So what else could be missing from this fine Indians season that ends today? What about a phone call from former Tribe slugger Albert Belle to tie all the loose ends together?
For the third time in the past two years, Belle punched my cellphone number from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. As I walked down the dank visitor’s tunnel at Fenway Park in Boston on Friday, I answered his call. There was no mistaking the voice on the other end of the line.
“Tell Larry Dolan I won’t be interviewing for the manager’s job,” said one of the most feared and ill-tempered hitters in Indians history. “How can you manage when you’ve got no players? This season isn’t the manager’s fault. They traded away all his players. You can’t win when you trade two Cy Young winners in CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Dolan is getting what he paid for.