13 Games do not make a season

CLEVELAND -- Thirteen games do not a major-league season make. They do not even cover half of a month.

A 13-game sample is enough, though, to get at least a feel for a club and its tendencies. Here is a capsule look at what we think we know about the 4-9 Tribe, which opens a nine-game home stand tonight against Kansas City:
The Indians are not afraid of the big, bad Yankees in the Boogie Down. They split a four-game series in the Bronx that ended Sunday. An opponent usually will gladly accept a four-game road split, but the Indians departed with a sour taste because they had a lead in each game and finished with 11 homers and 40 runs. They posted nine- and 14-run innings.

Too bad the Tribe does not return to New York this season, when the temperature has had time to rise and balls fly that much farther in the pricey new bandbox.

Despite the .308 winning percentage and last-place status, the Indians are very much alive in the Central. Entering Monday, the Royals, White Sox and Tigers were tied for first at 7-5, meaning the Tribe was just 3.5 games back.

Kansas City being anywhere near the lead is no concern for the rest of the division, because it won't last. The White Sox, the team to watch, nonetheless are selectively implementing youngsters. The Tigers are good enough to hang around. The Twins (7-7) figure to have another gritty club under manager Ron Gardenhire. Which is to say none of the four will run away and hide, giving the Indians time to figure it out.

The rotation will not be evoking memories of Early Wynn and the boys. No surprise here: Tribe starters have been shaky even as Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona and Carl Pavano showed signs of life in New York. The rotation does not feature anyone who sits in the mid-90s, meaning less margin for error. One of these days, one will pitch into the seventh inning. Lee and Pavano own the only quality starts (six innings, three or fewer earned).

Lee will need to work (extra) hard for his money. Not that Lee pitched on cruise control en route to 22-3 last season. A starter winning one game in the majors, let alone 22, is not easy. It's just that otherworldly command of the fastball made it appear easy. Fastball location has not been as precise through three starts this season, leading to a 1-2 record and 6.75 ERA. He will be forced to rely more on curves and change-ups and on keeping batters guessing.

At its current rate of usage, the bullpen -- with the notable exception of one man -- will be gassed by July. It stands to reason that starters who cannot get deep into games wreck havoc on those who follow. The bullpen might not be as good as most thought it would be, anyway.

That one man, closer Kerry Wood, needs to find things to do to keep himself occupied late in meaningful games. Wood has made four appearances, one in a save situation. He is on pace for 13 save situations. Owner Larry Dolan is not paying Wood and his rocket arm $10 million annually to collect dust.

Rafael Perez needs to reset his body clock or begin his season in May. Perez has stunk out the joint for yet another April, his slider allergic to early-season cold. He entered with a 4.73 ERA in March-April -- worst of any month in his career. He is at 16.71 in seven appearances this season.

Wood and Mark DeRosa, who played for the Cubs last season, need not worry about adjusting to a new team. Wood intimidates simply by putting on the uniform. DeRosa is an old-school gamer who dared suggest, correctly, that the great Mariano Rivera might actually throw a pitch that should be called a ball when the batter does not swing at it. DeRosa was called out on strikes to end a 6-5 loss Friday, then went 4-for-7 with six RBI in a 22-4 victory Saturday.
Shin-Soo Choo has sun issues. Bat? Check. Arm? Check. Sunglasses? Need new lenses. Choo has two strikes against him already, having lost one in right and one in left, both resulting in inning-changing extra-base hits. No question the sun can be bright and unforgiving, but Gold Glovers might not lose two in a season.

If Victor Martinez stays healthy, he can challenge for a batting title. Martinez is hitting .358 (19-for-53). A handful of his outs have been loud. Martinez won multiple batting crowns in the minors and entered this season as a .298 hitter in 722 major-league games. Matchup lefties are negated because he's a switch-hitter. His primary position, catcher, puts him at a distinct disadvantage, but if Minnesota's Joe Mauer can winning batting crowns, why not Vic?

Grady Sizemore no longer can be expected to hit .300. He hit .289 in 2005 -- his first full season in the majors -- and .290 in 2006. But he has gone .277 and .268 since and is at .259 with 17 strikeouts this season. His swing is not easily adjusted to slap the ball the other way for average-saving singles.
Just because Sizemore won't hit .300 doesn't mean he's not a dynamic leadoff man. He entered this season with a .370 on-base percentage and .491 slugging percentage; those numbers are at .385 and .574, respectively, through 13 games.
Travis Hafner is showing glimpses of a return to Pronk, or at least PronkLite. The slimmer Hafner has four homers, four doubles and six walks. Yes, he has14 strikeouts. But the key to his being feared again, the surgically-repaired right shoulder, seems to be holding up well under game stress.

Derek Shelton's batters know how to work pitchers, good result or bad result. They are hitting .280 and have scored 83 runs, though a failure to come through with runners in scoring position has cost them games. Along the way, they have struck out a staggering 115 times but managed 67 walks.
Manny Ramirez will not be coming back to Cleveland -- not today, next week, next month or next year. Neither will Jim Thome.