Thursday, October 05, 2006
A Look Back At 2006
Team Outcome:
Season Record: 78-84
Division Finish: 4th
Offensive Ranking: Tied for 2nd in AL (Tied for 2nd in MLB) - Based on Batting Average
Pitching Ranking: 6th in AL (11th in MLB) - Based on ERA
Fielding Ranking: 12th in AL (24th in MLB) - Based on Team Fielding Percentage
Individual Offensive Leaders:
Batting Average Leader: Victor Martinez (.316)
Home Run Leader: Travis Hafner (42)
RBI Leader: Travis Hafner (117)
Stolen Base Leader: Grady Sizemore (22)
Total Bases Leader: Grady Sizemore (349)
Offensive MVP: Grady Sizemore
Individual Pitching Leaders:
ERA Leader: CC Sabathia (3.22)
Wins Leader: Jake Westbrook (15)
Saves Leader: Bob Wickman (15)
Innings: Jake Westbrook (211.1)
Strike Out Leader: CC Sabathia (179)
Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia
Its kinda of scary looking at the stats. When your team is second in the league in offensive stats and your pitching is sixth in the league you should most likely make the playoffs. However, if you just followed the team a little, you know that the Indians problems revolved around defense and relief pitching. I have stated my times that the Tribes problems when the Indians signed journeyman starter Jason Johnson for a large contract and let star reliever Bob Howry sign with another team.
So where does that lead us to 2007? Well, the offensive and starting pitching look fantastic, With bats like Sizemore, Hafner, Martinez, and young sluggers that are coming into their own the team does not need to worry about putting runs on the board. Starting pitching is a dream that most teams dream about. Lee, Wesstbrook, Sabathia, Byrd, and Sowers make a great starting five. Defense and Bullpen help, and a catcher is what the team needs to shop for this offseason.
The defense's problems will be resolved for the most part with a new catcher. Victor Martinez cannot throw out Babe Ruth if he was stealing and he has been dead for 60 years. The bullpen is going to be costly for the Tribe to fix and hopefully the Dolan's will be able to afford it and the Tribe is able to find someone to fit the needs.
For the most part the Indians outlook looks good. I am a little scared that anytime the Indians look like they are on the way to something they choke. In 2004 they melted down once they were in contention, in 2005 it looked like a World Champion team until the last week when they started to get beat by sub 500 teams in the last week, and this years expectations seemed to bring the team to play poorly. Hopefully Wedge and Shapiro will be able to fix these problems with a veteran leader that will bring this team deep into the playoffs in 2007.
Season Record: 78-84
Division Finish: 4th
Offensive Ranking: Tied for 2nd in AL (Tied for 2nd in MLB) - Based on Batting Average
Pitching Ranking: 6th in AL (11th in MLB) - Based on ERA
Fielding Ranking: 12th in AL (24th in MLB) - Based on Team Fielding Percentage
Individual Offensive Leaders:
Batting Average Leader: Victor Martinez (.316)
Home Run Leader: Travis Hafner (42)
RBI Leader: Travis Hafner (117)
Stolen Base Leader: Grady Sizemore (22)
Total Bases Leader: Grady Sizemore (349)
Offensive MVP: Grady Sizemore
Individual Pitching Leaders:
ERA Leader: CC Sabathia (3.22)
Wins Leader: Jake Westbrook (15)
Saves Leader: Bob Wickman (15)
Innings: Jake Westbrook (211.1)
Strike Out Leader: CC Sabathia (179)
Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia
Its kinda of scary looking at the stats. When your team is second in the league in offensive stats and your pitching is sixth in the league you should most likely make the playoffs. However, if you just followed the team a little, you know that the Indians problems revolved around defense and relief pitching. I have stated my times that the Tribes problems when the Indians signed journeyman starter Jason Johnson for a large contract and let star reliever Bob Howry sign with another team.
So where does that lead us to 2007? Well, the offensive and starting pitching look fantastic, With bats like Sizemore, Hafner, Martinez, and young sluggers that are coming into their own the team does not need to worry about putting runs on the board. Starting pitching is a dream that most teams dream about. Lee, Wesstbrook, Sabathia, Byrd, and Sowers make a great starting five. Defense and Bullpen help, and a catcher is what the team needs to shop for this offseason.
The defense's problems will be resolved for the most part with a new catcher. Victor Martinez cannot throw out Babe Ruth if he was stealing and he has been dead for 60 years. The bullpen is going to be costly for the Tribe to fix and hopefully the Dolan's will be able to afford it and the Tribe is able to find someone to fit the needs.
For the most part the Indians outlook looks good. I am a little scared that anytime the Indians look like they are on the way to something they choke. In 2004 they melted down once they were in contention, in 2005 it looked like a World Champion team until the last week when they started to get beat by sub 500 teams in the last week, and this years expectations seemed to bring the team to play poorly. Hopefully Wedge and Shapiro will be able to fix these problems with a veteran leader that will bring this team deep into the playoffs in 2007.
# posted by MurphyStreet @ 10:44 AM 
