Printer-friendly

March 2, 2007

Hope and Faith

How the Cleveland Indians Can Win the World Series

by Dan Fox

Brad Wochomurka talks with Sheldon Ocker about Cleveland's chances in the Indians Hope and Faith edition of Baseball Prospectus Radio. Click to download the mp3.

"We're a front office that craves information, craves it in every form…We're going to use that information and what's important is the framework you put that information into, how you weight it, and the decisions you make."
--Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro during the Fantasy Summit last month at Jacobs Field.

There are more than a few teams that will present, shall we say, a challenge for our talented array of writers as they consider this particular byline. The Indians, despite a 78-84 record and fourth place finish in the division, are not one of them. There is indeed reason for hope and faith at the Jake by the Lake in 2007.

It would, however, be an affront to this author's "baseball worldview" to suggest that any team has a very good shot at winning the World Series, permeated as the playoffs are with that admixture of circumstance and contingency. But still, there are at least five good reasons to believe that the Tribe in 2007 will challenge for the division title in the supposed "best division in baseball." As the 2006 Cardinals showed, once you get to the dance almost anything can happen.

#1 A Bullpen Resurrection