As we make our way eastward from Kansas City, we’ll first take a stop on the shores of Lake Erie to issue our sixth report card. Today’s team: the Cleveland Indians.
Cleveland Indians
Record: 69-93 (4th place in AL Central, 25 games behind Minnesota)
Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Shin-Soo Choo (.300)
Home Runs: Shin-Soo Choo (22)
RBIs: Shin-Soo Choo (90)
On-base Percentage: Shin-Soo Choo (.401)
Pitching Leaders
Wins: Fausto Carmona (13)
Strikeouts: Justin Masterson (140)
Innings Pitched: Fausto Carmona (210.1)
ERA: Fausto Carmona (3.77). Bullpen- Chris Perez (1.71)
WHIP: Fausto Carmona (1.31). Bullpen- Chris Perez (1.08)
Saves: Chris Perez (23)
Highlight of the Year: On September 17, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo had himself a ballgame, going 4-5 with three home runs and seven RBIs in an 11-4 rout over the Royals in Kansas City.
Lowlight of the Year: Often times in baseball, a moment that can be considered historic for one team can be considered a nightmare for another. That is precisely what almost happened on June 2, when the Indians nearly had a perfecto tossed against them by Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. Fortunately for them (and unfortunately for Galarraga), first base umpire Jim Joyce blew the call that would have been the 27th consecutive out.
The Lowdown:
For the Indians and their fans, the promise that followed their fantastic 2007 season seems like an all too distant memory. Since then, the team has failed to produce a winning season, with the last two featuring at least 90 losses, something the Tribe hasn’t done since 1977-1978. Trading away most of their star power from that team certainly doesn’t help the cause, but what’s worse is that outside of Carlos Santana, they haven’t acquired anybody through those trades that is major-league ready. First baseman Matt LaPorta (who they picked up from the Brewers in the CC Sabathia trade in 2008) had a disappointing year, hitting only .221 with just 12 home runs and 41 RBIs, and the other three players Cleveland acquired in the Sabathia deal (Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson and Michael Brantley) have yet to accomplish much.
Even the four players they acquired from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal a year later (Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson) have yet to do much with the team as of yet. While Justin Masterson (who they acquired from Boston in the Victor Martinez trade) has been serviceable at best, only Carlos Santana seems to have the potential for stardom so far, while the jury is still out on LaPorta.
Regarding this year’s team though, it was pretty clear from the beginning that they weren’t going to be very great, and injuries to star center fielder Grady Sizemore, designated hitter Travis Hafner and catcher Carlos Santana didn’t exactly help matters. Outside of Shin-Soo Choo, they couldn’t hit for average or power, and their pitching staff was among the worst in the game. The Tribe went 18-31 in April and May (with six of their wins coming against the White Sox oddly enough), while getting outscored by 65 runs, and once Sizemore went down for the season on June 4 due to knee surgery, they were already playing out the string by the time interleague play rolled around.
Offense:
The Tribe finished near the bottom of the majors in most of the major offensive categories, including runs (26th), batting average (25th), slugging percentage (25th) and home runs (23rd). The only potent bat left in the lineup after injuries afflicted Sizemore, Santana and Hafner was right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, and he did not disappoint, putting together a fantastic season at the plate. Choo was one of the more underrated bats in the game in 2010, as he displayed a great capability of being an all-around hitter, hitting .300, with 22 home runs, 90 RBIs and slugging at a very solid clip of .484. Unfortunately for this club, his performance was the only one worth mentioning, as most of the other regulars were either mediocre at the plate, or just flat out stunk. Nobody else on the team even hit 15 homers, and the next-best hitter average-wise after Choo was Travis Hafner at .278.
Final Grade: D-
Pitching:
The Tribe’s pitching staff did not fare much better than their lineup did, finishing 24th in the majors in ERA (4.30), 26th in “batting average against” (.269) and 27th in quality starts (74). In their starting rotation, only Fausto Carmona finished with an ERA under four (3.77), as the rest of their starters were either average or worse. Righty Justin Masterson was serviceable in the number two spot behind Carmona, eating up 180 innings this year, but his 4.70 ERA leaves much to be desired. Mitch Talbot, Jake Westbrook and Josh Tomlin all finished with ERAs of 4.41, 4.65 and 4.56 respectively, while David Huff was simply awful, finishing with a 6.21 ERA in 15 starts.
The bullpen however, significantly improved in 2010, lowering their ERA by nearly a run from 4.66 to 3.83, good for 13th in the majors. Closer Chris Perez, in his first full season with the Indians, proved to be a stabilizing force at the back of games, finishing with 23 saves, a 1.71 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08 in 63 appearances this year. Lefty Rafael Perez also improved greatly, lowering his ERA from an unsightly 7.31 last year to 3.25 in 70 appearances this year. Cincinnati native Jensen Lewis improved as well, lowering his ERA from 4.61 in 2009 to 2.97 this year.
Even though the starting rotation was pretty bad, their bullpen quite possibly saved this team from losing 100 games.
Final Grade: D+
Wild Card: Shin-Soo Choo
In addition to his aforementioned hitting prowess, Choo is also a great defensive player in right field. In 142 games in right this year, he led all American League outfielders with 14 assists. Even though it is difficult to imagine the Indians losing yet another star player, it very nearly happened with Choo. During the season, the threat of Choo possibly being sent back to South Korea for mandatory military service loomed over the team. Fortunately for Choo and the Indians, he averted this mandate when his country took home the gold medal in the Asian Games, and the requirement was waived. Indians fans, you can take a deep breath, Choo isn’t going anywhere.
Final Grade: A+
Overall:
While there are a couple of good pieces here with this team, they still have a long way to go before they can rise back to the AL Central penthouse. Even if Sizemore, Santana and Hafner were all healthy to back up Choo, the starting pitching on this team is still very sub-par. Even if the Tribe’s lineup were all healthy and hitting well next year, their starting rotation will probably have them lose 90-plus games again.
Final Grade: D
Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Washington Nationals!
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