Special_K19
04-21-2003, 04:19 PM
Indians target 2005 for title run
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By Peter Gammons
Special to ESPN.com
It is painful. Losing leads, three and four times in a week. Being closer to the Tigers than first place a little less than a year after starting off 11-1. Watching young players' growing pains. Knowing that at the end of the season, two million fans coming to The Jake will be a stretch.
"What makes it so painful is that I was here in Cleveland when we had great teams and the ballpark was sold out every night," Mark Shapiro said. "If I had come in from one organization to one that is rebuilding -- like Dave Dombrowski (in Detroit) or Doug Melvin (Milwaukee) -- that would be different. But I know how great the Cleveland fans are and what it means to them when they have a really good team with which to identify."
But when Bartolo Colon -- raised in a farm system that Shapiro directed -- came into Jacobs Field last week and beat the Indians, that did not bother the Indians general manager. "I didn't feel anything but proud for what Bartolo's made himself," said Shapiro, who has seen Colon evolve from a gunslinging kid to that Tier II of No. 1 starters right below the Pedro Martinez-Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling class, where Matt Morris, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder reside. "I watched him add and subtract, use the changeup I always knew he could throw when he was in the minors, go from two-seamer to four-seamer ... and I felt great for him. I knew what I had to do last year (when he traded Colon to Montreal) and I know what I have to show for that trade and can see Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore and what they are going to be to the future of our franchise."
Shapiro knew by last May 1 that the Indians could not beat Minnesota and make the playoffs. With a mandate from ownership to raze and rebuild, he had to act quickly. "What Mark did was remarkable, because the value of young players is so great today that I think one has to be lucky to get legitimate top prospects in any contract deals," said a National League GM. "I'd be surprised if a reliever brings anything more than an A prospect, and anyone who is moving a contract will have to pay some of that contract if he wants to get prospects. That actually happened last year, only Mark got eight to 10 legitimate top prospects in the deals moving Colon, Alomar, Chuck Finley and Paul Shuey."
Which brings the Indians to where they are now. "I liken us to the 2000 Twins," Shapiro said. "They were in every game and while they lost 97 games, they developed over the season and by 2001 were ready to start winning, and by 2002 were a first-place team. We've been in every game, and we will develop. The important thing is to never lose sight of where we want to be and one advantage we will have is that when we are ready to be back in contention in 2005, we should have some money to spend on acquiring the pieces we need."
Shapiro hired the manager he believes is the right person to guide them through the development to the championship stages in Eric Wedge. The core of the rotation is there with C.C. Sabathia, rookie right-hander Ricardo Rodriguez and the tremendous stuff of Jason Davis, who hadn't pitched above Double-A when he was recalled last September. Jeremy Guthrie (2-0 with one earned run in 14.1 innings in Akron), Lee and Brian Tallett will arrive in the near future. Danys Baez is one of the league's best young closers, with 6-foot-5 Fernando Cabrera on the immediate horizon.
Travis Hafner's start in Cleveland was made difficult by a wrist injury at the end of spring training that caused him to lengthen his swing, but Shapiro believes Hafner will hit. Everyone believes Phillips is a special middle-infield talent, and that 24-year-old switch-hitting catcher Victor Martinez, who was the Eastern League MVP last season, will be an impact two-way catcher. In SS-3B Jhonny Peralta, the Indians have the youngest everyday positional player in the International League. In Sizemore, the center fielder in the Colon deal that has been compared to Darin Erstad, they have the youngest everyday position player in the Eastern League. Corey Smith, the former No. 1, is 21 and started off over .300 in the Eastern League after jumping from the Carolina League.
Milton Bradley is off to a productive start in Cleveland. Covelli Crisp, who has shown signs of being a legitimate leadoff-hitting center fielder, had 11 walks and a .529 OBP in his first 10 games for Buffalo. Jody Gerut had 16 RBI, eight walks and a 1.015 OPS in the first 11 games at Buffalo. On the horizon are Sizemore and Alex Escobar, who is struggling to find his swing after a year's layoff.
The Indians had an extraordinary pitching draft in 2001, then last year loaded up with what appears to be another strong draft starting with Guthrie, who is considered by several teams the best college pitcher in the pool and third baseman Matt Whitney, who is currently out until August with a broken ankle. Shapiro has four more high picks this June.
"This process is actually very exciting for all of us involved because we feel have a chance to have a special team again," Shapiro said. "I feel very good about where we are now, knowing where we started when we began this process (trading Alomar at the December 2001 winter meetings). We will be down to $34 million in payroll next year, with virtually no outstanding contracts for 2005, which will afford us the opportunity to acquire what we have found out that we haven't developed.
"But it doesn't make it any easier for the Cleveland fans," Shapiro said. "I know. I was there when there wasn't a great place to be, night after night."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Peter Gammons
Special to ESPN.com
It is painful. Losing leads, three and four times in a week. Being closer to the Tigers than first place a little less than a year after starting off 11-1. Watching young players' growing pains. Knowing that at the end of the season, two million fans coming to The Jake will be a stretch.
"What makes it so painful is that I was here in Cleveland when we had great teams and the ballpark was sold out every night," Mark Shapiro said. "If I had come in from one organization to one that is rebuilding -- like Dave Dombrowski (in Detroit) or Doug Melvin (Milwaukee) -- that would be different. But I know how great the Cleveland fans are and what it means to them when they have a really good team with which to identify."
But when Bartolo Colon -- raised in a farm system that Shapiro directed -- came into Jacobs Field last week and beat the Indians, that did not bother the Indians general manager. "I didn't feel anything but proud for what Bartolo's made himself," said Shapiro, who has seen Colon evolve from a gunslinging kid to that Tier II of No. 1 starters right below the Pedro Martinez-Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling class, where Matt Morris, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder reside. "I watched him add and subtract, use the changeup I always knew he could throw when he was in the minors, go from two-seamer to four-seamer ... and I felt great for him. I knew what I had to do last year (when he traded Colon to Montreal) and I know what I have to show for that trade and can see Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore and what they are going to be to the future of our franchise."
Shapiro knew by last May 1 that the Indians could not beat Minnesota and make the playoffs. With a mandate from ownership to raze and rebuild, he had to act quickly. "What Mark did was remarkable, because the value of young players is so great today that I think one has to be lucky to get legitimate top prospects in any contract deals," said a National League GM. "I'd be surprised if a reliever brings anything more than an A prospect, and anyone who is moving a contract will have to pay some of that contract if he wants to get prospects. That actually happened last year, only Mark got eight to 10 legitimate top prospects in the deals moving Colon, Alomar, Chuck Finley and Paul Shuey."
Which brings the Indians to where they are now. "I liken us to the 2000 Twins," Shapiro said. "They were in every game and while they lost 97 games, they developed over the season and by 2001 were ready to start winning, and by 2002 were a first-place team. We've been in every game, and we will develop. The important thing is to never lose sight of where we want to be and one advantage we will have is that when we are ready to be back in contention in 2005, we should have some money to spend on acquiring the pieces we need."
Shapiro hired the manager he believes is the right person to guide them through the development to the championship stages in Eric Wedge. The core of the rotation is there with C.C. Sabathia, rookie right-hander Ricardo Rodriguez and the tremendous stuff of Jason Davis, who hadn't pitched above Double-A when he was recalled last September. Jeremy Guthrie (2-0 with one earned run in 14.1 innings in Akron), Lee and Brian Tallett will arrive in the near future. Danys Baez is one of the league's best young closers, with 6-foot-5 Fernando Cabrera on the immediate horizon.
Travis Hafner's start in Cleveland was made difficult by a wrist injury at the end of spring training that caused him to lengthen his swing, but Shapiro believes Hafner will hit. Everyone believes Phillips is a special middle-infield talent, and that 24-year-old switch-hitting catcher Victor Martinez, who was the Eastern League MVP last season, will be an impact two-way catcher. In SS-3B Jhonny Peralta, the Indians have the youngest everyday positional player in the International League. In Sizemore, the center fielder in the Colon deal that has been compared to Darin Erstad, they have the youngest everyday position player in the Eastern League. Corey Smith, the former No. 1, is 21 and started off over .300 in the Eastern League after jumping from the Carolina League.
Milton Bradley is off to a productive start in Cleveland. Covelli Crisp, who has shown signs of being a legitimate leadoff-hitting center fielder, had 11 walks and a .529 OBP in his first 10 games for Buffalo. Jody Gerut had 16 RBI, eight walks and a 1.015 OPS in the first 11 games at Buffalo. On the horizon are Sizemore and Alex Escobar, who is struggling to find his swing after a year's layoff.
The Indians had an extraordinary pitching draft in 2001, then last year loaded up with what appears to be another strong draft starting with Guthrie, who is considered by several teams the best college pitcher in the pool and third baseman Matt Whitney, who is currently out until August with a broken ankle. Shapiro has four more high picks this June.
"This process is actually very exciting for all of us involved because we feel have a chance to have a special team again," Shapiro said. "I feel very good about where we are now, knowing where we started when we began this process (trading Alomar at the December 2001 winter meetings). We will be down to $34 million in payroll next year, with virtually no outstanding contracts for 2005, which will afford us the opportunity to acquire what we have found out that we haven't developed.
"But it doesn't make it any easier for the Cleveland fans," Shapiro said. "I know. I was there when there wasn't a great place to be, night after night."