Q. Do you think the Indians can compete with the White Sox and Twins in the AL Central?
— Dave Oprandi, Newar, Ohio

A. I have the Indians finishing between the White Sox and Twins in the AL Central, falling off a bit from their surprisingly successful 2005 season, and not making the playoffs again.

The winter was a rough one for them, as they got another dose of mid-market reality that comes with a mid-$50-million payroll. They had no chance to keep Kevin Millwood or Bobby Howry, and lost out on a bid for Trevor Hoffman before re-signing Bob Wickman. General manager Mark Shapiro filled holes as best he could, signing veteran right-handers Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson for the rotation. But the deals Shapiro made appear to be better for the near-future than for 2006 in particular.

When you add in the fact that the bullpen isn’t likely to match a league-leading 2.88 ERA from a year ago, plus stronger teams in both Toronto and Oakland, and it’s going to be much tougher for the Indians to go as far as they did last season. Jason Michaels probably won’t match Coco Crisp’s 2005 numbers, and Andy Marte and Kelly Shoppach are projected as down-the-road regulars (and in Marte’s case, a possible star), but probably won’t have much impact this season.

But you have to love the Indians’ chances to contend for the rest of the decade with this nucleus: C.C. Sabathia, 25; Cliff Lee, 27; Jake Westbrook, 28; Fernando Cabrera, 24; Shoppach, 25; Victor Martinez, 27; Travis Hafner, 28; Brandon Phillips, 24; Jhonny Peralta, 24; Marte, 22; Grady Sizemore, 23; and Franklyn Gutierrez, 22.

Q. The Braves seriously need a closer. Will they turn to their young guns or go acquire somebody like a Brad Lidge?
— Joey Craft, Hattiesburg, Miss.

A. The Braves were surprised by Kyle Farnsworth’s decision to leave his adopted hometown and sign with the Yankees to be Mariano Rivera’s setup man. They also tried to sign Todd Jones, but he chose to go to Detroit instead, and couldn’t acquire Danys Baez or anybody else in a trade.

For the time being, that leaves Chris Reitsma, who had marginal success in the role last season — in between the disaster that was Dan Kolb and Farnsworth’s late-season contribution after being acquired from Detroit. They also have three other possibilities on their roster — Oscar Villareal, Joey Devine and Jorge Sosa — and you have to figure that Bobby Cox will sort through the options and make the right call.

Villareal was excellent as a setup man in Arizona two years ago, but was overused and struggled through two injury-plagued years. At 24, he could be a surprise contributor. Devine is seen as the closer of the future, but has only 31 professional innings under his belt, so putting him in that role now probably is pushing it. But Washington’s Chad Cordero pulled it off in a very similar timetable, so it’s possible. Sosa is in the rotation for now, and that’s where they prefer to keep him, but he was the closer for the Dominican Republic entry in the Caribbean Series, and could make the switch if necessary.

If all else fails, then you could see general manager John Schuerholz make a deal.

Q. Do you think that the Boston Red Sox will trade Manny Ramirez before the season starts? If so, who would the likely team be?
— Sau Cohen, Somerset, N.J.

A. I don’t think Manny is going anywhere this spring, but don’t think for a minute that he will spend the rest of his career with the Red Sox. Remember that a couple of winters ago, the club put him on waivers, and were willing to let him go to anybody who claimed him — just to be free of his contractual obligations.

At this point, he has three years and about $57 million left on his deal. You know that if the right opportunity presents itself any time in the future — before the July 31 trade deadline, or maybe next winter, they will move him.

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