How to Make a Movie

I want to turn all of my fiction into film. All of it. Every bit of fictional work I have composed I want to bring to life on the silver screen. Perhaps even adapt it for stage as well. The longer fiction is easy—there's so much more with which to work. The shorter fiction would be a little more tough as it is typically just part of a much larger story. For instance, I wrote a story last fall entitled “You Are My Best Friend (My Best Friend Is You)”, which is about a young man who blames himself for the murder of his best friend and roommate and subsequently locks himself in their apartment doing nothing but writing the novel he always said he would write—it is a fictional account of their many crazy adventures. From the beginning you know that the main character doesn't leave his apartment and that he has spent all of his time writing something, but it's not until the end of the story that you find out that the roommate/best friend he has been mentioning was the victim of a stabbing. There is a whole set of scenes that would have taken place before the scene described in the short story; in fact, the scene in the short story would most likely be the final scene of a movie of the whole story. Unless opting for a short film of just the one scene in the short story, adapting “You Are My Best Friend (My Best Friend Is You)” to film would be more difficult than, say, adapting On the 5:15, which is a full-length novel detailing an entire story from start to finish.

I've actually already put much thought into how On the 5:15 could be made into a movie, even deciding which actors should play which characters. The main character, Eoghan Dunne, would be played by Rupert Grint (assuming he can pull off an Irish accent) and his best friend, Paul, would be played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Eoghan's wife would be played by Zooey Deschanel and the trucker he meets at a diner would be played by Johnny Depp. In all honestly, I could probably go down through a list of every character in the novel and name the actor I would want to portray that particular character. Even though the story spans over forty years, I want the same actors to play the same characters for the entire film. I've also already envisioned how some scenes would pan out: how they would be shot, what the setting would be like, what music would be in the background. The start of the film is one part which I already have figured out. It will open with 17-year-old Eoghan exiting a record shop with an LP under his arm, going through various alleys and gardens to get back home where he must then sneak the LP in so his rock-music-hating parents don't see it and snap it in half. I haven't figure out how he's going to sneak it in, but I do know that MGMT's “Time to Pretend” will be playing in the background.

I can already tell you now that whenever I get my writings transferred into film, I will have control issues. Nothing could happen without my approval first. My stories are mine and I won't let someone else ruin my vision. My friend Marcus and I always joked around that we would make movies together since we're both self-proclaimed movie buffs. He has a degree in philosophy though and is currently getting paid to chill on Facebook and send out Tweets. He also lives somewhere in England (is Oxford right?), so that makes things difficult, nevermind that neither of us have the funds, equipment, time, support, or anything really, needed to make a film—a quality film anyway.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt recently started a website called hitRECord. I just joined up tonight and haven't taken the time to explore, let alone post anything. But it is a very interesting website. Essentially, it is one giant collaboration. One artist posts something and then another does something else with it and if anything is ever sold, every splits the profit. Very interesting, right? It is kind of like deviantART, only 1000x cooler (mostly because it features Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is a total badass). I'm hoping if I post some things on hitRECord, it might lead to some kind of film collaboration. At the very least, it will get me more exposure.

Edging Closer to the Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers are coming back to Ohio. Not once, but three times. May 12^th in Cleveland, May 19^th in Columbus, and June 7^th in Kettering. My best friend and I would like to go to all three shows, and maybe even the show in Detroit on May 18^th, but unfortunately the only one that works is the Kettering show. May 12^th is the day Cedar Point opens, so that day is already claimed and May 19^th is my best friend's first baseball game, so obviously that day is out. The Kettering show will most likely mean missing a week of summer league bowling, but that's okay—I'll just ask my dad to sub for me.

I woke up this morning at 8:40, two minutes before my alarm was set to go off, so I would be up and ready to buy tickets right at 9am when they went on sale. For whatever reason, the Kettering show didn't go on sale until today whereas all the other shows had a presale this past Wednesday. That actually worked out better for me though because when the presale started on Wednesday, I was at work. At first I wasn't sure I would be able to get good seats because I couldn't get the presale to work—it featured the seats in the first couple rows only. But I was quick enough on Fraze Pavilion's website and landed seats in the seventh row, which I think, given the seating arrangement, are better seats than the first couple rows anyhow. It's just like at a movie theatre, the closer you are the harder it is to see everything. Our seats are towards the right side of the section, but we'll still have an optimal view.

We've never been to Fraze Pavilion before, so we have no idea where the stage door is, but we're determined to meet the guys. Part of why we wanted to go to all of the Ohio shows is because we wanted to try to meet them at every one and see if they remembered us. Unfortunately, that won't be possible. But we're okay with that. Seeing them once is all we need. For now anyway. Maybe next time they're around we'll make it to a few more shows. We're not stopping until we meet them anyhow. Remember, it's on the list to jam with the Avett Brothers.

I'm considering e-mailing the Avetts' management team to try schedule some kind of interview with them when they're around here, something to post on this blog. It's not a scam to meet them by any means; they're very influential figures in my life, especially in regards to this blog. Their music has given me a lot of inspiration in life and in my writing. To be able to sit down with them and discuss their music and to discuss life in general would be an amazing opportunity.

The Quest for Opening Day

Tomorrow marks the first day of Spring. No, it isn't the Vernal Equinox and the day and night aren't evenly split and you shouldn't try balancing an egg on its end. However, tomorrow Indians pitchers and catchers are due to report to camp, thus starting the annual spring training in Goodyear, Arizona (I would like to thank the nation's banks, schools, post offices, and government offices for closing in honour of the start of spring training). With spring training starting, that means Opening Day is just around the corner. My best friend and I just bought our Opening Day tickets last night: Section 101, Row H, right by the Indians' bullpen—the Bullpen Mafia. It's a few rows back from where I'd like to be, and not on the first base line, but when the game more or less sells out in about fifteen minutes (all that is left is the nosebleed section), you got to take what you can get. I could have bought some first base line tickets from Stubhub, which is where I got the tickets I did, but they were well over twice face value and when you're working for an hourly wage, that just isn't feasible, unfortunately. All games to come though, you'll find the two of us sitting somewhere just behind Casey Kotchman (or occasionally Carlos Santana) at first base.

With April 5^th looming, I find myself growing ever anxious for that first pitch at 3:05PM on what I hope to be a glorious, sunny afternoon (though I'm already anticipating an “unseasonable” snow delay to make up for Ohio's lack of a winter). Last year was my first Opening Day and it was one of the best days I had all last year and can't wait for this year. We're going to get up early for our 2 ½ hour trek to Cleveland, stopping at the Hamburger Inn in Delaware for a legit greasy short-order breakfast, fried to perfection on the old flat-top grill. The goal is to be in Cleveland by noontime so we can get in for BP and hopefully garner some autographs from our favourite players and maybe catch a ball. If we don't eat at the ballpark, we'll probably finish the day by visiting 5 Guys on Detroit Ave., just a few miles up the road from Progressive Field, for some burgers.

The line-up for Opening Day has been one under quite a bit of question going into spring training. With the signing of Kotchman, the Tribe could potentially feature nine left-handed hitters on Opening Day, which, frankly, I would like to see. There is some debate as to who will be starting too, but I already have my prediction set:

SP: Justin Masterson

C: Carlos Santana

1B: Casey Kotchman

2B: Jason Kipnis

SS: Asdrubal Cabrera

3B: Jack Hannahan

LF: Shin-Soo Choo

CF: Grady Sizemore

RF: Michael Brantley

DH: Travis Hafner

Bullpen: Chris Perez, Vinnie Pestano, Tony Sipp, Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Frank Herrmann, and Corey Kluber (though I suspect Chen Lee could honestly see a shot at joining the Bullpen Mafia if he performs as well as spring training as he has in the minors)

On the Bench: Lou Marson, Shelley Duncan, Jason Donald, and Aaron Cunningham

The starting rotation will be rounded out, in order with Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin, Derek Lowe, and Jeanmar Gomez

Notable absences are Matt LaPorta and Lonnie Chisenhall who, although have seen much time at the Majors, will most likely start out the year playing for the Clippers down 71 South in Columbus so that they can continue to play everyday rather than spending the majority of their time sitting on the bench.

When the Tribe and the Blue Jays clash, it is usually a pretty good game. A few times last year one team put up a huge score over the other. I don't anticipate that for Opening Day though. Rather, I suspect it will be a very close game coming down to the very last inning. The Tribe and the Blue Jays are pretty comparable teams and are both pretty low on the radar but are both seen as teams that wish to contend and are confident they will contend. I expect the Indians will start the season in a dramatic style, which we saw quite often last year with the slew of comeback and walk-off wins. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a home run from Jose Bautista.

Why a Non-Profit Organization

I went to a college that was heavily grounded in community service, largely in thanks to its Methodist roots. Almost every student who attended did some kind of community service during his or her stay; I put in upwards of fifteen hours of volunteering a week. My hours were spent working in after school programs, mostly with seventh and eighth graders. I was eventually offered a part-time job with the school district as a substitute working with the various after school programs at the elementary and middle schools. I mostly found myself subbing at the elementary schools; not necessarily my preferred age group, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. The younger kids were always good at making you feel appreciated, not necessarily being conscious of the true heartfelt meaning behind their statements and actions; more than once my day was made by something a kid did or said.

Working with kids not only had an immense impact on me, but I knew there was also an even bigger impact on the kids. That's why I did it. I didn't do it for the money or because I needed community service hours for a class. I did it because I knew those kids needed help and attention that they otherwise might not receive. Quite often I put the kids before myself; I was probably about the only student on the entire campus still working during finals week. But I knew those kids expected me to be there and I wasn't going to be the one to let them down; I'd leave that to their parents.

Even before joining the after school programs, I had thrown about the idea of starting a private school—an inside joke of sorts with a couple friends. Sometimes I took it seriously. Sometimes I didn't. As I got older the more serious I took it. By my senior year of college and after three years of working with kids, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: found a non-profit organization and subsequent educational institution. The purpose of the organization would be to offer support and aid (financial and otherwise) to struggling and impoverished schools and after school programs (many of which are funded by grants and face elimination every year), as well as individual students who stand above all others but are heavily limited and restricted in their opportunities for success and advancement due to their socioeconomic standing. Eventually it would pan out into counseling as well, offering free and discounted services to kids dealing with issues like bullying, depression, suicide, sexuality, and general adolescent and teenage angst. I have seen all of these issues arise with the many kids with whom I have worked and have personally helped many of them with their problems.

There is only one thing I hate more than seeing a child unhappy and that is seeing that child kill his or herself because of his or her unhappiness. I want to do everything in my power to make sure that does not happen. Too many young kids are killing themselves because of the amount of bullying which they face. That is not a world in which I want to live. That is not a world in which I want my kids to live. It is a big task to take on, but I want to rid the world of that. I want to make our schools a safe place to be, not somewhere haunted with terrors.

On top of all that, I want to make sure every kid has every chance possible at success. Too many kids lack a strong, sturdy support system, which can easily lead to the aforementioned. Give a kid support, give a kid a chance, and they'll be a happy, successful kid. Socioeconomic standing greatly reduces a person's chance for opportunity. I want to level that playing field. Some of the smartest kids in this nation live on the South Side. But a good chunk of them will never get to use that intelligence because of where they live and how much money their parents make. There is nothing fair about that.

A Rant on Bad Parenting

I have to rant about bad parenting, especially with the recent viral outbreak of that video of the Southern “Gentleman” destroying his daughter's laptop with a handgun (which should be illegal anyway, but that is beside the point). Before I get into anything though, I just want to point out that I'm very confident that the video is a sham to go viral. The guy lacks any confidence behind what he says and stutters a significant amount—a clear sign that he has no clue what he's saying. If he's as angry and emotional as what he says, then the words just come right out. But they don't. Instead, his dialogue is littered with “ums”. You might also notice his eyes, which constantly shift upward and to the left, an indication that he is “recalling” a story that never happened. So, either the whole thing was made up because they wanted a viral hit and knew something like that would cause quite a stir (a laptop being shot with a handgun = instant success) or what the daughter said in her Facebook post was true, but her dad is too stubborn to admit it and refuses to admit it. If any of this video is true, then this family really needs to sit down and have a dialogue and work out their problems. If there is truth behind it, then I'm sure neither his side nor her side is 100% accurate, but that both have their truths and half-truths. If any of it is true, then her dad clearly has no respect for her and does not trust her and feels that she was brought into this world to do his bidding. But that's not true. You don't own your kids; they aren't slaves. When you have kids, you HAVE kids—you don't buy them. You bump uglies and nine months later (give or take), a screaming, bloody goo-covered kid pops out mommy's soon-to-be-torn vagina. Sure, kids do need to take some responsibility and show appreciation for everything their parents give them, but that does not by any means give the parent the right to demean and harass their child with public humiliation. The man in this video is a disgrace, whether he be real parent or troll.

Having spent three years working in an educational environment, I've seen a beaucoup of different parents and respective parenting styles. I'm also the kind of guy who parents always seem to the think is a good influence, so my friends' parents are always putting me in awkward situations, especially considering I've always had a few really good friends who are a bit younger than me. Really, I've had exposure to both sides of the situation: I've seen the perspective of the kid and of the parent. I've seen straight-A kids who never do anything wrong not be trusted the slightest and punished for even the tiniest thing (meanwhile, their parents are completely oblivious to the fact that they have no friends and are bullied at school). Then I've also seen the opposite: kids who could easily be classed as juvenile delinquents and their parents aren't bothered and let them run amok. I've seen kids of all kinds and parents of all kinds and they all handle situations differently. I've seen some pretty great parents who have a great relationship with their kids, but I've also seen parents who have no right to be anyone's parent.

If you're the kind of person who must rely upon a chemical alteration of your state of being in order to live your live, then you probably shouldn't be a parent. I'm glad you had kids because your kids are amazing, but I hate that you're their parent. Whether it's tobacco, alcohol, weed, pills, or heavy drugs like coke or heroin, if you can't respect yourself and your body and be responsible enough to find contentedness without chemicals, then there is no way you can be a responsible parent. I have little respect for people who lead vice-filled lives in order to get by as it is, but I have even less respect when they have children and keep that vice—especially if they place their vice first. No matter which vice is yours, be it smoking, drinking, or what have you, it is going to have a huge impact on your children. For starters, if you smoke, you're slowly killing your kids by exposing them to second-hand smoke, nevermind that by smoking a pack a day, you're spending a minimum of $5 a day on your disgusting habit, assuming you go for the cheapest pack and don't live in New York. Excluding February, that's a minimum of $150 a month; meanwhile, your kid is wearing shoes from Wal-Mart that needed replaced five months ago. You can get a brand new pair of Nike Shox for less than $150. Or pay for fifty school lunches. What really irks me is when I see a parent use their child support card to buy cigarettes, which, working at a grocery store, is something I have seen happen more than once. It is also very common to see someone with food stamps use what little cash they have to buy smokes. The use of some of these things (drugs and alcohol) can always lead to some bad situations in the home too. Drink too much and you lose control; don't get your fix and you can lose control. When you have an angry, out of control parent, lamps get broken, tables get upset, and kids are left with bruises.

There are other parents who are just flat out irresponsible. The ones who let their kids do whatever and also the ones who care about only themselves and put their well-being before their kids. For instance, my dad doesn't pay for anything for me other than my phone (though I have to pay the data package) and my health insurance (both of which he seems to be strongly considering canceling to save himself some cash). Everything else is left to either my mom or me—hooray for student loans and medical bills! I also know someone whose dad more or less abandoned him and moved to another city forty away without telling him. My cousin's young daughter (she just turned eight on Friday—Happy birthday!!) has Cystic Fibrosis and just had yet another stay in the hospital because her mother (not married to my cousin and thus not a part of our family, thanks god) can't seem to be bothered to give her her daily treatments as needed. I've met other parents who are so enveloped in their own world that they're completely oblivious to the fact that their kids hate their lives and have contemplated suicide (typically a large part of why they feel this way is because of their parents). They have no clue that their kids have no friends and are being bullied or are maybe questioning their sexuality and are just plain stressed out—that's right, kids DO get stressed. These kids probably leave lots of signs too, but their parents never pick up on them. With something like bad grades, which is typically a big byproduct of these kind of things, the parents will turn around and throw it back at the kids, just adding to the excessive weight upon their shoulders. Though, the only reason they even know their kids are getting bad grades (or maybe dropped from As and Bs to Cs and Ds) is because the school contacted them to find out what is going on; the parents are too busy to keep an eye on their kids' grades and make sure their homework is done.

So here's my point: if you're going to have kids, be a good parent. Take responsibility. Be a respectable human being. Don't be a dick to your kids. I want to have a big family when I get married and have kids, and I know I'm going to be a great dad to each and every one of them.

An Update to “Why The Cleveland Indians Will Be in Contention in 2012”

The original post: colorshow72.blogspot.com/2012/02/why-cleveland-indians-will-be-in.html

The Indians finally found themselves the first baseman for which they have been looking in the form of Tampa Bay's Casey Kotchman. Having underperformed offensively, first baseman Matt LaPorta will most likely start the season at AAA Columbus; the Tribe has been actively seeking an alternative all off-season to fill this void. Free agent Kotchman is the perfect fit. Not only is Kotchman far superior defensively having made fewer errors in his eight-year career than every first baseman used by the Indians combined for just last season, but Kotchman is also immensely better offensively than any in-house options. Last year with the Rays was a career-high year for Kotchman who put up a stellar batting average and on-base percentage. Although Kotchman doesn't necessarily hit for power, he has a low strike-out rate and consistently gets on base, which is exactly what the Cleveland Indians need; the fewer strike outs and the more players on base, the more likely your team is to score. Though Kotchman is yet another left-handed hitter added to the roster, with him added to the line-up, the Cleveland Indians certainly have their own batting strength to combat the heavy hitters of the Detroit Tigers and other contenders like the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. With seven strictly left-handed hitters and two switch hitters, the Tribe could potentially put up an entire line-up of lefties against a right-handed pitcher—something I imagine we'll mostly likely see a fair few times this season, especially at home where Progressive Field favours left-handed hitters.

With much of the Tribe's pitching staff inducing groundballs, the first baseman's defensive prowess will keep the opposing team at bay. Defensively, Kotchman will do well to complement the acrobatic, double-play-starting shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera. The in-field will be rounded out with Carlos Santana and Lou Marson behind the plate, rookie second baseman Jason Kipnis, and either Jack Hannahan, who finished last season as the best defensive third baseman in the AL, or rookie Lonnie Chisenhall at the hot corner—my vote is for Hannahan. With such a strong in-field, there's little chance of a ground ball being a base hit, especially when you remember that the in-field is backed-up by an outfield that, when healthy, could easily be one of the best in the game.

Why I Want to Write About Sports

If you've known me for more than a couple years then you know that I used to hate sports. I bowled and I golfed and that was it. I played one year of tee-ball and gym was my least favourite class at school. That's all changed though, and for the better. I could have been an excellent athlete, just like my dad; he played baseball and basketball and was awesome at both. This was the days before universities handed out full rides, but from what I gathered, he was the kind of athlete universities today desperately seek. Despite my stature, I'm very quick and agile. I probably would have made a good first baseman, if only I could catch. If I would have tried and actually care, I probably could have been one of those kids who is good at any sport he tries. Maybe I'm exaggerating though; I don't know. It's too late now to find out. I wish I would have tried—maybe played baseball and soccer in the spring and fall respectively and bowling in the winter.

Sports, especially baseball, and being in shape have become increasingly important to me. I work out almost every day and follow all the latest MLB news. I can tell you more about the latest off-season happenings than I could about any contemporary political bouts. This fondness of sports is certainly nothing I ever saw coming. But I guess, as they say, people change. With a growing interest in sports, it seemed almost inevitable that it would collide with my passion and penchant for writing. This is especially true when you think about two of my favourite authors: Hunter S. Thompson and Nick Hornby. HST both started and ended his career as a sports writer, working with ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Rolling Stone (they do more than just music!). Sports were a big part of his life and one of his favourite things about which to write, along with his immense hatred of Richard Nixon. Some of Hunter's most famous works chronicle his adventures as a sports writer: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the Rum Diary, for instance. Likewise, much of Nick Hornby's works hold sports as a prominent detail. Hornby's first book, actually, was a memoir called Fever Pitch (loosely adapted into the America film of the same name starring Jimmy Fallon) detailing his obsession with the English soccer (football) club, Arsenal. Hornby still continues to blog and write the occasional article about sports, mostly soccer.

I spent much of my college career researching Woodstock—the massive music festival in '69. That was pretty awesome and I did a lot of original research. I intend to take all of my work and turn it into a book; it will tell a story that hasn't been told before, combining elements from the stories of many to find the true story of what happened. It will be ground breaking. Even though I know this will be huge when I finally complete it, I wish I might have added something else to me repertoire. I really want to write a history of Cleveland sports and eventually an anthology of Ohio sports in general. But I don't know were to start. Cleveland is a good place to start because it is rich in history and is home to three different professional sports teams. Cleveland actually makes for a great case study because of its history and its sports: there is such a huge connection between the two. A case study of Cleveland would also cross many disciplines: history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc. Cleveland fans are die-hard and like no other; they're desperate for a championship of any kind in any of their three sports. They've also had to deal with the departure of not one, but two major players in the last ten years leave their bad-luck-stricken city for more zeros on their checks: Jim Thome in 2002 and Lebron James in 2010. Both players could have led their respective teams (Indians and Cavaliers) to national championships, but they left before doing so, which, in Lebron's case at least, broke a promise to the city. Thome recently came back to Cleveland last season on a last-minute trade and surprisingly, he was welcomed back with open arms, despite so many angry fans when he left. If Lebron ever comes back, though, I imagine he'll be met with torches and pitchforks.

After watching Moneyball, I was immediately inspired to write a story about baseball. What came out was a short story called “You Can't Help But Be Romantic (About Baseball)” about a one-club player who recently left his loyal fanbase for another team with a bigger contract. For those of you who know your Cleveland history can probably see the similarities to slugger Jim Thome. It didn't take long before I felt the desire to turn those few pages into a few hundred and I starting writing a novel based on the same premise. Rather than being purely about the baseball or some sappy story like 90% of sports movies, this one is about how a player struggles with the hardships of being famous and having fans following (and judging) his every move and how he copes with the rejection he receives from those fans when they feel as though they have been betrayed. It is probably my favourite project to date. It is going to be the next great American novel, joining the ranks of Huck Finn and The Great Gatsby. Call me cocky, but I'm just confident.

Why the Cleveland Indians Will Be in Contention in 2012

Although it's only been in the last couple years I've become a baseball fan, I knew what I was getting into when I starting cheering on the Wahoos: they're one of few teams who can boast going 455 sold-out games in a row only to find themselves sometimes struggling to fill even a third of the 43,441 seats at the corner of Ontario and Carnegie. That's what happens when you go from being a division contender to a last place contender. It doesn't help when you lose the likes of Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, CC Sabathia, and Manny Ramirez, all of whom have gone on to have successful careers with winning teams (and also much larger franchises). With one of the smallest payrolls in the MLB, the Indians simply cannot keep those big names around; it is next to impossible to compete with the bank accounts of giants like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, who seem to have almost unlimited capital. When the Hot Stove season rolls around in the winter, the biggest free agents go to whomever has the deepest pockets, regardless of apparent loyalty. Right now the Indians have one of the youngest rosters in the MLB with only a handful of players on the 40-man roster over the age of 30, most being in their early-to-mid 20s. Several of them have only recently been called up from the Minors and are under team control for a while, so no matter how big of numbers they put up, it will be a few seasons before the Indians lose their youthful sluggers. Hopefully though, they can pen some multi-year contracts before the likes of budding rookies second baseman Jason Kipnis and reliever Vinnie Pestano get snatched up by another club; Kipnis and Pestano are 24 and 26 respectively and both made huge impacts on the team. In an era of free agents where the single-team player is all but extinct, it seems unlikely though that many of the Tribe's starters will remain in the coming years. But we need not worry until then, for right now they're staying put in downtown Cleveland where they're turn a developing team into a championship team.

Last year the Indians finished with a losing season, though improving their win record by 11 games and recording a second-place finish, just a handful of games behind the Detroit Tigers—the major difference being some painful losses for the Indians against the Tigers, both home and away, at the end of the season. The Tigers, along with the Texas Rangers, were the only major contenders with which the Indians struggled, seeing big wins over the Yankees, Red Sox, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Up until the final weeks of the season the Indians even had the Tigers tamed, but a slew of season-ending injuries made a strong finish difficult. The Tribe was also within one game of sweeping the Reds in both home and away stints, a feat that has never been done by either team since the start of interleague play in 1997. Now here's the interesting thing: despite the unexpected success of the team, the Cleveland Indians were one of the worst teams offensively in the MLB, putting up a record number of strike outs, a record a team certainly does not want to boast. With a significant portion of the major hitters finding themselves stuck on the disabled list, it is unsurprising that the Tribe struck out so often and did not score more runs. For instance, at one time the entire starting outfield was on the DL—Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Michael Brantley. The trio were some of the Tribe's biggest run producers and are also some of the best defensive players around; when all three are in good health, next to nothing gets by the Cleveland outfield. The Indians also lost their designated hitter, Travis Hafner more than once and third baseman, Jack Hannahan. Although Hannahan started the season a bit sub par, he was at the height of a hot streak and remained the best third baseman defensively in the American League all throughout the season (he's my pick for Opening Day over Lonnie Chisenhall). With so many injuries, players who normally wouldn't be seeing this much time in the Majors for another couple years were forced to learn on the fly. Naturally, this saw a decrease in offensive production; a lack of depth was exposed.

When the 2011 season came to an end, the Tribe was led by switch hitters Carlos Santana and All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Both are young and will be essential to the Indians' lineup. Santana and Cabrera both broke club records and defensively, Cabrera found himself featured in many highlight reels with all sorts of acrobatic plays. Between the two, they belted out over 50 homers, with Cabrera having one of the biggest bounces in number of home runs in a season from one season to the next in Major League Baseball history. If Cabrera remains consistent (and there are no signs saying otherwise), then he could easily become one of the best in the game, both offensively and defensively. The same could be said of Santana who has excelled both behind the plate and at first base, even starting a rare triple play while playing first. Before the season was over, Santana found himself being delivered intentional walks leading to him having one of the highest amount of walks in the MLB. The important thing to remember about Santana is that this is first full season in the majors; he saw his debut mid-season in 2010, but was gone before the season was over with a major terrible knee injury. The 2011 season also saw the arrival of Jason Kipnis from Triple-A Columbus. Kipnis made an incredible impact on the team becoming the first ever player in MLB history to hit four consecutive home runs within two weeks of his Major League debut. Kipnis too, however, saw himself land on the DL, which immediately had effects on the team. With the heavy amount of injuries, bench players Shelley Duncan and Jason Donald also saw extended amounts of playing, each putting up big numbers and a strong case for their addition to the Opening Day roster.

With all of the injuries Cleveland face and the excessive amount of strikeouts, it is a wonder how the team did so well and saw themselves as contenders for much of the season when no one else did, save for their die-hard Cleveland-area fans who were still angry about Lebron. The answer is simple: pitching. Although the starting rotation also saw its fair share of injuries (Carlos Carrasco won't be seen until the 2013 season having underwent Tommy John's surgery), the Indians' hurlers were a huge part of the team's success. Although the starting rotation had a fairly high ERA, it has some of the best and most consistent arms in the game with Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Josh Tomlin—who, to date, has had only one start of fewer than five innings, his final game of the 2011 season that ended with an elbow injury. This season, the Tribe has much more depth in its rotation and has unloaded some sub par starters. Even with Fausto Carmona out of the mix for now due to his legal issues, the Indians starting rotation easily has the potential of being one of the best in baseball, countering the likes of the Phillies, Angels, and Rangers, which recently acquired coveted Japanese pitcher, Yu Darvish, for an outlandish sum. Where the Indians' pitching is best, though, is in the bullpen. The Indians bullpen, anchored by All-Star Chris Perez, had one of the lowest ERAs in the American League last season and has been consistent and almost unchanged for the last few years. In fact, going into this season there is only one spot open for competition, a spot that was held by Chad Durbin, who had one of the worst ERAs in the Cleveland bull pen. With the likes of Vinnie Pestano (only gave up 16 runs on 41 hits in 62 innings last year), Chris Perez (converted 36 of 39 saves), and Joe Smith (a meager ERA of 2.01 for 67 innings over 71 games), the Indians bull pen is capable of throwing strike after strike after strike and is what kept the Tribe afloat in the race towards the Fall Classic.

With Spring Training looming, the Indians are prepping for what will be an even more successful season. Even with Prince Fielder coming to the American League Central by signing with the Detroit Tigers (a move that I think still has us all a little suprised) and Albert Pujols also coming to the American League, the Indians are certainly still in contention. If health remains on their side, the Cleveland Indians offense will be far superior to that of last year, and thanks to numerous off-season signings, even if the injury bug bites again, there is much, much deeper depth all throughout the field. In 2011, the dying city of Cleveland got a taste good taste for success and is now hungry for more.

An update to this post: http://colorshow72.blogspot.com/2012/02/update-to-why-cleveland-indians-will-be.html