The Cleveland Indians finished with a record of 80-82 in 2011, good for second place in the AL Central, 15 games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers. For the first half of the season, though, it looked like the Indians would be the ones finishing in first place and representing the AL Central in the postseason.
The Indians had a tough first weekend of the season, dropping two straight games to their division rivals, the Chicago White Sox. One ominous sign that would rear its ugly head throughout much of the 2011 season was the struggles of projected #1 starter Fausto Carmona, who gave up 11 hits and 10 runs (all earned) in 3 innings pitched. While Carmona would rebound to some extent as the season went along, his inconsistency would be a constant throughout the whole season, looking at times like the ace the Indians were hoping for, while looking at other times like more of a #5 starter, much like he did in this first game against the White Sox. Carmona would finish the 2011 season with this line:
7 wins, 15 losses, 5.25 ERA, 188.2 IP, 205 H, 60 BB, 109 K, 1.40 WHIP
Conversely, RHP Justin Masterson was going to show that the Indians’ faith and belief of him becoming a quality starter after acquiring him from the Boston Red Sox in a 2009 trade for C Victor Martinez were well-founded, as he went out and kept the White Sox to just 1 run (earned) on 7 hits in 7 innings pitched, outdueling LHP John Danks, who gave up 2 runs (both earned) on 6 hits in 6 innings pitched. This led to the Indians’ first win on the season, preventing the White Sox from sweeping the first series of the season. Masterson was just beginning to look like a frontline starter, as Masterson would finish the 2011 season with this line:
12 wins, 10 losses, 3.21 ERA, 216.0 IP, 211 H, 65 BB, 158 K, 1.28 WHIP
Masterson’s win-loss record likely would have looked better had the Indians’ offense managed to stay consistent, but between mounting injuries that began occurring in May and the struggles that many young players face when they are adapting to the Major League level helped to slow the offensive production that was shown throughout much of April and May. This led to the Indians scoring 704 runs on the season, finishing 16th in Major League Baseball in runs scored. Masterson wound up having some of the lowest run support of any starting pitcher in baseball, adversely affecting his win-loss record despite the notably low ERA.
The Cleveland Indians jumped out to a lead in the American League Central Division that grew to as much as 7.5 games over the favored Detroit Tigers, as well as a double-digit lead on the favored Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. The Indians were starting to recapture their home field dominance that they showed during their powerhouse teams of the mid- to late-1990s, early 2000s, and 2007, as they went 12-2 at home in the month of April and 7-4 in the month of May.
Another similarity to those past Indians’ teams was the number of late comebacks the 2011 Indians had, including a game-winning grand slam by C Carlos Santana against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, April 29, a 2-out 2-run game-winning homerun by DH Travis Hafner against the Seattle Mariners on Friday, May 13, and a game-winning grand slam by DH Travis Hafner against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, July 8.
Three notable injuries occurring in May, June, and July that led to increasing offensive struggles and a cool down after a hot 32-20 start through the first two months of the season were the losses of OF Grady Sizemore, OF Shin-Soo Choo, and DH Travis Hafner.
Sizemore went down in May with a right knee contusion after not appearing in his first game until April 17 due to recovery from microfracture surgery on his left knee in the offseason. Sizemore would also return to the disabled list later in the season due to another injury to his right knee and having sports hernia surgery for the second time in his career. The fact that Sizemore has missed significant portions of the last three seasons is a major reason why the Cleveland Indians did not pick up his 2012 option for $9 million, instead opting for a $500,000 buyout that has currently made Sizemore a free agent. He is currently not expected to return to the Cleveland Indians for the 2012 season.
Choo, who was one of the few Indians to not be productive in April and May, went down on June 24 after suffering a broken thumb after getting hit by a fastball thrown by San Francisco Giants’ LHP Jonathan Sanchez. Choo was just starting to get on track offensively when he was hit by the fastball. The injury required surgery on June 28 and Choo did not make his return to the lineup until August 12, where he went on to hit 16-47 (.340) the rest of the season.
DH Travis Hafner went down with an injured tendon in his foot after sliding into home plate on August 21, 2011. He would not return to the lineup until September 11 against the Chicago White Sox. Hafner proceeded to hit 12-44 (.273) in the month of September.
RHP Carlos Carrasco, acquired in the trade with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 for LHP Cliff Lee, showed considerable progress during one stretch of five starts from June 7 through June 29 when he gave up just 7 runs, 4 earned runs, in 36 2/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately for the Indians, it was determined that Carrasco had an old injury to his pitching elbow that occurred when he was a teenager. This led to a recurring pain in his elbow shortly after the strong stretch he showed in June. It was recommended he undergo ulnar collateral ligament surgery (a.k.a. “Tommy John” surgery) on his elbow, which will keep him out for most to all of the 2012 season.
Despite the declining offense, struggles of Carmona, and the mounting injuries, which also included injuries to LF-CF Michael Brantley and promising rookies 2B Jason Kipnis and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall, the Indians managed to stay in first place in the AL Central Division until July when the Detroit Tigers finally overtook them for good for first place in the AL Central Division.
Indians’ GM Chris Antonetti tried to provide some help in completing trades for RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, OF Kosuke Fukudome, and DH Jim Thome, a former Indian, but the Indians could not recapture the 30-15 pace they had shown throughout the first 45 games of the season. Meanwhile, the Tigers started to play their best ball of the season, extending the lead to double-digits and winning the AL Central Division by 15 games over the second-place Indians, winning the final 10 matchups with the Indians, including the final three games of the 2011 season.
Despite not being able to hold onto the AL Central Division lead, the Indians look to be in good shape heading into the 2012 season. The experience they gained from the 2011 season should prove invaluable, while trends would suggest that the Indians should be healthier than they were in 2011. Combine both of these elements, along with a few offseason moves and some luck, and the Indians can likely vie for the AL Central Division title in 2012.
