Location: Cleveland, Ohio | Ballpark: Progressive Field (43,415) | Spring Training: Winter Haven, Fla.
Owner: Lawrence Dolan | GM: Mark Shapiro | Manager: Eric Wedge | World Championships: 2
Indians officials decided their roster wasn't broke, so why fix it? Coming off a 96-win season and Central Division title, the Indians were one of the most inactive teams during the offseason.
Club officials were happy to bring back virtually the entire roster intact in 2008, so there wasn't much drama in spring training. There were only three spots on the roster to be settled: the No. 5 spot in the rotation, the No. 7 spot in the bullpen and a second utilityman.
The last spot in the bullpen was still to be decided. The three leading candidates: Tom Mastny, Scott Elarton and Jorge Julio.
The rest of the roster was set, and the Indians feel good about what they are bringing back in 2008. The pitching staff on paper should be one of the top staffs in the league, led by the 19-game winners from a year ago, Cy Young Award-winning C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona.
The bullpen is anchored by closer Joe Borowski, who led the league with 45 saves last year, and setup men Rafael Betancourt and Masa Kobayashi, the latter being one of just two offseason additions, signed out of Japan to a two-year $6.25 million contract.
The lineup will be led by the Indians' three stars, center fielder Grady Sizemore, designated hitter Travis Hafner and catcher Victor Martinez. Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera and right fielder Franklin Gutierrez, who contributed down the stretch a year ago, both will be in their first full major league season and will bear watching.
The Indians believe they have enough talent to defend their division title, even against a Detroit team that has bulked up its lineup, and will rely on their strength from last year -- their pitching staff, both the starters and relievers.
PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON C Victor Martinez is perhaps the best hitting catcher in the majors, and at age 29 he is squarely in his prime. Martinez, who is as close as the Indians have to a captain, came to camp in great shape and had a terrific spring.
ON THE DECLINE OF David Dellucci, now in the second year of a three-year, $11.5 million contract he signed as a free agent after the 2006 season, injured his hand late in camp and will be a question mark to start the season. This comes after Dellucci missed the second half of last year with a torn hamstring that basically reduced him to a non-entity in the Indians' 96-win season. At age 34 and already in a platoon situation in left field, Dellucci faces a challenge in trying to return to being the solid professional hitter he was before coming to Cleveland.
Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
The offense is stepping up big. During te four game winning streak the Indians averaged nearly 5.5 runs a game. Including todays game which is still in the 5th Inning, they have increased that average. They are hitting well over ,300 as a team in their past 7 games and Jhonn
...(more)
CC has already been traded and Blake seems like he's next in line with Betancourt's name being mentioned as well. But what about Byrd? I know most people would love to see him traded as he's a free agent at the end of the year and makes nearly $8M (which sadly though, isn't that much for a veteran starter these days), but nearly everyone on here says there's no w
I was just thinking, the Indians offered about $20 million annually, I know it's a little less, for CC Sabathia. So does that mean the Indians wil have 20 million to offer players in the off season? And with
