Tribe Watch '13 (Week 5)

Record: 14 - 14

Standing: 3rd in AL Central (Four games out of first place)

Last week went about as well as you could hope for with a baseball team. The Indians rattled off six wins in a row before losing a close game to the Twins on Sunday. Those wins came in all forms; they won big, they won close, and they were clicking on all facets of the game. Their performance last week showed what this team is capable of. And the scary thing is that they did so without being at full strength as Michael Bourn remains out with his finger injury and Nick Swisher sat a few games with a sore shoulder. When the Indians are at 100%, this could be a competitive team with the best in the AL. However, one week is not a large enough sample size to convince me they can do this on a consistent battle. The good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it is that they'll get a chance to really prove themselves this week as they face a couple of very good teams. First, they'll play a four game set at home against the Oakland A's, who surprised everyone last year and have continued to play good baseball to start this season. Then they'll head out onto the road to play the Detroit Tigers, who currently lead the AL Central and have been just as hot as the Indians recently. Playing good baseball against those two teams will go a long way to convincing everyone that these guys are for real. Of course, pitching remains key. Last week our starters had solid starts and we'll need for that to continue or else we could be in store for a very painful week. The uncertainty makes for some very exciting baseball and I can't wait to watch it all. Go Tribe!