Hello Tribe Fans Everywhere!

Had it not been for the emergence of three youngsters who started the baseball season in Akron, it's doubtful the Indians would be plotting strategy today for next week's playoff games. But back in April, infielder Asdrubal Cabrera and pitchers Aaron Laffey and Jensen Lewis were playing against the Erie SeaWolves.

Who ever thought they'd soar from the Aeros to the Indians? And, not only that, but become key performers down the stretch. From the time Cabrera took over for Josh Barfield at second base, the Tribe played scintillating baseball. A natural shortstop, Cabrera proved to be a whiz at second, reminding everyone that the great Roberto Alomar also started his career as a shortstop.

Almost as important were the contributions in August and September of Laffey and Lewis. The pitchers were roommates at Akron, and Lewis was telling the Akron Beacon Journal's Sheldon Ocker they used to dream about making it all the way up Cleveland. They did better than that -- they became key guys on the Indians.

Laffey proved so adept as a fifth starter that the Indians kept Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers toiling at Buffalo. And Lewis, who endured a few rocky moments after his promotion to Cleveland, has been a rock over the last three weeks. The 24-year-old righthander from Vanderbilt has struck out 30 batters in 25-plus innings. He's 1-1 with a 2.49 earned run average in 23 games.

In a key game against the Tigers last week, Lewis relieved Jake Westbrook and blew away Detroit's hitters for three innings. The performance likely earned the kid a spot on the post-season roster.

Longtime Tribe fans are remembering it was the emergence of another young pitcher, Jaret Wright, who was chiefly responsible for Cleveland's drive to the World Series.

Yes, the future looks promising with so many talented young kids on the roster, but, for now, let's think about the present -- the next four weeks of baseball. If Laffey, Lewis and Cabrera could dream in April about making all the way to the big leagues, why not dream really big and finish it off with a World Championship ring.

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The answer to yesterday's quickie quiz is: Steve Hargan. He pitched in the 1960's for Cleveland, not in the '90s.

Today's quiz: True or false -- Trot Nixon played against the Indians in the playoffs.

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-- Kevin Cuneo