MLB Team Preview – Cleveland Indians
In the 2009 MLB odds, the AL Central looks like a division on the rise. The Cleveland Indians, while they sputtered to a .500 record last year, could be one of baseball’s biggest bounce-back stories this season despite their increasingly tough local competition. They have enough young talent to challenge for the division crown, but only time will tell whether or not it all comes together at once.
Whereas most of the ballclubs in online betting are unbalanced – strong in hitting, weak in pitching and vice-versa – the Tribe looks “pretty good” but not great everywhere. The lineup features a mixture of up-and-comers who could be ready to make the next leap and veterans looking to recover after nightmarish seasons. What happened to Travis Hafner? The hulking DH was the best AL hitter this side of David Ortiz as recently as 2006, when he had a whopping 42 homers and 117 RBIs in just 129 games. Now, he’s nicked up and his precipitous drop in power has some people, er, suspicious about his past success. Victor Martinez is Cleveland’s other fallen superstar, having spent most of 2008 on the shelf. Of this pair, V-Mart is far more likely to bounce back. In fact, online betting fans should count on it.
Cleveland’s crown jewel is obviously Grady Sizemore. It’s impossible not to like the guy; he has power, speed, patience, and an infectious love for the game. He’ll continue to lead the Indians’ offense and hopes to get help from power-hitting shortstop Jhonny Peralta, newly acquired Mark De Rosa and catcher Kelly Shoppach, who forced his way into the lineup after jacking 20-plus bombs in V-Mart’s absence.
The natural reaction is to write Cleveland’s pitching staff off at the sportsbook because (a) any team losing C.C. Sabathia can’t possibly fill that giant, overweight void and (b) Cliff Lee can’t possibly repeat his Cy Young performance. Don’t be so sure. For one, Cliff Lee’s success wasn’t as out-of-nowhere as most MLB betting fans think; yeah, he was sent to class-AAA the year before, but raise your hand if you knew he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2005. That’s right, he went 18-5 that year and actually did break into the bigs as a highly touted lefty prospect, so it’s not impossible for him to at least approach his 2008 numbers.
The other forgotten arm in Cleveland’s rotation: Fausto Carmona. He struggled due to injury last year, making online betting fans quickly forget his phenomenal rookie season (19-8, 3.06 ERA). His sinker is still a worm killer extraordinaire, so he should return to form in 2009 if healthy.
The Indians’ bullpen is another definite strength, with several guys capable of closing games if needed. Jensen Lewis thrived in the role late last season and will be counted on in key setup duty, while big free-agent signing Kerry Wood will dominate at least until he gets hurt.
Overall, the Tribe lacks major firepower on offense and depth in its starting rotation, but 90 wins is entirely possible if the injury bug doesn’t bite. Otherwise, 2009 could be another lost year at the sportsbook for Cleveland.
One reply on “MLB Predictions / Previews: Cleveland Indians”
As a UK-ased Tribe fan, I found your blog on google and read a few of your other Tribe posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.