Mildly frustrated over the lack of moves this offseason by the Cleveland Indians’ front office, I decided to take a look at the Indians current depth chart and see how the team would look if they remained healthy for a full 162-game season.

There were no variables thrown into the calculations, it simply assumed a 162-game average based upon past major league performance only. The calculations did not take into account those who are up and coming (Kipnis, Chisenhall, Brantley) or those who are winding down in their career (Hafner).

It did provide an interesting look at what we hear so often as Tribe fans—potential.

Carlos Santana, C

In a full 162 game season, Santana would hypothetically bat .244 with 27 home runs, 81 RBIs, walk 108 times, and have an OBP of .362. The key figure here is the number of walks, which makes his less than spectacular batting average a lot easier to swallow.

Matt LaPorta, 1B

LaPorta’s less than savory numbers over three seasons would translate into a .238 batting average with 18 home runs, 69 RBIs, and an OBP of .304 over a 162 game season. These are hardly the numbers of the power-hitting prospect LaPorta was supposed to be.

Jason Kipnis, 2B

If Kipnis were to play a full 162 game season based upon his major league history he would potentially bat .272 with 32 home runs, 86 RBIs, steal 23 bases and have an OBP of .333. Could he be the power-hitter the Tribe so desperately needs provided he stays healthy in 2012?

Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

All-Star Cabrera continues to be a bright spot in the Indians’ offense in his 162-game average. He would bat .281 with 13 home runs, 78 RBIs, and boast an OBP of .343. Pair that with his stellar defense and you got one of the key players the Indians need to ink to a long term deal as soon as possible.

Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B

Much like Kipnis, Chisenhall’s potential cannot be factored into his limited major league performance. In a hypothetical 162-game average, he would bat .255 with 17 home runs, 54 RBIs, and have an OBP of .284. We all know the future of Chisenhall is much brighter than this.

Travis Hafner, DH

Oh, what I would not give for a healthy Travis Hafner for full 162 games this season. Based upon his career statistics he would bat .281 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, and boast an OBP of .383. Sadly there is very little realism in this hypothetical scenario.

Shin-Soo Choo, RF

The opportunity to have Choo be productive for a full season would greatly impact the Indians. He would potentially bat .291 with 20 home runs, 91 RBIs, and have a team high .384 OBP.

Grady Sizemore, CF

The one question many Tribe fans are left asking is what a healthy Grady Sizemore would look like if he were able to play a full 162 game season based upon his historical performance. He would bat .269 with 25 home runs, 83 RBIs, steal 24 bases, and have an OBP of .357. Wouldn’t that be nice to see?

Michael Brantley, LF

Brantley is another of the Indians’ players whose experience does not show his potential as a hitter in my opinion. He would bat .265 with eight home runs, 60 RBIs and have an OBP of .316.

More Cleveland Indians Commentary from this Contributor:

Meet your Cleveland Indians’ minor league free agents: A fan’s look

Fan’s take: Does the Cleveland Indians’ front office care about the fans?

Fan’s view: Are the Cleveland Indians asleep this offseason?

Cleveland Indians have room for Pie this holiday season: A fan’s reaction

Cleveland Indians sign free-agent Pagnozzi to minor league deal: A fan’s reaction

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Indians fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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In an effort to improve the team, the Cleveland Indians acquired veteran pitcher Derek Lowe(notes) via trade from the Atlanta Braves and have re-signed free agent outfielder Grady Sizemore(notes) to an incentive laden deal.

The starting rotation is virtually set with Justin Masterson(notes), Ubaldo Jimenez(notes), Josh Tomlin(notes), Fausto Carmona(notes), and Lowe. Pitchers such as Jeanmar Gomez(notes) will likely start the season in Triple-A Columbus and be recalled as needed for injury coverage and/or spot starts.

With the signing of Sizemore, the familiar outfield of Shin-Soo Choo(notes) in right, Sizemore in center, and Michael Brantley(notes) in left leaves Indians’ fans confident, especially if the trio can remain healthy.

Additional depth is still needed in the outfield, but Shelley Duncan(notes) who began to break out late in the season with increased at bats can assume that role. Surely the team will continue to explore the best options available, but even as it stands, I am confident with the group that is already there.

Sizemore’s health remains a major concern for the club and fans alike. He appeared in only 71 games last season and battled injuries the year before. He was hardly worth the $9 million option for 2012 on a team that is always strapped for cash.

He will have a base salary of $5 million in 2012 with the opportunity to make an additional $4 million based upon at bats. He can make and additional $500,000 if he is awarded comeback player of the year.

The only remaining issue for the Indians now is the infield. Asdrubal Cabrera(notes) and Jason Kipnis(notes) are locks at shortstop and second base respectively. At third base Jack Hannahan(notes) has been consistent but the future rests in the hands of Lonnie Chisenhall(notes).

In 66 games last season, Chisenhall batted .255 with seven homeruns and 22 RBIs. Hardly the production both fans and the front office were hoping for after a stellar minor league career. On the bright side he is still very young and will continue to develop. Hannahan is best suited as a utility infielder potentially sharing those duties with Jason Donald(notes).

The big issue remaining is what to do at first base and with Matt LaPorta(notes)?

More Cleveland Indians Commentary from this Contributor:

MLB gears up for major changes in 2013: A fan’s take

Cleveland Indians’ potential OF free-agent Targets: A fan’s look

Carlos Pena is not the Indians’ answer at 1B: A fan’s take

Jim Thome bolts Indians for Phillies, again: Fan reaction

Michael Cuddyer could be the Indians’ best free agent option: A fan’s look

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Indians fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

All households and businesses generate waste — and large facilities can produce thousands of tons of trash each year.

Waste generation in the United States, including all industrial wastes and municipal solid waste (MSW), totals more than 14 billion tons annually. Unfortunately, the production and management of all that waste directly contributes to global climate disruption, as well as other serious environmental issues, including water pollution, air pollution and harming wildlife habitats.

Only 82 million tons (about 32 percent) of MSW were recycled in 2009, according to the U.S. EPA’s biennial report (PDF), yet this alone cut GHG emissions by 178 million metric tons, the equivalent of removing 33 million passenger cars from the road for an entire year.

Despite the many benefits of waste prevention, recycling and composting — protecting biodiversity, saving energy, water and valuable natural resources, such as trees and metal ores, and reducing use of landfills, incinerators and GHG emissions — it’s an ongoing challenge to engage more businesses and people in smarter waste management. And it’s a challenge that the Cleveland Indians, one of the many sports teams that NRDC is proud to work with, are taking on in a big way.

Since its inaugural year in 1994, Progressive Field has boasted recycling receptacles for plastic, cardboard and aluminum. However, it wasn’t until late 2007, when the ballpark’s waste hauling contract expired, that the Cleveland Indians began to significantly expand their recycling facilities and establish the ballpark as an industry leader in waste management.

Starting in 2008, Brad Mohr, assistant director of ballpark operations for the Cleveland Indians, established new partnerships with local waste companies and arranged for the separation of the ballpark’s recyclables on site, instead of commingling.

To sort on site, the Indians bought two balers that create 1,200-pound cubes of cardboard and 500-pound ready-for-sale cubes of plastic or aluminum.

“Combining the money we saved from canceled trash hauls — paying to have waste picked up from the ballpark and sorted — with the money we made from selling the sorted recycled commodities, we paid off the total $30,000 cost of the two balers in six months,” Mohr explains. “That really got people’s attention and gave our environmental work real credibility. The senior staff’s immediate response was ‘Keep going!’”

In three years the Indians have cut their annual waste in half. In 2007 the ballpark generated 1261.6 tons of trash; by 2010, this was down to 613.4 tons. This reduced the number of trash compactor pickups — that cost an average of $500 each — by 64 percent from 254 pickups in 2007 to 92 in 2010, saving the Club $50,000.

Mohr is confident that the Indians will continue to save $50,000 or more annually, relative to 2007 costs, with the ballpark’s improved waste management and recycling system. “That’s where we see the financial difference … in recycling, [and] avoiding trash being hauled away,” Mohr says. “Green initiatives are here to stay because they save teams money.”

The Indians’ improved ballpark recycling has also notably created more local jobs while reducing the ballpark’s environmental impact. After every game there is a ballpark “pick” where an average of 30 custodial staff do a sweep of the entire ballpark, picking up and sorting trash from recyclables. In order to increase the recycling rate at the ballpark Mohr now employs more custodial staff, hiring about eight additional workers each game, to collect recyclables post-game.  

On Monday, October 24 Jim Thome(notes) of the Cleveland Indians addressed the City Club of Cleveland, becoming the first professional baseball player to do so since Babe Ruth on July 17, 1925.

Thome stated his desire to continue playing whether it is with the Indians or another team.

“I’ll keep playing,” said Thome, “I just need teams to call me. I can’t go play in the backyard by myself. I don’t know the demand for a 41-year-old DH, but my passion is I want to continue to play.”

With Travis Hafner(notes) and his inflated contract still on the roster through 2012, Thome’s likelihood of remaining with the team is slim, but still possible.

It is my selfish hope that Thome does not find any suitors willing to take on an aging superstar who is physically unable to perform on an everyday basis. What I would love to see is for Thome to return to the Indians in a back-up DH/PH role while serving as a hitting coach/mentor to this young team.

With good friend Sandy Alomar Jr. as the team’s bench coach, and former manager Mike Hargrove serving as a special advisor to the club, why not stick around to contribute both on offense and help to guide the team?

Surely this is nothing more than a pipe dream on my part but how unrealistic could it actually be? The chance of a legitimate contender adding Thome to their 40-man roster for the entire season is fairly slim. He is physically unable to serve in a positional role for a National League team on a regular basis leaving only the American League to consider.

Thome desires and deserves a chance at a World Series championship, a feat that has eluded him in his career. The DH role on contending teams is filled, including the Indians. Why not consider a dual role with a team and in a city that loves him?

This, of course, is not solely up to Thome to decide. The Indians would also have to find value in this option as well. Realistic or not, it is certainly one to dream about.

More MLB Commentary from this Contributor:

Boston Red Sox five potential free agent targets: A fan’s look

World Series frustrates one Cleveland Indians’ fan: A fan’s take

Boston Red Sox beer buddies need to be split up: A fan’s take

Sources:

Associated Press – Jim Thome intends to return for 2012

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Indians fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.