Cleveland Indians mid season review

It really seems the Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan has simply given up trying for this team. Since he bought the team in the year 2000 they have almost gotten the roster good enough to be a winner, and that of course is three years removed from a disappointing loss in the 11th inning of Game Seven of the World Series. Lately the Indians have sold off all the pieces year after year, and no rebuilding seem to be going on. They have a 34-54 record and set 15.5 games behind in the AL Central.

Their offense has scored 355 runs and as a team they are hitting .245. They have collected 719 hits, and both of those stats have them ranked 12th among the 14 American League clubs. Their 719 hits are broken down like this; 153 doubles, 12 triples, and 75 home runs. Indians batters have struck out 640 times, and drawn 305 walks. This suggests that the need better hitters, who can be a tad more patient at the plate.

Things are not much better for the pitching staff. As a team they have given up 434 runs and the staff era is 4.64. Only one of their starting five pitchers has winning record on the year. They have given up 812 hits, 73 of which were home runs. They have struck out 480 batters which is the worst record among AL clubs, and they have issued 331 walks.

The simple fact here is the have sold off to much of their talent, this team has no hope of competing. They need a massive rebuild, and I suspect that a lot of work needs to be done in their minor league system as well. They have gotten a lot of prospects in the trades over the last few years, but for some reason they are not producing at the Major League level.

Related Links:

•Cleveland Indians news and notes
•The Business of Major League Baseball
•MTR Baseball.com