Welcome to the first installment of a six-part series of articles previewing the 2010 Indians. The articles in this series will cover: infielders, outfielders, catchers/DHs, starting pitchers, left-handed relievers, and right-handed relievers. We'll take a look at the players who comprise each of these groups and assess what's good, what's bad, what's ugly, and what's unknown about each of the above sections of the roster. Today in the first of six articles we'll take a look at the 2010 Tribe infield.***Leading Off: Of the three categories of position players we will examine over the course of this series (infield, outfield, catcher/dh), the infield is the most unknown quantity going into the 2010 season. The outfield looks solid, the catcher and dh positions are a mess, and the infield is, well, the X factor. The infield boasts returning infield members who are both full of promise and positively terror inducing. It also boasts a few unknowns, not to mention a couple of dark horse contenders for roster spots who are under minor league contract with the Indians organization but who will have a shot at making the big league club out of camp. Roster Members: Brian Bixler, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Donald, Chris Gimenez, Wes Hodges, Andy Marte, Jhonny Peralta, Carlos Rivero, and Luis Valbuena.The Good: The Tribe infield includes just one player who is an established solid contributor: Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera has thrived defensively ever since taking over the shortstop position last season from a struggling Jhonny Peralta. The switch-hitting Cabrera impressed with his offense as well, posting a .308 average in 2009, as well as an impressive 42 doubles and a respectable 17 stolen bases. While Cabrera will never be a power hitter (he topped out at 6 dingers last season), his defense, baserunning, and ability to hit for average are more than enough to put him solidly in our 'Good' category.Also landing squarely in the corner of 'Good' is young up-and-comer Luis Valbuena. Valbuena, the expected starting second baseman for the 2010 season, had his share of growing pains in his rookie season with the Tribe in 2009. Errors, strikeouts, and mental baserunning and fielding blunders plagued the young infielder so badly in the first half of last season that many saw him as a lost cause. Valbuena batted just .219 in the first half of 2009, with a particularly dismal May, where he batted below the Mendoza Line at .188.Valbuena proved he could turn it around though, hitting .272 in the second half and exhibiting far greater discipline at the plate and in the field and even making a few plays that showed off his rumored plus-fielding ability which had previously appeared to be a typo in his scouting report. The Bad:Everyone knows the joke about the "Scotch Tape Store": It never gets any business, it seems to serve no purpose, and yet after years and years, it's STILL there. The Indians have their own "Scotch Tape Store" in Andy Marte, the guy who contributes nothing to the team, has shown little to no improvement over the many years he's been around and many chances he's received. Like that tape store with the enigmatically cockroach-like resilience, Marte is still hanging around and taking up a roster spot. Marte spent most of last season with the AAA Clippers, played well there, and earned himself the International League MVP award. Like Crash Davis says when asked about setting the minor league home run record, this is "kind of a dubious honor". Marte has tried and failed at the major league level many times, and each time he's sent back down he impresses in the minors yet again, giving the false impression that perhaps he's finally able to hack it. Unfortunately Marte's minor league highs and major league lows follow such a predictable pattern that we're forced to classify Marte as the ill-fated "Quad-A Player", a guy who can dominate triple-A pitching, but can't perform even passably in the bigs. While no one can accuse him of not having put his time in, Marte unfortunately falls into our "bad" category.The Ugly: Sam on Burn Notice tells us, "If the Devil had a name, it'd be Chuck Finley", and Tribe fans everywhere will tell you, "If apathy had a name, it'd be Jhonny Peralta".No one on the Tribe roster arrived to higher expectations or failed so miserably in meeting them than the sloth-like creature known as Jhonny Peralta. Peralta's uber-hot prospect status as a young pup in the minors saw him rise swiftly to a major league roster spot and trigger the departure of fan favorite and defensive standout Omar Vizquel. Years later Peralta, the guy whose potential was supposed to more than justify the dismissal of Vizquel, is an underachieving career .266 hitter whose supposed plus-power potential never emerged and hit an all-time low in 2009 when he hit just 11 home runs on the season. His lazy play in the field cost him his job at shortstop, and after he was displaced from that position and moved over to third base, he continued his lollygagging ways at the hot corner.Perhaps the worst part was Peralta's attitude accompanying his failures on the field. Peralta exudes laziness at the plate and on the field, and more than once spoke out inappropriately through the media, whining about losing his job as shortstop, criticizing management, and even making poorly veiled threats to depart for another team as soon as he had the opportunity.The Unknown: Most of the infielders on the Tribe's roster fall into this category. Jason Donald, brought over from Philadelphia in the Cliff Lee trade, was once a highly regarded middle-infield prospect. His slow development since has made him into a huge question mark. Will Donald become the solid infielder he once projected as, or will he fade away as a mediocre utility guy? Another notable unknown is young third baseman Wes Hodges. Hodges looked to be the real deal in 2008, when he was the Eastern League Rookie Of The Year, a post season All-Star, and a Futures Game selectee for AA Akron. His progress slowed in 2009 when he played mostly for AAA Columbus, but this may be the result of a hamstring injury and a broken toe which plagued him throughout the season. Hodges has yet to show what he can do on a major league diamond, but there's every reason to believe he could have the skills to compete. Lastly, there's non-roster Spring Training invitee Mark Grudzielanek, signed to a minor league contract in the off-season and invited to major league camp this spring to compete for a roster spot. Grudzielanek is certainly not part of the Indians long-term plans, but he's a gold glove winner with a decent bat who could provide a solid option as a utility infielder and a much-needed veteran presence in the clubhouse. Whether or not he makes the team depends on how he performs during Spring Training, but there is every reason to believe that Grudzielanek's services will be retained by the Indians this coming season. Heading Home:As we said, the infield is overall an unknown quantity going into 2010. Success will largely depend on whether the young, unproven players can successfully make the transition from the minors to the majors, and whether proven talent like Cabrera and Valbuena can continue to step up their game. This infield won't be a group of all-stars, to be sure, but they could very well turn out to be a group with huge potential for a team in a rebuilding year. Here's hoping.On Deck: Part Two of the 2010 Indians Preview Series: The Outfield.