Hello Tribe fans everywhere!

Did you notice which team has the best record in all of major league baseball? How about our beloved Cleveland Indians! Yes, I know the team is batting only .235 and the earned run average of the starting pitchers is a hefty 4.64, but this team has excelled -- so far, at least -- at doing the little things.

The Indians don't choke in the late innings, for instance. Well, they did cave to the Yankees in the ninth inning of a particularly awful game last month, but not since that day have they coughed up a big lead. In fact, Cleveland has proven quite adept at overcoming early deficits.

It's not like 1995 when that powerful Indians team waited until the seventh or eighth inning of every game to strike -- like a viper hiding behind a rock. That club had so many sluggers that it just bludgeoned opponents to death.

In the first five weeks of this season, these Indians have been killing their opponents with a thousand tiny cuts, rather than one giant slash. Here are some other things I'm enjoying about this club: the guys, who seem to genuinely like each other, really support one another. When Toronto catcher Jason Phillips started yelling in Josh Barfield's ear, following a bang-bang play at home plate Thursday, David Dellucci, who was standing nearby, immediately took up the fight for Barfield.

Actually, it wasn't really needed because, it turns out, Phillips is just a high-spirited talker. The following inning, as he stood on second base, he appeared to engage Barfield in another animated but non-threatening conversation. But the point is, Dellucci was there for Barfield. "David had my back, which I appreciated," the young second baseman told reporters after the game.

Dellucci, for his part, seemed greatly charged up by the incident and spent most of the rest of the game diving for low line drives and whacking extra base hits.

I was also impressed by Paul Byrd's offer to Eric Wedge to take the mound in Wednesday's extra-inning game against the Blue Jays, if needed. He even went down to the bullpen to warm up. These strike me as players who enjoy picking each other up.

General Manager Mark Shapiro stressed the need for assembling a team with strong veteran leadership, and it seems players like Byrd, Delluci, Roberto Hernandez, Casey Blake, Trot Nixon and others are doing the job.

The Tribe also has enough youngsters -- Barfield, Ryan Garko, Jeremy Sowers -- that there's still a sense of exuberance. Those players seem as if they're enjoying every aspect of every game. Instead of acting like weary travelers when the club hits the road, they seize every opportunity to enjoy what each new city has to offer.

So far, it's been a fun, enjoyable season. Best of all, I love it when I hear players like Grady Sizemore say the guys haven't nearly hit their stride yet.

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The answer to yesterday's quickie quiz is: Toby Harrah's real first and middle names are Colbert Dale. No wonder he went by Toby!

Today's quiz: Name the Indians outfielder of the mid-to-late '80s who came in a trade with the Cubs. Much was expected of him, but after he suffered serious injuries in a car accident, he never quite met those expectations.

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-- Kevin Cuneo