Stark runs through the Indians...

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Jason Stark today runs through the AL Central teams and here's his take on the Indians. Personally I think the bats have to come around, right? Right? I would love to have CC back but it's looking less and less likely.
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CLEVELAND INDIANS

WHAT WE EXPECTED: We expected this to be the deepest pitching staff in baseball. We expected this relief crew to be the best bullpen in the AL Central. We expected Travis Hafner to bounce back. And we expected a team that won 96 games last year to take that next step. Hey, it all seemed logical at the time.

WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENED: The best starting pitcher in town has been -- who else? -- Cliff Lee. C.C. Sabathia has almost as many starts in which he's given up nine runs (two) as he has wins (three). Injuries (Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook and Joe Borowski) have tested that pitching depth. The bullpen has the second-highest ERA (4.44) in the AL. And Hafner (hitting .217, with 2 homers) headed for the DL last week with a sore shoulder -- and a lower OPS (.677) than Marco Scutaro or Jack Hannahan.

BEST REASON TO THINK THEY'LL WIN: Even though Westbrook figures to be out indefinitely, this rotation is still as good as any in baseball. Carmona (hip) returns by the end of the month. Sabathia (2.08 ERA in his past eight starts) is himself again. And this team's sixth and seventh starters -- Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers -- are better than some teams' third and fourth starters.

BEST REASON TO THINK THEY WON'T WIN: You think the White Sox have trouble scoring? Sheesh, the Indians hit just .218 for the entire month of May. They've already played 30 games in which they scored three runs or fewer. (They only did that 56 times all last year.) And their rotation injuries might make it impossible for them to deal a starting pitcher for an impact bat. "They've got problems," said one scout. "[Victor] Martinez is playing hurt. Asdrubal Cabrera hasn't done anything. Casey Blake is really just a bench player. And [Ryan] Garko and Hafner aren't hitting a lick. Their whole lineup is scuffling at once. And they don't have enough pitching to overcome all that."

WATCH THIS PLOT LINE FROM NOW TO OCTOBER: Could this team really unload Sabathia? Only if it thinks it has no shot to win. But clubs that have spoken with the Indians report they're already floating Sabathia's name just to "measure his value," even though they're also saying they're not ready to open the shop yet. So clearly, it's not impossible. "There's no other pitcher who could get traded in July who can impact the postseason like him," says an official of one team.