Is There Cause For Optimism For 2010?

The Cleveland Indians' 2009 season is getting worse and worse. A bad start turned to a terrible finish, with the club's core traded away in between. Is there any reason for Tribe fans to have hope for 2010? Hope ... yes. Absolute certain belief in contending ... no. The everyday lineup should be fairly decent and the bullpen, surprisingly, should be solid. What about starting pitchers? Well ...

The Indians have used 29 pitchers this year. A dozen of them have started games. The staff ERA is 5.08 and many of the hurlers who contributed to that bad mark already have been sent packing.

Unfortunately, the best of the group, Cliff Lee, was traded away, too.

Barring a trade, the 2010 rotation likely will be pieced together from:
right-handers Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson and Hector Rondon; and left-handers David Huff, Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey and Scott Lewis.

Right-hander Anthony Reyes, who went 1-1 in eight starts this year, won't be ready after having surgery in June. Westbrook, who had setback after setback during minor-league rehab starts earlier this year, is still a very large question mark after having Tommy John surgery in June 2008.

Lewis is in similar straits. He had TJ surgery in college, battled arm trouble in the minors, but after a couple of healthy and productive years, started the 2009 home opener. He made that start while pitching through an injury that developed during spring training. He spent the rest of the season rehabbing, feeling sore, resting, trying it again, and finally being shut down.

Don't count on Adam Miller, the perennial prospect whose career is in jeopardy after yet another series of surgeries on a finger on his right hand. If he pitches at all, even in the minors, that will be a great victory.

Fausto Carmona, at least from the neck down, is healthy. But he has gone 3-12 with a 6.81 ERA this year and shows no signs of late of being any more confident on the mound then when he was sent to the minor-league complex for counselling to help reconstruct his psyche.

Huff could be considered a bright spot, since he leads the club with 10 wins after being called up from the minors. But he has a 5.98 ERA and allowed 34 more hits than innings pitched -- not good signs.

Sowers has shown some signs of being a good pitcher -- for five or six innings at a time. The same holds true for Masterson and Laffey. Any or all of them could put it together and that would be a big step forward. Odds are that one of them may have a breakthrough season, one will be so-so and the third struggle. Who knows which is likely to do what, however.

Carrasco has shown tiny improvement since being called up in early September, while Rondon made great strides in the minors but probably needs some more seasoning before coming to Cleveland.

Right now, it looks as if the starting five would be:

Carmona
Laffey
Westbrook
Sowers
Masterson

If everything breaks right, it has the potential to be a solid staff.

Things have seldom "broken right" for the Indians in recent years, so don't expect it to occur, just because.