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When Danny Ferry was traded to Cleveland in 1989, he arrived as part of a dubious trade that sent the very popular Ron Harper packing to Los Angeles. Some would argue that trade prevented the Cavs from ever besting the Chicago Bulls for the Eastern Conference title, while others would argue that Harper connected himself with the wrong people and needed to go.

Regardless, Ferry arrives in Cleveland as part of the dubious Dan Gilbert ownership group. Ferry, named General Manager of the Cleveland Cavs on Monday is now saddled with the unenviable task of taking the Cavs to a championship level, a level he is sometimes unfairly accused of preventing the Cavaliers from reaching.

Ferry’s first order of business? Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Cavs have until the end of the week to offer Z an extenstion. How Ferry handles this situation, and the pending free agency period, will not only set the tone for Ferry’s tenure as GM, but also help shape, or possibly reshape, Gilbert’s perception as owner of Cleveland’s NBA franchise.

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If published reports from Sports Illustrated and the Indianapolis Star ring true and Greg Oden and Mike Conley follow through on their intentions to attend Ohio State to play college basketball beginning in 2006, Buckeye hoops supporters should roll out the red carpet for Thad Matta no matter where he goes in Columbus. Putting together a recruting class that includes Oden, Conley, and Dayton-standout Daequan Cook gives Ohio State an exciting team — at least for one season. The current pending NBA agreement requires players to be one full year removed from high school before entering the NBA Draft.

While recruting classes such as these typically never live up to potential, it appears Ohio State’s days as a Big 10 basketball doormat should be over.

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The Indians got a feel for just how far they are away from wild-card contention (does anyone really believe they can catch the White Sox?) after Boston finished off a three-game sweep of the Tribe last night with a 5-4 win — one run. Other than Tuesday night’s Sabathia debacle, the Indians played the Red Sox to the wire. But in each instance, a glaring difference in role players blinded any long-term optimism held by Cleveland fans.

In critical clutch situations, the role players failed to deliver. Jose Hernandez struck out looking twice. Alex Cora flew out to right with a strange uppercut swing in the eighth with runners on second and third. Sure, these guys might give Wedge options off the bench, but really how good are these options? Terry Francona went to his bench and found John Olerud. Olerud delivered a game-tying homerun in the sixth and another big single in the eighth. Wedge goes to his bench and get’s struck-out-looking with bases loaded and one out.

Sure, the Red Sox have the deep pockets the Indians lack. But, a quick glance at the offensive pieces Shapiro added in the offseason (including Boone, who was essentially added for this season) and here’s what the Indians have received: Jose Hernandez (.226, 1 HR, 14 RBI), Alex Cora (.221, 1 HR, 8 RBI) and Aaron Boone (.200, 7 HR, 24 RBI). Not exactly Lou Merloni-type numbers. Wedge can’t feel too confident going to his bench.

Shapiro wised up last year when he realized his off-season solutions to the bullpen problem weren’t working. To his credit, he waited for Bob Howry and Bob Wickman to heal, traded for Arthur Rhodes, and signed Scott Sauerbeck. This year, the Indians are painfully close to being a 90-win ballclub. The fans know it, but don’t believe management will make the extra move. Surely that must be worth a few million dollars to the organization.

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Firing manager Dave Miley and pitching coach Don Gullett may seem like the appropriate band-aid to stop the bleeding to Reds management, but typically, changes like these only bring about short-term improvements. Tuesday’s 11-4 win over St. Louis with Jerry Narron as interim manager showed moves such as these can work — but the tourniquet needed to rebuild the franchise back into one of MLB’s flagship organizations requires more than a quick fix in the coaching ranks. Two burning questions for Reds management to address over the rest of the season:

Who are the Cincinnati Reds of today?

The Reds field an interesting mix of young (Dunn, Lopez, Pena) and veteran (Griffey, Casey, Randa) players that keep the franchise in limbo. A struggling ballclub may look to rebuild for the future, but a weak minor league system doesn’t offer much hope for the future, so the veterans stay. Rebuilding also means conceeding the season and perhaps the next couple of seasons, and based on the Reds actions in the offseason, this decision didn’t appear on the horizon as guys like Milton were signed to mult-year deals. All indications show they’ll move slowly in this area — but, if the right prospects can be had, the Reds may need to unload some of the veterans.

What type of team will the Reds be in three years?

Perhaps the above problems result in the Reds inability to answer this question for themselves, but until Reds management sees itself as a premier franchise, they’ll continue to make small-town decisions regardless of budget constraints. But one thing remains clear, the Reds need to establish which players on the current roster should be on the roster in 2008. Sign them, find the coaches that complement their skills, and build around them. Everyone else becomes expendable. If those players aren’t on the roster — go out and find them.

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On May 20, the Cleveland Indians lost 2-1 to the struggling Cincinnati Reds. The punchless offense wasted another outstanding effort from a starting pitcher and the Indians looked lifeless against another lowly ballclub. But since C.C. Sabathia blasted a three-run shot to the dead-center Batter’s Eye at Great American Ballpark, the Indians hitters regained focus and begin a slow, driven march out of a season-long slump.

Nearly a month later, the Indians are 20-7 since that evening and have shown signals that the team is ready to make a move in the American League race. But perhaps Cleveland’s truest test comes in the next three games of the season’s longest homestand — as the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox come to Jacobs Field for as an important a series as one can be in late June.

Taking two of three from the defending champs would legitimize the recent run and position the Tribe as a team to watch for the rest of the season. Certainly a sweep would extend the winning streak to epic proportions, but wins against American League rivals impact the standings more than contrived interleague matchups. And while winning streaks get people talking, consistent, winning baseball sets a team up for September.

Since May 21, the Indians have either won or tied seven of the last nine series played:

Sure, Cleveland has quite a bit of work to do in the AL Central — but has managed to play themselves into the top tier of the American League, opening the possibility of a Wild Card push later in the season. But any reason to take the Indians seriously will come from the next three games.

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