When the 2002 season was going nowhere, Indians’ first year GM Mark Shapiro decided to take a bold step. He decided to blow up a team that had won six division titles in the last seven years, and start the rebuilding process. So, he dealt his most tradable commodity, righthander Bartolo Colon, who would win 20 games that year for a cadre of prospects from Montreal, including Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips. This weekend, the fruits of that bold move will be realized.
Shapiro tried to rebuild while still winning after the division title in 2001. He saw his team getting old. DH Ellis Burks was 36, Kenny Lofton and Omar Vizquel were 34. Roberto Alomar was 33, and third baseman Travis Fryman was 32. The pitching staff wasn’t any younger. Three starters were older than 34, Dave Burba and Charles Nagy (34), while Chuck Finley was 38. So Shapiro tried to get younger by dealing Alomar for younger outfielder Matt Lawton.
The initial reaction was great. The 2002 Tribe got off to an 11-1 start. But, they finished the month at 13-13 mainly because they stopped hitting. April ended with a crushing 21-2 loss to the Angels at home. In May, they treaded water finishing the month at 13-15, and were just 4-1/2 behind the front running Twins. However, the young GM sensed something was not right with this team. In the 28 games in May, the ballclub scored less than four runs in 16 of them! In June, it was more of the same. In the first 16 games of that month, the Tribe scored less than four runs in 11. They were just 7 games out when Shapiro decided to pull the trigger on Bartolo Colon. Their record was 35-40, but since the great start they were 24-39.
The Indians were running in reverse, so Shapiro took a bold move. If you don’t think it was an aggressive move, ask other teams how their rebuilding program is going. Orioles’ GM Pat Gillick wanted to do the same thing in 1998, but his owner wouldn’t let him. How’s that working out? Shapiro’s trade kick starting the process and by 2004, just two years later, the Tribe was in contention in mid August. The following year, the Cleveland Indians were back in the hunt for a playoff spot. This year, five years after the Colon deal, they will be the Central Division champs.
Not all of Shapiro’s deals worked out, but by the end of that calendar year, he had picked up Coco Crisp and Travis Hafner is separate deals. The farm system, a point of emphasis for the GM and the Dolans, started producing, as Victor Martinez, Jake Westbrook, and Jhonny Peralta would be ready to help the big club by the 2004 season. In 2005, Sizemore was the starting centerfielder, and Lee was in the starting rotation. Even though the season ended with the Indians missing the playoffs by one game. The rebuilding program was in full bloom.
Last year, the bullpen was horrible, but Shapiro took that opportunity to unload more veterans who were not part of the future, and one of the players who came to the Tribe was young infielder Asdrubal Cabrera. Shapiro is not afraid to pull the trigger when it is clear his ballclub is not going to win.
It’s not easy to rebuild a major league baseball team. Just ask fans Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore, Texas, Cincinnati, etc. Sometimes it’s because the ownership isn’t willing to sell the fans on the process. Give Mark Shapiro and the Dolans credit for being willing to take the hits associated with dismantling a team, especially a club that won as much as the Tribe from 1995-2001. In the next few days, their dream will become a reality.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 