the worst division in baseball and what that means for the Indians, assess the value of defensive skills, and pay tribute to the late former Tribe owner Dick Jacobs.

I would like to thank this week's participants Nino Colla, Dave Wiley, and The Coop for their contributions.

This discussion is open to all, so please feel free to comment below and pitch in your thoughts on the questions we're addressing this week.

Go Tribe!

1.       1. Despite posting a winning percentage of just .424 as of Monday, the Indians are still only 7 games back in the AL Central. This gives Tribe fans a reason to keep believing, but what does it say about the rest of the division? Rumor has it that the AL Central is the weakest division in baseball - do you think this is true?

Nino Colla: This division might be worse than the NL West was a few years ago and that was pretty bad. It isn't out of the realm of possibilities that the division winner is below or at the .500 mark or 83 games wins the thing. It is that bad. It isn't competitiveness either, it's just the division’s inability to beat the other teams in the game consistently.

There is talent here. Hell,  you can look at the Indians as the poster boy for the division. A lot of talent to be good, but a grave disappointment. Look at Minnesota as a team people expected to be a little better. Chicago is competing but it is the same thing with them. Everyone thought the Tribe would be in it and I think some people believed Detroit would at least be a little better than last year, and they are. Kansas City even had something going.

It isn't that this division is like, awful in terms of what they have. It's just awful in terms of the fact that they are all playing below what they are capable of.

Samantha Bunten: As much as I hate to say it, the AL Central really does look like the worst division in baseball. Only one team in the division is over .500 (Detroit), and they are tied with Milwaukee for the worst winning percentage for a division leader. You also have to consider that their winning percentage would likely be even worse if they didn't have the advantage of facing other weak AL Central teams regularly in divisional play. This division reminds me of 2008’s NL West, where until the Dodgers came to life in the 11^th hour, it looked like a team might claim the division with a .500 record.

For the Indians, being in a weak division looks like it would be helpful on the surface, since it lets them stay in the race despite how poorly they have played. However, it ultimately does them no real favors. Even if they play well enough to take over the division, they will still be a mediocre team that will exit early at the hands of far stronger opponents in the playoffs.

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