Look people, I know you are all down and out because the Tigers signed Prince Fielder and the Indians would have had to dump payroll had they signed a Carlos Beltran type, but all is not lost. The games still have to be played. Let us concentrate on what we have and stay positive.
(SIDE NOTE – can I also mention that if the Tigers indeed use Miguel Cabrera at third base regularly, their infield defense will not only be the worst in baseball, it could be as bad as we’ve seen in ages. Imagine the statues on the left side with Jhonny Peralta at short and Cabrera at third. I’d be bunting on those two all day long and dare them to get me out.)
While the Tigers will win by mashing the ball around the yard, the Tribe will have to do it they way they did last year during their hot streak – timely hitting and excellent pitching. The rotation should be solid with a top four of Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin, and Derek Lowe. But what will really help carry this Tribe team, as it did last year, is the Bullpen Mafia, version 2012.
Last year’s seven man group was together from May through the end of the season and was the rock of the team. Six of the seven return for another year, headed by closer Chris Perez. The roles of the rest of the Mafia Members most likely will not change. Righties Vinnie Pestano and Joe Smith, along with lefty Tony Sipp will man the seventh and eighth innings. Lefty Rafael Perez will man the middle innings, along with the Harvard Heater, Frank Herrmann. The only member of the 2011 group who won’t be returning is long-man Chad Durbin.
Yesterday, the Indians quietly signed another veteran who is the odds on favorite to take the Durbin spot; right-hander Dan Wheeler. The 34-year old enters his 13th major league season with his fifth team. He received a minor league deal, but assuming he is healthy, expect Wheeler to be the new long-man.
Like Durbin, Wheeler’s best years are behind him, but he is a playoff tested veteran who should be a good influence with the young arms in the pen. Wheeler has a solid second stint in Tampa Bay from 2008-2010 where he posted three consecutive years of sub-3.35 ERA averaging 67 appearances in those years. His WHIP during those seasons was a rock solid 1.01. in 2011 with the Red Sox as a middle reliever, Wheeler made 47 appearances and finished with an ERA of 4.38 and a WHIP of 1.11. He struck out 39 and walked nine in 47.1 innings of work.
Expect an upgrade over Durbin if Wheeler breaks camp with the Tribe.
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In other news, the Indians began a weekend Mall Tour in Strongsville last night and had a strong showing. Manager Manny Acta was there along with 2B Jason Kipnis, RP Vinnie Pestano, 1B/OF Shelley Duncan, and SP Josh Tomlin all signed autographs, took pictures, and interacted with fans of all ages. 3B Jack Hannahan and 2B/SS Jason Donald will join the four-stop tour today, which will move to North Olmsted (today), Akron (tomorrow), and Beachwood (Sunday).
“This is awesome,” Acta said. “I liked it last year. It’s an opportunity for us to mingle with our fans, get close to them. Once the season starts, these guys have no chance whatsoever to get close or to let us know how they feel — whether it’s good or bad — about our ballclub. We have to face them. It’s good, because we have to get our community behind us.”
Acta was as always very candid on some offseason topics as well:
On being so left-handed heavy: “That’s why we didn’t sign Fielder, because you guys say we have too many left-handers.
On the seemingly never-ending search for a bat: “The offseason isn’t over. We continue to work, and I’m a witness that we have tried really hard to improve our offense. The majority of our offense rests on our guys being healthy … We know what we have and we know what we have to work with.”
On the Carmona situation: “He is a very important part of our rotation. You don’t find 200 innings on eveery corner of America.”
Yours truly and my son will be out to support the team on Sunday. he has only been talking about it every day for the last three weeks.
(quotes courtesy of the Twitter feed of the great Jordan Bastian of Indians.com)
