What I Want In 2013

We're into the meat of Spring Training now and Opening Day is within our sights. With that in mind I thought I'd kick off this new blog with a wishlist of sorts: what I want to see from our Cleveland Indians this 2013 season. Some of it is largely obvious but necessary too. Without further ado...

1) Masterson and Jimenez to Bounce Back

Now this one is so obvious it should be on every Tribe fan's wishlist for 2013. Whether we like it or not, Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez are the "aces" of our pitching staff and both guys had pretty miserable 2012 campaigns. It's fair to say that expectations are about as low as can be so if Masterson and Jimenez can just get back to respectable form I think most Indians fans will be relatively happy. If one of them could regain some of their past magic (Masterson 2011, Jimenez 2010) and distinguish themselves as a real ace then we're golden. What a bonus that would be. Both guys are having a solid spring so far and look to be rejuvenated by the good feelings in the clubhouse that all the new additions have brought. Plus, if anyone can get the best out of Masterson, it's gotta be new skipper Terry Francona who never shied away from his admiration for the big righty during their time together in Boston. Time will tell but the success of this Indians team lies on the arms of Masterson and Jimenez. We need them to perform if we stand any chance at competing.

2) Stay Healthy (AKA Get Lucky)

Every MLB team gets hit with injuries over the gruelling season. It's part of the game. However if we can get a little bit of luck and keep our key guys healthy for the majority of the season, especially our speedy outfielders, we'll have a much better shot at staying with the Tigers this year. The most depressing sight in baseball is seeing your star player/s go down with long term injuries. So this wish is for us to get a bit of luck when it comes to the team's health. Fingers crossed...

3) New Boys Perform

The Indians had an unusually busy off-season this year and brought in a lot of new talent. If our new guys like Swisher, Bourn, Stubbs and Myers can just live up to their career averages then the Indians are immediately a more dangerous team in the American League. If any of them can surpass their average and have a career year, then that's even better! As long as each man can be on the field for the majority of the season and perform at the level we're accustomed to seeing, then the Tribe have a real shot at making the Playoffs.

4) Can the Back of the Rotation Surprise?

At the time of writing this, the 5th and final spot in the starting rotation is still up for grabs. I feel like whoever wins the job could surprise a few people in 2013. Yesterday Daisuke Matsuzaka was told by the organisation that he would not break camp with the Indians roster so the battle for the 5th spot is now down to Scott Kazmir and Carlos Carrasco (with Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer all but confirmed to be starting the season in the minors). Kazmir has been a Spring Training star and has surprised everyone during his bid to break back into the majors. Carrasco is now healthy after missing all of 2012 through injury and has had a solid spring so far, pitching well. It looks like everyone is leaning towards Kazmir grabbing that 5th spot and I think that would be fair. There are still a lot of questions about his durability and whether or not the velocity on his fastball can hold up over multiple innings but so far the signs have been good, if not great. The 5th spot in the rotation on the majority of major league clubs is usually the place for an average to below-average pitcher so if Kazmir does make the roster and contributes solid innings, the Cleveland front office will be overjoyed. With Zach McAllister already confirmed at number 4, the back of the rotation will be under watchful eyes all season. If somebody doesn't pan out or looks shaky, the good news is we have some decent guys ready and waiting to step up. Bauer is one of the best pitching prospects we have and could easily force his way onto the 25 man roster. If Dice-K does well at AAA he could be brought up, plus the young arms of Kluber and Carrasco will be stating their cases too. That's a lot of healthy competition, which can only be a good thing for the Tribe.

Overall this 2013 team will live or die on the strength of it's pitching. We all know the bullpen are pretty good but the starting pitchers are still a mystery at the moment. On paper our offense should be well equipped to keep us in games but we won't get anywhere if can't hold back the opposition. Hopefully the rotation can surprise the nay-sayers and play well. The season will depend on it.

Thanks for reading.