Market disparity has fueled the Indians' lost season, but many of the official explanations for not bringing up prospects have damaged the team's credibility, too.
Seen by many Indians fans as the face of a franchise that has lost its way, outgoing GM Mark Shapiro is confronted by a disasterous season created by inconsistent veterans and youngsters struggling on the major-league stage, says Bill Livingston.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Summer used to mean baseball here.
The American League has played in Cleveland since the guy who spoke softly and carried a big stick was in the White House. Actually, in the last great era the Indians experienced near the end of the last century, they were the ones who carried the big sticks.
It was an incredible time, with a general manager in John Hart who prided himself for being ahead of the cure ("proactive," he said over and over) and his eager aide, Mark Shapiro.
There hadn't been anything like the mid-1990 Indians in Cleveland, ever. LeBron James? Oh, please. The Indians were a team of All-Stars, one at every position.
Time passes, doesn't it?
The Indians, after a streak of 455 straight sellouts in the glory days, are last in major league home attendance. Shapiro is now the object of scorn in town.
The team is irrelevant until (unless?) it catches lightning in a bottle again, as happened with pitchers C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona in the near-World Series season of 2007. Even then, fans know the top talent will be traded away when it matures, lest the team get nothing in return as the players near free agency.
Players such as Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome left town for more money repeatedly in the glory days, but the franchise never bore the odium of being cheap. The Indians were a big-market team then because cable television money wasn't yet the Great Divide. Gate receipts were. The Tribe simply plugged in other good players in short-term deals.
No fans complained about the uneven playing field then. After all the years the franchise had spent in the wilderness, how could anyone expect them to?
Today, in many fans' view, Shapiro is the village idiot; the Dolan family represents cynical and uncaring ownership; and the ballpark is a ghost town.
Only the last is strictly true, but perception is hard to change.
Shapiro made some great early deals in this decade. He has not been so great, so good, or even so mediocre lately.
The Dolans, on Shapiro's recommendation, spent more money than critics like to admit. Many of the contracts turned out to be bad ones, such as for Kerry Wood, a pricey closer for what is now an also-ran team, and Travis Hafner, the best designated hitter in the game before injuries reduced his menace. There was not a whole lot of criticism about the contracts when they were signed, though.
Shapiro made his reputation as a creative executive who made contenders out of overachievers like Paul Byrd. He had the division's best player in Grady Sizemore until Sizemore's body failed him, a result of his all-out style of play. It really was remarkable, given baseball's market imbalances.
The sad part now, in Shapiro's lame-duck season before he becomes the team's president, is the emptiness of the "spin" he has been putting on the devolution of the franchise. Instead of empire-building, he ferrets out loopholes in the rules and issues smokescreen statements to hide his true intent.
The Indians don't want to admit they are just another team with their eyes on the clock that is counting down the time for each prospect until the bonanza of salary arbitration. It is patently obvious, and the Tribe is hardly the only team that does it.
But when a potential Rookie of the Year like Carlos Santana is kept in the minors on the specious grounds of needing to learn English and to handle pitchers, with Sandy Alomar on the big-league coaching staff, ready to accelerate the learning curve, it insults fans' intelligence.
Moreover, Santana immediately became the No. 3 hitter. Any opinion about manager Manny Acta must take into account that his third-hole hitter was not here until the season was lost, because the Indians nickel and dime players on their major league service.
Every team does this to some extent, but the Indians played the same game with Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley. Shapiro's comments recall "Believe it or Butch" Davis and his self-serving whoppers as Browns coach.
A balanced assessment of his stewardship must wait for the final results on the so-far unimpressive returns from the Sabathia and Cliff Lee deals. But dropping the Davis impersonation would help.