Score: Brewers 12, Indians 2, at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Spring training record: 2-4-1

Attendance: 4,508.

For starters: Derek Lowe, who will either work as the No. 3 or No. 4 starter this season, allowed four hits and three runs in three innings. Lowe walked three and threw a wild pitch.

Zach McAllister, a long shot for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, also gave up three runs on four hits.

Answering the call: Make that “not answering the call.” Milwaukee pounded out 16 hits, including four home runs. The Brewers beat up the Indians’ bullpen, victimizing Dan Wheeler (two hits, two runs, a home run), Chris Ray (three hits, three runs, two home runs) and Nick Hagadone (three hits, one run).

Left-field race: Aaron Cunningham got the start and reached base once on an error. Ryan Spilborghs, who started in right field Friday, walked twice. Felix Pie subbed for Michael Brantley in center and had one of the Indians’ three hits.

Familiar faces: Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta, the centerpieces of the CC Sabathia trade to Milwaukee, renewed old acquaintances. Brantley started in center and went 0-for-2. LaPorta walked in his only plate appearance after replacing Casey Kotchman at first base.

No no-no: Shortstop Christian Guzman broke up a no-hitter with a two-out single in the seventh.

Rallying cry (sort of): The Indians didn’t score until they had two outs in the ninth.

Third-base race: Jack Hannahan got the start and went 0-for-3.

Utility update: Andy LaRoche delivered the only runs of the game for the Tribe with a two-run double.

Next up: Opening Day starter Justin Masterson starts in Goodyear Saturday against the San Diego Padres today at 4:05.

Ask most Cleveland Indians fans what it’s going to take for their boys of summer to contend in 2012, and you will get a wide variety of opinions.

Some will tell you that the outfield of Michael Brantley, Grady Sizemore, and Shin Soo Choo must stay healthy this season. Others will say that the Indians have to score more runs than they scored in the 2011 season. The Indians’ offense finished just ninth in runs scored in the American League.

What it will really come down to is starting pitching. This is really what general manager Chris Antonetti has built this team around. Arguably, the starting rotation might have been what made the Tribe come up short in the Central Division race in 2011.

If you take a moment and look inside the numbers, it really shows that the rotation caused most of the team’s second-half swoon a season ago. By the middle of August, the Indians’ bullpen was tiring and pretty much out of gas.

Four of the five prominent relief pitchers that came out of the Indians’ bullpen in 2011 had higher ERAs in the second half than in the first half.

Chris Perez, who was almost spotless in the first half of season, when he only blew one save in the first half, came back in the second half and blew three save opportunities. His ERA also blew up from 2.43 to 4.44 after the break.

Rafael Perez ERA went from pre All-Star break 1.91 to post All-Star break 4.62.

Joe Smith’s ERA went from pre All-Star break 0.85 to post All-Star break 3.06

The only relief pitcher who didn’t wear down from all the innings was rookie Vinnie Pestano. He actually pitched better in the second half by over a full run.

The Indians’ starting rotation had a total of just two complete games. The only Indians starter to pitch over 200 innings was Justin Masterson. The next closest to him was Fausto Carmona with 188 innings.

The Tribe go into the 2012 season hoping that a full season with Ubaldo Jimenez and more experience will lead to more innings and complete games this upcoming season.

Del Yates is a 3rd generation Cleveland Indians fan. He grew up watching the team and has attended dozens of games.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Some observers feel the Cleveland Indians should have given Matt LaPorta one more chance as the team’s regular first baseman.

Yes, LaPorta has not matched the expectations fans had for him in the summer of 2008, when he came to Cleveland as part of a package from the Milwaukee Brewers for star pitcher CC Sabathia.

LaPorta, though, just turned 27 and is a right-handed hitter, a commodity sorely lacking on the Indians. And, despite everything, LaPorta did manage to drive in 53 runs in 352 at bats last season — not a spectacular ratio, but certainly respectable.

As it is, LaPorta is competing for a mere spot on the big league roster, with a demotion to the Class AAA Columbus Clippers the alternative.

Some observers, too, felt that if the Indians were to replace LaPorta at first, they’d do so with a right-handed hitter with some run-producing capbaility.

Instead, they signed slick-fielding first baseman Casey Kotchman to a free agent contract. Kotchman drove in 48 runs in 500 at bats for the Tampa Bay Rays last season, though he did hit .306.

Lewie Pollis writes a “2011 Player Preview: Casey Kotchman,” for the blog “Wahoo’s on First.”

Pollis uses some of the sabermetrics numbers that have become the fad (such as “BABIP”, and writes:

Best-case scenario: Kotchman’s .335 BABIP wasn’t a fluke—or, at least, the winds of good fortune are still blowing at his back. His plate discipline holds steady and he rediscovers some of the power potential he showed in his youth. No one mistakes him for Prince Fielder, but he’s one of the Tribe’s best hitters while providing the most reliable defense the Indians have seen at first base in years.

Worst-case scenario: Kotchman’s hit rate plummets and takes his whole game down with him. Already an ineffective hitter, his confidence is shaken and he overthinks his approach. His solid glove can’t make up for his anemic bat, and the Indians end up better off with Matt LaPorta.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Indians coverage includes Paul Hoynes’ story on former Indians slugger Albert Belle visiting his old team and former teammates at the Tribe’s spring training site in Goodyear, Ariz.; Hoynes’ story on second baseman Jason Kipnis, hoping to improve on his impressive big league debut last season; Hoynes’ Indians Insider and Indians Chatter, leading off with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera saying he wants to remain with the Indians; and much more. 

Around the horn

Starting pitcher Josh Tomlin is ready to make the adjustments necessary to continue his success. By Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Indians notebook, highlighting second baseman Jason Kipnis, by Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Could manager Manny Acta do a lot of lefty-righty platooning with the Indians lineup this season? By Charlie Adams for Indians Prospect Insider.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is looking forward to this season after a disappointing 2011.

Indians notes by Jordan Bastian on MLB.com.

Asdrubal Cabrera hopes for another strong season. By Jordan Bastian for MLB.com.