37-year old righty Joe Borowski will be the closer when the season starts for the Cleveland Indians but he won’t keep the job long if he continues to pitch like he did last season. He pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 4-5 with 45 saves (led A.L.) with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He doesn’t miss many bats so he will have to minimize his mistakes in 2008.

33-year old righty Rafael Betancourt was the best set-up man in all of baseball last season for the Tribe. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 5-1 with 3 saves, a 1.47 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. He also led the American League with 31 holds last season. Betancourt only allowed 51 hits while whiffing 80 batters in 79.1 innings last season which shows how good his stuff is. He will be first in line for saves if Borowski melts down in 2008.

33-year old righty Masahide Kobayashi was brought in from the Far East to pitch late in games for the Indians in 2008. Kobayashi pitched in 49 games last season for the Chibbe Lotte Marines and he was 2-7 with 27 saves, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Kobayashi pitched in 445 games (10 starts) in Japan and he was 36-34 with 227 saves, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He pitched 580.1 innings in Japan and he allowed 507 hits, walked 170 batters and whiffed 463. Joe Borowski better be looking over his shoulder this Spring as Kobayashi has a good track record as a closer.

26-year old lefty Rafael Perez has downright nasty stuff as lefties are almost helpless against him. He pitched in 44 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 1-2 with 1 save, a 1.78 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He only allowed 41 hits and whiffed 62 batters in only 60.2 innings which shows how nasty his stuff really is.

24-year old righty Jensen Lewis will pitch early in games this season for the Indians which shows how strong their bullpen is this season. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 1-1 with a 2.15 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He whiffed 34 batters in only 29.1 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. Lewis also pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in AAA ball last season and he was 3-0 with 2 saves, a 1.73 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He also whiffed 61 batters in only 52 minor league innings.

29-year old righty Jorge Julio was signed as a minor league contract in the off-season and he made the team. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins & Rockies and he was 0-5 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Julio has pitched in 411 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 13-33 with 99 saves, a 4.35 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He should do a decent job early in games for the Indians.

27-year old Criag Breslow will be the 2nd lefty in the bullpen at the start of the season after he was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox. He didn’t pitch in the majors last season. Breslow has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-2 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Breslow needs to throw more strikes if he wants to succeed in the majors as he has walked 19 batters in only 28.1 innings in his major league career to date.

27-year old righty Tom Mastny will start the season in the minors but he will likely be one of the first relievers recalled from the minors when the Indians need some help. He pitched in 51 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 7-2 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP.

36-year old righty Brendan Donnelly will likely pitch for the Indians in the 2nd half of the 2008 season as he is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last season and he was 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has now pitched in 304 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 25-9 with 4 saves, a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Donnelly has also whiffed 310 batters in 315.2 innings which shows how effective he is.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A-

The Cleveland Indians won 96 games last season with Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook having poor seasons. I think both of them will rebound in 2008 and the Indians tinkered with the bullpen in the off-season making it stronger. I like the Indians to win at least as many games as they did last season, so take the over.

The Cleveland Indians have a really deep starting rotation as all five starters have won at least 15 games in a season during their careers. It all starts with defending Cy Young Award Winner C.C. Sabathia. The 27-year old lefty will be pitching for a huge contract so batters better beware this season. He started 34 games for the Indians last season and he was 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He also led the league with 241 innings pitched last season and the Indians will without a doubt let him pitch deep into ball games this year. He only walked 37 batters while whiffing 209 which shows that he is improving as a pitcher. He could win his 2nd Cy Young Award this season as he will be motivated by cash.

24-year old Fausto Carmona came out of nowhere last season for the Indians. After a failed stint as the closer in the 2006 season the Indians decided to shift him back into a starting pitcher. He made the team because of a spring training injury to Cliff Lee and the rest is history. Carmona started 32 games for the Indians last season and he was 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Look for more of the same in 2008 from Carmona.

30-year old righty Jake Westbrook had an off-season. He started 25 games for the Indians last year and he was 6-9 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Westbrook was 44-34 from 2004-2006 so the Indians expect him to bounce back and win around 15 games in 2008.

37-year old righty Paul Byrd had a rough off-season as he had to answer to using HGH in the past but that doesn’t dim the season he had in 2007. He started 31 games last season for the Indians and he was 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He only walked 28 batters in 192.1 innings but he gives up a lot of hits.

29-year old lefty Cliff Lee had a year to forget last season. He pitched in 20 games (16 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. From 2004-2006, Lee was 46-24 so the Indians expect him to win at least 10 games in 2008.

23-year old lefty Aaron Laffey replace Lee in the rotation at the end of last season and he pitched decent. He started 9 games for the Indians and he was 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He was dominating in the minors last season as he pitched in 22 games (21 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 13-4 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.

25-year old lefty Jeremy Sowers was awful to the Indians last season. He started 13 games for them last year and he was 1-6 with a 6.42 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Sowers has to be real fine on the mound because he doesn’t have much stuff.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A

25-year old righty swinging Franklin Gutierrez will likely have the full time job in RF at the start of the season. He played in 100 games for the Indians last season and he was 72 for 271 (.266 avg, .790 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 13 homers, 36 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Look for Gutierrez to at least double those numbers in 2008. He played in 88 games in RF last season for the Indians and he only made 1 error while showing good range. He also has a cannon for a throwing arm.

25-year old lefty swinging Shin-Soo Choo will miss the first month of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He could work his way into a platoon job with Gutierrez if Gutierrez has problems with righty pitching. Choo played in only 6 games for the Indians last season and he was 5 for 17 (.294 avg, .644 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Choo also played in 61 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 55 for 213 (.258 avg) with 34 runs scored, 3 homers, 28 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+

25-year old lefty swinging Grady Sizemore never takes a day off and the Indians are better for that. He played in 162 games last season for the Indians and he was 174 for 628 (.277 avg, .852 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 24 homers, 78 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Sizemore is a little overrated as a defender as he played in 160 games in CF for the Indians last season only making 2 errors but he showed below average range. Look for Sizemore to eventually move to a lower spot in the batting order while also moving to LF, but not this season.

Jason Tyner didn’t make an error in 17 games in CF for the Twins last season but he showed poor range there. Jason Michaels can also handle CF in a pinch.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A