Hello Tribe fans everywhere!

Yes, it's only March 5 and the regular season doesn't start for four more weeks, but the handwriting on the wall looks clear to me. The Indians are thinking trade. They have to be. And it's probably not a bad idea.

Cleveland's brass held out hopes that Hector Luna would be the answer as the team's infield utility player. Specifically, the Indians want a guy who can play shortstop and third base. But Luna has already bombed in spring training. He came in overweight, he apparently doesn't move very well, and he's already committed three errors. It means he isn't the answer at the utility infielder's spot.

That leaves the Tribe with a couple of choices. First, they can trade for an experienced utility guy -- a player like former Indian John McDonald -- who's adept at moving between shortop and third base. As a matter of fact, Cleveland would probably love to have McDonald back, but he's equally valued by his current team, the Toronto Blue Jays.

That doesn't mean there aren't other utility players out there. What will probably happen is the Tribe will wait a few more weeks to see how Jhonny Peralta is performing at shortstop -- and how Andy Marte is playing at third base. Should either -- or both --- falter, the Tribe could send Marte down, shift Peralta to third and move somebody else in at shortstop.

Or, they could trade Peralta. It'll be interesting to see how far Peralta has dipped in the club's estimation. Only last year, GM Mark Shapiro, etc. thought so highly of him that they signed him to a long-term contract. But Peralta suffered through a miserable year in the field and a sub-par campaign at bat. Worse, he apparently caused some angst in the clubhouse -- to the point where manager Eric Wedge was constantly pulling him aside for "heart-to-heart talks."

After a year of that many "heart-to-heart" chats, if you don't show a lot of improvement, they usually send you packing.

As we've discussed, it's important for the Indians to get this utility infield situation straightened out, because it will be important to keep a righthanded bat like Ryan Garko's on the team. Should the Tribe have to use two players as backup infielders, Garko would be sent back to Buffalo.

The Indians don't have to make a move tomorrow or even next week. But they don't want this situation to carry over into the regular season. What we know so far is that Luna is apparently not the guy. Wedge keeps bellyaching about his weight, his slowness afoot, and his glove.

We're only two weeks into camp, but the Tribe keeps hectoring Hector, which indicates that he's not long for the club.

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The answer to the last quickie quiz is: Luis Tiant. He struck out 19 Minnesota Twins batters in a 10-inning game on July 3, 1968.

Today's quickie quiz: Name the Cleveland player signed by Camilo Pasqual, the great Washington Senators-Minnesota Twins pitcher of the 1950's and '60s. Hint: Pasqual was a scout for the Dodgers when he signed this player.

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-- Kevin Cuneo