MLB Preview: Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians surprised many in the baseball world by winning the AL Central and becoming one win away from going to their first World Series since 1997. The tribe's success in 07 is due in large part to the emergence of Fausto Carmona. Carmona teamed with ace CC Sabathia to give the Indians the leagues dominant 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

Cleveland also benefited from a surprise year by first baseman Ryan Garko who displayed an above average glove, while batting close to 300 and hitting over 20 home runs. The Indians had one of the leagues best offensive teams last season, and many of their star players are just entering their prime so a similiar offensive output is expected once again this season.

Here are three questions facing the Indians as we enter the 2008 season.

(1) Should Cleveland keep Joe Borowski as it's closer?

Borowski saved 45 games for Cleveland last year so the question may appear silly at first glance. Fans who watched Cleveland play last season can attest that the Borowski experiment was a near disaster. Borowski posted an ERA over 5, and gave up 9 home runs, which is a lot considering he didn't log many innings.

There is a school of thought out there that says if a pitcher can get outs in the 7th and 8th innings he should be able to get outs in the 9th inning. I agree with this philosophy to a certain extent, but the Indians are treading on thin ice if they leave Borowski in as a closer in the 2008 season.

The Tribe has one of the best bullpens until you get to Borowski, so they are not short of options. Rafael Betancourt was the league's best middle reliever last season and has the stuff to be considered a closer. The Tribe also benefited from the emergence of Rafael Perez who was called up in May and was a dominating force in the bullpen for the Indians. If Cleveland doesn't want to tinker with either of their roles they can go to super prospect Adam Miller as a closer. Miller has had health problems in the minors, but by moving to the bullpen he would pitch less innings, and his mid 90's fastball and nasty breaking ball would suit him perfectly as a closer.

(2) Was last season a sign of things to come or an oddity for Travis Hafner?

Hafner only hit 24 home runs last season, and granted that many teams would take that kind of production from a DH the Indians have become accustomed to much great things from Hafner. Hafner hit 42 homeruns in 2006, so a 18 home run dropoff is significiant and should raise some red flags in the Cleveland organization.

The Indians should be able to get by with a similiar season from Hafner because the lineup is stacked with quality hitters. Grady Sizemore might be the game's best overall talent in CF. The team also has the best offensive catcher in Victor Martinez, and got solid production from SS Johnny Peralta last season.

If Hafner doesn't come around that power dropoff will affect Cleveland at some point as the Tigers improved their lineup significiantly by adding Miguel Cabrera this season. Cleveland fans will be keeping an eye on Hafner this season as he just signed a huge contact last summer.

(3) Who will round out the Cleveland rotation after Sabathia and Carmona?

This might be the biggest question in Cleveland this Spring. Jake Westbrook will enter the season as the #3 starter, but he has come down with an injury this spring. The injury is not serious, but still could raise some red flags for the Tribe down the road.

Paul Byrd should get either the 4th or 5th slots in the rotation, but he is on the last legs of his career and really at this point the Indians should have better options in their rotation. Cleveland thought they had that problem solved in 06 with the emergence of Jeremy Sowers. Sowers however disappointed them last season, and really doesn't have the stuff that will allow him to be a productive frontline starter.

Cleveland also is hoping that Cliff Lee can rebound after a disastrous 07 season, Lee was injured to start the season and never seemed to recover last season. Lee did show ominous signs in 06 of a decline, so health may not be the only excuse for Lee's disastrous 07 campaign. The other option Cleveland has is Adam Miller, but as I mentioned before the team is strongly considering him for a bullpen role.

The fact that Cleveland has a lot of options is a good thing as we approach opening day, and the top of thier rotation should be able to carry Cleveland into contention this summer. The Tribe will need to have someone emerge from that group this season and provide the team with some consistency for this team to win that one extra game this season.

The Tribe will be in a two team race with Detroit all summer long, and despite not making any major improvements the Indians depth in their bullpen will give them a slight edge over Detroit as we inch closer to opening day.