Shapiro Wants a Winner

Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro is narrowing his list of managerial candidates as we speak. Shapiro said he prefers a list of eight to twelve candidates, although several names have been thrown around by fans and media alike.

Former Tribe Manager Mike Hargrove is a popular choice among fans, simply for his ability to turn the Indians fortunes around already. Hargrove managed the Indians during their hey-day in the 1990’s, and led Cleveland to two American League Championships (1995 and 1997).

Torey Lovullo finished the past season managing Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate Columbus, with minimal success. However, double-A affiliate Akron has had much more success with Mike Sarbaugh. Also, another fan-favorite is managing Mahoning Valley at the class-A level, former third baseman Travis Fryman.

Other names thrown around the Cleveland area include former catcher and current New York Mets coach, Sandy Alomar, Jr. Maybe the wildest choice would be Omar Vizquel, who some suggest should (or could) serve as a player coach, which would bring the Indians back to the Lou Boudreau era as far as player/coaches go.

Maybe the most realistic option is currently serving as a pitching coach in Boston, John Farrell. Farrell served as director of the Indians farm system until 2006 was also a former pitcher for Cleveland. However, Farrell has no managerial experience.

Shapiro is simply trimming the list of candidates. He has made it clear that no candidates have been contacted as of yet.