Indians GM Mark Shapiro tells Jon Heyman of SI.com that it's "bittersweet" to see Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia excelling in the postseason for other clubs. The former Indians aces could match up in Game 1 of the World Series if the Yankees beat the Angels in six games. Lee tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports it would be a lot of fun and I'm sure thousands of baseball fans agree with him. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Shapiro says "the realities of the business" prevented the Indians from retaining either Sabathia or Lee.
- Heyman says the Indians offered Sabathia $72MM over four years to stay in Cleveland before the 2008 season and Shapiro admits the offer was probably "unrealistic."
- The Indians never made Lee an offer and traded him and Victor Martinez because they would have had limited payroll flexibility had they held onto both players for 2010.
- The Indians appear to have chosen four finalists for their managerial opening: Bobby Valentine, Don Mattingly, Manny Acta and Torey Lovullo.
- The Dodgers appear to be preparing Mattingly to take over for Joe Torre after next season, so it might make sense for Mattingly to stay in LA.
