MLB preview: Cleveland Indians

Remember when the Indians came out of nowhere and competed in their division last season? I have a feeling that will be a lot more forgettable once 2012 is a few months old.

2011 record: 80-82 (2nd in AL Central). Projected 2012 finish: 72-90 (4th in AL Central).

Possible starters: C Carlos Santana, 1B Casey Kotchman, 2B Jason Kipnis, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, 3B Jack Hannahan, LF Michael Brantley, CF Grazy Sizemore, RF Shin-Soo Choo, DH Travis Hafner, SP Ubaldo Jimenez, SP Derek Lowe, SP Justin Masterson, SP Josh Tomlin, SP David Huff, CL Chris Perez, RP Rafael Perez, RP Tony Sipp.

Half-full outlook: An 80-win team that features this much youth should only get better, right? Santana may be on his way to stardom, Cabrera may have reached stardom last season and it's not unfathomable that the Brantleys and Matt LaPortas on the roster might finally arrive. Plus Choo is a great candidate for a bounce-back season, and it's not like Sizemore could be any less healthy than he's been the past few years. At this time last year, Jimenez was one of the best pitchers in baseball. If he's close to his old self and the rest of the rotation is at least serviceable, this offense could power the Indians to the playoffs.

Half-empty outlook: Unless, and I would say even if, Jimenez somehow regains his 6.4 WAR form from 2010 in the American League, this is a mediocre rotation. It's a bunch of low-ceiling, ground-ball pitchers, and as inconsistent as Fausto Carmona/Robert Hernandez Hereida has been, his uncertain status isn't helping the situation. That means the Indians are going to have to hit the heck out of the ball. For that to happen, Sizemore and Hafner will have to stay healthy, Cabrera may need to have another 25-homer season and someone like La Porta may have to surprise. Those things are all possible, but none is likely.

Halfway between the two outlook: It's interesting what the Indians did this offseason — building a rotation of severe ground-ball pitchers and giving Sizemore (at least) one more year. I'd feel a lot better about their chances if any of those ground ballers was any good. That the 38-year-old Lowe, fresh off a 5.05 ERA season while pitching in the National League, might well be their No. 2 starter is telling. I think it's a risk to say that the Indians won't have a good offense — good enough, even, to offset their pitching and make them decent — but considering that Sizemore is seemingly always hurt and that Cabrera had never hit more than 6 home runs in a season before 2011, I'll take my chances.