Hello Tribe fans everywhere.

They said it would happen, and it finally did today. Indians general Manager Mark Shapiro has signed a 5-year extension of his contract as the team's chief architect.

How should Tribe fans feel about this? They should be pleased. Shapiro, 40, is one of the game's brightest young executives, and my impression is that, on the budget he has, he's squeezing about as much as he can out of the ballclub.

It doesn't mean he's perfect. Shapiro committed a major blunder last year by listening to Eric Wedge and swapping Brandon Phillips to the Reds for two broken bats and a ball covered in Duct tape. The GM has taken his lumps for that stinker of a trade, and what he's learned, I think, is that he's the boss -- not Wedge. Shapiro always liked Phillips' talent and he wasn't angered by the kid's nasty outburst against former Farm Director John Farrell.

What Phillips did was stupid, but where does it say that big league ballplayers are the mental equivalents of Albert Einstein? No, that whole episode was a fiasco, and it cost the Indians a player who could really help them today.

Shapiro's been taking some heat in the New York newspapers this week for supposedly accepting outfield prospect Alex Escobar, instead of shortstop prospect Jose Reyes, in the deal that sent Robbie Alomar to the Mets. It's a good story, except most Tribe insiders claim it's not true. The Indians never had a shot at Reyes.

By and large, Shapiro has made good trades, acquiring players such as Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Cliff Lee and others. He's also rebuilt the farm system, and Cleveland's ranks with the best in baseball.

When you can't afford to re-sign top players, such as C.C. Sabathia, it's important to have young replacements, such as Adam Miller, ready to step in. Of course, it would be ideal if the Dolan family would spring to re-sign a 26-year-old, lefthanded pitching gem like Sabathia, but that might be wishing too much. It is, considering the Dolans have never shown any serious inclination to spend really big bucks. That's why Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome no longer player for the Tribe.

But Shapiro is a bright, talented administrator who should be able to keep the Indians on track to contend. Without more money to spend, the Tribe might never get over the top, but with Shapiro at the helm, they should always be close.

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The answer to yesterday's quickie quiz is: Omar Vizquel is an artist whose paintings were impressive enough for a Cleveland gallery to give him a show.

Today's quiz: Name the top 5 winners on the Indians fabled 1954 pitching staff. Hint: Hal Newhouser wasn't one of them.

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-- Kevin Cuneo