Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - After coming within a game of reaching the World Series in 2007, optimism was abound for the Cleveland Indians entering last season.

However, a horrendous start dashed any hopes the team may have had, as they fell out of the playoff race early on. Because of that the team shipped pending free agent and reigning Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia to Milwaukee for a handful of prospects.

Most people felt that the Indians would fall further into the tank following that trade, as well as the one which sent Casey Blake to Los Angeles.

A funny thing happened, though. The Indians actually had a better record after the Sabathia deal and their 40 wins following the All-Star break were the most among teams in the AL Central.

Cleveland wound up finishing the season 81-81, good enough for third place, but still 7 1/2 games back of the division-winning Chicago White Sox.

Injuries played a big part in the team's decline last season, as Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner and Joe Borowski all missed significant time with various ailments.

There were some bright spots, though. Cliff Lee came out of nowhere and won an AL Cy Young Award, while Grady Sizemore continued to progress, as he joined Joe Carter as the only Indians to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season.

Lee, though, was the biggest surprise. After fighting to earn a spot in last year's rotation, Lee got off to a sizzling start, allowing just four earned runs in going 6-0 over his first seven starts, making the deal of Sabathia a no-brainer.

The team was relatively quiet this offseason, but did bring in a couple of key parts. Cleveland signed Kerry Wood to replace the unreliable Borowski as its closer, while trading for the versatile Mark DeRosa, who will open the season as the team's starting third baseman.

Eric Wedge enters his seventh season at the helm of the Indians and is under contract through the 2010 season.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2009 edition of the Cleveland Indians, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2008 FINISH (81-81) - Third Place (AL Central)

KEY OFFSEASON ADDITIONS: Kerry Wood (RHP); Carl Pavano (RHP); Joe Smith (RHP) Mark DeRosa (3B); Juan Salas (RHP)

KEY OFFSEASON SUBTRACTIONS: Franklin Gutierrez (OF)

PROJECTED LINEUP: Grady Sizemore (CF); Mark DeRosa (3B); Victor Martinez (C); Travis Hafner (DH); Jhonny Peralta (SS); Shin-Soo Choo (RF); Ryan Garko (1B); Ben Francisco (LF); Asdrubal Cabrera (2B)

PROJECTED ROTATION: Cliff Lee (LHP); Fausto Carmona (RHP); Carl Pavano (RHP); Scott Lewis (LHP); Anthony Reyes (RHP)

PROJECTED CLOSER: Kerry Wood (RHP)

MANAGER: Eric Wedge

INFIELD

The Indians addressed a glaring need early this offseason when they acquired the versatile DeRosa from the Chicago Cubs. DeRosa, who has been primarily a second baseman for his career, will play third for Cleveland, allowing Johnny Peralta to remain at short and Asdrubal Cabrera to play second.

DeRosa, who can also play the outfield, had a banner 2008 season with the Cubs when he batted .285 with career bests of 21 homers, 87 runs batted in, 103 runs scored and a .376 on-base percentage.

Peralta has issues with range in the field, but he hit .276 a year ago and his 104 runs scored led all AL shortstops. Cabrera, meanwhile, does not bring much to the plate offensively, but he is as good a defensive second baseman as there is in the league.

Ryan Garko drove in 90 runs last season as the starting first baseman. He may have to give way at some point this season, though, to catcher Victor Martinez, who missed 10 weeks last season because of an elbow injury.

Martinez saw his average drop to .278 last season, while his power numbers all but diminished, as he connected on just two home runs with 35 RBI in 73 games. He had hit 25 homers with 114 RBI in 2007.

If the Indians feel that Martinez would be better served at first than behind the plate, the catching job will fall to Kelly Shoppach, who enjoyed a career season in Martinez's absence last year, smacking 21 homers with 55 RBI, while playing an integral part in Lee's revival.

OUTFIELD

Sizemore has developed into one of the best leadoff men in all of baseball. Sizemore, already a three-time All-Star at the age of 26, batted .268 with 33 homers, 90 RBI and 38 steals in 157 games for the Indians. He also picked up his second straight Gold Glove.

Joining the talented Sizemore will be right-fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who had 48 RBI in the second half of last season. The team believes so much in Choo that they dealt Franklin Gutierrez to Seattle this offseason, allowing Choo to take over on a full-time basis.

Ben Francisco is going to be given every chance to claim the left field spot early this season. Francisco was a pleasant surprise for Wedge's club last season, as he hit 15 home runs with 54 RBI in 121 games.

STARTING ROTATION

Last season there was no bigger question mark in the Cleveland rotation than Lee. This year the Indians have a ton of question marks surrounding their starting staff heading into the 2009 campaign, but Lee is no longer one of them, as he inherited the role of staff ace once CC Sabathia was traded.

Following a dreadful 2007 season which featured time spent in the minor leagues, Lee picked up the AL Cy Young Award by going an MLB-best 22-3 with an AL-leading 2.54 earned run average, second in the majors only to Johan Santana of the New York Mets (2.53 ERA).

Lee's amazing 2008 season also featured four complete games, two shutouts, 170 strikeouts, 34 walks and just 214 hits allowed in 223 1/3 innings. His remarkable year included an 11-game winning streak, the longest in baseball since 2005, and he was tabbed as the AL's starting pitcher in the 2008 All- Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

Following Lee will be lefty Fausto Carmona, who will be trying to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2008. Carmona won 19 games two years ago, but was just 8-7 last year with a 5.44 ERA.

The Indians took a flyer on oft-injured righty Carl Pavano, signing him to a one-year deal.

Pavano just completed an injury-plagued four-year, $40 million stint with the New York Yankees, appearing in only 26 games and missing the entire 2006 campaign due to injury. Pavano compiled a 4-2 record with a 5.77 ERA over 34 1/3 frames through seven starts in 2008.

Lefty Scott Lewis and right-hander Anthony Reyes will round out the rotation. Right-hander Jake Westbrook is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected back until after the All-Star break.

BULLPEN

Last year the Indians had the fewest saves in the AL. So they went out and lured the right-handed Wood from Chicago with a two-year, $20.5 million deal to be their closer.

After battling back from shoulder problems that limited him to 14 starts from 2005-07, Wood enjoyed a resurgence as the Chicago Cubs' closer this past season, as he saved 34 games, while pitching to a 3.26 earned run average. He finished the year 5-4 and struck out 84 batters in 66 1/3 innings.

Jensen Lewis, Joe Smith and Rafael Betancourt will help serve the bridge to Wood from the right side, while Rafael Perez will be used to get lefties out. Lewis also saved 13 games for the Tribe last season and can be used to spell Wood from time to time.

BENCH/DH

Jamey Carroll can play almost anywhere in the infield, but is most comfortable at second base. David Dellucci will provide some pop for Wedge off the bench from the left-hand side of the plate. Dellucci, who will being the season on the disabled list, is also a more than adequate outfielder and will step in should Choo or Francisco stumble.

For whatever reason, designated hitter Travis Hafner is nowhere near the player he was two years ago. Injuries ravaged his season last year, as he hit just .197 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 57 games. The team is hoping that right shoulder surgery helps Hafner, who is signed through 2012, get back to being the player who hit .308 with 42 home runs and 117 RBI in 2007.

OUTLOOK

As many questions as the Indians have, they should be able to compete in the AL Central, where there is no real clear-cut favorite heading into the season. If Lee is anywhere near as good as he was last year and if Carmona gets back to being Carmona, the Tribe should be in good shape. Sizemore is a superstar and will carry the load offensively. Whether it is at first base or at DH, Cleveland has to find a way to keep Martinez on the field. Anything they get from Hafner at this point has to be looked at as a bonus. He can no longer be counted on, unfortunately. A lot of the younger players benefited from extended time last season and it paid off in the second half. There is definitely enough talent on this team to win a division, provided, of course, they can stay healthy.