"It was the kind of trade that makes general managers famous and puts World Series banners on the top of their ballparks.

On June 27, 2002, Mark Shapiro, then the general manager of the Indians, sent Bartolo Colon to the desperate Montreal Expos for Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore. The Indians threw in Tim Drew, a failed No. 1 pick, and took back veteran Lee Stevens to balance what was left of Colon's $4.5 million contract.

The immediate reaction in Cleveland was negative -- extremely so. Phillips, Lee and Sizemore were prospects. Phillips, 20, was the most experienced with just 37 games at Class AAA. Lee, 23, was 7-2 at Class AA. Sizemore, a high-school quarterback who turned down a scholarship to play for the hometown Washington Huskies, was 19 and hitting .258 with no homers at Class A.

Colon was the Indians' No.1 starter with a legitimate 99 mph fastball. He would win 20 games that year and a Cy Young award in 2005.

In a larger sense, the trade ended the most concentrated run of winning baseball in Indians history. When Shapiro traded Colon, it meant he was starting over. Phillips, Lee and Sizemore were going to be the cornerstones of a new era.

Nine years later, they are gone. Sizemore was the last to depart, limping into free agency Monday when the Indians didn't exercise his $9 million club option for 2012. "