EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

1. Cleveland Indians

An upbeat skipper and a Yankee-killing ace bring a whole new vibe to the Tribe

By Stephen Cannella

Offense Defense Starting Pitching Bullpen Manager First year 1999 Record 97-65 (first in AL Central) Batting Order CF Kenny Lofton SS Omar Vizquel 2B Roberto Alomar RF Manny Ramirez 1B Jim Thome DH Richie Sexson LF David Justice 3B Travis Fryman C Sandy Alomar Jr. Bench OF Jacob Cruz OF Alex Ramirez C Einar Diaz IF Enrique Wilson Starters LH Chuck Finley RH Bartolo Colon LH Dave Burba RH Charles Nagy RH Jaret Wright Bullpen RH Paul Shuey RH Steve Karsay RH Steve Reed RH Scott Kamieniecki LH Ricardo Rincon RH Sean DePaula Next Up... There are certainly better places than Cleveland for a young, power-hitting outfielder such as Jacob Cruz to crack a lineup. "This club is not designed for prospects right now," says general manager John Hart. Still, the 27-year-old Cruz -- who will see plenty of action in centerfield until Kenny Lofton returns from the disabled list, perhaps as early as May -- proved last season that he belongs with Cleveland's big boys. In a monthlong stint as the replacement for the injured Lofton, he hit .330 with three homers in 88 at bats. This winter he added 20 pounds of muscle to his six-foot, 179-pound frame while playing in Mexico, and throughout the spring he showed off his newfound power by launching 400-foot bombs all over the Indians' Winter Haven, Fla., complex. "Jacob has an excellent pedigree," says Hart. "All he needs is a place to play." The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Indians: "One word: thunder. This lineup will lead the world in runs.... The Indians are strong up and down the order, and they're very deep. Enrique Wilson could play regularly at second or third for most other clubs. Jacob Cruz is a championship fourth outfielder, a guy every club would love to have.... First baseman Jim Thome's the weak spot in the infield defensively, and even he's adequate. But Richie Sexson is getting better by the day and has a chance to be a plus first baseman. He might move Thome to DH.... The team's Achilles' heel is at closer. Paul Shuey is inconsistent, and Steve Karsay has never closed. If they can't do it, they have to go get somebody.... They badly need a lefthander in the bullpen.... The rotation has five pretty good starters, but can Dave Burba stay healthy for a full season?... Bartolo Colon is an ace waiting to happen.... Chuck Finley, whose split is still good, is there for one reason: to beat lefthanded hitting clubs. He's making all that money to win two games against the Yankees in October."

He's 56 years old and sports a gray crewcut that makes him look like the oldest recruit at a Marine boot camp. He's had open-heart surgery, and he missed two weeks of spring training this year after having eight inches of his colon surgically removed. But there's as much player as there is manager in Charlie Manuel. That's the conclusion one was left to draw this spring after watching the new Indians skipper tramp around camp jabbering homespun witticisms in a West Virginia drawl and occasionally throwing one of his charges into a headlock. Before he had the colon surgery in February, Manuel even shagged flies during batting practice like a trying-to-catch-on rookie. "We all see Charlie as a good friend," says reserve outfielder Jacob Cruz. "Sometimes I have to step back and remember he's the manager."

Finley hasn't pitched in a playoff game since '86, but as the Indians know, he's 27-18 lifetime against Boston and New York.John Iacono

The Manuel manner will provide much-needed lubrication for a machine that seized up badly during last year's Division Series. After coming within a victory of sweeping the Red Sox, the Indians frittered away three straight games, a collapse that cost tightly wound manager Mike Hargrove his job. The Cleveland front office hopes that Manuel, the team's hitting coach for the last six seasons and a beloved figure, will bring some levity and enthusiasm, not to mention a more communicative spirit, to the Indians' clubhouse. "Camp is more fun this year," reliever Paul Shuey says. "Things are looser. Spring training always seemed loose before, but it wasn't."

"A lot of expectations were put on that club [last year]," says former Cleveland closer Mike Jackson, who signed with the Phillies as a free agent this winter. "I felt the urgency even in spring training. The first two years I was there, in 1997 and '98, it was, 'If we get into the playoffs, we'll worry about the postseason then.' Last year in the spring, it was, 'We have to win 100 games and get to the World Series.'"

Those expectations are still there. If anything, they've been heightened now that general manager John Hart has finally bagged the quality lefthanded starter that's eluded him since the outset of the franchise's renaissance six seasons ago. Chuck Finley, who signed a three-year, $27 million deal in December, is coming off a mediocre 1999 and has not won more than 15 games in a season since '93, but he's still a top-of-the-rotation intimidator. Bartolo Colon is getting closer to becoming that type of pitcher, but he's not quite there. Veteran righthanders Dave Burba and Charles Nagy were a combined 32-20 and each pitched more than 200 innings in '99, but both are better suited to the middle of the rotation. "Chuck brings ace credentials," Hart says, "big innings, experience, quality stuff, quality numbers."

Hart also signed Finley with an eye toward October. The 37-year-old former Angel is a well-known Yankee killer: He has a career 16-9 record against New York, and last year's Bombers were a fairly mortal 19-14 against southpaw starters. Still, it wasn't the absence of a lefty that doomed Cleveland in the '99 postseason but the club's overworked and ineffective relief corps. The bullpen self-immolated in the three losses to Boston, surrendering 29 earned runs.

With Jackson gone, the closer's role will, for the moment, be split between righthanders Shuey and Steve Karsay, both of whom throw well into the 90s. Shuey has a wicked splitter and slider, but he can be maddeningly inconsistent and has a history of nagging leg injuries. Karsay, when he was healthy last year, was the Indians' most effective reliever, but he spent two months on the disabled list and had off-season elbow surgery, his third surgery on his throwing arm since 1994.

Regardless of who the closer is, Manuel needs to find another effective setup man. That weakness looms particularly large because the staff is razor thin when it comes to lefthanders, especially if Ricardo Rincon can't rediscover his once-lethal slider, which vanished last year and still hasn't returned. Hart, though, is willing to see how the current group shakes out before he makes any moves. "There are a lot of good arms down there, so the potential exists for a big bullpen," he says.

Fortunately the Indians can fall back on one of the sturdiest safety nets in sports. Even with Kenny Lofton beginning the season on the disabled list as he recovers from shoulder surgery, the sheer might of the Indians' offense borders on the unfathomable. Last year Cleveland was the first team in half a century to score 1,000 runs; four players drove in 100 runs; and the Tribe scored in double digits in 28 games. They also became the first team in major league history to thrice come back from a deficit of eight or more runs to win. In one of those games, against the Devil Rays in May, Cleveland came back from eight runs down to win by nine.

For now Manuel's biggest job is to ensure that the Indians -- who have not trailed in the Central standings after May 1 since 1995 -- stay focused through the summer in preparation for their inevitable playoff berth in the fall. "Our biggest competition is ourselves," says third baseman Travis Fryman. "Charlie is a very enthusiastic, high-energy guy. That should rub off on this team."

Issue date: March 27, 2000

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