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To Take the Next Step,,,,,

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Mott the Hoople

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In order to take the next step, and not only make the playoffs, but become true AL Championship contenders, I think the following needs to happen:

  1. Our #3 SP needs to become dominant. I think Cal Quantrill might have reached his ceiling last season. To expect more would be doubtful. Bieber and Triston should be fine and continue their performance level. But if we can go into a big series and expect a win from our #3 would be great. I don't know if the kid SP will get here till mid-season.
  2. We need a slight improvement in Oscar Gonzales both in the field and at the bat. He seems athletic, and has good speed. So, with work and coaching, he should improve in RF. Offensively it's always a balance between being aggressive and good pitch selection. But he hits the ball so damn hard. If he can make a little improvement on this, he could become an All-Star.
  3. We need more of an offensive contribution from whoever plays CF. (I prefer that would be Straw because he makes such a HUGE difference in the game with his glove.)
If those 3 things happen, I like our chances.
What do you guys think needs to happen in 23 to truly contend?
 
In order to take the next step, and not only make the playoffs, but become true AL Championship contenders, I think the following needs to happen:

  1. Our #3 SP needs to become dominant. I think Cal Quantrill might have reached his ceiling last season. To expect more would be doubtful. Bieber and Triston should be fine and continue their performance level. But if we can go into a big series and expect a win from our #3 would be great. I don't know if the kid SP will get here till mid-season.
  2. We need a slight improvement in Oscar Gonzales both in the field and at the bat. He seems athletic, and has good speed. So, with work and coaching, he should improve in RF. Offensively it's always a balance between being aggressive and good pitch selection. But he hits the ball so damn hard. If he can make a little improvement on this, he could become an All-Star.
  3. We need more of an offensive contribution from whoever plays CF. (I prefer that would be Straw because he makes such a HUGE difference in the game with his glove.)
If those 3 things happen, I like our chances.
What do you guys think needs to happen in 23 to truly contend?
Step 1: Make the playoffs
Step 2: Just win the last game you play

Easy!
 
In order to take the next step, and not only make the playoffs, but become true AL Championship contenders, I think the following needs to happen:

  1. Our #3 SP needs to become dominant. I think Cal Quantrill might have reached his ceiling last season. To expect more would be doubtful. Bieber and Triston should be fine and continue their performance level. But if we can go into a big series and expect a win from our #3 would be great. I don't know if the kid SP will get here till mid-season.
  2. We need a slight improvement in Oscar Gonzales both in the field and at the bat. He seems athletic, and has good speed. So, with work and coaching, he should improve in RF. Offensively it's always a balance between being aggressive and good pitch selection. But he hits the ball so damn hard. If he can make a little improvement on this, he could become an All-Star.
  3. We need more of an offensive contribution from whoever plays CF. (I prefer that would be Straw because he makes such a HUGE difference in the game with his glove.)
If those 3 things happen, I like our chances.
What do you guys think needs to happen in 23 to truly contend?
Agree with all of this, especially # 3...

In 1997, the Indians brought up a 21 or 22 year old kid to pitch in a couple of games before the ASB.. He wasn't an ace (and may never have been called one).. but what he did was shut down good teams.. He went on to make a dozen more starts, give or take, with superb results save for the first game and a blow out against the Jays (2 of his baker's dozen starts accounted for more than half his entire allowed run total).. Grover,, being a wise manager threw caution to the wind and gave him two starts against the Yankees in the ALDS.. He pitched into the 6th inning of both games and came away with two W's..

Cal Quantrill.. won't be able to do that.. the purpose behind this little diatribe is to show.. historically, Cleveland has rolled the dice on youngster in post season.. one of the hard throwing hounds currently in the minor league may be our next Jaret Wright.. Could be one of three or four guys..

It's a risk..but, in post season baseball...good defense and pitching and a little bit of luck.. is all that's going to be needed..

W/R to Spongebob.. imho, just leave him alone.. let him be him.. Spongebob should organically improve his pitch selection and defense if he's putting in the time.. and the guys around him are right there with him and for him..

W/R to CF: Probably a shorter leash with Straw.. but as you've stated.. it would be nice to see him taking away any chance for a fly ball to get a grass stain.. especially with Spongebob to his left..

Good posting and subject..
 
In order to take the next step, and not only make the playoffs, but become true AL Championship contenders, I think the following needs to happen:

  1. Our #3 SP needs to become dominant. I think Cal Quantrill might have reached his ceiling last season. To expect more would be doubtful. Bieber and Triston should be fine and continue their performance level. But if we can go into a big series and expect a win from our #3 would be great. I don't know if the kid SP will get here till mid-season.
  2. We need a slight improvement in Oscar Gonzales both in the field and at the bat. He seems athletic, and has good speed. So, with work and coaching, he should improve in RF. Offensively it's always a balance between being aggressive and good pitch selection. But he hits the ball so damn hard. If he can make a little improvement on this, he could become an All-Star.
  3. We need more of an offensive contribution from whoever plays CF. (I prefer that would be Straw because he makes such a HUGE difference in the game with his glove.)
If those 3 things happen, I like our chances.
What do you guys think needs to happen in 23 to truly contend?
I'd add a fourth. Do not trade Beiber. Play him through the entirety of his contract. We don't need no stinkin' prospects.
 
It's hard to imagine the youngest team in baseball not being better with another year's experience. There isn't much in the way of "need" that isn't blatantly evident.

I'm not a fan of Straw as a starter and everyone knows that and I fully expect Brennan to make Tito's decision an easy one. If he doesn't then there's nobody to blame but himself.

I expect Bo to be a breath of fresh air from C. I expect him to hit some bumps in the road offensively, but what he brings to the table is vastly better than anything we've had in a long time.

Our SP is pretty damn good, but nowhere as good as it's going to be very soon. I don't need to say anymore about that as we're all well versed in our SP depth.

That brings us to RCRISTAL's mancrush. Thing is, there is no certainty that Arias will provide more with the bat. Defensively there is no question. The upside is there, but that's what it is at this point. The question is are you going to try to figure out who the starting SS is for this team or kick the can down the road. Anyone that thinks Amed is extending is going to be disappointed. I bet they haven't had any discussion about it at all and I still think it's possible that he doesn't start the season in Cleveland.

So I'm dealing at least one of Civale, Plesac and maybe Quantrill and targeting this guy:
Jesús Luzardo 2022 Highlights

I am then dealing our beloved Amed and targeting this guy:
Luis Rengifo 2022 Highlights Palmer Sports Palmer Sports • • 1.7K views 1 month ago

Good topic Mott!
 
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I'd add a fourth. Do not trade Beiber. Play him through the entirety of his contract. We don't need no stinkin' prospects.
You're basically saying don't continue to do what has built this team into what it currently is and it doesn't have to be just "prospects".
 
Good health with the top three starters is as important as anything. Any loss there will be felt strongly. Outfield depth being poor, good health is critical there, too. Any regression from the young guys (Kwan, OGon, Gimenez) will need to be offset by a rookie making an impact, Arias, Bo, or a Straw revival. If(?) all that comes to be, then Josie projects to a better year and Bell should add a boost getting the G's to the mid-upper 90s in the win column.

Twenty percent chance of it happening like this.
 
To Win it All:

1. Staying healthy is key.
2. Starting pitching has to better than last year. Our options to make that happen are good IMO. TMac isn't Tmax'd, Bieber could be amazing, but will definitely be good and Morris, Pilkington, Curry even top prospects like Bibee, Williams, Cantillo, Allen, etc. are all in the MOR/BOR mix... Deadline trade (or sooner) to add a #3 or better type, seems like a reasonable possibility for now. I'm pretty confident we'll be seeing better overall SP team stats and an encouraging performance or more from our rotational ranks in 2023.
3. Team offense has to improve, which I believe/know it will. Andres takes a big step forward and gets a few MVP mentions. Kwan, similar numbers to last seasons final line is perfectly awesome.. BUT.. If he can improve on last year's 2nd half performance, he is an All-Star himself, with a few more dingers/SBs and an OPS over .800. Ogonz could smack 30ish dingers. If he can do that without striking out a ton, and any improvement on defense...Bell is an upgrade and you know he'll be playing his guts out, just like Rosario. He'll be playing the best baseball of his career in his final year before free agency IMO. And finally... The Naylors play well. I don't think Josh Naylor has really taken that next step to this point. But if he can find some consistency he should have his best season yet and his brother Bo should be an improvement at the plate/C, but that might need time to bake.. Offensive improvement at C with Zunino/Bo behind the dish has to be a lock.

I seriously believe we could have one of the more feared teams in baseball on both sides of the diamond by June.. A little more offense and better results from the back of the rotation just might get us there. A lot more? World Series champs.
 
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To take the next step, the younger position players merely need to make the natural progressions that usually, but not always, come with mental and physical maturity. Contact becomes contact with power.

We saw it with Gimenez last season. We've seen it with so many young players...Jose, Lindor, Brantley, and Kipnis.

We certainly have a lot of young contact hitters with at least some MLB at bats under their belts....Kwan, Brennan, and Freeman. We don't need them to start hitting 30 dingers...just a few more XBHs a piece. It all adds up.

The rotation has to stay healthy. Civale is a darn good pitcher when healthy.

And the FO has to be willing to shake its risk phobia, and add when the opportunity arises.
 
You're basically saying don't continue to do what has built this team into what it currently is and it doesn't have to be just "prospects".
No, I'm saying that in a contention window we go all in on the guys who got us to the here and now.
 
No, I'm saying that in a contention window we go all in on the guys who got us to the here and now.
Ok, how do we know going all in wouldn’t damage the actual/better contention window coming very soon? Point being that there has been a plan in place and it is a sustainable one that can not only withstand trading soon to be FA, but benefit from doing so.

We’ll see what happens with extensions, but I don’t expect Bieber to accept what Cleveland offers and not trading him now makes me nervous. He’ll be worthless with one year remaining and injured should that unfortunately happen again.

While we are undoubtedly close to the finish line in terms of competitiveness, I don’t believe we have crossed the line yet. The best is yet to come and we are on the verge of having a better team than we did through the 90’s IMO. We’ll know more when extensions are made and that should start happening soon.
 
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It's pretty clear what we need after watching our young Cavs blossom.

Dillon Brooks needs to hit Steven Kwan in the junk. Thatll turn the tides.
 
with regards to starting pitching, its not that hard to be better. just have any one of 5 or 6 prospects be better than plesac. Then, have everyone else repeat last season, including civale who was much better when he got consistent starts post injury.

I would think any trade of beiber would be for mlb talent and a top prospect, not all prospects.
 

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