Ode to Incompetence

As reported last month, current Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro is entering his final year as GM for the Indians. Hold the phone. For all of you Tribe fans out there, Mr. Shapiro isn't going anywhere. In fact, he's, as the Jeffersons tune went, "movin' on up". He will be the team president starting in 2011. That's right, folks.Despite one playoff appearance in eight seasons, Larry Dolan has decided that Shapiro's "hard work" has paid off. Let's take a look at the resume of the soon to be ex-GM of Cleveland. You can decide for yourself whether or not Shapiro has earned such a promotion, especially in today's economy.







2001- Cleveland trades future Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar and minor leaguers Danny Peoples and Mike Bascik to the New York Mets in exchange for Alex Escobar, Billy Traber, Jerrod Riggan, and Earl Snyder, and Matt Lawton.







You'd think for a team rebuilding this would have been a nice trade as Escobar and Traber were touted as the top prospects in the Mets' farm system. Wrong. Each player received a ticket out of town by 2004.







Riggan appeared in 31 games for Cleveland in 2002 and 2003. In 31 relief appearances, Riggan managed to surrender 32 earned runs, walk 19 batters, struck out 24, and sporting an ERA of 7.78.







First baseman/third baseman Earl Snyder appeared in 18 games for the rebuilding Indians in 2002. He batted a whopping .200 with one homer and four RBIs. Boy, with numbers like that, I could've sworn he was on pace to be the first batter since Carl Yastremski to hit for the triple crown.







Traber appeared in 33 games and started 18 in 2003. His claim to fame was a one-hitter hurled against the New York Yankees that season. (Huh, and everybody was surprised the Marlins won the World Series in six.) He went 6-9 with a 5.24 ERA in his only season with the Indians. To note, Traber has since bounced around the Majors with Washington, the Yankees, and Boston after being waived by the Indians.







Escobar played in 74 games in two years with the team. He batted .235 with six homers and 26 RBIs before being placed on waivers in 2004.







Lawton clearly had the most success of anyone in the deal. In three years as a regular in the lineup, he hit .257 with 50 homers and 180 RBIs. He even made the All-Star team in 2004, his last year in Cleveland. You might say, "Wait a sec, the guy was an All-Star, this guy did do a good job, right?" Unfortunately no. Lawton played well the first half of the season, but flopped after the All-Star break.





2002- A few noticeable trades occurred this year. A couple were made at the trading deadline. The first trade was clearly the best trade in the Shapiro era. Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew were dealt on the trading deadline to Montreal for first baseman Lee Stevens, and prospects (pitcher) Cliff Lee, (shortstop) Brandon Phillips, and (outfielder) Grady Sizemore. After the season, Colon and Stevens bolted their respective clubs. However, the Indians were left with three prospects.





Brandon Phillips was converted into a second baseman with the Tribe, was touted as a future star, but bombed in his tenure. He appeared in 135 games in four years with the Indians. He batted .206 with 6 homers and 38 RBIs. Despite being considered one of the brightest prospects in the game, Phillips showed an inability to hit big league pitching. That is, until he was traded to Cincinnati in 2006. He's been the everyday starter at second base since his acquisition. He's batted .276 with 88 homers and 345 RBIs. Granted, he still hasn't meet expectations that were placed upon him a few years ago, but he's at least made himself a solid player at the big league level.



The Indians dealt Chuck Finley to the Cardinals for Luis Garcia and a player to be named later (which turned out to be outfielder Coco Crisp). Garcia never made it to the majors. Crisp, on the other hand, proved to be a solid player for the Tribe. He batted .287 with 35 HRs and 176 RBIs in the two spot from 2002-2005.



To continue the fire sale, the Indians traded reliever Paul Shuey for pitchers Terry Mulholland, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Francisco Cruceta. Mulholland sported a 4.81 ERA in 61 games with the club. Rodriguez "struck out" in his stay in town. In 22 starts, he went 5-11 with a 5.71 ERA.



The second biggest trade of the year came after the 02 season when the Indians dealt catcher Einar Diaz and pitcher Ryan Drese to Texas for first baseman Travis Hafner and pitcher Aaron Myette. Myette appeared in two games in 03. He had a 23.62 ERA before being dealt to Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Hafner found a nice home in Cleveland batting clean-up. He's a .281 carrer hitter with the Indians. He's slugged 162 homers and 547 RBIs during his stay with Cleveland, but has struggled the past three seasons.



2003-The Indians dealt Rodriguez and outfielder Shane Spencer for outfielder Ryan Ludwick. He batted .247 with 13 HRs and 35 RBIs in 73 games over the course of three seasons.



2004-Cleveland acquires reliever Scott Stewart in exchange for shortstop Maicer Izturis and outfielder Ryan Church. He lasted only 23 games. Stewart and his 7.24 ERA was shipped to Dodgers during the season.



Shapiro decides to deal outfielder Luke Scott to Houston for pitcher Jeriome Robertson. Robertson went 1-1 with a 12.21 ERA in eight appearances with the Tribe.



In December, Shapiro ships Matt Lawton to Pittsburgh for veteran reliever Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes proved to be a valuabe commodity for the team that should've appeared in the postseason. He posted a 2.08 ERA in 47 games in 2005.



2006-Shapiro sends Crisp, catcher Josh Bard, and reliever David Riske to Boston for third baseman Andy Marte, reliever Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named later (pitcher Randy Newsom) and cash.

The acquisitions of Asdrubal Cabrera for Eduardo Perez and Shin Soo Choo for Ben Broussard (both acquired from Seattle) have been the best trades in the past few years.

My hope is that Chris Antonetti, the assistant GM-soon-to-be-GM, will do a better job evaluating prospects that will help the Tribe's future. Until then, it looks likw 2010 will just be another fold-em year.