The Cleveland Indians begin their march toward the 2012 AL Central Division title at home with a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays from April 5-8 (the 6th is an off-day for possible weather issues). Toronto finished fourth in the American League East division in 2011, but was actually two games better than the Indians at 82-80. The Indians will conclude the first homestand with three games against the archrival Chicago White Sox from April 9-11. The White Sox finished one game behind the Indians at 79-83 in the AL Central in 2011, though they are now led by new manager Robin Ventura.
The Cleveland Indians’ first roadtrip of 2012 will take them to AL Central rival Kansas City to face the Royals from April 13-15. The Royals, like the Indians, are projected to be a young-and-upcoming team within the American League Central, boasting of a young offense that projects to get better, including players like OF Alex Gordon, 1B Eric Hosmer, SS Alcides Escobar, and 3B Mike Moustakas. The Indians then take their act to the West Coast to take on the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics.
Coming back to Progressive Field on April 24, the Cleveland Indians will take on the Kansas City Royals again, followed by a series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from April 27-29. The Indians then go out on the road for a quick 3-game trip to begin the month of May to face the White Sox. The Indians then come back home to host the AL Champion Texas Rangers from May 4-6, followed by another series against archrival Chicago.
The Indians will head out on the road to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox for a four-game series from May 10-13, followed by a quick two-game set in Minneapolis against AL Central rival Minnesota Twins. The Indians will then have a two-game set at home against the Seattle Mariners before the first interleague series of 2012 commences, that being against the Miami Marlins, the new name of the Florida Marlins. Old foe Ozzie Guillen, the former manager of the Chicago White Sox, now leads the Marlins into Progressive Field to take on the Cleveland Indians May 18-20.
The Indians return to American League action between May 22-24 with their first series of the 2012 season against the Detroit Tigers, the team that overtook them in the AL Central standings. The Cleveland Indians will attempt to break a 10-game losing streak to the Tigers after the Indians won 6 of the first 8 meetings between the two teams in early 2011. The Indians will finish the month of May with three games against the White Sox in Chicago and three games at home against the Royals.
The month of June sees the Indians start at home against the Minnesota Twins, but the Indians won’t see much of home in June, as 18 of their 27 games in June are on the road. The first road trip involves a three-game set in Detroit against the Tigers from June 5-7, followed by two interleague series in St. Louis against the World Champion Cardinals and in Cincinnati against the intrastate rival Reds.
The Indians come home for two series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and against the Reds to conclude the “Battle of Ohio,” then head back out on the road to finish the month of June, with three-game series against the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, and a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Cleveland Indians’ July schedule is a little more balanced between road and home, with 12 road games and 14 home games. The Angels come to Cleveland for a three-game series July 2-4, followed by a visit from the Tampa Bay Rays for a four-game series July 5-8. The Rays continue to excel as an organization with limited financial resources, yet still making the postseason in three of the past four seasons from the American League East despite the presence of New York and Boston in that division. This leads up to the All-Star Break, for which the Indians are scheduled to have four days off this year instead of the usual three days.
When the Cleveland Indians resume play after the All-Star Break, they’ll begin on the road in Toronto to take on the Blue Jays July 13-15, followed by a four-game series down in St. Petersburg to once again take on the Rays July 16-19. The Indians return home for a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles, followed by a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers. The Indians finish out the month of July with a three-game series in Minnesota against the Twins July 27-29, followed by the first of a three-game series in Kansas City against the Royals.
After the Indians complete their series in Kansas City, the Tigers await in Detroit for another showdown between potential American League Central contenders August 3-5. The Indians return home to take on the Twins again in a three-game series, followed by the Boston Red Sox coming into town for a four-game series August 9-12.
The Cleveland Indians had only endured a six-game West Coast trip back in mid-April, but they’ll have to deal with a nine-game West Coast trip August 13-22, facing off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, and the Seattle Mariners. After completing that challenging trip, the Indians face the New York Yankees at Progressive Field for three games August 24-26, followed by a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics August 27-30. The Texas Rangers make a return trip to Progressive Field for a three-game series to end the month of August and begin the month of September.
The Cleveland Indians will then have a challenging roadtrip to endure in the early part of September, and one that could very well determine whether they make the postseason in 2012 or not, as they face off against two AL Central foes – Tigers for three games September 3-5 and Twins for four games September 7-9 – and a three-game series at Rangers’ Ballpark against AL Champion Texas September 10-13.
After the series with Texas, the Indians face AL Central foes for the rest of 2012, beginning with three games with the Tigers at home September 14-16, followed by three games with the Twins September 18-20. The Indians take on the Royals and White Sox for three games each on the road, then follow that up by finishing the season with three games each against them at Progressive Field from September 28 to October 3.
Looking at the entire 2012 schedule, the Cleveland Indians’ greatest challenges may come from the following portions:
- The nine-game road trip, including six games on the West Coast, in the middle of April
- The month of June when they play just 9 games at home and 18 games on the road, including 9 games in National League parks that will keep veteran DH Travis Hafner to just one at-bat per game
- The nine-game road trip in late July to early August where the Indians face AL Central foes Minnesota, Kansas City, and Detroit in their respective home parks
- The nine-game road trip to the West Coast in mid-August to take on the Angels, Athletics, and Mariners
- The nine-game road trip in early to mid-September where the Cleveland Indians will take on the Tigers, Twins, and Rangers in their respective home parks
In order for the Indians to make the 2012 MLB Postseason, the Indians must play better on the road than they did in 2011, where their record was just 36-45, as compared to 44-37 at home. The Indians must show more consistency offensively and defensively in 2012 to avoid the lulls and valleys they displayed in 2011, especially in the second half of the season. Most of all, the Cleveland Indians must remain healthy, or at least, healthier than they did in 2011. If the Indians can do these things, they can likely meet the challenge of handling a somewhat difficult 2012 MLB schedule and put themselves in position to make the postseason in 2012.
