Tribe's Shapiro selected top GM

In three years, he dismantled and returned the Indians to prominence.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- There's one off-season trade Indians general manager Mark Shapiro would make in a millisecond. He'd pull the trigger on this one without even batting an eye.
If only he could, Shapiro would gladly swap his Executive of the Year Award for Cleveland getting a spot in the AL playoffs.
"It's still a hollow feeling to win 93 games and not make the playoffs," Shapiro said Tuesday.
Shapiro, who in a three-year span dismantled the Indians and returned them to prominence, was named baseball's top executive by The Sporting News.
In voting by baseball executives from both leagues, Shapiro edged Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams. Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz finished third.
Third Tribe GM cited
Shapiro, 38, is the third Indians general manager to win the award. Bill Veeck won it in 1948 and John Hart, Shapiro's mentor, won it in 1994 and 1995.
Shapiro, restrained by a $42 million payroll, has resurrected the Indians, who went 93-69 this season just two years after winning only 68 games.
At the end of the 2001 season, Hart, who had announced he was stepping down months earlier, handed over the Indians to Shapiro.
The aging club was loaded with bloated contracts and had a $90 million payroll back then.
The Indians were also coming off a playoff appearance as well as a run of winning six AL Central titles in seven years and making two World Series appearances since 1995.
In 2002, Shapiro planned to rebuild the Indians while the club continued to contend. It didn't take long for him to realize that doing both was impossible.
"The path we were on was headed for a train wreck," he said.
Made Colon trade
So before the '02 trading deadline, Shapiro made the bold move of dealing Bartolo Colon, the Indians' ace, to Montreal for prospects Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
The move was universally panned by Indians fans, who couldn't understand the logic in giving up so much for what appeared to be so little.
"That day was a painful day," Shapiro said.
"It represented the first departure for our team away from championship baseball."
But Shapiro believed he was doing the right thing, and bravely predicted the Indians would contend again in 2005.
And after two losing seasons, some roster reshuffling and the emergence of young players, that's exactly what they did.
Shapiro stuck with his plan and was rewarded for it.
Following a 9-14 record in April, the Indians found their groove under manager Eric Wedge and trimmed Chicago's 15-game lead to 11/2 games with two weeks remaining.
However, Cleveland went just 1-6 in the final week and finished two games out of the AL wild card.
Eyes the World Series
Now that the Indians are back among baseball's upper echelon, Shapiro's next challenge is to keep them there and deliver Cleveland its first World Series title since 1948.
Shapiro's first obstacle will be to replace or re-sign four key pitchers on Cleveland's staff, which led the AL in ERA last season.
Starters Kevin Millwood -- the league's ERA leader -- and Scott Elarton, closer Bob Wickman and set-up man Bob Howry have filed for free agency.
The Indians can make them contract offers Friday, but it may be difficult to sign any of them in an uncertain market where top-dollar usually wins.
That's nothing new or intimidating to Shapiro, who has had to navigate around ownership restrictions since he took over the Indians.
"We'll take the resources we have, and find a way to win," he said.