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

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Dave Wiley: Yes, I'd have to say its true. Fourteen teams are above the .500 mark in baseball. Every other division has at least two teams over that mark. Only the Detroit Tigers sit above .500 in the AL Central. Put the Tigers in any other division, they are in second place at best. Throw them in the AL East, and they are in FOURTH!!! Yes, the AL Central is bad.

The Coop: If the AL Central isn’t the worst division in baseball, it’s definitely the most mediocre. This is highlighted by the fact that the team that is currently in first place, Detroit, has the lowest winning percentage of all current division leaders.

The AL Central also happens to be the only division that has only one team above .500 at the moment. Still, the division isn’t horrible. The last place team, Kansas City, is only 7 ½ games behind the Tigers. And really, outside of the Royals, who ironically led the division in the early weeks of the season, I wouldn’t be shocked to see any of teams in the division get hot and make a run up the standings and ultimately win the division.

Nonetheless, this represents sort of a Catch-22 for the Indians: the mediocrity of the division means that the Tribe is never really “out of it,” which seemingly perpetuates the Indians desire to stand pat and accept the very average play we’ve seen over the last year and a half.

2. While defense is far from the Tribe's biggest problem, their shortcomings in the field cost them dearly last Saturday in Chicago, and it wasn't the first time defensive miscues hurt this team. How would you rate the Indians' defense overall?

On a related philosophical note, defense is an often undervalued component of the game; do you think teams need to stress good defense more during player development and show more respect for great defensive players, or are you of the opinion that defensive skills are negligible if a player is an excellent hitter?

Nino Colla: Sub-par. I think losing Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore, a gold-glove caliber infielder and a gold-glove outfielder hurt in a big way. The team's best defensive alignment though is with Peralta at third, Cabrera at short, and DeRosa at second or in the outfield and I'm glad Wedge finally started going with that. That basic alignment is one that makes it above-average if you ask me.

I think Peralta benefits big time from the move to third and goes from a below-average shortstop to an average third baseman with a good arm with the potential to be more. Ben Francisco and Grady Sizemore have good speed and while Francisco and Choo need to learn to take better routes and not over-shoot cut-off men, they're better than most.

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