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On the way out? Indians preparing for life without Manny
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (AP) -- The Cleveland Indians appear willing to let Manny Ramirez check out the free agent market for himself. But general manager John Hart also has a warning for the slugger: There might not be any money left in Cleveland for him if he eventually decides he wants to come back to the Indians. "We're probably first on a lot of people's list," Hart said Tuesday at the GM meetings, where he is plotting a strategy for life without Manny. "Players on the market view Cleveland as a very attractive place to play. We have a great team, a great core, great ballpark and great fans." Owner Larry Dolan said last week after receiving Ramirez's request for a $200 million, 10-year contract that the team would respond to agent Jeff Moorad by Tuesday. Moorad still is awaiting a counterproposal, and Hart said there probably would be one before Saturday, the first day Ramirez can discuss money with other teams. "We are in the same place we were last week and for several weeks before that," Moorad said. "Manny Ramirez would prefer to play with the Cleveland Indians. The organization asked us for a proposal and we gave them one in good faith. "Nothing has happened to change our position and it doesn't appear that anything has changed theirs," he added. "There really hasn't been anything new in the last 24 hours." Hart said he believed that Moorad had created an "artificial market" for Ramirez, and could be in for a surprise when he starts negotiating dollars with other teams on Saturday. "They made it very clear that this will be an economically-driven contract," Hart said. "They made that very clear to us, and I think they will make it very clear to other clubs." There are few teams that can afford the salary Ramirez wants. The Yankees are one of them and have made Ramirez one of their top priorities. Armed with a new cable television contract, their revenues could top $200 million next year. However, even they appear unwilling to give Ramirez either $20 million annually or a 10-year contract. "This is Cleveland. It isn't New York," Hart said. "Our seven-year run has continued because we haven't paid too much to one player." Hart has cited statistics that no team since 1985 has won the World Series paying more than 13.4 percent of its payroll to one player. Figuring on a $90 million payroll, that would limit the Indians to paying about $12 million to their top player. "If you have five kids surrounding one star, will that get you to the promised land? Will you be playing meaningful games in September and make the postseason?" Hart asked. The Indians are already lining up replacements for Ramirez, and will be one of the leading contenders for free agent outfielder Ellis Burks, who is expected to get a two-year deal worth about $16 million. That would leave plenty of money left to sign a pitcher such as Denny Neagle. Cleveland also is in the running for Mike Mussina, who likely will command a deal worth at least $15 million a year. "We've spent a lot of time in prepping out all the free agents out there that would help make us a championship-caliber ballclub," Hart said. "We're prepared to go out and begin conversations with people."
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