Rise of the Tribe - Cleveland Indians Franchise

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World Series (2)
1920 • 1948

AL Pennants (5)
1920 • 1948 • 1954 • 1995 • 1997

Central Division Titles (7)
1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999
2001 • 2007

Difficulty: Legend

2011 Recap:
This was a long year for Cleveland Indians fans: From the acquisitions of Ubaldo Jimenez and Kosuke Fukudome, to falling in and out of playoff contention. The truth is that this whole year can be seen as one large accomplishment for the tribe. The beginning of the year started with a bright future. The fans waited until June 27th, when the team decided to bring up one of their most hyped prospect, Lonnie Chisenhall. A little less than a month later, Jason Kipnis was added to the mix and the Indians started to receive even greater enthusiasm from their fans. The prospects were a large bright spot for the tribe, as 2011 was considered the hopeful end of the Indians slide of mediocrity (which lasted from 2008-2010). Kipnis was a bright spot in the clubhouse, as August 10th represented the exclamation point in his career on the “Road to the Big Leagues.” Kipnis had a huge day, smashing five hits, including a home run and scoring 4 runs, leading the Indians to a 10-3 win. The trade deadline in 2011 included a massive deal for the Indians as buyers rather than sellers, leading to controversy throughout Cleveland. Many fans weren’t familiar with the prospects which had been traded in the deal which sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians.

Projected Line-Up
1. SS Asdrubal Cabrera
2. 2B Jason Kipnis
3. RF Shin-Soo Choo
4. C Carlos Santana
5. DH Travis Hafner
6. LF Johnny Damon/Grady Sizemore (Position Battle)
7. CF Michael Brantley
8. 1B Casey Kotchman
9. 3B Jack Hannahan

Bench
OF Shelley Duncan
OF Aaron Cunningham
UTL Jose Lopez
C Lou Marson

Projected Rotation
1. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez
2. RHP Justin Masterson
3. RHP Derek Lowe
4. RHP Josh Tomlin
5. RHP Jeanmar Gomez/RHP Zach McAllister (Position Battle)

Bullpen
Closer: RHP Chris Perez
Setup: RHP Vinny Pestano
MR: LHP Tony Sipp
MR: RHP Dan Wheeler
MR: RHP Jairo Asencio
LR: RHP Joe Smith

Expectations
I expect a Wild Card finishout of this team, just do to the fact that Detroit is in the Central Division. But, I do think we will give Detroit a run for their money. My predictions for Indian All-Star Selections are SS Asdrubal Cabrera and Closer Chris Perez. But if Starting Pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and Right Fielder Shin-Soo Choo return to form I think they can be All-Stars in 2012.

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Breaking News:

Indians Right-Handed Pitcher Zach McAllister has officially won the 5th rotation spot, Grady Sizemore and Johnny Damon have came to a tie for the everyday Left Fielder job with Sizemore batting playing on days against Right-handers and Damon on days against Left-Handers.

It was a no brainer who shined, with McAllister going 4-0 with a 2.79 ERA in his 5 starts and various appearances throughout camp. He impressed Manny Acta with his command of breaking pitches and ability to get outs with those pitches. Sizemore was the favorite to win the left fielder job entering camp but showed his inabilty to perform against lefties, which led to Damon taking the Job on days against lefties

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Breaking News:

The Cleveland Indians have welcomed LHP Bill Bray and RHP Jose Arredondo to the Indians. The Management of the Organization parted ways with 3B Jack Hannahan and Pitcher Cord Phelps. The move to deal Hannahan came due to the excelent performance of young 3B Lonnie Chisenhall during Camp and the need of a LHP in the Indians bullpen.