Chris. Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 From the awesome new Baseball Nation (on sbnation.com) And as quickly as it all began, it evaporated. After starting the season hot, the Cleveland Indians have dropped four out of their last five, eliminating them from postseason contention. ... At least, that’s what it feels like. This is the time of year when you start to expect things to stabilize. Albert Pujols started the season in a horrible slump, but you knew he was going to turn back into Albert Pujols. The Rays and Red Sox, who started their seasons by losing a combined 429 games out of 428, have already moved out of the AL East cellar. And the Indians will slink back to their cozy loser’s nook to spoon with the Royals at the bottom of the AL Central. Maybe. But even though this is when the surprise teams and players start to fade, that doesn’t mean they all have to fade. Sam Fuld probably isn’t the new Wee Willie Keeler, but at least he can point to Andres Torres. And though the Indians’ perch at the top of their division is precarious, there has to be one team that comes out of nowhere every season -- rule 4.12 (a), look it up -- so why not the Indians? Surprise winners like the 2006 Tigers and the 2008 Rays had something in common: a core. They were teams that you could point to before the season started and say, "Except for players a), b, c), and d), this team isn’t very good." But at least they had the foundation of a good team. A foundation of Evan Longoria, James Shields, B.J. Upton, and Carl Crawford was a fine start to a roster, and complementary players exceeded expectations. Carlos Pena was a middle-of-the-order force, and Dioner Navarro picked a fine season to have his only productive stretch of major league at-bats. The same could be written about the 2006 Tigers, who started the season with Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen, which allowed surprise performances from Marcus Thames and Craig Monroe to push them over the top. The Indians have an enviable core. Shin-Soo Choo is so underrated that he’s overrated in his underratedness, which is to say he’s a fantastic player. Carlos Santana his started the season slowly, but he should still be a monster run producer. And if Grady Sizemore is really healthy this time, he’s so talented that even your mother will stop what she’s doing to watch him play. (No, really, that’s why she’s watching him.) That’s a start, and that’s all it is. Just because a team has three or four good players, it doesn’t mean that they’re entitled to play meaningful baseball in September. But it’s three or four more good players than most awful teams have, and it allows the surprise performers to push the team to another level. For example, before you sniff at Michael Brantley, check out his K/BB ratios in the minors. He’s a bat control artist, and lesser players have figured things out at the major league level. Having the core in place allows players like Brantley to push a team towards contention if their development is for real. So are the Indians going to win their division? Well, probably not. Their young pitching has potential, but it’s still a Riddler costume of a rotation. But that’s what everyone said about the 1997 Giants, and people kept waiting and waiting and waiting for them to fade, and they never did. The Indians might not have a really good team, but they have a smattering of really good players. And that’s all Cleveland should need to think maybe, just maybe, they’ll be the surprise of baseball this season. http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/4/25/2131881/cleveland-indians-surprise-worst-to-first Like I've said a few times now, I think Justin Masterson is going to be a really good player. Travis Hafner (fingers crossed) is looking like a really good player again. We definitely have the core that writer's talking about, and with Brantley, LaPorta, and some of the guys in Columbus, the offense could be dangerous. If our pitchers can play to their potential, this can still be a good team. That said, hopefully the Carrasco injury isn't too serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandFanForLife Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 Good article. This team is really exciting to watch and I really hope they continue playing good ball. I just have this nagging fear in the back of my head that with every loss, they are turning into the team everyone expected them to be. God I hope I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearTheRoo Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 Good article. This team is really exciting to watch and I really hope they continue playing good ball. I just have this nagging fear in the back of my head that with every loss, they are turning into the team everyone expected them to be. God I hope I'm wrong. We're Cleveland fans, you can never be positive because every season turns into a disappointment.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrb12711 Posted April 27, 2011 Report Share Posted April 27, 2011 tonight was definitely an early season must win for the tribe. Our strongest pitcher Masterson out there had to get the job done and he pitched well. We played like a team pissed off too which was a nice sight to see. Let's hope we can take this series from the royals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris. Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 tonight was definitely an early season must win for the tribe. Our strongest pitcher Masterson out there had to get the job done and he pitched well. We played like a team pissed off too which was a nice sight to see. Let's hope we can take this series from the royals. Yep, this is a very fun team to watch. Unlike a lot of guys the past few years...it looks like everyone on this team gives a damn, and everyone is really having fun. So many likeable players... Hard working, talented, humble. Almost everyone on the team, even some of the guys in middle relief (Sipp, Pestano, I'm looking at you), has "favorite player" potential. I love this season. Thing to remember: Choo and Santana have been our two worst offensive regulars this season. The worst in average, the worst in on-base (well, Orlando is slightly worse than Santana in OBP), the worst in slugging, the worst in OPS. Choo is the worst in strikeout %. Once those two guys break out of their slumps, the offense (which has scored the 3rd most runs in the American League) will get a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris. Posted April 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Speaking of Choo... In the last two weeks now (12 games), he's batted .298 (.899 OPS) with 7 runs, 3 home runs, 11 RBI and 4 steals. Slump busted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tattooedsean777 Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I have my ticket to see them the first two games of their series down here in Arizona the last week of June so I can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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