The All-Star break affords the opportunity to look back at the first half to see what went right and wrong for the thirty MLB teams. The Cleveland Indians are up next, and here is the pre-season post on the AL Central.
| Statistic | Cleveland | AL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs per Game | 5.07 | 5th |
| Batting Averge | .260 | 10th |
| On-Base Average | .345 | 5th |
| Slugging Percentage | .420 | 10th |
| ERA | 5.42 | 14th |
| Strikeouts per 9 IP | 6.3 | 12th |
| Walks per 9 ip | 3.91 | 14th |
| HR per 200 IP | 26.5 | 12th |
What Went Right
Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner bounced back nicely from poor 2007 seasons. Shin-Soo Choo is peaking at age 26, becoming a valuable outfielder. Asdrubal Cabrerra contines to do a good job getting on base. Offense isn’t the problem on this team.
Cliff Lee isn’t looking like a Cy Young winner this season, but he’s still walking few batters and posting a very good ERA.
What Went Wrong
The rotation behind Lee never developed. The starters are posting an ERA over 5.56. Most disappointing is Fausto Carmona once again not capturing the magic of his 2007 season. Kerry Wood took over the closer role and blew 1/4 of his save opportunities, having the tendency to give up the long ball. The pen that was so good in 2007 is just a shadow of itself now.
Grady Sizemore was hurt and is having an off year, but given the state of the pitching, his lack hitting wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.
Other teams in this series:
- Oakland Athletics
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Houston Astros
- Chicago Cubs
- Milwaukee Brewers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Baltimore Orioles
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Tampa Bay Rays
- New York Yankees
- Boston Red Sox
- San Diego Padres
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Colorado Rockies
- San Francisco Giants
- Los Angeles Dodgers