Lineup: Starting with center fielder Kenny Lofton with his 23 speed will provide a good spark when on base and can get a lot of bases with a card in his favor. Vizquel is mainly in the line up for defense but his speed makes him a threat when he finds his way on base as well. Getting batters 1 and 2 on can really start to scare an opposing lineup. Baerga follows and the lineup then becomes dangerous and fun. Belle, Murray, Thome and Ramirez give you potential for some big innings and a high scoring game. The lineup then closes with Paul Sorrento and Tony Pena.
While the strength of this team is definitely in the offense the Indians have enough of a rotation to maintain a balance and keep them in the game. Dennis Martinez is the clubs ace, followed by Charles Nagy, Orel Hershiser, and Mark Clark.
The Tribes bullpen is pretty strong to go along with the dangerous lineup. Having a lead in the 6th or 7th inning should be in favor of a win between Julian Tavarez, Eric Plunk and Jim Poole can carry you before the closer Jose Mesa comes in to shut the door. Mesa saved 46 games on the season for the Indians and as long as its not game 7 of the World Series he is a very reliable closer.
Great first post! Love the depth in the batting order, those three on-base tens, plus Murray and the speedy Lofton, are going to be tough to navigate for most pitching staffs!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I did some research while creating, manny and Thome both had in the 350s for on base percent the year before. Both went up about 60 points to work up to a 10 leading to the beginning of the dangerous middle of the order for the next 5-7 years
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