Tribe makes a statement for strong season
I understand it is only three games into the season, but there are some encouraging signs that point to a decent season for the young Indians. I'm always a bit overly optimistic, but in this case I believe it is warranted after a strong spring and a solid opening series.1) The Indians just took two out of three on the road from the White Sox – For the Tribe to beat one of two division favorites on the road is impressive. What makes it even more impressive is that...
2) They beat their top three pitchers – Cleveland's suspect top end, while suffering at the hands of Mark Buehrle, still took out the Sox' 2 and 3 starters — a staff supposedly superior to their own.
3) Fausto & Masterson shine — Carmona and Justin Masterson both had tremendously encouraging outings. If the top three of the rotation can do this, the bottom of the rotation will work itself out.
4) Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley — Both are going to be good, really good, and it makes the CC return look very shrewd, especially if Rob Bryson gets healthy again.
5) Manny's Acta — I love his energy and his game strategy. He is aggressive and isn't afraid to have expectations of his players. This also brings us to his affect on...
6) Jhonny Peralta and Carmona — Both seem very at ease with Acta. He seems to be a nice fit for them. Look for each, especially Peralta, to have nice bounce-back seasons. Speaking of which...
7) They're healthy again — While injuries are always a threat to doom any team, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner and Jake Westbrook all look to be healthy. If they are, that's huge. Pronk actually looks like he may hit. LaPorta looks like he's on the road to recovery, he hits the ball hard.
8) Grady II — Moving Sizemore to the two-hole already looks like a master stroke for Acta. Giving him a chance to hit with guys on in 25% more of his at-bats (was that hard to figure out?) was a great decision. He could have a monster year.
9) Brantley, Cabrera & Choo — Having the first two set the table for Sizemore and Choo looks like a great combination. While a little left-handed heavy, the lineup is full of good sticks. Now imagine Carlos Santana in the mix.
10) How 'bout that bullpen? -- Perez can close, the other Perez is back, Aaron Laffey is a great fit in the bullpen. If these guys continue to get people out it is key to this year's success.
11) Nice bench — When you have Mark Grudz, Andy Marte and Austin Kearns on your bench it's a nice start. Plus, the Indians system is deep enough to absorb injuries.
In conclusion, with all of the good, young talent this team has, coupled with a manager with passion and energy, a good start can blossom into something pretty special. Give a young team confidence and they'll take it and run. Gone are the days of grinding it out and the station-to-station offense of Eric Wedge. This bunch might be a lot of fun to watch with the National League style of Manny Acta. So match a good start with a fun product and you might even fill the stands with excited fans. If the weather gets warm and the Tribe is still winning, the fans might actually get back on board. This group in front of a consistent full house could really feed off the energy and roll. You just never know.
Then again, they could lose 10 of their next 15...
But I doubt it.