Cleveland Indians: How Will the Tribe Return to Glory?

In a recent conversation with a friend who is in close with the Cleveland Indians, there seems to be a few things that could happen that would or even could save the Indians from their downward spiral of the 2008 season. 

The first thing that was discussed was the sputtering offense. The only few guys who have been actually hitting the ball are Casey Blake ,who is batting .280 as of June 30, and Grady Sizemore, who is tied for first in the American League with 19 home runs.  Although some other players have been hitting the ball, Ben Francisco, and Jamie Carroll both batting above .275, the word consistency comes to mind.

With myself being a Indians fan all of my life, trying to compare the 2008 Indians to any of the 90's teams seems impossible. But looking at who the Indians had in the mid-to-late 90's to the team of the present seems easier than originally thought. 

The Indians of the 90's had players such as Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, along with veterans such as Eddie Murray and Mark Whiten, and the ageless Dave Winfield. The team of the present has the young talent that shined through last year, but the team lacks what pushed it over the edge last year. 

What you may ask is what kind of leadership roles that certain players, such as Kenny Lofton and Trot Nixon, displayed? Even though Lofton arrived right before the trade deadline and Nixon didn't really start hitting the ball until the ALDS, the knowledge and experience of the game was always there.  Whether it was Nixon's whip cream pies to Lofton's clutch hits the young players and even 3-4 year veteran players looked up to them and looked to them for leadership.

What Mark Shapiro did this off-season was probably the worst thing he could of done. Unlike John Hart who always upgraded the Indians in the 90's, Shapiro stayed put and said "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." 

Well if it wasn't broken before then it sure is now.

The Indians are in last place in the central and 10 1/2 games out of first, not all is lost.  Although big names such as Fausto Carmona, Travis Hafner, and Victor Martinez are out for most of the season, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia are struggling to keep the ship afloat. Lee who is 11-1 and Sabathia who is 6-8 are both doing their part to drive the crazy train which is the Cleveland Indians. 

Speaking of Sabathia, he is the name of the summer around all baseball, with many teams looking for that edge for the upcoming October. Rumored teams have included the Cubs, Yankees, and Phillies. 

But the real buzz in my opinion is coming out of Colorado by means of Matt Holiday.  What Matt Holiday would do for the Indians is bring veteran leadership, which the Indians are currently lacking. He would also eliminate a huge hole in the outfield and give Sizemore and Francisco some real support, although Gutierrez is a solid player, Francisco and Gutierrez should platoon right-field together and compete.

Lastly what the Indians need to do is let Sabathia go.  Although he is a Cy Young caliber pitcher, the Tribe should trade him and get what you can. The Indians "penny pinching" owner and GM will not be able to match any offer this off-season that Sabathia will receive. 

Even though Sabathia says his heart is in Cleveland, then why is his house in Los Angeles?  And we have heard this before with Jim Thome, who was offered a deal but went towards more money in Philly.

But that's besides the point.

The point is that the Indians are going to lose him in free agency, so trade him and get a solid young pitcher who is already proving he belongs in the majors, not one who is "expected" to be great.

If the Indians do this, then things will turn around for next year.