Planning for the Future Major trades made by Shapiro Date Players acquired Players traded 12/6/02 DH Travis Hafner, RHP Aaron Myette RHP Ryan Drese, C Einar Diaz (Rangers) 8/6/02 OF Coco Crisp, OF Luis Garcia LHP Chuck Finley (Cardinals) 6/27/02 LHP Cliff Lee, 2B Brandon Phillips, OF Grady Sizemore, 1B Lee Stevens RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP Tim Drew and cash (Expos) 12/11/01 OF Matt Lawton, LHP Billy Traber, RHP Jerrod Riggan, 1B Earl Snyder 2B Roberto Alomar, LHP Mike Bacsik, 1B Danny Peoples (Mets)

Mark Shapiro saw the hand-painted signs. He heard the taunts. He read the damning headlines practically every day, it seemed. After he traded Roberto Alomar to the Mets at the 2001 winter meetings, and Alomar called Shapiro a "liar" ... hoo, the Cleveland fans were all over the Indians general manager. When he dealt Bartolo Colon later that year to the Expos ... well, it was just plain ugly. Shapiro remembers. Those kind of things stick with you.

Ah, but that was a long time ago. Two years ago, and then some. Shapiro has filed away those memories and trudged on, breaking down and then building up his team, stocking the minors, always with his eye on the longterm plan.

It looks like Shapiro and the rest of the Cleveland front office knew what they were doing all along. They have wiped out an aging, expensive team and come back with a young, lean, hungry group that is challenging for the American League Central division title.

The Indians, believe it or not, are back. Maybe not all the way back. And maybe not back to stay. Not just yet. But in this division, with this team, the Indians are as likely to win this year's race as anyone.

"I'm not going to say I don't believe that, because I do believe it," says Eric Wedge, the team's mostly anonymous manager. "I feel like we're coming around. I feel like we're coming together. We're close. But we're not there yet."

That the Indians are anywhere in the neighborhood of contending is something that most observers -- including, probably, most of the fans in Cleveland -- would not have believed at season's start. This is a club that lost 94 games in 2003, its first year under Wedge, who at 36 is the major's youngest manager. With a roster full of players who average just over 28 years old, it is one of the league's youngest teams.

It's not that the Indians, as a franchise, didn't know how to win. Cleveland won a division title under former manager Charlie Manuel and former GM John Hart as recently as 2001.

But that was the last title in a run that began in the mid-'90s, a remarkable streak that included trips to the World Series in 1995 and '97. Those were different teams, different times. Those ballclubs were stacked with sluggers like Albert Belle, Juan Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez, Eddie Murray, Sandy Alomar Jr. and his brother, Roberto, and Jim Thome. Brian Giles blew through Cleveland, as did David Justice. Omar Vizquel was the classy shortstop. He was there for the whole run. Colon came up in 1997, along with another live, young arm, Jaret Wright. Richie Sexson joined the Indians late in the run. Sean Casey also stopped in.

That era began with the 1994 opening of the team's new ballpark, Jacobs Field. During the ensuing seven seasons, fans packed the place for 455 straight sellouts. The team won the division six times in seven years, starting in 1995. The 2001 Indians took the Mariners, who had won 116 games that year, to five games in the division series before losing.

But the signs of hard times, if anyone cared to look, already were there. The team's payroll had mushroomed to $92.6 million in 2001, fifth-highest in baseball. The roster was aging. Hart, who left after the 2001 season, had traded away much of the minor league talent in the organization to stock the major league team, leaving the farm system barren.

By the time Shapiro took over for the 2002 season, everyone knew the Indians were in for a fall. Ramirez took the free-agent route and left for Boston. Looking to restock with younger players, Shapiro traded Alomar -- at the time considered a lock for the Hall of Fame -- to the Mets for Matt Lawton and a couple of minor leaguers. The team sold out Opening Day, but the sellout streak ended the next day.

By the time June rolled around, the Indians were done. And that's when Shapiro traded his ace, Colon, to the Expos.

"I had fans yelling at me every time I walked out of the ballpark," Shapiro said.

At first, following the trade of Alomar, Shapiro thought he might be able to retool the Indians on the fly. But by the time he dealt Colon, he knew the plan he had to stick with: trade veterans for young talent and draft picks. Rebuild the farm system. Go from there.

The Indians lost 88 games in 2002 and 94 last season, but the biggest trades, for the most part, now have begun to pay off. For Alomar, the Indians got Lawton, outfielder Alex Escobar and pitcher Billy Traber. Lawton is hitting .327 with a combined on-base and slugging percentage (OPS) of .885 this year. Escobar blew out his knee shortly after the trade and has flopped in his first extensive big-league tryout this season, though he's a long way from becoming a bust. Traber is expected to come back strong from elbow surgery.

For Colon, the Indians got starter Cliff Lee (6-1, 3.81 ERA) and two minor leaguers who should be in the majors soon: infielder Brandon Phillips and maybe the most exciting of the prospects, 21-year-old outfielder Grady Sizemore.

Meanwhile, because of many other trades, the farm system, the lifeblood of any franchise, breathed new life. Cleveland's minor league teams had a .575 winning percentage last season, second in the majors.

The slew of young talent already is helping out in the bigs. Outfielder Jody Gerut led rookies with an OPS of .830 last season when he slugged 22 homers and drove in 75 runs. He's off to a slow start this year, but he's only 26. The team's ace, C.C. Sabathia, went 13-9 with a 3.60 ERA in '03, and he doesn't turn 24 until July. Switch-hitting catcher Victor Martinez (.951 OPS) is a possible All-Star and has solidified the middle of the lineup. Second baseman Ronnie Belliard is hitting .311. Cleveland starters have the third-best ERA in the AL. The Indians are second in runs scored, and second in average.

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Despite a bullpen that ranks 29th in ERA (at 5.39) and a preseason trade that sent their best player -- malcontent Milton Bradley -- to the Dodgers, the Indians are in contention. They had six chances to get back to .500 after a 2-2 start but failed in each. Finally, in their seventh try, they beat the White Sox on Monday night to reach 34-34. Tuesday, after falling behind 8-0 to Chicago, the Indians rallied to take a 9-8 lead only to lose 11-9 in 10 innings.

"You have to crawl before you can walk," Lawton said last week. "I think .500 is important. It seems like we've been trying to play catch-up all season. Once we hit .500, it's like we can start over."

The young Indians have their sights aimed well above .500. They have 12 wins this June. Only the Yankees and the surprising Devil Rays have more in the AL. Their relievers have improved. Closer Bob Wickman is due back in another 10 days or so.

And, of course, the Indians play in the AL Central where, even at 34-35, they are only four games behind the division-leading Twins.

"If you picture .500 as the pinnacle of the season," Gerut said, "you're not thinking much of yourself."

The Indians are in a perfect position to get better this July, too. Bullpen help could be had before the trading deadline and the Indians -- providing they don't collapse in the next few weeks -- also will be on the lookout for a right-handed bat. A reasonably priced player or two should not be a problem. After all the trades of the high-priced veterans, after ripping up his old team, Shapiro has pared the payroll down to $34.3 million this season. Only three teams -- the Brewers, Devil Rays and Pirates -- have lower ones.

When Shapiro started this teardown job, he vowed the Indians would be in contention again by the 2005 season. From division champion to the pits and back up again in three seasons is a relatively quick trip. It was a bold proclamation.

But if the Indians contend before '05 -- if they make a run this season -- it will be more than bold. It will validate Shapiro and Wedge and the rest of Cleveland's decision makers. It might even help to silence the critics.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.