Tribe Tidbits: Early Struggles, Lee's Start, and AL Central Update

Slow Start: The Indians aren’t stressing over the 5-8 start. The Indians are hitting only .242 as a team, and the pitching staff has a 4.74 ERA. Is it too early to panic? Probably, there are still 149 games left to play. The Indians also have played one of the hottest hitting teams in baseball, Oakland, for six games already. "Everybody wants to get off to a good start, whether it be a ball club or an individual," manager Eric Wedge said after Sunday’s game. "But what you have to do is just trust in the length of the season, trust in your ability and the fact that we've played 12 games, and we've got 150 to go. There's a wide range between those two numbers."

ALCS in the Past: Many of the reporters are billing the short series as a rematch of last season’s league championship, which saw Boston rally from a 3-1 deficit to take defeat the Indians. Boston went on to win the World Series. But the Indians weren’t stressing over the upcoming games. "To tell you the truth, I hadn't even thought about the Red Sox," left fielder David Dellucci said. "Really, in the end, it's just another series. Say, if they sweep us or we sweep them, it means nothing." Boston took up where they left off against Cleveland. The Red Sox rallied from down 4-1 to win 6-4 in the ninth.

Lee’s Start: He may have only two start under his belt, but Cliff Lee has been as dominant as ever. Lee, who had to battle for the fifth starters job, has pitched 14 and 2/3 innings and only allowed one earned run. He has struck out twelve, given up only six hits, and walked one batter. His pitching has been a breath of fresh air, since staff aces CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have struggled out of the gate.

AL Central Update: Despite the Indians’ slow start, no one is running away with the division early. At the end of Monday night, the Royals and White Sox sat atop the division tied at 7-5. Minnesota was in third with a 6-7 mark, standing at a game and a half behind the leaders. Cleveland was 5-8, standing at two and a half games behind. The Tigers were in the cellar at 3-10, sitting four and half games from the top spot. Detroit continues to struggle, with a league high 5.42 ERA and hitting a league worst .238 as a team.