In 2008 injuries plagued the Cleveland Indians. Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner, who are a huge part of the Cleveland offense, had awful years and ended up being sidelined for the rest of the year due to injuries. Also, Fausto Carmona's season was thrown off by a hip injury that really affected his pitching. Even though those three did not have the best years, they were saved by Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore who had fantastic seasons and were the real keys to the Indians going 81 - 81 last year (when it could have been a lot worst).
Projected Lineup:
C - Victor Martinez
1B - Ryan Garko
2B - Asdrubal Cabrera
SS - Jhonny Peralta
3B - Mark DeRosa
LF - Ben Francisco
CF - Grady Sizemore
RF - Shin-Soo Choo
DH - Travis Hafner
Projected Rotation:
#1 - Cliff Lee#2 - Fausto Carmona
#3 - Carl Pavano#4 - Jeremy Sowers
#5 - Anthony ReyesPosition Battles:
C - Victor Martinez was not completely healthy last year, so if that is the case again then Kelly Shoppach will take his place. Also, due to what happened last year with Martinez's health, the Indians will give him less starts at the catcher position and give him some random starts at DH and 1B to try and keep him as healthy as possible. So Kelly Shoppach will get more starts at catcher than a normal back-up catcher would.
#3-#5 Starters - Jeremy Sowers did not have a good year last year, so he is on thin ice this coming season. The fact he is a left-handed pitcher helps him because the rest of the rotation is righties, but he really needs to step it up if he wants to keep his spot in the rotation. Also, Anthony Reyes was not able to finish the season last year due to injury, so that is something to watch out for this year.
2009 Outlook: The Cleveland Indians went 81 - 81 with many injuries to their team, so if they can stay healthy in 2009 the team will be much improved. Sizemore will be the anchor of the offense once again and should put up incredible numbers, while Cliff Lee will lead the pitching staff. If Fausto Carmona can stay healthy, then he will make a good number 2 starter and really help that staff because if the team has one weakness, it is the bottom of the rotation. Also, if Kerry Wood can stay healthy and be the closer all year, then that pick up in the off-season would end up being very beneficial, because Kerry Wood has shown he can be a very good closer. I think this team has the players to be an above .500 team, but I think they are just missing a couple pieces to be a sure playoff team.
Predicted Finish: 3rd Place, AL Central
#3-#5 Starters - Jeremy Sowers did not have a good year last year, so he is on thin ice this coming season. The fact he is a left-handed pitcher helps him because the rest of the rotation is righties, but he really needs to step it up if he wants to keep his spot in the rotation. Also, Anthony Reyes was not able to finish the season last year due to injury, so that is something to watch out for this year.
2009 Outlook: The Cleveland Indians went 81 - 81 with many injuries to their team, so if they can stay healthy in 2009 the team will be much improved. Sizemore will be the anchor of the offense once again and should put up incredible numbers, while Cliff Lee will lead the pitching staff. If Fausto Carmona can stay healthy, then he will make a good number 2 starter and really help that staff because if the team has one weakness, it is the bottom of the rotation. Also, if Kerry Wood can stay healthy and be the closer all year, then that pick up in the off-season would end up being very beneficial, because Kerry Wood has shown he can be a very good closer. I think this team has the players to be an above .500 team, but I think they are just missing a couple pieces to be a sure playoff team.
Predicted Finish: 3rd Place, AL Central
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