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.