Wedge being compared to Alston

The Cleveland skipper is known as a player's manager.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) -- Manager Eric Wedge, who has quietly rebuilt the Cleveland Indians in three seasons, is drawing comparisons to a Hall of Fame manager also noted for doing his best work away from the spotlight.
"He reminds me of Walter Alston, a quiet kind of guy who was not really recognized until late in his career," said player development adviser Johnny Goryl, in his 54th year of professional baseball.
His strengths
"The thing with Eric Wedge is that he is a great communicator, not only with his staff, his players, but everyone he comes across," Goryl said. "He is always positive. Negativity never comes out of his mouth. And, he is very organized, someone who looks to detail."
While Wedge can't come close to Alston's credentials of four World Series championships with the Dodgers from 1954-76, he has helped raise expectations for the young Indians, who jumped from 68 wins in 2003 to 93 last year, as they prepare for the season at Winter Haven.
"I look at Eric as an important part of what we've accomplished in the last three years," general manager Mark Shapiro said. "He is a tireless worker, someone who is entrenched in what he is doing.
"I thought he would be the best partner for me in the challenges we would be facing, and I feel the same today."
Wedge, who had brief stints in the majors as a catcher with Boston and Colorado in the early 1990s, is known as a player's manager. But he also knows how to be tough, evidenced by Cleveland's trade of volatile outfielder Milton Bradley at the end of spring training in 2004.
What's expected
"When you have to manage 25 guys you have to be on the same page," Indians reliever Rafael Betancourt said.
"Eric is always telling us that we have to respect each one in the room. He is a quiet person, one who doesn't talk too much. But, when he does, you listen."
Fans have complained about Wedge the decision-maker, not Wedge the communicator, believing he needs to hit and run or bunt more often to manufacture runs when the offense struggles.
Wedge, 38, said the criticism doesn't bother him.
"What would really bother me is if the fans were quiet, if they didn't care," he said. "The fans in Cleveland care. As long as there is a voice, it shows they are passionate."
Goryl said Wedge's efforts rival those of the manager who helped bring a World Series championship last season to Cleveland's chief rival.
"I tip my cap to Ozzie Guillen and the job he did with the Chicago White Sox, but I don't know of anyone who did a better job than Eric," Goryl said.