Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Indians series preview

The season opening home stand concludes with a visit from division rival White Sox.

• Tuesday's game is at 7:10 PM (Quintana vs. Carrasco)
• Wednesday's game is at 12:10 PM (Danks vs. Bauer)

This is one of those odd series where the Indians have both the day before and the day after the series off. The Indians really need to sweep this short two gamer as they start on a three city tour of the Central after this. They will visit Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit for three games each with just one day off.

Division Watch: Royals at Twins, Tigers at Pirates.

Team in a Box

The Tribe won the season series last year, taking ten of the nineteen contests. But they excelled in Progressive, winning seven of nine.

We all know about the Tribe's struggles over the weekend, but the White Sox have an identical record, getting swept in Kansas City and then taking two of three from the Twins at home. They have been outscored 33-18 with Jeff Samrdzija getting clobbered in his first two starts.

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A two game sweep will get the Indians even heading into that long road trip.

Projected Roster

*stats in AAA/AA

This lineup can be very potent. Abreu is the newest slugger in the division that I am sure Tribe fans will begin to loathe. Both he and Gillespie did the most damage against the Indians in 2014. Beckham did well in his truncated opportunities; as did career pain in the side Ramirez (701 OPS, 14HR). Ramirez hit four homers last year while Abreu crushed five.

The White Sox better hope for a healthy offense as the bench looks particularly weak, with Beckham the only returning face from last season.

Projected Staff

The Tribe didn't luck out in this short series, facing two of the three lefties. Well, maybe they did luck out as they do miss Sale. Quintana was hit pretty hard by the Royals in his first start. He made four starts versus Cleveland last year, nabbing one win with a 3.91 ERA, 14.35 WHIP and 8.2 K/9. Danks also made four starts last year, but didn't fare as well. He was 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA, 1.583 WHIP and 6.0 K/9.

The bullpen has been remade almost completely with Putnam, Guerra and Surkamp the only returnees from last season. Robertson was fantastic with the Yankees last year, while Duke and Jennings are both coming off decent years. Albers and Drabek both battled injuries last year.

On the Shelf

• RP Jake Petricka [15 day DL], possible mid-April return
• RP Nate Jones [60 day DL], possible midseason return

Almanac

*Does not include 2015 stats

Prediction: As much as I want to call a sweep, the fact that both starters are left handed keeps me from doing so. I predict a win against Danks, but the Tribe struggles with Quintana.