2001 Record: 91-71, 1st in AL Central, lost Division Series to Mariners 2001 Results | 2002 Schedule | 2002 Roster | 2001 Statistics: Batting | Pitching Offense (AL rank) Defense (AL rank) 897 runs (2nd) Home: 442 runs (2nd) Road: 455 (3rd) 821 runs allowed (9th) Home: 4.62 ERA (10th) Road: 4.66 ERA (10th) 2001 Stats Leaders   Average: Roberto Alomar, .336 Runs: Alomar, 113 On-base pct: Jim Thome, .416 Stolen bases: Alomar, 30 Wins: C.C. Sabathia, 17 Saves: Bob Wickman, 32 Home runs: Thome, 49 RBI: Juan Gonzalez, 140 Slugging pct.: Thome, .624 OPS: Thome, 1.040 ERA: Bartolo Colon, 4.09 Strikeouts: Colon, 201

ESPN's Take Q: How can the Indians compensate for their offseason losses and still rule the mediocre Central? The losses of Roberto Alomar and Juan Gonzalez will be tough to overcome, but don't count the Indians out. GM Mark Shapiro has assembled an array of up-and-coming power arms. Bartolo Colon has "ace" stuff and will be complemented nicely by C.C. Sabathia, Danys Baez and Ryan Drese. Closer Bob Wickman is back to anchor a solid bullpen. The offense will not be as explosive, but is capable of producing runs with Ellis Burks, Jim Thome and Travis Fryman. Matt Lawton will add punch and versatility. But the Indians need Russell Branyan to develop into the offensive player he can be. The future looks bright for the Tribe, but not this year. -- Tom Candiotti  ESPN's Crystal Ball Russ Branyan will break Bobby Bonds' major-league record 189 K's, but lead the AL in home runs. In his rookie season, Danys Baez pitched 50.1 IP and managed to hold both LH and RH hitters to a BA below .200. Now he moves into the starting rotation where he should be worth double figure wins and, with K-per inning stuff, fantasy viability. With the loss of Juan Gonzalez, the Tribe have to make up for his power by employing whiff machine Russell Branyan. Expected to play left and bat sixth, Branyan has a ML 162-game average of 31 HRs, a nice number for a 3B-eligible player. Just don't expect him to higher than .250. -- Brandon Funston Batting order Matt Lawton, RF Ricky Gutierrez, 2B Ellis Burks, DH Jim Thome, 1B Travis Fryman, 3B Russ Branyan, LF Omar Vizquel, SS Einar Diaz, C Milton Bradley, CF Bench Brady Anderson, Eddie Perez, John McDonald, Jolbert Cabrera, Wil Cordero Rotation Bartolo Colon, C.C. Sabathia, Chuck Finley, Danys Baez, Ryan Drese Bullpen Bob Wickman, Charles Nagy, Scott Radinsky, Jerrod Riggan, Ricardo Rincon, David Riske, Mark Wohlers Alex Herrera, LHP Hard-throwing reliever was impressive at Class A and Double-A in '01. Will start year at Triple-A, but could be in the majors by midseason.

Catcher: Einar Diaz He's not going to provide significant offense (4 HR, 56 RBI in 2001), but he calls a good game, threw out 35 percent of basestealers and posted a .992 fielding percentage last season. AL Position Ranking: 8th First Base: Jim Thome One of the best power hitters in the game, he has six straight 30-homer seasons and has driven in 100 or more runs in five of the last six years. That means you can overlook his 527 strikeouts in the last three seasons. AL Position Ranking: 3rd Second Base: Ricky Gutierrez Played a career-high 147 games last year with the Cubs, but he's no Alomar. His line was .290-10-66 to go with four steals, compared to Alomar's .336-20-100 and 30 steals. And no one has Robbie's range. AL Position Ranking: 5th Third Base: Travis Fryman Had major elbow problems last season which affected both his hitting and fielding. His home runs dropped from 22 in 155 games 2000 to three in 98 games in 2001, while his RBI dropped from 106 to 38. Also went from a Gold Glove in '00 to a .945 fielding percentage last year. AL Position Ranking: 7th Shortstop: Omar Vizquel Continued to be a defensive wizard (although his range has dropped in recent years), winning his ninth straight Gold Glove, but he hit just .255 and his 13 steals were his fewest since 1994. AL Position Ranking: 6th Left Field: Russ Branyan Should finally get a chance to play every day and can hit the ball a mile, but needs to be more patient. Hit 20 homers in just over 300 at-bats in 2001, but struck out 132 times. AL Position Ranking: 9th Center Field: Milton Bradley A marginal player at best, he has played 119 games in two seasons, hitting just .222 with three homers and 34 RBI. Maybe an everyday job can turn him around and he'll fulfill the bright future once predicted for him. br> AL Position Ranking: 13th Right Field: Matt Lawton Should help provide some speed (career-high 29 steals to go with 95 runs in 2001), but he tailed off at the end of the year, hitting just .215 after the All-Star break. AL Position Ranking: 6th Designated Hitter: Ellis Burks Helped offset the loss of Manny Ramirez last season, but dropped from .344-24-96 in 2000 to .280-28-74 in 2001. Has six straight 20-homer seasons, but he is 37 years old. AL Position Ranking: 4th No. 1 Starter: Bartolo Colon Can throw as many innings as you need. Has pitched 200 or more innings in three of the last four years and has strick out 200 or more batters the last two seasons. Actually got stronger as the season progressed, putting up an ERA of 3.28 after the All-Star break compared to 4.81 in the first half. AL Ranking among starters: 8th No. 2 Starter: C.C. Sabathia The best AL rookie pitcher in the game last season. He ranked fourth in the AL in K's per nine innings (8.53), held opponents to a .228 average overall and won seven of his last eight decisions. Has a huge upside (turns 22 in July), but even a slight drop in his numbers would still produce a good season. AL Ranking among starters: 17th No. 3 Starter: Chuck Finley Too old to be truly effective, he was lit up by right-handed hitters to the tune of a .299 average and 14 homers. His strikeouts are down in each of the last three seasons and he struggled mightily on the road, where he suffered all seven of his losses and his ERA was 7.32. AL Ranking among starters: 42nd No. 4 Starter: Danys Baez Pitched exclusively out of the bullpen as a rookie last year, going 5-3 an holding opponents to a .191 average. Can strike batters out, too, as he fanned 52 in 50 innings. AL Ranking among starters: 32nd Bullpen: Mark Wohlers, Scott Radinsky, Jerrod Riggan, Ricardo Rincon, David Riske, Paul Shuey A crowded bullpen with lots of guys who can fill a variety of roles. Rincon and Shuey combined for 117 appearances an each had an ERA just over 2.80 in 2001. The pen had a combined 3.69 ERA in 569 innings last season, fifth-best in the AL. AL Position Ranking: 3rd Closer: Bob Wickman Had a stellar year after becomng the full-time closer, saving 30 games for the second time in his career. A workhorse who appeared in 70 games, he has the stuff to dominate, especially against right-handed hitters. AL Position Ranking: 5th

Overall Power Index Rankings (AL rank):
Position: 6.78 (6th) | Pitching: 6.00 (6th)

-- Rico Longoria