Ranking AL Central GMs and owners

Mark Cunningham, Mlb Photos Via Getty Images

Dontrelle Willis shook hands with Tigers President and GM David Dombrowski this offseason. Willis and Miguel Cabrera were two prized offseason acquisitions for Detroit.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: March 29, 2008 - 3:00 PM

RANKING AL CENTRAL GENERAL MANAGERS

1. Mark Shapiro, Indians Cleveland signed him to an extension through 2012. He was named Sporting News Executive of the Year in 2005 and '07, and he built a team that reached the ALCS last year with a $62 million payroll. The Indians' latest renaissance started when he made the unpopular trade of Bartolo Colon to Montreal in 2002 for Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee.

2. Dave Dombrowski, Tigers He was the Marlins' GM when they won the World Series in 1997, and they won again in 2003 with a team he helped build before taking over the Tigers in 2002. He oversaw a massive rebuilding project in Detroit and took that team to the World Series in 2006. Hard to argue with that success, but the Marlins spent big to win in 1997, and the Tigers have done the same.

3. Kenny Williams, White Sox His star has faded since 2005, when the White Sox won their first World Series title since 1917. His aggressive style was praised when the White Sox won that year, but now, many question his moves for veteran players that have depleted the farm system. What direction is this team moving? Nobody seems to know.

4. Bill Smith, Twins He had big shoes to fill when Terry Ryan stepped down in September. Time will tell how well Smith did in his first two major trades. The one that brought Delmon Young from Tampa Bay for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett was viewed as a refreshingly daring gamble to bolster the offense. The Johan Santana trade wasn't as well received, but his contract situation made that very difficult.

5. Dayton Moore, Royals Insiders generally believe Moore has put Kansas City on the right track since taking over in 2006. He gave Gil Meche a controversial five-year, $55 million contract last season. That deal looks OK now, but the three-year, $36 million investment in Jose Guillen was a head-scratcher.

RANKING AL CENTRAL OWNERS

1. Mike Ilitch, Tigers He founded Little Caesars Pizza in 1959 and bought the Red Wings and Tigers. His Red Wings have won three Stanley Cups but the Tigers struggled. After hiring Dave Dombrowski as GM in 2002, Ilitch padded the payroll, and the Tigers have become the division's most aggressive-spending team.

2. Larry Dolan, Indians Cleveland fans weren't thrilled when he trimmed payroll after buying the team in 2000, but now the payroll has steadily increased since 2004. The team also has been proactive, locking up Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook, Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez to long-term contracts, though C.C. Sabathia might prove too difficult to keep.

3. Jerry Reindsorf, White Sox This man has won championships in both basketball and baseball, yet he never has been a favorite of White Sox fans. Part of it is his style: My way or the highway. He doesn't curry favor with the media, and fans are always asking him for more. The White Sox opened a vanilla stadium --now called U.S. Cellular Field -- in 1991, one year before the Orioles opened Camden Yards, the ballpark that revolutionized baseball.

4. Carl Pohlad, Twins He won two World Series titles in his first eight years at the helm. But as salaries have skyrocketed, Pohlad has toed a hard line, despite his enormous personal wealth. Some Twins fans might never forgive him for the contraction debacle. But under his family's lead, the team shows no signs of becoming any less stable than it's been for the past 24 years.

5. David Glass, Royals A former CEO of Wal-Mart, Glass bought the Royals for $96 million in 2000, and last April, Forbes magazine estimated the team's value at $282 million. Yet, Glass has very little on-field success to show for it. The Royals did bump the payroll from $47 million to $67 million from 2006 to '07, so Glass is starting to reinvest some of his profits in the team.

Recent Twins stories

Yankees top Phillies 7-3 for their 27th championship - March 29, 2008

Yankees top Phillies 7-3 for their 27th championship - Powered by Hideki Matsui's record-tying six RBI, New York won a record 27th World Series crown. More