Can the Indians...

[Porter]

Ever wake up and catch the Twins, Indians or heck, even the Tigers and White Sox?

[Rufio181]

I think they can catch up with the Twins, but its too little too late to go into par with the Sox and Tigers.

[Dry1313]

One of those three teams will fall off. I think it's safe to say two will (Tigers and Twins), but only because the level is so high. All these teams will be neck and neck.

[Kingdom]

They didn't do a good job of patching the rotation in the offseason and they kept Wickman around. Doomed. They're all doomed.

[ThomasTomasz]

No. I believe it is safe to say that, after losing David Riske, Arthur Rhodes, Bob Howry, and Scott Sauerbeck (lights out against lefties in 2005) from the bullpen, a big part of their success last season, and then losing Kevin Millwood and Scott Elarton from the rotation really hurt them, and I don't think they will recover from those losses THIS season. That isn't to say they won't be back in 2007, because they will (and not even in many of the player's primes) but I see a fourth place finish for the Tribe this year.

[Porter]

I think 4th place is about right too. As long as the Twins get 2 wins from the lefties and a decent start from anyone else in that rotation and that offense keeps trucking. They will take 3rd. The Tigers, Twins and White Sox all have what the Indians need. Pitching.

[Porter]

No other opinons from the other gurus of the board?

[yhova]

I think if the rest of their games are against the Yankees they have a good shot...

[Porter]

19 to 1? In that case the Rays could finish 3rd lol.

[Molina00]

I see little chance of the Indians catching any of the top 3 teams in their division. They have a pretty solid offense and their rotation isn't bad. The worst guy there is Lee at 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA. It's their bullpen that really hurts them. Their best reliever, among pitchers with at least 20 IP, is Carmona with a 4.34 ERA. Even the closer Wickman has a 4.50 ERA and only 13 saves. In this day, almost the only way a team can win is with a strong bullpen since starting pitchers are usually gone by the 7th inning or so.

The Whitesox have the best offense in the division with solid pitching. The Tigers have a pretty balanced offense throughout their lineup and easily the best pitching staff in the division, and to have kept it going for this long, I believe they are for real. As for the Twins, their offense is not as good as either of the other 3 teams mentioned and it seems like their pitchers are either lights out or horrible. They have 2 starters with ERA's under 3, 4 relievers with ERA's in the 3's or lower, but 3 other relievers and 3 other starters with ERA's of 5 or higher. But with the Indians still 7 games behind the Twins, it looks like the lights out pitching of Santana and Liriano will be enough to keep them in 3rd.

[RockSports17]

No other opinons from the other gurus of the board?

Indians just don't have any time to try and make a run for the wildcard. The wildcard is pretty much taken by the White Sox. yes yes, the Tigers have lost the last couple of games. But, I say we'll be starting a winning streak here again. Because the Tigers are for real. They'll be getting into the playoffs this season for sure.

[Porter]

I kinda have the same idea of thinking when it comes to the Indians right now.