Shapiro certainly felt that way four years ago as he was trying to rebuild the club. Now, in first place, it is interesting to see that while the plan for getting there never changed, many of the names are different from what was projected.
Here's a story from the August 2003 issue of Indians Ink Magazine in which Shapiro discusses his desire to develop plenty of pitchers, including those who looked promising at the time ...
By Chuck Murr
Indians Ink, August, 2003
Mark Shapiro is exactly like John Hart as a general manager in many ways -- and in one way he is completely different.
Hart never had too many hitters for his liking. Shapiro, on the other hand, craves pitching talent and frets that despite a backlog of talented pitchers throughout the organization, the Indians do not have nearly enough.
"The depth in the organization is there," Shapiro said. "But that does not make me feel any more comfortable. I'd like the list to be longer. The nature of pitching is you need a lot and I would like to get more and keep the stream of talent coming. That is going to be a necessary part of our plan."
In the Indians' grand "Blueprint For Success", pitching is the most important ingredient. Nine starting pitchers -- three each at the Major League, Triple-A and Double-A levels -- provide the core of the team's rebuilding process. Another large group of starters, again spread over several levels of the organization, are very much in the mix.
Three young pitchers already producing at the major-league level are All-Star left-hander C.C. Sabathia, rookie right-hander Jason Davis and rookie lefty Billy Traber.
"I'm very happy with the progress of the young pitchers," said Shapiro. "We just faced the Yankees with two 23-year-olds and a 22-year-old (Sabathia) and held them to a .158 average with no homers. I look at an average age of 25 for our starters and see a good mix of talent. Fans are starting to see those things, too, which helps build a fan base."
Sabathia (8-4, 3.23 ERA) became the youngest Indians player to make the All-Star Team since another 22-year-old, Dennis Eckersley, did it in 1977.
"C.C. is a guy who has pitched consistently well all year long," Wedge said. "He had a tough first month, because we didn't score many runs for him. But he didn't give in to that. He's a guy who's gone out there and led this pitching staff."
Davis has come on strong and is a clear example of a pitcher who has progressed at every level. A mere 21st-round selection in 1999, he went 27-18 over four minor-league levels to earn a shot with the big team.
"You can see Jason maturing as a pitcher right before your eyes," manager Eric Wedge said. "He's still got work to do, but is a willing worker to do it. He is an example of what this season is all about and that is development."
Also developing quickly is Traber, who began the season in the bullpen, was put in the starting rotation when Jason Bere was injured, and is the only rookie in the American League to pitch a shutout -- a one-hit masterpiece over the Yankees on July 8. He became the first Indians rookie to pitch a complete-game one-hit shutout since Herb Score in 1955.
"He was simply outstanding," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He changed speeds and frustrated us. He was completely unpredictable. Give him credit because he got it done."
John Flaherty got the only hit, a soft single to left field in the third inning.
Right-handers Ricardo Rodriguez and Jake Westbrook pitched very well in spring training and started the season strong. Rodriguez suddenly struggled, was sent to the minors, suffered an injury, and then was traded to Texas on July 18. Westbrook has been moved in and out of the rotation. Shapiro, Wedge and others in the organization want to see more of him.
"Jake has done pretty much everything we have asked," Wedge said. "He did a good job for us in long relief, which is an important role. Given a few starts, he threw well there, too. Remember, he's coming off a season where he had surgery, so we are monitoring his situation.
"Ricardo got off to a great start and then for one reason or another, had a few struggles. I like his fire, his intensity, but he needs to make some adjustments. The reality is he is dealing with failure for the very first time. He's just in his third year in the United States and I am not sure he knows how to deal with failure."
A step away at Triple-A Buffalo, is the Big Four of lefties Cliff Lee, Brian Tallet and Jason Stanford along with right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Stanford earned a berth on the Class AAA All-Star Team. All except Guthrie were called up to the Indians for a spot start or two in the first half -- and all were impressive.
"I think Cliff Lee will be back up here at some point," Shapiro said. "I cannot say it is imminent because I think Jake Westbrook is a guy we have to see first. Should a spot open up between now and September, I think you will see Cliff here. He's first in line. But we can't bring them all here.
"There are more guys I want to see. I want to see Tallet some more. But there are only so many spots. We have brought up the bulk of the guys already and we will continue the process next year."
Lee was expected to challenge for a spot in the rotation this season, but suffered an abdominal injury just before spring training. He did not return to the mound until late April, pitched well in a brief stint at Akron, and went 4-0 with a 2.21 at Buffalo in the first half. Over his last 19 2/3 innings, he allowed three runs.
Guthrie, the Indians' first draft pick in 2002, began his first pro season in grand style at Double-A Akron. He mixed good outings with bad after being promoted to Buffalo, but that does not concern Shapiro.
"A lot has been made of Jeremy Guthrie's struggles at Triple-A, but it took us to push him all the way to Triple-A in his first year of professional baseball for him to be challenged," Shapiro said. "He's right where he needs to be. He's making the adjustments he needs to make and the time frame is still the same.
"I think he'll be a big-league pitcher some time next year. Whether it is out of spring training or somewhere during the season, he'll be up. It's so remarkable. I've been here 12 years and he's the only pitcher who has reached Triple-A in his first year of professional baseball. And to dominate Double-A the way he did was something great."
At Double-A Akron, right-handers Fernando Cabrera, Kyle Denney, Francisco Cruceta and Kyle Evans have been outstanding.
At the All-Star break, Cabrera was 8-3 with a 2.85 ERA and second in the league in strikeouts with 92. Included was a no-hitter, which he combined with two relievers to pitch in April. Denney had gone 6-3, his ERA of 2.39 was third in the league and his 81 strikeouts were fourth. Cruceta, 7-7 with a 3.35 ERA led the league with four complete games and was third in strikeouts with 85. Evans was 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA for the Aeros.
"Like I said, the depth is there," Shapiro said. "I would like all those guys to be up at Triple-A and pushing at the door here."
As a team, the Aeros led the Eastern League in strikeouts (690), saves (32), have allowed the fewest home runs (41) and are tied for the most complete games with eight.
And still on the way at Class A Kinston are J.D. Martin, Mariano Gomez, Travis Foley and Brian Slocum. Gomez has been the best of this group this year, going 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA. Martin, picked 25th overall in the 2001 draft, had gone 19-6 in his first two years in the organization, but was just 5-3 with a 4.27 ERA through mid-July at his new level. Foley, a fourth-rounder in 2001 who went 15-7 his first two years as a pro, also struggled a bit and went 6-8 with a 4.76 ERA.
"All of this is somewhat natural," Shapiro said. 'Not many pitchers, not many players, succeed right away at every level."
So far, 19-year-old Fausto Carmona has succeeded at Class A Lake County, as has Jake Dittler, who was a second-round pick in 2001. Carmona, signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2000, went 10-3 with a 1.79 ERA to earn a one-game call to Akron, where he pitched well for six innings before being sent back.
"Carmona has just been outstanding," Shapiro said.
Dittler went 5-3 with a 2.70 ERA and walked just 17 while striking out 76 to help the Captains totally dominate the South Atlantic League.
All of that has been good for starters. In relief, Danys Baez is still one of the young guns as he makes the transition from starter to closer at the big-league level.
"Danys has shown that he is on track to be a premium closer," Shapiro said. "We all feel he can be one of the best. The development and progress he has made in his first year of ever doing it is remarkable. He's going through a lot of things for the first time, blown saves, a tough loss, pitching three days in a row, four days in a row. He's shown great mental toughness, he's resilient mentally and physically."
Will Baez still be here when (or if) the Indians develop into a championship team?
"Hopefully our club will justify a premium closer," Shapiro said. "With Danys, it is more of where our club is than where he is.
"Championship clubs have premium closers, not patchwork guys. They have two elite setup guys and a premier closer and are not afraid to spend money on the three back-end guys and creatively fill the rest of the bullpen.
"If Danys is a premium closer, when the time comes we will have to weigh spending the money there versus spending it somewhere else. If we are a championship club, we are going to need a guy.
"Bob Wickman comes back next year and we'll be excited to have him. We'll have two guys who can close games, one guy under contract for one year and another under our control for four more. I hope we're a real good club next year and it benefits us to have two elite guys on the back end of the bullpen."
Perhaps a couple of the highly-touted starters will be turned into relievers. Or, the Indians might choose from some relievers growing in their farm system right now.
At Akron, Kazuhito Tadano struck out 42 and walked just six while posting a 1.01 ERA over his first 44 1-3 innings. In 26 appearances combined at Akron and Kinston, the right-hander went 4-2 with a 1.27 ERA and two saves over 63 2-3 innings.
At Kinston, Lee Gronkiewicz's 24 saves lead the Carolina League. He earned a save in seven straight appearances in early July. Over his last 15 appearances through July 15, he went 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 14 saves.
At Lake County, right-hander Dan Eisentrager is 8-1 and has really been on a tear of late. In his last 15 appearances through July 15, he went 6-0 with two saves and a 0.48 ERA as he has struck out 51 batters in the 37 2-3 innings. Overall, he had struck out 72 and walked just eight in 58 2-3 innings.
Throughout the organization, all of the pitchers are being treated carefully. Part of the team's plan is to increase a pitcher's workload gradually each season.
"We are taking a look at individual workloads as far as the starters," Shapiro said. "We check pitch counts and innings and match them, percentage-wise, with where they were last season. We're very conscious of all of that and will be careful.
"Jason Davis is on track to throw 187 innings. He threw 173 last year. He's throwing 15.4 pitches per inning this year and threw 15.7 last year. He's doing pretty much the same pitches per innings in the big leagues as he did in the minors, which is pretty remarkable. He's on track for a marginal bump up in innings. We'll try to keep him around 185 innings. That's a safe increase.
"We track C.C., too. With him, we track more of how hard he has to work from start to start and watch that."
Shapiro knows that injuries can derail the grand plan. Setbacks, where a pitcher struggles at a certain level, do not concern him as much. He realizes that is part of the growing process, as with the case of Guthrie. Rodriguez, who went 2-0 with the Indians before dropping nine of his last 10 decisions and being sent to Buffalo, encountered both. He struggled, then got injured.
"He has a legitimate injury," Shapiro said, adding that the Rangers were aware of it when making the trade. "A second MRI revealed that there's something going on with his hip. He may need surgery on the hip somewhere down the road.
"At some point, he has to go back to the minors and make an adjustment. Being sent back to Triple-A does not represent failure, it represents part of the natural development. He has to have more of a focused intensity than an unbridled intensity. It is great to have that fire and competitiveness, but it is something that can derail him. That's a balance he needs to strike as part of his mental challenge."
Apparently, the Indians were not as confident in his ability to do so as the Rangers. Trading Rodriguez points out a big part of the challenge ahead for Shapiro and his staff -- they must decide which of these talented pitchers to keep and which might be used in possible trades for hitters at key positions.
"I'm getting more congratulatory calls on our young players than I am getting interest calls," Shapiro said. "In the modern game, young players are not traded, unless its a strength for strength trade. But those conversations are Hot Stove League topics. They are not real conversations. In the modern game of baseball, young talent is the greatest asset you can have.
"General managers are smart enough to know that people who have young talent are not going to trade it -- unless they have a surplus where they don't know what to do. And that's usually just with position players, two guys at the same spot -- not with pitchers.
"You can never have too many pitchers. Pitching is a game of attrition. What seems like a surplus today can very quickly be a drought tomorrow. We need to have too many starting pitchers. We need to have seven guys here who can start for us and then three more at Buffalo who can. When that happens, when we have them backed up like that, then that's when we can become a championship team."
Back to 2007 ... obviously, the club made some correct decisions, while other pitchers failed to develop. Many of those considered prospects four years ago (Davis, Baez, Traber, Foley, Guthrie, Eisentrager, Gronkiewicz, etc.) are no longer with the organization.
But the crux of this story remains true today. Insert the names of Jeremy Sowers, Adam Miller, Rafael Perez, Edward Mujica, Chuck Lofgren, Juan Lara, Tony Sipp and others -- but understand that some of them will make it and others will fade away. It's that way with every organization throughout baseball. Shapiro understands it, which is why he insists on trying to accumulate as many quality pitchers as possible.
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