2008 Indians Preview: Finding That Extra Gear

[Pronk48]

2008 Indians preview: Finding that extra gear
By Scot Gregor for Sporting News
Mar 5, 3:21 pm EST

One day, the Cleveland Indians were the consensus favorite to repeat as A.L. Central champions.

The next, they were relegated to also-ran status along with the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. That’s the kind of impact the Detroit Tigers made by getting Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in a trade from the Florida Marlins.

That’s not to say the Indians are out of the running before the first pitch of the season is even thrown.

Far from it, in fact.

Cleveland is good enough to repeat last year’s 96-66 regular-season record, which tied the Tribe with the Boston Red Sox for the best in major league baseball.

But, without a doubt, finishing eight games ahead of the Tigers again is going to be a colossal challenge.

“Obviously, we pay attention to it,” Indians manager Eric Wedge says of his division rivals. “But our focus is always going to be on the Cleveland Indians. We control what we can control. We’re a good baseball team when we get out there and play the way we’re capable of playing. If we play the way we like to play it, then we’re capable of beating anybody.” While Detroit is loaded on offense, the Indians are again stacked on the pitching side.

Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia is back after finally putting together a full season, going 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA. Yes, the Red Sox shredded the big lefthander in the ALCS, but Sabathia is now a proven stopper at the top of Cleveland’s rotation.

Is Fausto Carmona in the same boat? It’s still too early to tell, but the 24-year-old righthander sure made a smooth transition from the bullpen, where he struggled in 2006, to the rotation.

Coming from just to the left of out of nowhere, Carmona went 19-8 (3.06 ERA) while combining with Sabathia to give the Tribe the best one-two starting punch in baseball.

Paul Byrd also returns to the rotation after winning 15 games in his second season with Cleveland, which ended on a down note. The veteran righthander was named in the Mitchell Report for reportedly purchasing human growth hormone and syringes from 2002-05. The rotation also includes Jake Westbrook and Aaron Laffey.

In addition to a strong starting rotation, Cleveland has what looks to be the division’s best bullpen.

Closer Joe Borowski, who was 4-5 with a 5.07 ERA last year, has his critics. Should Borowski stumble to the point where a change needs to be made, the Indians have options. The first is Rafael Betancourt, who blossomed into one of the best setup men in the game last season while going 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA. The second is 33-year-old Japanese import Masahide Kobayashi, who saved at least 20 games in seven straight seasons for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.

Rafael Perez, Aaron Fultz and Tom Mastny add impressive depth to the Indians’ bullpen.

The Tribe doesn’t have an offense like it did in the ’90s, but it can still score plenty of runs with a lineup that starts with Grady Sizemore and also features Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta.

For the Indians to have any chance to compete with the Tigers, Hafner needs to return to his old form.

“He was dealing with things that young players, especially players of his ability and what he’s accomplished, have to deal with,” Wedge says of Hafner. “I think last year may be the year he learned more than any other year in his career.

“You go through moments like he had, and he’s such a great competitor. I know that he never gave into the fight, but he could just never get himself going and keep himself going. But he still held his own.” Martinez emerged as the Indians’ biggest offensive weapon, ranking seventh in the league with 114 RBIs.

The 29-year-old catcher also established career highs in home runs (25) and doubles (40).

Along the way to winning the division, two other players came up from the minor leagues and helped Cleveland.

Right fielder Franklin Gutierrez hit .266 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs in 100 games. Asdrubal Cabrera also made the most of his opportunity, batting .283 in 45 games.

Casey Blake returns at third base following a rock-solid season, and the Indians added infield depth when it acquired veteran utilityman Jamey Carroll in a trade with the Rockies.

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[brewersfan19]

They are deifnitely going to be in the hunt again this year.

[catman]

I predict they will win 94+ games again this season and will win the AL Central. They have one of the best teams, from top to bottom, I've seen recently.

[Pronk48]

I'm not worried really, but the Tigers won't finish 8 games back so I am a bit uneasy.