They got it right

The Sporting News got it right. Its writers selected Mark Shapiro as the Executive of the Year, as I said should happen in my first post on October 8th entitled, "He's just that kind of fun guy."

Rather than being pleased that our guy received a little recognition, the award only heightens my concern. I have been reading that the devil, Scott Boras, keeps saying that almost all teams are interested in giving Kevin Millwood a five-year deal. That's devil code for "the Indians are out of the picture." That's a problem. This will be perhaps the weakest free agent group in the last 10 years. There aren't a lot of options for team improvement who will be available. That's why Dolan's unwillingness or inability to grab a top player last year is inexcusable.

I suspect that, after the Hot Stove season ends, Larry Dolan will still have his hands in his empty pockets and mumble something about the market not cooperating with Shapiro's plan. That's bull. The teams and MLB know what the free agent market will be like years in advance. All player contracts are filed with the league. All teams know who will be a free agent and when. The only exceptions are those players who rework contracts during their terms.

Here's a safe prediction: Dolan blows it and lets Shapiro take the hit. Don't let him. Put the blame where it deserves to be.