Indians take step toward big goal

Manager Eric Wedge delivered his annual pep talk to his team Tuesday.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — As manager Eric Wedge paced slowly in the center of Cleveland’s clubhouse, his players sat attentively in their chairs, almost frozen in fear. Every eye and every ear were trained on Wedge as he delivered his annual speech before the club’s first full-squad workout.

For the Indians, it is a rite of spring training.

And as usual, Wedge made all his points powerfully and then turned his team loose.

A Knute Rockne in cap and cleats.

“He needs to be a motivational speaker,” veteran reliever Vinnie Chulk, who spent last season with San Francisco, said after hearing Wedge’s fire-and-brimstone pep talk. “You don’t daydream. You plant your eyes on him. He demands it. It makes you want to go out there and throw and get ready.”

Under a nearly cloudless Arizona sky, the Indians took their first step Tuesday toward a possible championship.

After injuries to designated hitter Travis Hafner, catcher Victor Martinez and right-hander Jake Westbrook sabotaged their big plans last season, the Indians were forced to trade ace CC Sabathia before the All-Star break.

Still, after dropping 16 games out of first place, they regrouped and went an AL-best 44-28 after July 10 with a roster of youngsters and finished 81-81.

With the offseason additions of closer Kerry Wood, third baseman Mark DeRosa, reliever Joe Smith, along with the return of Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore, a maturing nucleus and a very winnable division, the Indians believe 2009 can be theirs.

“I just feel strong about where we are as a big-league club right now,” Wedge said. “The reason I do is because of everything we’ve gone through the last three or four years.

“You look at all the injuries we had last year. The fact that we had to trade part of our family and the way these kids ended up having the best record in the last half of the season by picking themselves up by the boot straps.

“I feel like we should be as competitive as anyone in baseball.”

The Indians began working in earnest at accomplishing their goal.