Cleveland Indians

This time last year, Grady Sizemore was considered Cleveland's Iron Horse.

The speedy center fielder missed just seven games from 2005-08. He played every day in 2006 and 2007; a sprained ankle in April 2008 snapped his consecutive games-played streak at 382.

That all changed in 2009 when a groin injury, elbow problems, and a hernia limited Sizemore to just 106 games.

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

A 6.32 ERA…

A 1.76 WHIP…

A 5.67 K/9 vs. a 5.03 BB/9…

Looking at these statistics from 2009, you have to instantly conclude that the stats belong to one of the hottest pitchers entering 2010 for fantasy owners, don’t you? 

Of course, we’re talking about Fausto Carmona, who is arguably looking at one of the biggest turnarounds ever.

I am an Indians fan who was in attendance for their game at US Cellular Field against the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day, April 5, 2010.

Here are my thoughts.

Typical Mark Buehrle Opening Day game if you are a Tribe fan. Either he is a hair off and the Tribe rips him for eight runs and a granny in the first inning, or he mows them down like grass all day. This was the latter.

The Cleveland Indians finished last season with a 65-97 record, good for fourth place in the American League Central. While I expect marginal improvement this season, there are too many questions to suggest anything better than a last place finish for The Tribe in 2010.

Next week begins the second "Manny" era in Cleveland baseball. The timing is perfect, Eric Wedge had been in my life so long he was starting to feel like a relative; a relative that I routinely cursed at.

So for those who plan to root for the Tribe this year, let me see if I can shed some light on what to expect from the ball team this Summer.

All over the country, Opening Day is a time for hope, optimism, and making predictions.

Unfortunately, assigning auguries for an all-but-doomed team like the Cleveland Indians can be depressing.

The Indians essentially waved the white flag on 2010 with the trades of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez last July. This a rebuilding year, which is code for "we're not even really going to try."

Luckily, we have more to worry about than just our numbers of wins and losses.

Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta has earmarked Thursday as the day he will end all position battles and decide on a 25-man roster.

It will coincide with the April 1 exhibition game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, where Fausto Carmona will take the mound for the Tribe in his final tune-up before the season.

Justin Masterson is a pitcher many have been waiting on, though it took a trip out of Boston for the potential production to finally be there.  Unfortunately, the move to Cleveland didn’t get off to the best of starts:

1 Win
57.1 Innings
4.55 ERA
1.59 WHIP
52 Strikeouts (8.2 K/9)
35 Walks (5.5 B/99)
.319 BABIP

Control was clearly his major issue, though not indicative of his abilities. 

Some say that "play ball" is the greatest phrase in baseball.

While I would tend to agree, there is another phrase that carries equal greatness in the game.

"If."

It qualifies every statement that people tend to make when talking about their team at this point in the season.

And for Cleveland Indians fans, such as myself, we've been throwing the "If" word around a lot. Actually, a lot seems like a little. The word has been thrown around a whole heck of a lot more than you can imagine.

I've made no bones about my overall feeling for this beloved Cleveland fan base.