The 2012 season was a disappointing season. The team posted a 68-94 record and placed 4th in the AL Central. Not only did the team not make the playoffs but going into the seasons expectations were high due to their 80 win season in 2011. After the 2012 season manager Manny Acta was fired and replaced with proven winner Terry Francona. Francona last coached the Boston Red Sox’s in a year to forget for sox’s fans as the team collapsed. Since the collapse Francona has wanted to get a second chance to coach baseball games. Well he has an opportunity in 2013, and the Indians invested money in multiple players to help his cause. The Cleveland Indians are a sleeper team this 2013 season, so watch out.
Cleveland Indians Hitting
The Indians hitting is much improved from the 2012 season. The team hit for no power in 2012, and ranked in the bottom for RBI’s, Runs, and Batting average. During the offseason the Indians added many new faces to try and improve their bottom ranked offense. To being the Indians have two very talented young stars including left fielder Michael Brantley and Catcher Carlos Santana. Both players are very young and have tons of potential. Brantley is a perfect number two batter having speed and hitting for average batting .288 last season. Carlos Santana led the team in homeruns in 2012 and can produce all star caliber numbers from the catchers spot. The Indians added leadoff batter Michael Bourn who had 42 stolen bases a year ago on the Atlanta Braves can help set the tables for the middle of the order to help increase their run production. They added Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher both of whom add pop to the lineup which lacked power last season. The team added Jason Giambi who could hit monster homeruns off the bench or in the DH position. The team also added Drew Stubbs to help increase the speed at the bottom of the lineup. Watch out for Jason Kipnis this season. Jason is extremely young and had 76 RBI’s last season. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera continues to produce and remains a solid bat in the bottom of the lineup.
Indians Projected Lineup
1. Michael Bourn CF
2. Michael Brantley LF
3. Carlos Santana C
4. Mark Reynolds 1B
5. Nick Swisher RF
6. Jason Kipnis 2B
7. Asdrubal Cabrera SS
8. Lonnie Chisenhall 3B
9. Mike Aviles DH
Indians Pitching
The Indians pitching includes many once talented pitchers, who if can return to their once dominant form can help the Indians make the playoffs. To start they have ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who is extremely talented but had the worst season of his career in 2012. Last season he had a 9-17 record with a 5.40 ERA. If he repeats this he won’t be in the big leagues for that much longer. Jimenez needs to turn this around fast. Next they have Justin Masterson who also had a very off year in 2012. He had a 11-15 record with a 4.93 ERA. This ERA is un-acceptable and he too needs to turn things around for the Indians to have a chance at making the playoffs. Next they have Brett Myers who is a head case. Myers has fantastic stuff, but every season he seems to be hit or miss. Myers has been pitching in the bullpen as of late so he might be off for the first couple of weeks of the season when he gets extended past 5 innings pitched. Next they have Carlos Carrasco who is very young and talented but never pitched last season. He showed promise in 2010 but in 2011 his promise went south. He is giving it another shot to try and pitch at a high level in 2013. Finally they have Dice-K. Dice-K has connections to coach Terry Francona but he will be on a short leash. In 2012 he had a 1-7 record with a 8.28ERA. Dice-K was once a feard pitcher but not anymore. Teams have figured out his famous pitch the gyroball, and this may be the last stop for Dice-K ever if he continues to pitch poorly. This rotation is very hit or miss and will be all season.
Indians Starting Rotation
1. Ubaldo Jimenez
2. Justin Masterson
3. Brett Myers
4. Carlos Carrasco
5. Daisuke Matsuzaka
The Indians have a very good bullpen going into the 2013 season. If this team has a lead going into the late innings it will be difficult to win. Their closer is Chris Perez who has fantastic stuff. He has the potential to be one of the best closers in the league. Perez had 39 saves and an ERA of 3.59 in 2012. Expect this number to remain the same, and his ERA to decrease. Perez is young and continues to develop into a star. They added Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw in the offseason. Matt Albers had a low 2 ERA last season with the Red Sox’s and Diamondbacks. He can be a very dominant set-up man for this team. Bryan Shaw is still developing but had a 3.5 ERA last season with the Diamondbacks. Another potential set up man is Vinnie Pestano. Pestano had a 2.57 ERA in 70 games last season as the Indians set up man. He too is young and his numbers can improve, as he continues to develop. They also have Joe Smith who had a 2.96 ERA in 2012. If Joe can repeat this the Indians pen can be one of the best in the bigs. Finally they added Matt Capps who was once a dominant closer for the Nationals. If Capps can go back to his all star form the Indians are in great shape.
Indians Season Schedule Break down
The Cleveland Indians have a lot of games within the AL Central their division. This includes multiple games against the AL Champions of 2012 the Detroit Tigers, the improving Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins. Most of the teams in the AL Central have improved from 2012 and this division can produce two playoff teams. Every game within the AL central is very competitive and will continue to be in 2013. The Indians in interleague play 2013 play the NL East. This includes games against the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, and Miami Marlins. They also play a home and away series late in may vs. the interstate rival Cincinnati Reds.
Indians Key Additions
OF Nick Swisher
1B/DH Mark Reynolds
OF Drew Stubbs
RHP Matt Capps
DH Jason Giambi
IF / DH Mike Aviles
RHP Bret Myers
OF Michael Bourn
RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka
Key Departures
RF Shin-Soo Choo
DH/1B Travis Hafner
LHP Tony Sipp
Prediction
The Cleveland Indians were big spenders in the off season. They added multiple talented players to help them make a playoff run. This team will be improved in 2013. To improve they need to obtain more then 68 wins which they will do easily. This team is still a year or two off of making a playoff run. Their pitching has holes and their hitting even with the additions is still only an average hitting ball club. The Cleveland Indians will be a .500 baseball team and place 3-4 in their division.
Cleveland Indians Season Schedule 2013
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