WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Indians took the field for the first time Thursday since losing Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, opening the exhibition season against the Astros at Chain of Lakes Park.
They did so with an eye on the past — a stinging loss to eventual world champion Boston that barred them from their first World Series since 1997 — but their focus on moving forward in 2008.
“There’s a sense that last year is last year. We went through what we went through, we learned from it and now we move on,” said Jake Westbrook, who was scheduled to start Thursday in the Indians’ 12-2 victory over Houston, but was scratched with a sore right arm. “This is a new year. You have to think that way. When you start thinking about the past, you’re not going to have much of a future.”
Shelving the past was not an easy task for the Indians, who won their first Central Division title since 2001, dispatched the hated New York Yankees in the Division Series and had a 3-1 series lead on the Red Sox.
Few need notification of what happened next — three straight losses by a combined score of 30-5 that made for a long offseason in Wahoo land.
“Obviously, you think about how it ended,” said center fielder Grady Sizemore, who was one of a number of regulars in the lineup Thursday. “It sits in the back of your mind. You try to dwell on the positives, but it still sits in the back of your mind.”
The positives were plentiful for the Indians, who won 96 games to tie Boston for the most in the majors and made a triumphant return to the postseason.
It all came a year removed from a 78-win season and fourth-place finish that had fans and media questioning ownership’s commitment and the front office’s direction.
And while it was quite a turnaround, the season still included the typical Cleveland topping — a devastating defeat at the end and no championship.
“You’re disappointed and you feel some sense of bitterness,” said general manager Mark Shapiro. “The backdrop to that is 96 wins, the most in Major League Baseball. We experienced the postseason for the first time in awhile. We beat the Yankees and took the Red Sox to seven games.
“My hope will be that we’ll benefit from the final failure and build off the overwhelming success of the 162-game season.”
Playing meaningful games in October generated interest throughout the city and had the Indians, a club that set the bar for attendance in the mid-to-late 90s, selling out their home park for the first time in years. It didn’t hurt the players’ psyche, either.
“When you make the playoffs and get a taste of it you just want to keep experiencing it over and over,” said designated hitter Travis Hafner who, like the majority of his teammates, was a first-time participant in the postseason. “The playoffs are fantastic. It’s a great atmosphere. You always want to be there.
“Once you get winning in your blood, there’s nothing like it.”
And now that the Indians have theirs pumping again in spring training, the task at hand has escalated. Qualifying for the postseason again would be acceptable, but it’s not the ultimate goal anymore.
“There’s more work ahead of us than what we’ve done to get here,” said Eric Wedge, who won Manager of the Year honors last year in his fifth and most productive season in Cleveland. “We’re only partially through the journey. There’s always going to be a challenge and more battles in front of you.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7135 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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