Do you see The Indians contending this year?

Question

I think Cleveland will be in the mix all year. As a Tiger fan I am a bit worried. I also think The White Sox and The Twins will too. Should be an interesting season in the AL Central.
Yeah, I know, I love to dog "the whinny sux" but seriously, they are still a team to be reckoned with--as well as Detroit, Minnesota, and Cleveland. Your thoughts?

ALL GREAT ANSWERS!

Gee I am going to have a rough time picking the best one.

Answer 1

Well my friend I see the Tribe doing some big things this season. If Peralta and Martinez hit consistently with Hafner and Sizemore there will be big problems for the rest of the division. Once they decide who is going to close, which isn't as big of deal as ESPN makes it seem to be, we will have a marvelous bullpen to back up a deep rotation. Andy Marte is going to do some things this year as well.

Answer 2

Georgie - we are in for a hell of a year! I am happy to see that you give the Sox some respect. They will contend. I was a little unsure of Cleveland, but here is what I think. They have added a few older arms to the bullpen. Borowski will either be average, or real bad. I saw him with the Cubs enough to know that about him. Foulke - his best years are behind him. His health is still a question. But he is a worth taking the chance on, seeing that the bullpen last year was a joke for Cleveland.
Starting pitching is still iffy. Everyone wants to crown Sowers as the next great pitcher - and he will be good. But he is like a Mark Buehrle - he will eat up innings, but not always consistent.
The offense will shine for this team like last year. This is the key for Cleveland. If the bats are cold to start the year (like last year), then this team is in trouble. They started off the season cold last year, and what happened - they fell WAY behind and never caught fire at all. Sizemore is the key. Much as Podsednik was for the Sox. When he does well at the top of the order, the team responds. But all this is meaningless if the starting pitching stinks. An besides Sowers and C.C., there is not too much there. Barfield might be a bit over-rated too.
I see a decent year for Cleveland. With the exception of K.C., the Central is loaded again. Cleveland will contend, but will not see the post-season.

Answer 3

Put your hands up if you thought the 2005 4th place Tigers would go to the 2006 World Series. Nice try, put them down, nobody did.

Cleveland could very well be this year's Detroit Tigers. In 2005 Cleveland finished in 2nd place and was 2 games away from being the wild card team. Last year they ran into a tough hitting White Sox team, a reborn Tigers team, and a Twins team that caught fire!!. They simply got out played by those teams.

This year the tribe has made adjustments in the bull pen and in the outfield with good middle aged players. Combine that with their up and coming studs Hafner, Sizemore, and Martinez and you have yourself a pretty good ball club.

I'm very excited for the season to start. The AL East and AL Central will be something special to watch this year indeed.

Answer 4

They're great, but no. I am a huge Royals fan, and I really appreciate the Indians as a team that builds itself around a solid, young core of players. I just don't think they have matured to the point that the Tigers and White Sox have. I think the final standings for A.L. Central will be Tigers, White Sox, Twins, Indians, Royals. But my Royals will be much improved over last year's team. This is seriously one tough division!

Answer 5

The Tigers are still the class of the division. The Sox and Indians will probably fight it out for second with the Twins in deep pitching trouble. KC?.....nice town!

It's possible that either the Sox or Indians could make the playoffs but I wouldn't count out the Blue Jays this season. I like what they did during the off season.

With all that said I'm looking at a Tigers - Yankees ALCS in the fall.

Answer 6

This year the American Central is the BEST division in baseball(complain all you want Red Sox and Yankees fans). The Indians as well as every other team in the central has a stellar pitching staff(excluding the Royals of course) with CC, Lee, Westbrook, and the young rookie Jeremy Sowers. They also have one of the top offensive players in the league in Travis Hafner who hit 42 home-runs and that is with missing 33 games. The key point to the Indians season I believe will be there bullpen. Last year they blew an unprecedeted amount of games, they will have to be clutch for the tribe to be playing in October.

Answer 7

Cleveland just doesn't impress me much. The Central is becoming the toughest division in the AL. With the likes of Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago, the Indians just haven't kept pace. I see Detroit and the Twinkies battling it out for the Division title but you can't rule out the Sox either. Kansas City is still the bastard stepchild of the division and after signing Gil Meche for an ungodly amount, they deserve to be. I see Cleveland duking it out for third.

Answer 8

the AL central will be very competive this year with every team in contention till the end excpet for KC i see it this way
Minnesota
Tigers 2gb
Cleveland 4gb
Winney Sux 6gb
KC 25gb
you called the whinney sux the White Sox whats up with that?? and the tigers take the wild card

Answer 9

yes, but until they get a Closer they will not win the Big Games down the stretch. this will be frustrating for the Indians fans. The Twins and Tigers have the late-innings accounted for. The White Sox and Indians just don't.

Answer 10

GP,why are you worried about the Indians?
Have they been a thorn in the tigers paw over the years?I don't see them going anywhere this year,but hey you know more about the AL Central than me.I think the Twinkies will be a force to be reconed with.As you see I still smart from the 87 WS when we had to play them in that baggie of a stadium.I hope Burele
has a bad year in Chi-town,he says he wants to play for the Cards in 08.No,I look for Leland to have Detroit playing just as good or even better than last year.