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Cleveland Indians Opening Day 2007
by CSF
Staff
04-02-2007
The Cleveland Indians 2007
roster, rotation, and lineup.
Starters: CC Sabathia, Jake
Westbrook, Jeremy Sowers, Paul Byrd, Fausto Carmona
Cliff Lee starts the year on the
DL.
Hitters/Lineup:
Grady Sizemore
*Trot Nixon (against RHP)
Travis Hafner
Victor Martinez
*Casey Blake
*David Dellucci (against RHP)
Jhonny Peralta
Josh Barfield
Andy Marte
*Platoons:
Against left handed pitching:
Jason Michaels will hit second and take over for Dellucci in LF.
Casey Blake will vacate 1B and
move to RF those days for Nixon defensively. Blake,
unfortunately, is still viewed as a full time hitter by this
organization. And while he will platoon in a defensive manner,
he will be in the lineup every day.
First base against LHP will be
made up of Ryan Garko or Victor Martinez. In the latter case
Kelly Shoppach would play catcher.
Mike Rouse is the utility
infielder.
Bullpen: Joe Borowski (closer).
Manager Eric Wedge has undefined
roles to start the season for the other bullpen pitchers on the
opening day roster: Roberto Hernandez, Aaron Fultz, Rafael
Betancourt, Fernando Cabrera, Jason Davis, & Tom Mastny.
Thoughts on the Indian's 2007
Roster
The hitters:
The lineup looks high risk for
failure in 2007. If the evaluations are off on Nixon, Dellucci,
& Blake this offense will struggle to be consistent just because
of where they hit in the order. Looking at the entire roster, it
is obvious that GM Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge
have gone to great lengths to fill in with veteran players
wherever possible. Coming on the heels of their last crack at
doing this in 2006, it does not give one a warm feeling.
Examples going into 2006:
Acquiring Jason Michaels and
handing him a full time job in left field.
Acquiring Guillermo Mota and
installing him as an 8th inning pitcher. They also thought Danny
Graves had something to contribute out of spring training last
year.
Acquiring Jason Johnson and
installing him as a starter in the 5th spot.
Acquiring Paul Byrd and paying
him middle of the rotation money when he performed more like a
5th starter.
Continuing to think that Casey
Blake is a full time player.
Trading away their one proven
bullpen arm in Bob Wickman for a bag of balls.
Going into 2007, the only thing
that is changed is that there are even more cheap, injury risk
type of veterans that have been acquired. Some of them will be
in platoon roles to mitigate the risk of another Jason Michaels
type of year.
David Dellucci, like Jason
Michaels, has never played full time and has had 400 at bats in
a season only twice over 11 years.
Jason Michaels shouldn't even be
on the team when the Indians have so many good outfielders in
their high minors. What is wrong with saying that it didn't work
out - next?
Trot Nixon is an aging career
platoon hitter, only effective against RHP. He's had declining
power numbers the last three years and is coming off back
surgery this past winter. He is a slightly healthier version of
Jody Gerut at this point - little power but possibly a decent
OBP. Another mystery, given the alternatives. GM Mark Shapiro
was quoted the other day as saying he's not up to speed in the
OF yet but coming around and made a similar comment about his
bat speed. These are big warning signs for any older hitter, let
alone one just coming off of back surgery.
Casey Blake is hitting 5th and
will play every day.
Pitching Acquisitions/Risks
Roberto Hernandez, probably their
best bullpen acquisition for 2007 going by performance, is 42
years old.
Joe Borowski (closer) failed a
physical this past winter in Philadelphia and has an extensive
injury history. He's been inconsistent at best in his career.
People comparing him to Bob Wickman are way off. Wickman could
spit out 30 saves/year for a long time in the more difficult
American League. Borowski has had two good years in pitcher's
parks in the weaker National League. And forgetting their
performance for a minute, anyone that has watched both pitch
knows that Wickman has the better stuff.
Aaron Fultz (LH relief
specialist), at least that is the hope, that the manager won't
use him in any other way. This acquisition is a mystery. But
maybe the Indians know something that NL hitters don't. Fultz
isn't good enough to make the AAA Buffalo bullpen right now.
Negative Outlook
This is not a promising team,
given what was in place at the beginning of 2006. What above
average talent it has - CC Sabathia, Travis Hafner, Victor
Martinez, Grady Sizemore, will be expected to maintain some very
high standards. If any one of these players goes down the season
is over. If any one of them even falls off a little bit, the
season may be in jeopardy.
The veteran players that have
been penciled in cannot realistically be expected to make any
difference to the won loss record. The odds are high that at
least two of them won't make it through the season in one piece.
Positive Outlook
GM Mark Shapiro & manager Eric
Wedge show a sense of urgency and make changes quickly due to
poor performance. This means they don't hesitate in playing
younger players like Ryan Garko, Ben Franciso, Franklin
Gutierrez, Shin Soo Choo, Tom Mastny, Juan Lara, Edward Mujica,
Adam Miller, & Fausto Carmona when the need arises.
The young players that are on the
club - Andy Marte, Jhonny Peralta, Josh Barfield, all show
improvement and make up for the lackluster performances of some
of the veteran hitters.
Eric Wedge doesn't hesitate to
move Tom Mastny, Fernando Cabrera, or Jason Davis into the 7th &
8th innings if the previous inhabitants are not getting the job
done.
Mark Shapiro thought he was
buying himself some veteran safety valves this off season. If
the light bulb finally goes on and he realizes the talent he has
right in his own system is far superior, that it won't even take
one trade, the Indians could have a great year.
If the pitching and lineup breaks
down like this by July...
Grady Sizemore
Shin Soo Choo/Franklin Gutierrez
(RF platoon or one takes it from the other)
Travis Hafner
Victor Martinez
Ryan Garko
Jhonny Peralta
Dellucci/Blake/Ben Francisco (LF
platoon or one takes it from the other)
Josh Barfield
Andy Marte
Pitching
Sabathia/Westbrook/Adam
Miller/Sowers/Fausto Carmona or Brian Slocum
Tom Mastny, Cabrera, Davis,
Betancourt - closer and 8th inning, Borowski (long), Juan Lara -
lefty specialist. Any one of those falters, Ed Mujica is quickly
called up.
...the Cleveland Indians have as
good a shot as any in the AL Central to take the division and go
strong into the playoffs with some dominating starting pitching
leading the way.
The outfield will be more
athletic, young, and healthy. The defense will be above average
overall. The offense is better with a legitimate middle of the
order hitter in Ryan Garko hitting 5th instead of Casey Blake.
Having Choo or Gutierrez in the
two spot will beat the older Nixon's OBP and add some speed to
top it off. They would probably top him in power numbers too,
despite their youth. Just think about all of the GIDP that will
disappear having one of those guys hitting behind Sizemore.
Now imagine Hafner, Martinez, and
Garko hitting with these guys on base a lot of the time. Their
doubles will score any of Sizemore, Gutierrez, & Choo from 1st
base.
Will Mark Shapiro & Eric Wedge
actually see what is staring them right in the face and make the
needed changes? It's opening day. One can dream.
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