Cleveland Indians 2004 Season Preview

By Brian Duscha

Big Picture: Hats off to the Cleveland management for taking one step backwards in hopes of two forward by cleaning the cupboard and going after young talent two years ago. Unless you are Mr. Steinbrenner, this grassroots approach is the only way to build a team in this era of high money (Cleveland payroll is just above $40 million). It worked in the mid 1990's for the Tribe and we will find out soon if it will work again. Unfortunately, it will likely be next year, not this year, that Cleveland will reap the rewards. The action at the Jake at times will tease you with flashes of brilliance, but will also frustrate you with growing pains. So, Tribe fans be patient, next year this column will be more fun to read.  

Pitching: The only thing scarier than having your average starting pitcher hovering around the green age of 25 is that they will be throwing to a catcher (Victor Martinez or Josh Bard) that is of the same age. Manager Eric Wedge has three young flame-throwers (94 mph fastball or better) in his stable. C.C. Sabathia will be the anchor of this young group. How good can he be? Well, he has a 96 mph fastball and last year he was in the AL top ten in ERA. However, Wedge must be careful not to burn-out this 23 year old arm that finished third in pitches per start last year. Sabathia has the potential to win 16-17 games with two other starters, Jason Davis and Cliff Lee, contributing with 12-14 win seasons. Davis led all rookies with 165 innings and was second in ERA at 4.68. Lee was injured or in the minors most of last year, but did compile a 3-3 record with a respectable major league 3.61 ERA in August and September. And, he is a lefty. If he comes through, the Tribe could have two hard throwing lefties in the rotation. After that, however, the Indians will have to come with a fourth starter in the rotation to step-up. The good news is that if the Tribe can get into the seventh inning with a lead, the bullpen is better than last year and should hold it more times than not. With acquisition of Jose Jimenez along with proven reliever David Riske and a healthy Bob Wickman closing games should not be a problem. At the end of the year Riske took over as closer and was a perfect 7-7 in save opportunities with a 1.07 ERA. A year ago the Indians were 15-25 in one run games and 7-11 in extra innings. Improved pitching should help win more of these nail-biters.  

Hitting: Cleveland's line-up is respectable, but has quite a few question marks. With a young pitching staff the Tribe will have to produce more than the 4.3 runs/game of last year. Milton Bradley batted .321 with OPS of .923 last year. Omar is consistent. Jody Gerut is a burgeoning star who led Cleveland in all hitting categories last year. Therefore, the top of the line-up is set. The rest of the line-up is full of raw potential, but unproven. In addition, one has to wonder where the power will come from. Victor Matinez, Grady Sizemore, Coco Crisp, Ben Brousasrd, Ryan Ludwick, and Travis Hafner will get their AB's, what they will do with them is unknown. With a potential for a power outage, Wedge may have to manufacture runs with smart base running and timely hitting until a serious 3-4-5 hitting combination emerges. 

Defense: Let's start with the upside. Omar Vizquel is 36, but still one of the best shortstops in the major leagues (0.984 fielding percentage ranks best of all time). Unfortunately the dream tandem of Vizquel and Brandon Phillips did not work out last year. Phillips, the Indians top prospect and touted as the next great infielder of our time, struggled both at the plate and in the field. Signing Ron Belliard will stop the bleeding. Although not spectacular, he is an everyday player with solid skills. The accurate throwing arms of Casey Blake at third and Vizquel at short should cover up the shaky glove of first baseman Travis Hafner, who expected to win the job over Ben Broussard. The outfield is adequate, but will not have many web gems. Behind the plate Josh Bard is likely a better defensive player than Martinez. His mechanics are good and his quick release compensates for his average arm strength.  

Final thought: Bad is good. The AL central is not a strong division and for this reason should keep things interesting into mid July for Cleveland fans. If Davis and Lee can throw into the late innings and two or three young bats can support Bradley and Gerut, the drum will be beating again at the Jake. And, if not this year, remember that the Tribe's combined farm system record was 406-299 last year.