In his new book, Dealing, Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter Terry Pluto takes a look at the Indians off the field. Specifically, he probes general manager Mark Shapiro’s controversial decision a few years ago to get rid of the team’s star players — Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, among them — and replace them with unproven youngsters. “There were so many questions,” says Pluto. “How did we get from the ’90s, when the Indians sold out every game and owned the Central division, to 2003, when great seats were always available?”
But Dealing isn’t all gloom and doom. In fact, it’s mostly an optimistic and supportive glance at the front office’s restructuring and rebuilding. After all, the Tribe was only one game away from the playoffs last season, and Shapiro was named general manager of the year by his peers. “All you can do when you’re operating on a budget that’s in the bottom 25 percent of baseball is put together a team to contend,” says Pluto. “And that core group of young players are pretty good. I think they have a chance to contend, but it’s still in process.”
Thu., June 8, 1 p.m.
