When you think of the Cleveland Indians you think of one of the oldest baseball teams in the American League, but you also think about one of the most unlucky franchises in baseball history after not winning a World Series since 1948. The Indians in the past have had a lot of great teams mostly through the mid and late 90's. Though 1995 to 1998 they won 4 American League Central Division titles, in 2001 they won their division and in 2007 they won their division as well. But the teams that stand out the most are the 1995, 1997, and 2007 teams because they were roughly the three best teams in their history.
I start in 1995 where like I said they won their division and won their first American League Pennant since 1954 and would go on the World Series with a line-up and starting pitching that was the best in the AL. In their line-up they had Sandy Alamar catching, Omar Vizquel at shortstop, Kenny Lofton in center field, Jim Thome at third base, Manny Ramirez in right field, and Eddie Murry as their DH. Their line-up was filled with power and speed and as for their pitching staff they had Dennis Martinez leading the way followed up by Charles Nagy and Orel Hershiser. They also had a good closer in Jose Mesa. In the 1995 World Series they would host the best National League team for years in the Atlanta Braves and the Braves would go on to win the World Series. Two year later the Tribe would find themselves in the Fall Classic again after with a little bit of a newer look.
They added David Justice to play the outfield and Brain Giles to play third base; the players they lost were Kenny Lofton and Eddie Murry. On the pitching side they added two rookie pitchers in Bartolo Colon and Jartet Wright and lost Dennies Martinez. With these four new players they were picked to win the 1997 World Series over the Wild Card Florida Marlins who had a bunch of guys who were unknown. In Game 7 of the 1997 World Series the Fish would go on to beat the heavy favorite Indians and yet again the Tribe would fail to win World Series title and the drought would live on. In 2007, seven years later a new Indians team showed people in Cleveland there would be hope again after having the best record in baseball with 97 wins and winning the 2007 AL Central division title and they had a whole different kind of team, a team that could win.
They had by far one of the best catchers in the league with Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta at second base, Casey Blake at third, Grady Sizemore (still on the team) in center field, Trot Nixon in right field, and Travis Hafner (still on the team) at first base. They were almost like the power and speed house of the 1995 Indians team. The 2007 pitching staff was a whole a lot better with having C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona (still on the team), Jake Westbrook, Cliff Lee, Paul Byrd, and bullpen pitcher Rafael Bentancourt. It's funny though because this team never made it to the World Series after losing in the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox after being up three games to one. Somewhere along those lines the Tribe fell apart and since then the Indians have yet to become a better team. Today the team is a whole a lot young with still a few more filmier faces but never the same after the 2007 team. As for the 2011 team I will break down some of the keys to this young team and tell you if they will ever be the teams of the 95', 97', and 07' teams were.
The Tribe's pitching staff is very young; I wouldn't say they are weak because most of these pitchers are still very young. The veteran of this pitching staff is Fausto Carmon who in 2010 had a year that wasn't all too bad. He is a good sinker ball thrower and throws the fastball in the mid 90's. It's still very hard to win when you have a team that is very young so run support is had to come by. There have been rumors that he could be traded to the Yankees or maybe the Tigers and I think if he gets traded to a different team that is a winning team he will be a lot better pitcher. If you remember in 2007 when they were a winning team he was a winning pitcher with a mindset like no other.
In 2010 Carmon posted a 3.77 ERA, had 13 wins, with 14 losses and 124 strikeouts. Then the Tribe has 25 year old Justin Masterson who could be a good pitcher but just hasn't developed into the pitcher the Indians would hope he would be. He throws hard but has to learn how to control his pitches; I think if he can control his stuff he could easily win 10 to 12 games. Masterson in 2010 had an ERA of 4.70, 6 wins, 10 losses, and 140 strikeouts. Followed up after him is Mitch Talbot who is another guy if he can learn to control his stuff he would be an OKAY pitcher. He doesn't throw hard but throws good enough to win a ball game. In 2010 he posted a 4.41 ERA, 10 wins, 13 losses, and 88 strikeouts. Next they have 23 year old rookie Carlos Carrasco who as we remember was part of the Cliff Lee trade in 2009. Carrasco did play in 2010 and showed that he could very well be the next ace of this pitching staff someday. As of right now he is their fourth starter and last year he posted a 3.83 ERA, 2 wins, 2 losses, and 38 strikeouts. Their number five starter is another 23 year old in Jeanmar Gomez who is also a rookie. Gomez is another young pitcher on the way to maybe being that ace or that number two starter in the Tribe's rotation someday. In 2010 he posted a 4.68 ERA, 4 wins, 5 losses, and 34 strikeouts. The Indians bullpen on the other hand isn't that bad with Aaron Laffey and Jensen Lewis. Aaron Laffey isn't a bad pitcher out of the pen; he can eat innings and save other arms in the pen. In 2010 he posted a 4.53 ERA, 5 HLD, and 28 strikeouts. As for Lewis he is another inning eater and throws pretty hard, there has also been a question will he get a chance to start this season or just keep him in the bullpen, guess will see come opening day. Last year Lewis had a 2.97 ERA, 1 HLD, and 29 strikeouts. Next in this bullpen is set-up man Rafael Perez and closer Chris Perez,
two of the best players on this team as for relief pitchers. Rafael Perez is a good hard ball thrower and is good for two innings of work and can hold a lead if they Indians ever have one. In 2010 he had a pretty good year with a 3.25 ERA, 13 HLD, and 36 strikeouts. As for Chris Perez he is one of the best young closer in the league and that's not to bad playing for a losing team. He is still somewhat young but he knows how to get the job done and close the door when needed closed. In 2010 he had pretty good year with 23 saves, an ERA 1.74, and 61 strikeouts.
As for the Tribe's line-up it isn't as strong as it was in 95', 97', and 07' but it has a chance to become better in future with a lot of young talent. We start off with both of their catchers In Carlos Santana and Lou Marson. Now Santana had a great rookie season and he had not gotten hurt I think he could have maybe won the AL Rookie of the Year award. He was off to a good start and the Indians said that he will be ready to come opening day.
He has great power and a really good arm. Now his speed might go down a little bit after hurting his knee last year but if he is 100% he will be a force to run and steal bases. In 2010 at the age of 24 Santana batted .260, hit 6 home runs, and drove in 22 RBI's. Lou Marson on the other hand hasn't really gotten a chance to play. He was another player part of the Cliff Lee trade in 2009 and as a back-up he might the youngest in the league to back-up another young catcher. Marson is also 24 years old and has a long way to go and in 2010 when he played he batted .195, hit 3 home runs, and drove in 22 RBI's. Now over at shortstop they have three players available for the spot but I think when everything is said and done two of these three player will either play second base or be used on the bench or even maybe win the spot over at third base or first base. I start with the player who already has the job in Asdrubal Cabrera who has also been part of this team since 2007 but didn't play. Now that Cabrera is a starter it's more likely he will keep the spot. Cabrera is a doubles - triples kind of hitter and hits for average. He is also another young player at the age of 25 and still has to learn a few more things. Last year Cabrera hit .276, hit 3 home runs, and drove in 29 RBI's. Next guy at shortstop is the player they signed during the offseason in Orlando Cabrera who is most likely to take the spot over at second base. Cabrera who came over from the Reds is a really good hitter and is a veteran player who can teach some of these younger players a thing or two. Cabrera could be a leadoff hitter or bat second in the line-up. Last year with the Reds he hit .263, hit 4 home runs, and drove in 42 RBI's. Last guy at this spot is 26 year old Jason Donald who was also another part of the Cliff Lee trade. Donald will most likely be a bench player or if he has does well in spring training they could use him at third base or first base. All depends on his arm ability if they use him at third base; they know he can hit because he isn't a bad hitter. Donald in 2010 hit .253, hit 4 home runs, and drove in 24 RBI's.
Over at first base and DH is veteran player Travis Hafner who in 2010 had a down year after being hurt and that has been the problem with Hafner over past few seasons. Being injured has held him back from having a monster season and I think if he stays healthy the whole year he will be a treat in this line-up because when he drives a ball it goes a long way. They may use him as DH in 2011 to maybe give the first base spot to someone like Jason Donald or someone else. In 2010 Hafner hit .278, hit 13 home runs, and drove in 50 RBI's. Next is outfielder and future star center fielder Michael Brantley who is another young player at the age of 23. I think his kid will be the face of this come 3 or 4 years from now if he can become the play the Tribe hopes he can be. Now I don't know if he will play in 2011 but I think when he does get a chance to play he will prove his spot on the field. In 2010 he batted .246, hit 3 home runs, and drove in 22 RBI's. Next is right fielder Shin-Soo Choo who was the Indians MVP of this team last year. He was only player to hit .300, hit 20 or more home runs, and drove in 90 RBI's. It was a shock that he became this good of a player in such little time that he played before. As a fielder he isn't all that bad either and has pretty good speed. Look for him to bat higher in the Tribes line-up in 2011. Last player on this list who
had the worst luck in baseball almost like the team itself Grady Sizemore. Sizemore has been the Indians golden boy ever since he first came up. He has won a gold glove and has been the face of this team since 2006 when he first came up. But in the last 3 years he has been injured with a knee problem and that has been the reason he has not played well. There have been rumors saying he could also be traded as well to maybe the White Sox or Royals. But when Sizemore is healthy he could be a .290 hitter, hit about 25 home runs, and drive in about 95 to 100 RBI's. As for speed he might not be as fast as he once was.
So in 2011 I don't see the Tribe being a team to worry about but I will say this in about 4 to 5 years as this team matures they will get a lot better. They have a lot of young talent on this team that can play with the best of them but I don’t see them ever coming close to being as good as the 95', 97', and 07' teams.
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