Cleveland Indians Spring Training Preview

1. Will Travis Hafner bounce back?

The Indians' DH was in a slump for most of 2007. Still, the Indians came within a game of a trip to the World Series. Pronk hit 24 home runs and knocked in 100 runs after posting better numbers in each of the previous three seasons.

If Hafner returns to form in 2008, the offense won't be a problem, thanks to the reliable contributions of CF Grady Sizemore, C Victor Martinez, 1B Ryan Garko and underrated 3B Casey Blake. The Indians will also have 2B Asdrubal Cabrera for the whole year after again ripping off the Seattle Mariners, who obviously learned nothing from the Omar Vizquel trade in 1994.

2. Will the corner outfielders produce?

General Manager Mark Shapiro said took the "it ain't broke" approach in the off-season and didn't do anything to shore up the left field and right field spots.

That means he is counting on David Dellucci to return from injury and produce in left along with Jason Michaels. The Indians are still waiting to see the Dellucci who hit 29 bombs in 2005 with the Texas Rangers.

Shapiro is also counting on Franklin Gutierrez to be the everyday right fielder. The Indians may finally be learning to give their young kids a chance to play when they finally slog through the minors. Gutierrez hit 13 home runs in just 271 at-bats, so he should show some good power over a full season.

If Gutierrez falters or gets hurt, the Indians are in trouble. The right field job would then go to some combination of Dellucci, Michaels, Ben Francisco or Shin-soo Choo.

3. WWJD (What Will Jhonny Do?)

Jhonny Peralta drove everyone in the Indians' organization crazy in 2006 with his inconsistent play. He bounced back to his previous form last year, lifting his batting average from .257 to .270. The Indians succeeded in part because Peralta wasn't dragging the team down. Peralta will have to keep up the good work in 2008, because if he backslides, the Indians are doomed.

4. Will the bullpen hold up?

This is the question facing every team every year. When the White Sox, Tigers and Indians won the last three Central Division championships, they had great bullpens in each respective championship season. When the White Sox' and Tigers' bullpens failed, so did the teams.

The Indians hope Joe Borowski can put together another 45-save season. Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez are back to help him, and the Indians also imported Masahide Kobayashi from Japan for added depth.

5. Is Fausto Carmona for real?

Carmona wasn't supposed to make the team last year, but an injury to Cliff Lee opened the door for his 19-win season. The Indians hope the league doesn't catch up to Fausto this year, so he can back up C.C. Sabathia in the starting rotation. The Tribe's third and fourth starters are Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd. Jeremy Sowers, Cliff Lee, Aaron Miller and Aaron Laffey will battle for the fifth spot.

Here are two questions for which we already have answers.

1. How good are the White Sox and Tigers?

Very good. Chicago and Detroit will not roll over like they did last year. The White Sox brought in SS Orlando Cabrera, OF Nick Swisher and relievers Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink. Detroit signed SS Edgar Renteria and swiped OF Miguel Cabrera and starter Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins. That trade alone makes Detroit the favorite to win the division this year.

2. Is this C.C. Sabathia's last year in Cleveland?

Yes. Enjoy C.C. while you can, Indians fans. My two favorite ballplayers are Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome. They both left the Indians for slightly more money elsewhere. Manny has won two rings with the Red Sox, but very little has gone right for Thome since he left Cleveland. He would own the city of Cleveland (along with LeBron James) if he would have stayed.

I won't be as disappointed when Sabathia leaves, because other teams will be able to offer him a longer contract and about $60 million more than the Indians. You can't ask Sabathia to show "loyalty" and leave such a gigantic pile of money on the table, because none of us would do the same.

The Indians should have a good season this year and contend for a wild-card berth. I just don't think they will be able to keep up with Detroit this year.