Hello Tribe Fans Everywhere!

Does it feel as if we're almost back to where we started? You'll recall what a complete mess the Indians bullpen was last season, and how General Manager Mark Shapiro spent the bulk of the off season trying to patch it up. He signed Joe Borowski and Keith Foulke as potential closers, Aaron Fultz as a lefthanded setup man, and veteran Roberto Hernandez as a righthanded setup man. Foulke, plagued by arm trouble, retired just before the start of spring training.

In the first five weeks of the season, Cleveland's bullpen performed well. Borowski's earned run average looks like a cab fare from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, but he's been generally reliable in posting 14 saves.

Unfortunately, the pen blew last night's game against Kansas City -- a game Cleveland should have won. Fultz came in to face one batter and walked in the winning run on four straight pitches. Hernandez has been unreliable for the past three weeks, and youngster Fernando Cabrera seemns to be suffering from such an extreme crisis of confidence that his career -- at least with the Indians -- might be threatened.

If the Tigers and Indians continue to battle nose to nose for the remainder of the season, which appears to be a possibility, my gut tells me Detroit will have the edge. Not because the Tigers' bullpen is any better than Cleveland's at the moment. It isn't. But, later in the year, when all of the injured Tiger hurlers have recovered, Detroit could find itself is the right position at the right time.

Unless Shapiro can find quality reinforcements, who knows what shape the Indians' pen might be in by August? He took a first step today by summoning former Arizona Diamondbacks righthanded reliever Mike Koplove from Buffalo. Koplove's promotion meant a demotion for Edward Mujica, who pitched in two games for the Tribe during his brief stay in the majors.

Koplove, 30, was a decent setup man a few years back, but I don't have high hopes that he can be the guy to push the Indians over the top. Frankly, I thought Mujica had more upside potential than a retread like Koplove, although Mujica did not look dominant during his brief test run.

That the Indians are checking out Troy Percival, who retired after his career came crashing to a halt, shows how concerned Shapiro is. Perhaps Percival's sore arm has healed, but I seriously doubt he has much, if anything, left.

Foulke, too, told Boston's newpapers last weekend that he might want to pitch again, but he needs arm surgery, which means he wouldn't be ready this year.

Almost as much of a concern as Cleveland's leaky bullpen is David Dellucci's continued inability to hit -- especially with men on base. I'm still scratching my head as to why everyone was so high on this guy. Yes, he hit 29 homers in 435 at-bats in 2005, but mostly he's been a journeyman. His five runs batted in this season shows what a weak contrubutor he's been. At this point, I would much rather see a youngster like Shin-Soo Choo or Ben Francisco in left field rather than Dellucci.

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The answer to yesterday's quickie quiz is: Ken Aspromonte piloted the Indians from 1972-74.

Today's quiz: Name the hall of fame pitcher -- the man many say was the greatest righthanded hurler of all time -- who managed the Indians for parts of three seasons in the 1930's.

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-- Kevin Cuneo