The Tribe Have Another Gear
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by Nejoshi
The Cleveland Indians' downward spiral toward mediocrity continues to unravel before our eyes. Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees officially puts the Tribe out of the division lead, and has Cleveland staring up at a wildcard berth that is quickly passing them by. The Indians had everything on the line during this weekend’s series with the Bronx Bombers and ended up with nothing, getting swept in simple fashion by a team that is clearly better right now.
Eric Wedge’s club has played below .500 ball since June 1, and the Achilles Heel that has plagued the team is one that many Indian fans are aware of. No team has had a bullpen that has been as unstable or as unrewarding as Cleveland’s has been lately. Even during the team’s glory days of the mid-90’s, the bullpen was always selling the team short of its postseason potential.
The Indians had high expectations entering the 2007 season, expectations that can all still be met. The team is littered with talent on both offense and in the starting rotation. The only thing stopping this team from taking over the American league has been their consistency.
Cleveland’s offense and defense has been enough to get by, but that’s not good enough in the loaded AL. New York has already showed the Indians that they mean business, and we haven’t even begun to talk about the Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, or Detroit Tigers, all of whom will be bumping shoulders with Cleveland in the near future. The offense scores its fair share of runs, the pitching allows quite a few. The lineup will make a breathtaking seven run comeback one night, then the bullpen will blow a two run ninth inning lead the next. For all their faults and inconsistency, the Indians sure know how to make the game of baseball really entertaining.
The offense is near the top in most offensive categories, and having Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore certainly doesn’t hurt. The two earned All-Star nods this year in San Francisco, something we should get accustomed to for years to come.
But, then you scratch the surface and see Travis Hafner, and understand how much firepower is still available. Hafner is struggling through a .254/18/70 season that will leave him short of his tallies of last year by a mile. His unforgettable .308/42/117 2006 season was boosted by a mind boggling seven Grand Slams that easily was the best around baseball last year. His below average season has definitely put an unexpectedly larger amount of the load on Sizemore and Martinez. It’s pretty hard to perform when people continually place an unreal set of expectations on you, especially if you hit 75 home runs in two years.
The same could be said about Sizemore, to an extent. He has been amazing, with his superb blend of power, speed, and defense, but he can improve, especially if he was used better. I just don’t think hitting leadoff is the place for him. Newly acquired Kenny Lofton should man the top of the order; Sizemore is a better hitter when trying to extend rallies, not start them.
The pitching, like the offense, has done a lot of good things, but is also in need of more consistency. Two pitchers, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, are the only members of the staff that have shown up to play in 2007. Carmona has been quite a story. Originally relegated to the closer’s role last year, he gave up two walk-off home runs in the same week. This year management believed it was time for a move to the starting staff, and the 23-year old has teamed with Sabathia to go 27-13 for the season, with everyone else accumulating an ordinary 38-40 record. Jake Westbrook and Cliff Leehave been especially ineffective, definitely not what was expected from two pitchers who have won 15 games each in the past.
Cliff Lee is 5-8, with an ERA over six and had been treading water for weeks before he was finally sent down to the AAA squad in Buffalo. It’s really hard to say whether or not Jake Westbrook’s 3-7, 5.01 ERA season has been more or less discouraging for fans in Cleveland than Lee’s season from hell. It doesn’t really matter though, because both have been severely detrimental to Cleveland’s bid for an AL Central crown.
As mentioned earlier, the Indians have been especially let down by a bullpen that hasn’t performed up to par. What else is new in Cleveland? Joe Borowski has 32 saves, but has an ERA approaching five. Sounds like a modern day version of Jose Mesa, or better yet, Mark Wohlers. Either way, not someone you want anywhere near the 9th inning of a game during a pennant race.
Despite these problems, the Indians sit at 65-53 and in the thick of the AL Central and Wildcard race. Cleveland must find more sources of productivity in order to remain competitive. It has relied too heavily on a small number of stars throughout the season, and asking them to carry you through an entire season is borderline ludicrous. Travis Hafner and Cliff Lee must return to their 2005 form and help save the tired shoulders of the stars that have carried the Indians this far.
As seen on The Sports Lounge
~Yakob818
Nah, but seriously, it will be. I have a feeling that it'll come down to the nitty gritty for the Indians and Tigers for the Division, and the other team's season is over. Yankees are on fire, and looks like it'll stay that way, unless the Tigers, Red Sox, or Angels can stop them.