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shît happens, or Why the Cleveland Indians will win the AL Wild Card
As I type this, the Cleveland Indians are 8 games above .500, 13 back of the steamrolling Chicago White Sox and 4.5 games back of the California (yes, I know) Angels and Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card chase. However, I'm going to go out a limb and predict that the Indians will make the playoffs as the wild card team this year.
Hitting
Cleveland's ability to hit, score runs, and generally play offense has been costly, especially for those who remember the days of the great teams of the late 90s. However, after early struggles, the Indians are 4th in the AL in hits(233) and third(.283) in batting percentage since the break. More base runners means more runs, which means more support for their
Pitching
Cleveland has the 4th best team ERA in the AL and the ninth in the majors. They have the third best Strikeout to Walk ratio in the bigs and opponents are only hitting .249 against Sabathia, Westbrook, Lee, Elarton, and Davis. Their bullpen has been doing the job and Bob Wickman trails only Chad Cordero of the Nationals in saves. However, the staf couldn't get wins before the break because they werent getting run support. Kevin Millwood has the 4th best ERA in the AL, but is 5-9. Each starting pitcher(combining all the pitchers the Indian's have featured in their 5th spot as one) have lost at least 3 1-run games this year. But with the Indians hitting well, if the pitching can maintain its level of consistancy, one only needs to consult
X-Factors
Of their remaining game left, Cleveland plays 25 against Tampa Bay, Detroit, or Kansas City. A three game set with Oakland at Jacob's Field (Sept 12-14) could be a deciding factor for the team. Cleveland has no games left against Boston, California, or New York. The only teams with better road records are Chicago and St. Louis; 20 of Cleveland's remaining games are on the road.
Most likely, Cleveland will crumble like they did last year and this thread will become a joke But I thought I would make an argument for a team with a legitimate shot...
Last edited by on Aug-08-2005 at 14:40
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