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Sunday July 7th, 2013 

The Cleveland Indians are in second place in the American League Central 3.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers. Jason Kipnis has come out of his shell and is leading the team in Hits, RBI, Average, and On Base Percentage. Kipnis will be an All-Star on July 16th at Citi Field. The pitching is below average ranked throughout the league but for them to keep pace with the Tigers in the second half they will have to pick it up and try to carry the team. Guys like Jimenez, Swisher, Bourn and Kazmir will have to have a great second half for the Indians to make the playoffs. As it sits right now the only way they will make the playoffs is by winning the American League Central and beating the Detroit Tigers.

By Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): Follow @BaseballAddicts

The Cleveland Indians are three games above .500 but are still 3.5 games behind the first place Detroit Tigers after losing the first two game of the series at home.

New manager Terry Francona has done a great job with this club but he still has a lot more to do in order for them to make the playoffs. 

Big names that have produced so far this season are Jason Kipnis and Justin Masterson.

Swisher came over to Cleveland this winter by signing a four-year $56 million contract. The contract includes a fifth year vesting option worth $14 million.

Swisher has given the team a huge boost with his personality but hasn’t produced as much as wanted on the field. Only having 30 RBI has really hurt this club as it has put a lot of pressure on other guys to perform. 

Cleveland Indians 2013 Preview- MLB Network: 

Kipnis is hitting .296 with 54 RBI through 77 games so far this season. He isn’t just doing it with his bat but with his legs as well as he has 19 stolen bases. Can he continue to carry this team to a playoff spot? I believe he does but gets a little more help from his teammates.

Since coming into the league in 2011 Jason Kipnis has been in the shadows. He isn’t that breakout player that everyone wants to watch, like Miguel Cabrera or Chris Davis.

He is more of the guy that goes about his business and gets the job done. He has done exactly that and a lot more for this Cleveland Indians team in 2013. With 13 Home Runs and 22 Doubles Jason Kipnis will be at Citi Field in New York City on July 16th for the All-Star Game.

He won’t be the starter for the American League as Robinson Cano has that wrapped up but he will be on the roster. 

Not only has he been good with the bat but also been solid using his legs as well. After swiping 31 bags in 2012, Kipnis is looking to surpass that this season. He has already stole 19 bases for the Tribe and is looking for more as they head into the All-Star Break. 

Speedster Michael Bourn also joined the Tribe this winter on a four-year $48 million contract. He was brought in to be the speed guy at the top of the order and to be the catalyst for this lineup.

Injuries have held him back so far in 2013 as he missed a month with a lacerated finger. Now that he is back and healthy look for him to carry the load base running wise and to get this offense going. 

Bourn being back in the lineup is going to help this team tremendously in the second half. 

The pitching has been the biggest problem for the Indians. Other than Justin Masterson the Indians pitching staff has been less than stellar. They rank fourth worst in the league in ERA and WHIP and fifth worst in Quality Starts. It might have to do with so many moving parts in the rotation and bullpen but even with that they have to be better.

The bullpen has to be better as well. Bryan Shaw has pitched 39.2 innings this season and has given up 37 hits and 20 earned runs. When you hand the ball to the bullpen you want to be able to trust that they can hold a lead and they have shown that has been a problem this season.

If they want to win in the second half the bullpen has to produce and hold down leads. We all know when August and September roll around the starters arms start to get tired and they go less innings.

This is when the bullpen is needed the most and they will need to step up. 

After dropping the first two games of the series so far against the Tigers they will try to salvage a game on Sunday to gain a game back in the division. If they do this it will give them a boost going into the All-Star Game and into the second half. 

Coming out of the All-Star Break the Indians have a chance to get on roll. Facing the Twins, Mariners, White Sox and Marlins four out of the first five series’. They could easily end up sweeping three out of the four.

After facing the Marlins the Tigers come back to Progressive Field for a four game set. Depending on how they fair in the first five series the Indians could be looking to take over the division. 

I believe that the Indians get on another roll in mid to late July – and ride it until late August giving them enough cushion on the Tigers. The Indians will come out on top of this division with Francona at the helm as he brings another team out of the cellar.

I don’t think they get very far in the playoffs, but if the pitching is good and guys like Swisher and Bourn pick up the slack this team will be playing baseball in October.

Nick Swisher

Nick Swisher will look to pick it up in the second half as the Indians make a push for a playoff spot. They got him to produce and he will undoubtedly need to do just that in the second half.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners ***

A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Billy Hamilton Correspondent’ Ryan Ritchey for preparing today’s featured article.  Ryan is a Baseball Writer for MLB reports. He is a sophomore at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ryan is a huge fan of Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips  He has been a baseball fan his whole life and has been writing about baseball since his freshman year of High School. You can reach Ryan on Twitter  Follow @mlbreports

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