CNN/SI Preview: Cleveland Indians
Posted: Wednesday March 10, 1999 08:50 AM
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Alomar's .282 average in 1998 ended a string of six straight .300 seasons. Vincent Laforet/Allsport |
By James Quintong, CNN/SI Just a couple of years ago, Robbie Alomar was
considered the best second baseman in baseball players such as Chuck
Knoblauch, Craig Biggio
and Carlos
Baerga close behind. Now, Knoblauch (despite his so-so year in '98) and
definitely Biggio have overtaken Robbie. Alomar hit just .282 last
season, his worst total since his rookie season. He also had a paltry 56
RBIs, disappointing considering he played most of the season. Was
he showing the signs of getting old? Was he still feeling the negative
vibes of the unfortunate spitting incident? Was he wearing out his welcome
in an old Baltimore clubhouse? Baltimore seemed willing to let him
go. So Cleveland snapped him up immediately, filling a gaping hole at
second as well as reuniting him with brother Sandy. The two have not played
together since they were both in San Diego 10 years ago. The move
should pay off well for the Alomar brothers and the Indians as Sandy is
also coming off a subpar year, which saw him hit just .235 while fighting
off injuries. Putting the two together should provide a spark and hopefully
bring them back to All-Star form. Should that happen, the Indians arguably
could have baseball's best lineup, considering they would have a former
All-Star at each position around the diamond. 1998 Recap (89-73,
1st place, AL Central) In recent years, the Indians have become
the only real team in the AL Central. Last year was no different, although
they won the division by a less-than-convincing nine games. They pulled off
a mild upset of the Red Sox in the divisional series and actually had a
lead on the Yankees in the ALCS before falling in six games. As
usual, the offense shined, sparked by the return of Kenny Lofton to
the lineup as well as a monster year by Manny Ramirez,
who slugged a career-high 45 homers. On the other hand, the
pitching was solid but not overpowering -- something that would doom the
Tribe against the Yankees. Bartolo Colon
dominated in the first half, going 9-4 but stumbled home after the All-Star
break with a 5-5 record and 5.65 ERA. He was helped by solid outings by
veterans Dwight
Gooden, Dave
Burba and Charles Nagy.
1999 Outlook The Indians should have a lock on the AL
Central crown yet again, considering the lack of quality contenders in the
division. Their primary goal is to compete in the playoffs. The
lineup, should both Alomar brothers come around, is lethal and possibly
deeper than the Yankees'. They may have lost Brian Giles but they'll just
move David
Justice out to left and probably stick future star Richie Sexson, who
shined subbing in for an injured Jim Thome, at DH.
The bench could
be a bit of a question with plenty of rookies and young players possibly
being pressed into service should one of the veterans go down. However,
Sexson came up huge in such a situation last year, so the Indians are
hopeful outfielder Jacob Cruz or
infielder Enrique Wilson can do the same. On the mound, the
Indians have plenty of pitching depth, but unlike the Yankees no real ace
or go-to guy. All the starters will return in '99 but not picking up Roger Clemens
was huge. Someone must step into the role of the ace. Could it be Colon?
Could it be Wright? Nagy, Burba and Dwight Gooden are all solid veterans,
but none could be considered the stopper. The bullpen has been
Cleveland's strength in recent years, although it seemed to tail off a bit
last year. Mike
Jackson has become one of the most dominant closers in the league but
his setup corps seemed to fail him. So the Indians invested in two
up-and-coming relievers in Ricardo Rincon and Jerry Spradlin, who put up
great numbers in relative anonymity with mediocre teams. They have probably
as much bullpen depth now as the Yankees. Beating the Yankees in
the playoffs seems to be Cleveland's primary focus. The Indians' lineup
matches up well but pitching was, and still is, the major factor. Cleveland
should cruise through the Central but until it can pick up that stopper,
(Philadelphia's Curt
Schilling is a prime candidate) the Indians may come up short yet again
from capturing that elusive World Series ring.
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