Here's one Cleveland team that's really going places

Sporting News, The, Dec 25, 1995 by Bob Nightengale

Excuse me, didn't you used to be the Indians?

You know, the organization that was the laughingstock of baseball? The team to which every player feared he'd one day be traded?

"Oh man, if you got traded to Cleveland, you felt like killing yourself," free-agent outfielder Luis Polonia says. "Everybody hated Cleveland. It was a terrible city. A lousy stadium. And no people. There was nothing good about Cleveland."

Until now.

This is a franchise that until this past season, had not finished within 10 games of first place in a non-strike season since 1959. Today it is on the verge of becoming a dynasty, making a series of moves this month that virtually guarantees the Indians of the American League Central division title two months before the start of spring training.

The flurry of activity culminated with the signing of righthander Jack McDowell. As if the Indians weren't powerful enough already, they picked up a pitcher who should win 20 games. Maybe 25. Heck, with that lineup, he may be going after 30.

The Indians, who already have the most-feared lineup, now feature a starting rotation that consists of four pitchers who all have been the staff ace most of their careers: McDowell, Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser and Charles Nagy.

The Indians could conduct a fan contest every homestand to determine their fifth starter, and they still would win the division by 30 games. Their lineup consists of eight .300 hitters and superb defensive shortstop Omar Vizquel. The Indians should go ahead and put postseason tickets on sale this winter.

Come on, who's going to beat them in that division? The Indians will have tougher competition playing intrasquad games in spring training. They're so deep in talent that they could provide two-week vacations to each of their position players during the summer and still win 100 games.

This team has become the envy of baseball. With the exception of 1995 TSN Player of the Year Albert Belle -- negotiations for a five-year, $30-million contract soon will commence -- the Indians have their nucleus locked up the rest of the decade and will have the most talented team in baseball within a budget of $43 million to $45 million.

"If I hear someone say, `Well, they're a large-market team, they can afford it,'" General Manager John Hart says, "I'm going to say, `Wait a minute.' It was a just a few years ago we had the lowest revenue. We had a $9-million payroll in 1982. It's just that now our revenue will support it."

Indeed, this is the first team in baseball history that can say in December it has sold every seat for every home game for the upcoming season. Yet, instead of pocketing the money and trying to tell the community the team actually is losing money (like another Cleveland owner we know), Indians Owner Richard Jacobs is reinvesting the money into the team.

Jacobs, despite the financial windfall, still is all for revenue-sharing. He isn't afraid of a luxury tax. The payroll still is hovering around the $44 million that owners want

It's just that the Indians now must listen to the petty complaints of their jealous and envious rivals, realizing they are making the rest of them look silly.

"We talked at the general manager meetings (in November) about exercising some kind of control over money," White Sox G.M. Ron Schueler says. "Obviously, Atlanta and Cleveland weren't at that meeting."

I guess Atlanta and Cleveland also missed the meeting in which the White Sox were told to shell out $20.7 million over four years to third baseman Robin Ventura, $12.4 for three years to shortstop Ozzie Guillen and $28.75 million for four years to Frank Thomas.

"This isn't about throwing money against the wall like the Yankees and some other clubs have," Hart says. "This is just what makes the most sense for us. We studied the pattern of four teams that crashed and burned in the `80s -- the Mets, Oakland, and Pitsburgh -- and we want to avoid that."

The Indians, who already had second baseman Carlos Baerga, closer Jose Mesa, center fielder Kenny Lofton and catcher Sandy Alomar locked up through at least 1997, have undertaken Phase 2 of the Plan by committing nearly $56 million to 10 players. McDowell got two years at $10.15 million. Right fielder Manny Ramirez was provided a four-year, 10.15-million contract. Nagy signed for two years at $6.75 million. Free-agent first base. man Julio Franco signed a two-year, $5-million contract. Most surprisingly, designated hitter Eddie Murray came back with a one. year, $2-million extension. Hershiser received a $2.7-million extension. Tony Pena $525,000), Jim Poole ($400,000) and Alvaro Espinoza ($400,000) got one-year extensions.

"People around here are ang it the 12 Days of Christmas,'" Hart says.

And in Cleveland, there will be no finer Christmas present than a 1996 Indians ticket

Happy Holidays.

See you back in the World Series.

Smooth talkers

Second baseman Craig Biggio and classy agent Barry Axelrod earned respect throughout baseball for their handling of the free-agent negotiations. There were no threats. No negotiations through the media. Nobody was used for leverage. And in the end, it should have been no surprise that Biggio signed back with the Astros out of pure loyalty.