OK no one panic

In case you haven't been following Indians spring training baseball - and I can't blame you - the ace of our staff, Cliff Lee, gave up 10 runs, nine earned, in 2.2 innings of work. My first reaction was: Holy Crap! Then I realized this was only Lee's second start and he could still be finding his release point and that sort of thing. Moving on, I've got a few stray thoughts here you may be interested in.

- Rafael Perez returned from his stint at the WBC without giving up a run. Of the arms in our bullpen not named Wood I think Perez is easily the most solid. Actually everything considered he probably is the most solid.

- Chris Gimenez has been getting a lot of press of late. He is an option at backup backup catcher along with first and outfielder as well. Obviously the Indians love versatile players.

- Who is your money on as first veteran off the team? David Dellucci, Masa Kobayashi, or the dark horse (yeah that's right) Carl Pavano? Kobayashi could probably last a couple months as a garbage time reliever. Heck I could probably last a couple months as a MLB garbage time reliever. OK maybe just a few weeks.

- Zach Jackson is the early favorite for the final bullpen spot. The fact that he is left handed and an option for long relief situations makes him attractive. Well, that and those sideburns of his.

- Despite my tendencies to prefer Scott Lewis as the fifth starter, this competition is Aaron Laffey's to lose.

- Can Jensen Lewis pitch this well in the actual season? My hope is yes, though I've read opinions that says no. My longshot prediction of the week is that Lewis will have a better bullpen year than Betancourt.

Only 19 more days until Opening Day.
Go Tribe!
(AP Photo/Matt York)