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By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Feb 23, 2008
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: The Indians began last season knowing that if there was one thing they would do, it was hit.
Excuse me? That's not exactly the way it turned out. The Tribe finished the season sixth in the American League with 811 runs, fifth in home runs (178) and on-base percentage (.343), seventh in batting average (.268) and doubles (305).
In other words, the Indians fell far short of being the offensive juggernaut they were purported to be. So how did they win the Central Division championship? Only two other teams held opponents to fewer runs (704) than the Tribe pitching staff.
Can the Indians use the same formula to win the title again? Nobody knows, but it would be a lot easier if the offense got better.
Maybe it will.
Last year's most disappointing season belonged to Travis Hafner, who had been at or near the top of the league's designated hitter class for three years running. Hafner fell into a slump in May, and although he came close to climbing out of the hole several times, he never quite made it.
Even so, Hafner drove in 100 runs and hit 24 home runs. How bad is that? In 2007, he hit a home run every 22.7 at-bats and pushed across a run every 5.45 at-bats. In the previous three seasons combined, Hafner homered at the rate of once every 13.8 at-bats and had an RBI once every 4.26 at-bats.
Hafner's slump was not related to an injury. The suspicion is that once he began his slide, the longer it lasted, the more it acted on his psyche to become a mental block.
''Hafner is hard on himself,'' manager Eric Wedge said Friday. ''He expects a lot of himself. The great ones usually do.''
Wedge is not using the word ''great'' in the past tense. He fully expects Hafner to rebound.
''Last year, I think at times he tried to do too much,'' the manager said. ''He was guilty of that at times.''
That's more symptom than cause. Players usually try to do too much after they have gone into a skid. It's called pressing, and Hafner probably wasn't the only one who succumbed to that illness.
Josh Barfield had just come to Cleveland in a winter trade from San Diego, where he batted .280 with 13 home runs as a rookie. Naturally, he wanted to make a good impression on his new team. Sounds like the recipe for disaster.
That's exactly what it was for Barfield, who slumped to .243 in 130 games. In August, he lost his second baseman's job to rookie Asdrubal Cabrera and spent the rest of the season nailed to the bench, save a few pinch-running appearances.
Barfield came to camp this year with a modest goal: Make the team, even if it's in a utility role. Instead, he might start the season in the minors.
The other large hole in the attack was related to the two players assigned to platoon in left field: Jason Michaels from the right side and David Dellucci from the left. Michaels did his job, but Dellucci struggled, finally tearing a hamstring and missing more than half the season.
Wedge does not think a .230 average, four homers and 20 RBI in 56 games are indicative of what he should expect from Dellucci.
''I feel like he also was trying a little too hard,'' the manager said. ''He was coming to a new team, and he signed a three-year contract. He's the kind of player who cares. Then just as he was starting to come out of it, he got hurt.''
So the good news for Tribe fans is that no player on the roster — with the possible exception of Victor Martinez (.301, 25 HR, 114 RBI) — had what could be described as a career year. It is not unrealistic to expect several players to put up bigger numbers, Hafner and Dellucci in particular.
That might be enough to keep the offense from sputtering as it did at different junctures last year. Despite the Tribe's stature as division champ, the team was shut out seven times, scored one run 10 times and two runs in 21 games. Combined, that's 23 percent of the season. The club scored three or fewer runs in 33 percent of its games.
''Every year, there are certain areas of the club that will have their ups and downs,'' Wedge said. ''Consistency is the key to avoiding that, which is what we want to work on this year by addressing each player individually. Our guys do a great job of seeing pitches and getting on base, but we have to take advantage of that.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
WINTER HAVEN, FLA.: The Indians began last season knowing that if there was one thing they would do, it was hit.
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