The Cleveland Indians have been in a downward spiral for the last 3 seasons. In 2007, the Indians were one game away from the World Series, the Indians’ first since 1997, but it wasn’t meant to be. In 2008, the Indians were averaging 81-81 with no improvement from the previous season. In 2009, the Indians were one of the worst teams in baseball going 65-97. Only 4 teams in the entire league had a worse road record than Cleveland.
The Indians have some good players in Grady Seizmore, Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera. Choo had the best year with the bat for the Indians. Choo is 27 years old and perhaps entering the prime of his career. But aside from a few players, the Indians have many, many needs.
The Indians’ pitching suffered with the loss of Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia; the Indians couldn’t afford to keep any of them long term. The Indians’ rotation isn’t the best ever, in the American League with the big hitters, if a team is below average in pitching, they won’t win many games. The bullpen wasn’t impressive at all, either.
The Indians’ payroll is expected to be one of the lowest in the league next season, so it could be another year of misery. Travis Hafner will be fully healthy by opening day to give Indians fans some hope of a good year from his designated hitter. While the Indians’ starting lineup is a little better than a minor league team, it’s not much better as of now.
Teams can’t win when they constantly move their big name players one by one every year and expect to win. In the upcoming season, the Indians should have one of the youngest teams in the league due to payroll and the movement of established veteran players.