The Cleveland Indians are the most improved team in baseball over the past 2 seasons. They improved 12 wins from 2003 to 2004 and they totaled 93 wins last season for a 13 game improvement from the previous year. Cleveland decided to rebuild their team with young talent and it has paid off.
With the way the Indians came on strong to test the White Sox at the end of last season, many feel Cleveland can take the division. They don’t appear to have any big Achilles heals, but I’m not sure their pitching staff is quite good enough to win a division title and their streaky home play and difficulty with left handed pitching could be the sign of reaching a plateau in 2006.
This young, Cleveland team was surprisingly unstoppable on the road last season posting a 50-31 mark. However, they were just 43-38 at home for a loss of 13 units. Although I don’t think they can have the same road success they did last season, I think they will still be a solid road team and they will improve immensely at home. With another year of maturity, Cleveland’s young guns will do a better job of defending their home turf by being more disciplined at the plate.
Like the Chicago White Sox, the Tribe also struggled against south paws in 2005. They won just 50 of 108 games the past 2 seasons versus lefties as opposed to their 122-93 record versus righties. It’s typical for teams to struggle more versus lefties as they don’t see them quite as often. Cleveland will have to get their extensive woes versus left-handers figured out, however, if they want to make a playoff run this season. Otherwise, if Cleveland gets behind in games, teams will be able to dip into their bull pen early and keep them off balance with left-handed relievers.
Jimmy Boyd is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Jimmy_Boyd.htm
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