Jobu’s MLB Rankings for 2010: Cleveland Indians

MLB 2010 Previews – Cleveland Indians

2009 Campaign: 65-97, Tied for last place in AL Central

The Cleveland Indians are just two years removed from postseason success; however, a lot can happen in a little bit of time. The team continued to purge itself of talent in 2009, trading away another Cy Young award winner in Cliff Lee and All Star catcher Victor Martinez. It’s very clear that the management in Cleveland saw a decline and accelerated it in hopes that they could rebuild that much faster.

Key Arrivals: N/A

Key Departures: 2B Jamey Carroll (FA)

2010 Outlook: Do a quick Google search on MLB rankings for 2010 and you’ll find that many pundits are calling for the Indians to finish the season in the cellar. It’s certainly not an unreasonable prediction, but there’s room for some optimism in Cleveland, because of the pitching. After all, no one guts their team with All Star talent if they aren’t receiving something worthwhile in return – Justin Masterson and Carlos Carrasco are two highly touted pitching prospects that could contribute this year. And although Fausto Carmona failed to impress last year, he has shown signs of brilliance in the past. Aaron Laffey is also a quality fourth starter, and Kerry Wood seems to have finally found success again as a closer. The problem is that these pitchers will need to show up every time out if this team plans on winning games, because aside from fallen star Travis “Pronk” Hafner, their lineup features Grady Sizemore…and that’s about it.

Jobu Says – Cleveland rum and cigars to other teams, not Jobu. One Jobu means cellar for 2010, but Jobu will not hold grudge for 2011.