After having one of the best bullpens in the majors in 2007, the Indians had one of the worst bullpens in 2008. They responded by firing longtime bullpen coach Luis Isaac.
To replace Isaac, the Indians hired Chuck Hernandez, who had been the pitching coach for the Detroit. Before that, Hernandez was the pitching coach for Tampa Bay, and helped develop the young pitchers on that staff. The Indians hope that Hernandez can work with pitching coach Carl Willis in rebuilding the bullpen, which was a disaster in 2008. The relievers started the season badly, then bottomed out in early July when closer Joe Borowski was released.
The Indians spent most of the second half of the season without a designated closer. They tried a handful of pitchers in that role before finally settling on Jensen Lewis over the last six weeks of the season.
Lewis performed creditably in that role, but club officials are still wary of giving Lewis the job full time in 2009. Manager Eric Wedge says Lewis is still "unproven" as a closer because he hasn't been a closer for a full season at the major league level.
The Indians would like to add either a closer or setup man with the potential to be a closer. They will not be bidders in the Francisco Rodriguez auction, but they may take a run at Trevor Hoffman, whom they have pursed in the past.
Lewis would be the fallback position should the Indians be unable to acquire a closer during the offseason, but ideally they'd like to add a closer and move Lewis into a setup role.
