Cleveland Indians logo; aka 'the Tribe'
The 2011 Cleveland Indians came out of the gate hot last season, and were first in the AL Central up until July 20th having won 51 games.
Following that day, the Tribe only won 29 more games in 2011, and finished the season a distant second with 15 games separating them and the division leading Detroit Tigers.
Every team suffers injuries but in Cleveland players spent a total of 826 days on the DL in 2011, which certainly was higher than normal.
Now, with a new season just days away can a healthy Tribe finish off what they couldn’t in 2011?
Let’s take a look at the Indians heading into the 2012 season….
THE POSITIVES:
The emergence of shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera going from good to All-Stat, hitting 25 homers and 92 RBIs in 2011. The 26-year old ranked first in RBIs and hits out of all AL Shortstops and second in home-runs and doubles, and it earned him his first Sliver Slugger Award. This guy has a really bright future in Cleveland and his natural baseball ability leads many to believe that Cabrera will only get better.
The Indians have to take advantage of the April schedule. The Tigers play the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Rangers in the first month so the Indians have to pounce from the start, as the Tigers bats, aka Miguel Cabrera; tend to need a month to warm up before blasting everything out of the park. The Tribe needs to capitalize off every single opportunity if they plan on contending with the Tigers come September. So, another hot start is in order in Cleveland.
THE NEGATIVES: Continue reading ‘2012 MLB Team Preview: Cleveland Indians’ »
