Article: Beating Vegas: The Cleveland Indians

[John Bonnes]

Show us you can beat Vegas and you can win a Harry’s Razor starter kit! It was a tale of two seasons for the Indians last year. By the trade deadline, they had moved their high-cost veterans and were in last place in the AL Central. But over the last two months, their impressive starting rotation came alive, impressive rookie shortstop Francisco Lindor shined, and they finished the season with 81 wins.Vegas’ Line: 84.5 wins

 

What The Line Is Saying

"We believe what we saw the second half of last year.”

 

They’ll Beat Vegas If…

They find some offense. Lindor should help, provided he doesn’t take a step backward in his sophomore season. The Tribe hopes new first baseman Mike Napoli, who Cleveland signed during the offseason, will help too. They’ll also need 29-year-old Carlos Santana’s power to bounce back a bit.

 

 If you beat Vegas, you can win a free Harry’s Razor starter set. Just leave a comment with your choice of the “Over” or” Under” and your reasoning. At the end of the season, for each team, we’ll randomly pick one of the winning predictions for a free Truman Razor set.  

 

They’ll Lose To Vegas If…

Cleveland is relying on their starting pitching to keep them consistently competitive. It’s not a bad bet. They had the best ERA in the AL Central last year, which is amazing considering the name recognition the Tigers had in their rotation: Justin Verlander, David Price, and Anibal Sanchez. But Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar could repeat that feat this year, and there is the potential for some other young pitchers to also contribute.

 

I’ll Bet The….

OVER

But just barely. They are relying on their lineup to stitch together an average offensive season to truly challenge for a postseason spot. That seems like a tall order, but I trust I Terry Francona to keep them on track, and 85 wins seems about right.

 

 Now it’s your turn. Give us your prediction in the comment section (you’ll need to register first) and you’re automatically entered. We’ll be giving out a free Harry’s Razor Truman Set to one of the winning correct predictions for each team, so we’ll be give away 15 sets of razors! You can also click over to Harry’s Razors and get $5 off on your first order using the promo code ‘gleeman’.  

 

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[alanwil2]

Over.  This team can win some games.

[Vanimal46]

Over. They have the best rotation in the majors, and I think Lindor takes another step toward stardom. 

[bird]

Over but barely, 85 wins in a brutally competitive division race. They have both quality and depth in the rotation, and the lineup will be a little better.

[Mike Sixel]

Over, but man, vegas is good at setting these numbers.

 

If one of their elite pitchers goes down, or Lindor, they are screwed, imo.

[Wookiee of the Year]

I'll join the crowd with Over. They're my favorite to win the division.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm abstaining from this one. I wouldn't bet on the Indians at 84.5, as that's right where I'd put them this season.

 

If I had a gun to my head... argh... Over? Probably over.

[TheLeviathan]

Under, this team still can't hit their way out of a paper bag.

[Willihammer]

Under too. Reasoning is sorta pointless since most are taking over, but yeah the hitting looks very suspect.

[Jrfabian6]

Over.  Too good a starting staff.

[biggentleben]

Heavy under. I could see Kluber and Carrasco both being dealt (or rumored such) by midseason, Salazar exploding, and their lineup is horrid, especially until Brantley returns. I actually have the Indians in last in the AL Central.

[spinowner]

Over.

[bird]

Over, but barely. Like with very other competitor in the division, KC will suffer with injuries to any two pitchers in the rotation, and that's more likely than not. I see about one win separating each of KC, Cleveland, Detroit, and about two wins then separating the Twins and finally Chicago. And injuries could easily reverse the standings, it's that close.

[pbrezeasap]

Over