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2008 MLB
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2008 Cleveland Indians Predictions & Season
Preview
The
Cleveland Indians took home
the AL Central championship
in 2007 in what is becoming
one of the toughest
divisions in baseball. Do
they have what it takes to
repeat in ’08? Jimmy Boyd
provides his take in this
2008 Cleveland Indians
predictions article.
Starting Rotation/Bullpen
By keeping potential free
agent C.C. Sabathia,
Cleveland ensured itself of
one of the strongest
starting fives in baseball.
The big southpaw brought
home the Cy Young for the AL
in 2007, but struggled in
the postseason. Still,
Sabathia went 19-7 with a
3.21 ERA and must be
commended for a fine year.
His partner in crime was
Fausto Carmona. Carmona went
19-8 with a 3.06 ERA. These
boys could be the best
one-two punch in all of
baseball and one of them
could be the Tribe’s first
20-game winner since Gaylord
Perry in 1974. Veteran
righties Jake Westbrook and
Paul Byrd aren’t much of a
drop-off in the three and
four slots. Byrd won 15
games last season and
Westbrook will be poised for
a solid year after an
injury-plagued 2007. Cliff
Lee, Jeremy Sowers, and
Aaron Laffey will battle it
out for the final spot.
Laffey is the early favorite
after starring triple-A
Buffalo and having a solid
run once called up last
year.
Joe Borowski was the AL
saves leader last season
with 45. From May 20th on,
he saved 33 of 39 games. Not
too shabby for a guy most
felt would disappoint.
Rafael Betancourt was deadly
against righties in the
set-up role, allowing just a
.147 average and Rafael
Perez was the guy to call
against lefties, which
batted just .145 against
him.
Batting Order
Grady Sizemore leads off for
the Tribe. The gold glove
centerfielder in quick out
of the box and also packs a
little power. He is a 30-30
type guys who had 24 bombs
and 33 stolen bases a year
ago. Asdrubal Cabrera could
be a star in the making. His
switch hitting ability is an
asset in the two-hole. He is
young and we will see how he
continues to mature this
season. Travis Hafner put up
solid number in the
three-spot, but the Tribe
needs him to do even more.
24 homeruns and 100 RBIs are
mediocre numbers for what
this guy can do. Catcher
Victor Martinez shined last
season and seems to be the
right guy hitting behind
Hafner. He finished seventh
in the AL in RBIs with 114
and reached base in 81 of
the final 88 games. Ryan
Garko is the king of taking
one for the team. He set a
club record by getting hit
by pitches 20 times. He must
produce more the just 61
RBIs hitting in the fifth
spot. Johnny Peralta was the
AL shortstop of the year in
my book with 21 homers and
72 RBIs. Leftfielder David
Dellucci and right fielder
Franklin Gutierrez need to
improve or Cleveland must
ship them out. No ones glove
is good enough to justify
the lackluster numbers these
two put up last season.
Casey Blake may not hit in
the nine spot all season,
but when he is there, he is
the deadliest nine hitter in
baseball. He can improve on
his 18 homers and 78 RBIs.
The Tribe has as good a
starting rotation as you’ll
find and a fine pen as well,
but there seem to be a few
too many holes in the order,
particularly the seven and
eight hitters. Cleveland
will give the AL Central
title a run for its money,
but the Tigers will likely
take it home this year.
Quit letting your man get
the best of you. Sign up for
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you realize that there is
only one choice for MLB
winners in 2008.
Odds to win AL Central:
7/5
Odds to win 2008 AL Pennant:
6/1
Odds to win 2008 World
Series:
10/1
Other Predictions for the 2008 Season:
Updated February 12th, 2008
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