And now that we have your undivided attention, that statement can be clarified to read that Westbrook will be pitching Thursday's opening of the Grapefruit League season against the Astros, not the actual opener against the White Sox on March 31 at Progressive Field.

The real Opening Day starting nod, of course, is going to reigning American League Cy Young Award-winner C.C. Sabathia. But manager Eric Wedge hasn't even bothered to give his ace that news.

"I would assume he would assume," Wedge said. "How's that for a Yogi-ism?"

Picking an Opening Day starter is a no-brainer for Wedge. The more difficult challenge for the Tribe's coaching staff will be stretching out seven starting pitchers -- Sabathia, Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Paul Byrd, Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey -- this spring and ensuring they all get sufficient innings during the Grapefruit League season.

To aid that cause, the Indians might have some "B" games in the back fields at Chain of Lakes.

"We can manufacture some games, as we need to," Wedge said. "And when the Minor League games begin in mid-March, we can take that on as well."

A guy like Sabathia might be used in more Minor League games so that Lee, Sowers and Laffey -- all of whom will be competing for the last rotation spot -- can face tougher competition.

Slow going: Top prospect Adam Miller has yet to throw a batting practice session because of a blister that formed on the middle finger of his pitching hand last week. But with the blister healed, Miller did throw a 10-minue bullpen session on Sunday.

"I haven't gotten a full report," Wedge said, "but he threw it and he looked OK."

Right-hander Brian Slocum, who will start the season in Triple-A Buffalo and could be a depth option in the starting pitcher department for the Indians, is also a little behind in camp.

Slocum was bothered by some lower back soreness that has kept him from participating in batting practice. But the problem -- no pun intended -- is behind him. He is expected to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday.

Reliever Jorge Julio, who didn't arrive to camp until Thursday because of visa issues in his native Venezuela, will probably throw his first batting practice session Tuesday.

Hurting hands: Ryan Garko drew a chuckle from his teammates on Sunday morning when he made contact with one of Rafael Perez's pitches during batting practice and uttered, "Ouch!"

"My hands always hurt when I make contact in live BP," Garko said afterward. "I don't know if it's because you have no adrenaline or what. But even when I hit it the way I want to, it still hurts."

As for having to face Perez, well, that stings, too. The left-hander had all his pitches working in this session, with his slider looking particularly nasty.

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"I had to face him in the Dominican [during winter ball in '06]," Garko said. "It was a joke."

Power potential: Wedge was asked what kind of power is reasonable to project from Garko, who hit 21 homers in his first full big league season last year.

Garko was known as more of a doubles hitter in the Minors.

"I think he's going to show us his share of power," Wedge said. "I'm always hesitant to get into that, because I don't want him to try and hit home runs. But I define power as a guy who is a run-producer. For me, a double is as good as a home run, especially if it's at the right time. You want a guy who's going to be able to drive in runs or create opportunities and ultimately take advantage of opportunities. I think he's going to be capable of doing that."

Who's hurling? With Westbrook starting against the Astros on Thursday and Sabathia likely to follow suit on Friday in Kissimmee, the rest of the Indians' starters are slated to pitch in the intrasquad games scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The pitchers for Tuesday are Byrd, Joe Borowski, Rafael Betancourt, Sowers, Laffey, Tom Mastny, Ed Mujica, Rick Bauer, Matt Ginter, Scott Lewis and Jeff Stevens.

On Wednesday, Carmona, Lee, Perez, Jensen Lewis, Masa Kobayashi, Aaron Fultz, Scott Elarton, Jeff Harris, Chuck Lofgren, J.D. Martin, Rich Rundles and Reid Santos are scheduled to throw.

Gamers: Representatives from the MLB Players' Association were at the Chain of Lakes complex on Sunday morning to take still-frame images of all the Tribe players. The photos will be used to accurately depict the players in MLB's officially licensed video games.