Cleveland Indians

We are now about a month into the season, and there have been a ton of surprises that nobody saw coming. 

Two of last season's worst teams are atop their division. Teams who made major acquisitions in the offseason has struggled. Players who have been around the league for what seems forever are still hitting the ball like they are 20 years old.

There have been so many things we all didn't see coming that makes this season so exciting.

Let's now look at the 10 biggest surprises so far of the 2011 season.

After being drafted in the first round (15th overall) by the Cleveland Indians in the 2009 June Amateur Draft, pitcher Alex White is set to make his debut on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers.

This move was prompted by the injury to Carlos Carrasco, who will spend some time on the DL. Starter Mitch Talbot was also placed on the DL, prompting the organization to promote Jeanmar Gomez to the parent club last week.

Through Fausto Carmona’s career, he has pitched a few great games, but he’s pitched a lot more ugly ones. The fact is that his team can’t rely on his inconsistency. Carmona needs to realize he has a strong defense backing him up. If he can’t get the strikeout, he needs to let the batter make contact and know that his defense can make the play. He is only one of nine players on the diamond, yet he plays like he’s the only out there.

Since the Cleveland Indians parted ways with CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, they have been in search for one thing: pitching. 

We're not talking about just any kind of pitching, either, but the kind of pitching that can help the Tribe get back to the top of the American League Central Division and back into the postseason.

The Indians dropped their second game in a row today in Minnesota, losing 10-3 to the Twins.  While two losses in a row may not seem like a big deal to most, many Indians fans are starting to worry.  Immediately after the game was over, numerous comments on the Cleveland Plain Dealer's website were blasting the Indians.  One person predicted over 90 losses while another called for a players only meeting.

Surprisingly the Indians are seventh in baseball in ERA, led by the strong performance of the starting rotation. Arguably Josh Tomlin has been the Indians' most consistent pitcher this season, behind Justin Masterson, after throwing another quality start against the Royals last night. His ERA currently sits at 2.33, and his WHIP sits at a stunning 0.89.

It is no secret that the Cleveland Indians have been playing some great baseball in their torrid start to the 2011 season. For the first time in a few years, the Tribe could find themselves in the position in the American League Central standings that they could emerge as 'buyers' at the All-Star Break rather than 'sellers'.

Over the last couple seasons, we have seen C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Rafael Betancourt, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, among many others be dealt around the Break.

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Cleveland Indians fans weigh-in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

This week, we formulate a strategy for the Tribe to win the Kansas City series; speculate on recently-returned Grady Sizemore's future; cry about our long relief woes; and fess up on who our favorite Indians are.

Quick! Time's running out to jump on the Matt LaPorta bandwagon. It was pretty empty here for a while, but a trickle of people are finally starting to find their way aboard.

I suppose just four words come to mind: Welcome back, Grady Sizemore.

Injured for the better part of the last two seasons, Sizemore went two-for-four at the plate, including a solo home run in only his second at-bat and a double in his third, in a better-than-expected debut for the stalwart center fielder.

The Indians rode solo home runs by Sizemore, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner, as well as another quality start from Fausto Carmona to beat the Orioles 4-2.