What are the Cleveland Indians missing?

In the 1990s Cleveland Indians had a roster filled with stars. By comparison, the current team shows why it isn’t a similar perennial powerhouse.

1990s teams

In the Hall of Fame:

• Eddie Murray
• Dave Winfield

Probable future Baseball Hall of Famers:

• Manny Ramirez
• Jim Thome
• Roberto Alomar

Players who might be in the Hall of Fame someday:

• Omar Vizquel
• Orel Hershiser
• Dennis Martinez
• Jeff Kent
• Jack Morris

Players who might be considered for the Hall if they had stayed healthy:

• Albert Belle

Players who won’t be considered for the Hall, but who were among the best at their position while in Cleveland:

• Travis Fryman
• Matt Williams
• Kenny Lofton
• Charles Nagy
• Sandy Alomar
• Bartolo Colon
• Albert Belle
• Carlos Baerga
• David Justice
• Juan Gonzales

The jury is still out on the current crop of Indians, because who knows which players will develop.

But, as it looks now, the best bet for historically great players might be C.C. Sabathia, Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore. But, are any of them potential Hall of Famers? The best bet is probably Sabathia, but the other two are definitely already in the “among the best” category.”

From 2004-2006, Travis Hafner would make the list as one of the best players in the league at Designated Hitter.

Let’s not forget Brandon Phillips, who was traded away before he became a 30-homer, 30-stolen base player who plays great defense for Cincinnati. He’d probably make that list, too.

There’s a big dropoff after that.

An argument might be made for Cliff Lee or Jake Westbrook, but they’d definitely be, at best, a notch below the best pitchers in the game. Maybe Fausto Carmona will join the others, but right now, he’s a one-year success story.

Is anybody else on the current roster more than a good player?

Casey Blake, Jhonny Peralta, Franklin Gutierrez, David Delucci, Paul Byrd, Joe Borowski and Ryan Garko are all good players, but aren’t stars.

These guys join a list of complimentary players that dot the Indians roster in recent years who played way more than they would have if they had been with the team in the 1990s. That list would also include: Ben Broussard, Coco Crisp, Ronnie Belliard, Eduardo Perez, Jason Michaels, Jody Gerut, Aaron Boone and Milton Bradley.

Every team has it’s share of “he’ll do” players who hold the position until someone better comes along. It just seems like, in recent years, the Indians have pushed a lot of these guys into starting roles.

The bottom line: It’s no wonder the Indians aren’t winning like they used to. They just don’t have the players.