Three weeks until opening day!

Baseball blogger Joe Posnanski previews the AL Central in rhymed couplet form here. He did the AL East in haiku form, and the AL West in limericks. Here's what he says about our Tribe (and yes, the 2 means he predicts they'll finish second, behind the Tigers):

2. Cleveland Indians

The best pair of pitchers East of Arizona?
Must be Sabathia and Fausto Carmona
Travis needs to find that home run trot
The slogan this year: Hafner or Have Not

I've been remiss in following the Indians in spring training, in their last year in Winter Haven. My excuse is that the Cavaliers have been going through such an interesting period, and it's not until about mid-March that guys really start to round into shape. It being March 10, I'll try to do better, starting with yesterday's split-squad split against the Nationals.

In a 5-2 win in Winter Haven, Jake Westbrook pitched pretty well over three innings, and reports his arm is feeling good after he rested it to overcome some tightness. The Indians will need him to step up this year, after an off-year in '07. And fellow could-be-busts Josh Barfield and Andy Marte homered on consecutive pitches, which is a good sign. It's hard to find spring training stats online, though, so I don't really know how they're doing overall.

In a 9-0 loss to the Nats in Viera, former phenom Jeremy Sowers got lit up for six runs in two innings. I like Jeremy Sowers a lot -- how could you not like a pitcher who reads books in front of his locker? -- but I'm doubting whether he's going to be the great starter we thought he'd be after his impressive '06 showing. But I'm rooting for him like crazy, and not just because he's wearing my team's uniform.