Cleveland Indians' Weekly Lineup Analysis

Once again, this is the weekly series where I plan take the top nine Indians in terms of OPS and feed them into Dave Pinto's "Lineup Analysis Tool" to determine the theoretical ideal batting lineup.

This Week's Ideal Lineup

Fasano
Sizemore
Garko
Shoppach
Choo
Peralta
Francisco
Dellucci
Carroll

Changes From Last Week
Jamey Carroll replaces Andy Gonzalez, and there is some slight shuffling in the middle.

Theoretical Runs Per Game
5.367, down 0.012 from last week. That's basically a push.

Theoretical Improvement
The Indians are currently scoring 4.858 runs per game. That's an improvement of 0.509 runs per game, which in turn leads to 82 runs over the course of the season, or 8.4 more wins. It's enough to make a push for the division, but again, this is all theoretical.

Defensive Plausibility
Once again, Sal Fasano mans the hot corner, and Jamey Carroll comes in to play second.

Fan Believability
Nope, none at all.

My Take
Shoppach moves up to cleanup, meaning he's hitting for power again. Note that even though Victor Martinez has returned, he still didn't crack this lineup. It looks like he's healthy again, though, so he should be back soon.

Random Indians Thought of the Week
Some fans may see Cleveland's recent performance as too little, too late. That may be the case, but I also see it as a sign that this team will one again be successful in 2009.