A bit of nitpicking here, but bare with me
Accounting for luck on both sides (Tigers also outperformed the Pythagorean W/L)
The Tigers outperformed their W-L by 1. Cleveland by 4. A pretty large difference when you consider Cleveland was 4th most in Pythag W-L and in terms of 1 run wins they were 12 over .500, 2nd to only Baltimore. The Tigers, meanwhile, were 6 games under. Cleveland had much more luck on their side and really are more likely towards regression.
Yes, our pitching is still a problem, but don't rule out a midseason acquisition, or even one still before the season starts. What I'm really trying to say is there's a ton of potential and that it's way too early to give the division to anyone. And the White Sox are in this mix too. Are the Tigers favorites? Sure, but anything can happen in baseball, and when you set yourselves up with an offseason like this, it becomes a lot more possible for anything to happen.
I know Cleveland could make a run like Baltimore did last year, and their offense looks solid but unspectacular, but that rotation still scared me from seeing them finish anywhere above .500. The White Sox are still a threat, yes, but they did virtually nothing to challenge the Tigers while the Tigers replaced two of their biggest holes (DH and RF) with significant upgrades. While I didn't agree with giving up Meyers for Shields, KC at least added a guy that has #2 potential. The rest of the guys have question marks, but Shields is probably a top 5 pitcher in the division. And Minny - lol.
So, following up, let me ask you - would it be a good idea for the Indians to try to move Stubbs or Brantley to a team like the Mets or the Cubs for a pitcher? The Cubs can offer Garza and the Mets can offer Niese, both very respectable players who could probably offer more value to the Indians than either of those outfielders.
I think Brantley could net them a decent pitcher, since he has good defensive value and isn't a complete trainwreck on offense (95 and 106 wRC+ last 2 years). Stubbs I don't think is capable of netting either of them because he can't hit well, and I think they'd have to give up more than Brantley to get Garza (in terms of prospects). I'm a Garza fan and think he's a very good #3 and even potential 2.
Alternatively, I wonder if you agree more with this article from Fangraphs:
www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/indians-use-michael-bourn-to-fill-hole-at-dh/, which argues for Stubbs playing only against left handed pitching. I worry somewhat that we'd be wasting value there and that we'd be better served in trading him for a starter. Right now, I project our starting rotation as having Masterson as 2-3 win guy, McAllister as a 1-2 win guy, Myers as a 2+ win guy, Jimenez as a 0-1 win guy, and Matsuzaka as a who fucking knows guy. Realistically, if Stubbs plays only against lefties, he can't be expected to add much more than 2 wins, if that, whereas he could probably acquire a 3+ win starter. So that's sort of what I'd hope for.
It depends what type of pitcher you're thinking. I'd still say Niese is too much for Stubbs unless you throw in at least a B+ prospect in there. Cleveland liked to platoon under Acta and Francona is a good enough manager that I think he'd know how to use his roster the the max.
Now I am going to enjoy busting Harthan's balls as much as the next guy, but Cleveland's staff isn't as bad as that. Masterson would crack the staff, Myers can pitch anywhere, and at this point I would put Jimenez on the same level as Porcello, both have taken steps in the wrong direction.
I'd put Masterson on Porcello's level, really. Both are more contact pitchers, but Masterson has slightly better stuff while Porcello has slightly better control. Scherzer/Fister/Sanchez all would be the opening day starters for them. Myers is pretty much an innings eater at this point. He's only pitched 34+ innings in the AL as a reliever and still couldn't strike out even league average during that time. Small sample size, sure, but his K rate has gone down each of the last 3 years.
Ubaldo has been quite an enigma since coming over. He's lost some of his control (which can be attributed to facing deeper lineups and no DHs) but also got hit with the gopherball at an abnormally high rate last year. However, his fastball velocity has fallen almost 4 mph since his near Cy year in 2010, so it's possible he's been pitching hurt. I'd say with a straight face I wouldn't want Ubaldo over Porcello. He's too wild and Porcellos actually improved each year since his rookie years if you don't just look at his ERA. K rate has gone up (slightly) and walk rate has gone down. He's just been the victim of a bad defense.
I'd give Cleveland the edge in the outfield as well.
Debatable. Jackson's best out of them all and Hunter still has some tread left on the tires. Plus with Swisher likely playing 1B some of the time it may take away some of the OF's value.
Just saw on MSN that Wes Welker signed a two year deal with the Broncos. 
