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Cleveland Indians
Team Page | Roster | Spring Training Schedule | Regular Season Schedule
On this page: Arrivals | Departures | Spring Cleaning | Team Breakdown | Prospects | Predictions

What's the frequency, Kenneth? Lofton stole at least 30 bases for the seventh time in 2000. Allsport/Al Bello

By Lonny Krasnow, CNNSI.com

For a change, the Cleveland Indians won't spend any time at spring training telling postseason horror stories. That's because their 2000 season ended Oct. 1.

For the first time since 1996, the Indians aren't defending a division title.

Cleveland started last year as the only team to ever win the AL Central, but finished second to the Chicago White Sox and narrowly missed a wild-card playoff spot.

Indians manager Charlie Manuel had a rough first season. First, he had colon surgery in March. Then, he endured a painful season of injuries to his pitchers and inconsistency from the rest of the Indians.

"The biggest thing I learned last year was that 90 wins doesn't get you much," Manuel said.

The Indians, who finished one game out in the wild-card race, spent the winter trying to make sure second place was only a one-year thing.

They signed free agents Ellis Burks (three years, $20 million) and Juan Gonzalez (one year, $10 million) to offset the loss of Manny Ramirez, who took his RBIs with him for $160 million in Boston.

Top Guns Indians 2000 team leaders Avg.  Manny Ramirez  .351  HR  Manny Ramirez  38  RBIs  Manny Ramirez  122  SB  Roberto Alomar  39  Wins  D. Burba/C. Finley  16  ERA  Bartolo Colon  3.88  Ks  Chuck Finley  189  Saves  Steve Karsay  20    Go Figure .838 Career RBIs per game for Juan Gonzalez -- fifth all-time behind Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth.

Cleveland also added catcher Eddie Taubensee to help replace Sandy Alomar Jr., who signed with the White Sox.

The Indians' lineup isn't the problem, though. Never was.

It all comes down to pitching.

Injuries forced the Indians to use a major league-record 32 pitchers, some of whom may never see the big leagues again.

The Tribe invited 36 pitchers to camp, but only two members of the starting rotation won't come in with health issues.

Bartolo Colon, the team's ace, has slimmed down and is in the best shape of his pro career. Dave Burba, too, is good to go.

But starters Chuck Finley, Jaret Wright and Charles Nagy all underwent offseason operations and each will be watched very carefully.

Finley had minor knee surgery but says he will be able to handle his normal throwing program. Wright had shoulder surgery in August and probably won't be ready for Opening Day. Nagy, who has no cartilage in his elbow, will have to pitch through the pain to get a starting job.

All the uncertainty is forcing the Indians to explore other options. Steve Karsay, a former starter converted into a reliever, will get a chance to win a starting job. But there are questions about his durability.

Steve Woodard will get a crack at winning the No. 5 spot, and journeymen Willie Blair and Ariel Prieto will get auditions during Grapefruit League action.

The Indians want to give both left-hander C.C. Sabathia and Cuban defector Danys Baez some Class AAA starts before they're brought up to the big club, but circumstances could dictate a change of plans.

Other than pitching, Manuel doesn't have many worries.

The Indians still have the game's best defense up the middle and the addition of Gonzalez and Burks could make Cleveland's lineup stronger than it was with Ramirez.

Arrivals
Pos.	Player	From	Via

LHP	Scott Aldred	Phillies	Free Agency
RHP	Willie Blair	Tigers	Free Agency
OF	Ellis Burks	Giants	Free Agency
OF	Marty Cordova	Blue Jays	Free Agency
OF	Karim Garcia	Orioles	Free Agency
OF	Juan Gonzalez	Rangers	Free Agency
LHP	Eric Gunderson	Blue Jays	Free Agency
INF	Dave Hollins	Devil Rays	Free Agency
OF	Butch Huskey	Rockies	Free Agency
RHP	Ariel Prieto	Athletics	Free Agency
LHP	Scott Radinsky	Cardinals	Free Agency
RHP	Jerry Spradlin	Cubs	Free Agency
C	Ed Taubensee	Reds	Trade

Departures
Pos.	Player	To	Via
C	Sandy Alomar Jr.	White Sox	Free Agency
RHP	Jason Bere	Cubs	Free Agency
LHP	Jim Brower	Reds	Trade
LHP	Chris Haney	Rangers	Free Agency
RHP	Tom Martin	Mets	Free Agency
OF	Manny Ramirez	Red Sox	Free Agency
1B	David Segui	Orioles	Free Agency

Spring Cleaning

Russ Branyan There's no denying Russ Branyan's power potential. He hit 170 home runs in 601 minor league games and 16 bombs in 192 at-bats for the Tribe last season -- but the 97 whiffs are cause for alarm. The Indians need his left-handed bat in the lineup, but he has to learn the strike zone before he becomes the next Rob Deer. Who will fill the leadership void now that Sandy Alomar Jr. has moved on? Einar Diaz and Taubensee will share duties behind the plate, but the take-charge attitude will have to come from veterans Kenny Lofton, Travis Fryman, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel. And how will Manuel handle prima donna Roberto Alomar. The younger Alomar vowed, "I'll be the same without Sandy." Manuel and Alomar clashed twice last season after Robbie was hit by pitches and didn't feel Manuel ordered the proper retaliation -- though Alomar now says he has no problem with his manager. A healthy Gonzalez will go a long way in helping the Indians survive the loss of Ramirez, but the two-time MVP has a history of back and hamstring problems. Will Gonzo continue his slide, or will he have a monster season to put himself in position to get a long-term deal beyond 2001? Is Bob Wickman really the answer in the ninth inning? He saved 14 games for Cleveland after being acquired July 28, but Cleveland would like to see Paul Shuey emerge as the stopper. The injury-prone Shuey has closer's stuff, averaging more than a strikeout per inning in his career.

Team Breakdown
Projected Lineup		Projected Rotation
CF	Kenny Lofton	RHP	Bartolo Colon
SS	Omar Vizquel	LHP	Chuck Finley
2B	Roberto Alomar	RHP	Dave Burba
RF	Juan Gonzalez	RHPs	Steve Karsay/Jaret Wright
1B	Jim Thome	RHPs	Steve Woodard/Charles Nagy
DH	Ellis Burks	Bullpen
3B	Travis Fryman	RHP	Bob Wickman (closer)
LF	Wil Cordero/Russ Branyan	RHP	Paul Shuey
C	Einar Diaz	LHP	Ricky Rincon
Key Reserves		RHP	Steve Reed
C	Eddie Taubensee	RHP	Sean DePaula
OF	Jacob Cruz	RHP	Justin Speier
INF	Jolbert Cabrera	LHP	David Riske

Prospects to Watch
LHP C.C. Sabathia -- A first-round pick in the 1998 draft, Sabathia is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound lefty with a very high ceiling. The Indians view him as a future No. 1 starter, so he will be handled with kid gloves -- appropriate considering he is just 20. Sabathia will be up at some point in 2001. RHP Danys Baez -- The Tribe invested $14.5 million in this Cuban defector who is still a work in progress. Baez, 23, throws a mid-90's fastball and big curveball that needs refinement. He likely will begin the season in Class AAA but could called up at some point during the season. RHP Tim Drew -- Although torched in three major league outings (9.0 IP, 10 ER), J.D. Drew's little brother could be a decent major league pitcher with some more seasoning in the minors. Drew, 22, has a great changeup but needs to work on his command. RHP Zach Day -- Acquired from the Yankees in the David Justice deal, Day impressed with a strong return from a rotator cuff injury in 1999. Pitched solidly in 2000, ending his season at Class AA Akron, Day, 22, likely will start the season at Akron with a promotion to Class AAA if he starts off strong.
Best-Case Scenario
The staff comes together: Bartolo Colon pitches like he did last September (3-0, 1.94 ERA); Finley has another 15-win season left in his 38-year-old arm; Burba and Woodard eat 200 innings apiece; Karsay takes the ball every fifth day; Wright and Nagy pitch through pain and combine for 15 wins. Juan Gone pulls a Big Hurt and has a monster year, driving in 150 runs while silencing his critics. Branyan cuts down on his strikeouts and makes people forget about Richie Sexson. The unheralded Diaz has a breakout season at and behind the plate. Thome, now 30, emerges as the clubhouse leader, and Alomar checks his ego at door. Lofton swipes 50 bases in his "walk" year. The Indians win 95 games, which is enough to reclaim the AL Central. Colon outduels Pedro Martinez twice in the divisional playoffs. In the ALCS, the Tribe solves the Yankees and advance to the World Series to face ... you guessed it, the upstart Florida Marlins. Nagy, pitching in relief, wins three games including the clincher, ending Cleveland's 53-year championship drought.
Worst-Case Scenario
With the new unbalanced schedule, the Indians get beat up by again by their divisional rivals (against whom the Tribe was 21-30 last year). Staff infection: Colon turns in a .500 season; Finley shows his age; Karsay is a five-inning pitcher. Burba and Woodard post ERAs above 5.00; Nagy and Wright spend most of year on the DL. Blair, Prieto and Jake Westbrook are inserted into the rotation. The table-setters -- Lofton, Vizquel and Alomar -- all on the wrong side of 33, fail to ignite the offense. Meanwhile, the fragile outfield -- Gonzalez, Lofton and Burks -- miss chunks of time with back, shoulder and knee injuries, respectively.
Bottom Line
The Indians have played .547 baseball in the Jacobs Field era. That's not going to end this season. Cleveland has revamped its offense enough to make up for the loss of Ramirez. Whether they have enough pitching to regain their division title is uncertain. But you can count on the Tribe playing meaningful games in September.

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