As spring arrived, so did the smell of baseball. Along with it came the fresh cut grass, the fresh air, the not so fresh $5 hot dog, and the stench of analysts making terrible picks to win the World Series.
This year's hype was all about the Cleveland Indians.
I must say, after last season the Indians could have been at the top of any amateur analyst's list, but I was just as shocked as I was skeptical about how many top analysts were taking the Tribe to the top.
I say "no" to the Indians this year for a few reasons.
Experience Counts
It's no secret the entire Indians roster is very young and "hot."
Look at the teams that win when it counts, they all have one thing in common: crafty veterans.
No doubt the Boston Red Sox have been a very successful organization in the past few years—some may say their team is aging but they show no signs of slowing down. .
The Indians need a veteran leader on the field to "tame" the young talent. Maybe they should go after Barry Bonds, would he be bad to have as an alternate DH? Sure, he would bring controversy at times but maybe that's a fair trade for a seasoned teammate.
It certainly couldn't hurt their lineup that only has two players batting over .300.
Leadership
Does Wedge have what it takes to get them over the hump?
Well let's take a closer look at Eric Wedge.
After wining the College World Series, Wedge played nine seasons of minor league ball with five organizations and played in the majors briefly in the 1991-1994 seasons with the Red Sox and Rockies. He went on to manage the Indian's minor league system from 1998 through 2002 and with that little experience was called up to become the youngest manager in the Bigs since 1985.
I say praise Eric for the wins and blame Shapiro for their losses. Wedge has done a terrific job with what he has been given but ultimately with the current team direction Wedge is too inexperienced to take them to the next level.
Durability and Clutch
One aspect of the game that the Indians are missing is clutch.
They need a guy who can step up when it counts; they need a guy who has been in just about every scenario there is and can remain poised and calm enough for the team to rally around.
Another problem plaguing the Tribe is injuries. They need to work hard on staying healthy to keep their guys in their "grooves" because we all know that time off in baseball is never good.
It could happen...or could it?
The Indians so far are all but proving me wrong with an 18-18 record struggling to stay at .500 and third in the AL Central.
With that said the Indians could make a few minor changes before the trade deadline and pull it off, but they won't. They have a stubborn GM stuck on keeping the team young and any Tribe fan will tell you they have a long history of trading away premier talent.
So isn't a dramatic over statement to say the Indians are going to the World Series?
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5 months ago
They have virtually the same roster that took them to the brink of the World Series last year, and now have more experience because of it. The reason you don't see those crafty veterans on the roster is because in todays game, for a mid-market like CLeveland to succeed they need as much talent as cheap as they can get it. That usually means players will be in their arbitration or earlier years, with a few cheap veterans sprinkled in. Though, Hafner, Victor Martinez, Paul Byrd, Jake Westbrook, Casey Blake and Rafael Betancourt are not inexperienced players. Even Grady has been around for 4-5 years now. What is the breaking point to make you inexperienced and not be able to lead?
How have injuries been a problem, are Westbrook and Borowski injuries that big? Even last year the big guys stayed healthy all year.
They have the talent and have struggled a bit to start the year and look to be coming around, give them a little more time before jumping ship. If your doubting already, we don't want you on board anyway. I won't even start on the Barry Bonds part. I have supported him, but do you really think that would help, and what would the Indians do with Hafner and his $56 million contract. Sit the bench...c'mon.
5 months ago
We don't need Bonds cause we have Hafner who had 100 RBI's. Plus we know Hafner isn't on the senates bad side for steroids. Hafner is our man at DH. Plus we can come bakc. We havn't even got to the all-star break. Wait till October before you doubt our Indians
5 months ago
Clutch? Uh didn't this team lead the league or at least towards the tops in last-at-bat victories last year?
I can't think of anything more clutch than that.
I agree with Michael on the injures. I have no clue what you are talking about there. Every team gets banged up in one way or another and so far no one really meaningful is out for the year or an extended period of time.
Even if we didn't have Travis Hafner, there is absolutely no point in getting Barry Bonds. Can we quit being silly with that
Experienced? So was getting to the ALCS last year just meaningless in terms of what experience it gave to our ENTIRE roster?
Look.. I'm all for calling the Indians overrated. But you gotta bring some more thoughtful arguments to the table. Most of what you said made any sense what so ever. Point Blank.
5 months ago
I was just saying that Barry Bonds is a veteran for hire right now and Travis can't play first? I was saying they should get bonds I'm just saying they need a guy who has been around that can give advice to the little tikes on their team. Getting to the ALCS last year depended a lot on their very streaky play and some key losses by other teams. I'm not trying to bash the Indians I was simply voicing my opinion that they are in no way ready to win a World Series. To be fair though IF they do make it to the world series I will do a whole article about them and apologize for my bad call, hey anything can happen.
5 months ago
The Indians are a bit young but I love them!
5 months ago
They may be scuffling out of the gate, but the Indians still have the talent to contend, which is amazing considering the giant payroll gap between them and the Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers. They have pitching and defense which are luxuries most teams don't have. If and when their bats come around they will make plenty of noise. If not, they are in trouble.
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