As the preseason nears an end

The most important battle all spring has been the contest for the fifth spot in the rotation, and it appears to me as though it's down to Cliff Lee and Aaron Laffey. Jeremy Sowers was always the unlikely winner of this battle, and as he's done nothing to particularly distinguish himself thus far, he's likely headed to Buffalo.

The difficult thing about this is, neither Lee nor Laffey have distinguished themselves, either. Laffey has the better ERA at 7.62, and that's only after only giving up one run in 5 innings Wednesday. Lee's ERA is slightly higher, but he's walked fewer than he's struck out, unlike Laffey. Lee has seemed to indicate his stuff and location has been best in the starts that he's had worse results, and Eric Wedge seems to agree. Lee should start again Saturday, and if he puts forth anything resembling a solid start, I think he's likely to be named the 5th starter Sunday. If he struggles again, Laffey should have an opportunity Monday to seize the day.

The open bullpen spot seems to be down to NRIs Jorge Julio and Scott Elarton. Early candidates Rick Bauer and Edward Mujica have already been sent down, while fellow contestant Tom Mastny really hurt himself Sunday with a poor performance against the Yankees. Julio has been the more impressive this Spring, but I'd be more inclined to give Elarton the shot. We know what Julio can do over the full season. While relievers are inherently inconsistent, Julio's inconsistency has wavered between 'meh' and 'ew' since a stunning 2002. While Elarton has been really quite poor as a starter since his shoulder first started hurting him in 2000, there's the chance that the bullpen conversion could really produce an asset.

Despite a tremendous spring, Ben Francisco is likely to be sent down to Buffalo. This is truly a shame, but Wedge seems committed to Javid Dellichaels in left, at least for now. I would not be surprised if Mark Shapiro would be inclined to make an early decision if the platoon does not start out well, and waive or trade one of the outfielders if they do not start well. Francisco would be the obvious inheritor of a fulltime role, with the survivor of the platoon culling becoming a fourth outfielder.

Andy Marte is still likely to begin the season in Cleveland. His bat has looked more potent as spring has moved along, although his glove has been rather worrisome. Josh Barfield has looked decent in spring, with improved patience at the plate, but is still seemingly ticketed for Buffalo. If the new patience is a true signal of an improved approach for Barfield, I would not be surprised if he came up in midseason if Marte continues his struggles, and became a quasi regular somewhere, maybe even at 3rd. In any event, I would hope that he would get some games at 3rd in Buffalo.

I would be much happier if the Indians would win a few more spring games, but with a roster that's largely set, the players are much more focused on doing what they need to do to be ready by March 31st, as opposed to doing what they can to impress now. That's how it always has been, and intellectually I understand it. I'd just rather they win at the same time. And maybe hit a homer with a man on base.