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Cleveland Indians: 2016 Season Predictions

By Evan Hablitzel

May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Indians at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Cleveland Indians baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Indians at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 10-8. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Indians
Sep 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) motions to the crowd after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Little Margin For Error

Nick Dudukovich

This Cleveland Indians team can contend, but the problem with this year’s club is that there is no margin for error. The starting pitching is why the club is favored by many analytic websites to win the A.L. Central, but how often does a staff make it through the 162-game grind without getting injured?

Then we’re assuming that Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar are good enough to win a lot of 4-3, 3-2 games. That’s not a lot of runs to ask the offense to produce, but considering the front office did little to boost the lineup, it will be a struggle to score 3-to-4 runs per game.

The Cleveland Indians were 11th in runs scored a season ago, scoring 669 runs. The champion Royals were sixth at 724. The major takeaway here is that the Indians don’t need to clobber everybody, but they need to be better than they were in 2015.

Will the addition of Mike Napoli make them 55 runs better? The Cleveland Indians cannot expect to make the playoffs being so deficient on offense. Runs have to come from somewhere, because scoring is what wins games. If the pitching is going to have a chance, they are going to need a lead once in awhile.

Next: Team Will Go As Far As Pitching Takes Them

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