Mid-March

As the calender indicates Daylight Savings Time is upon us and the sports calender directs our attention to March Madness, it is as good of time as any to take a mid-March look at the Tribe.

As we all know, 2009 was not only a disappointing season in terms of wins and losses but it was a sad separation of players that were not only talented but very respected as well. To add even more insult to Tribe fans was the World Series Game One matchup between former aces CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. In addition to a very uninspiring 2009 campaign, the ownership had its financial committment questioned for dealing Lee and Martinez while both still had a year left on their contracts at very reasonable costs (Lee 8M and Martinez 7M). The financial committment in the negative direction seemed to continue on into the 2010 winter. The Tribe made three significant signings, Austin Kearns, Mike Redmond, and Russell Branyan. None of the three players signed are long term everyday solutions for the Tribe (An offseason review can be found at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/02/offseason-in-review-cleveland-indians.html).

So, as the snow thaws in Cleveland, the anger and frustration of the fans will remain. This is not to say that the fans will not root for the Indians, it will just mean that the enthusiasm will be hard to capture at the gate and the trust gap between ownership and fan is at its largest point since the 80's.

With all the negative feelings put aside, as it is spring and the whole hope eternal dynamic in full swing, the Tribe is in Goodyear preparing for the 2010 season.

As it is only mid-March, there is not much to report as of today. A few good signs are that the pitchers seem to be able to control the ball with much greeater precision this spring. Now, this may be due to the El Nino and additional moisture effect or it may be the Indians have more experienced healthy arms throwing the ball.

Health, both mental and physical, is one of the main concerns that the Tribe faces. Jake Westbrook, who is relied on to be the ace of the staff is coming back from nearly two years of inactivity. His health is the primary factor that needs to be evaluated and over the winter and through the first few weeks of spring Westbrook hasn't had a setback. A sidenote on Westbrook is that when he is referred to an ACE it isn't in reference to a true #1. Westbrook needs to lead this staff to respectability by keeping his composure on the mound, showing guys how not to limit the damage when faced with trouble, and how to pick up the defense after an error ratehr then lose focus and magnify the mistake.

Fausto Carmona is the mental aspect. Carmona had a nightmare 2009 campaign after a very disappointing 2008 campaign and is looking to find that 2007 groove again. An adjustment to his positioning on the rubber was suggested by Jose Lima (Carmona's winter league manager) and he had great success in the Dominican League. But as a good friend of mine commented to me, you can't walk off the island, meaning that the hitters were probably hacking at Carmona's pitching and not making him work. Carmona has been effective this spring and looked great in his debut, pitching from the middle of the rubber has seemingly given him more plate to catch with the natureal movement. Only time will tell if the change will stick or if Carmona will rebound. The one thing we know is that Carmona does possess the physical attributes of a true ace.

Justin Masterson seems to have a nasty dispostion about him on the mound and is starting to take advantage of his huge frame and is driving through the ball. He is also beginning to mix in a changeup and working on getting lefties out. Masterson is slotted to be the third starter in the rotation and could really add some depth to the rotation if he can prove that he is a major league starter. Mentally, the Indians are helping by naming him a starter prior to the spring, removing the doubt of bouncing between rotation and bullpen as he has most of his major league career.

Aaraon Laffey, Mitch Talbot, and David Huff have all pitched well thus far. Talbot is probably more secure then Laffey and Huff based on options. The best thing that can be said about the triad is that they aren't all pitching equally bad, but they are all pitching well. It will be interesting to see who between Laffey and Huff is the odd man out. My guess, is that David Huff will find himself in Columbus to start the season.

The bullpen guys haven't really shown too much negative in the limited time that they've been tested. Kerry Wood has some discomfort in his arm but it isn't considered serious. Joe Smith has been knocked around by lefties again but that is standard fair for him. The best story in the bullpen thus far has been the pitching of Rafael Perez. Perez is coming off a disastorous 2009 campaign, one where he seemingly lost his confidence, control, and composure all at once. Perez pitched as a starter this winter and was very successful. That success has carried over to Goodyear, which is another good sign for the bullpen as a healthy and dominant Perez really shores up the bullpen.

Their really is not much in the way of offense to speak of. The stories thus far are that Grady Sizemore appears 100% recovered from a lost 2009 campaign (common theme here). Travis Hafner has not had any setbacks this spring and the Tribe is very hopeful that Hafner will be able to put together a full season of health and supply the power in the middle of the lineup. Matt LaPorta seems to be on track to break camp as the 1b/LF for the team. He hasn't had any setbacks from his hip/toe surgeries over the winter. Russell Branyan has been unable to play in any cactus league games as he continues to rehab from his off-season back surgery.

A few of the younger players seem to be taking advantage of the playing time early this spring. Michael Brantley has been fantastic as has Wes Hodges. Lou Marson has played well enough to give Tribe fans belief that he will be an adequate catcher to start the 2010 campaign.

We'll see how things shake out over the last couple of weeks of spring training. A few roster decisions based on injury progress and two slots may open up elsewhere based on performance. Other then the #5 starter, the Tribe needs to know if Kearns will be the 5th outfielder, will Trevor Crowe and Kearns be on the opening day roster, will Branyan be ready by opening day, will the Tribe be bold enough to hand over LF to Michael Brantley, and how does the bullpen shake out. Joe Smith and Jensen Lewis are both on the bubble.