Baskin's Blog: Terry Francona is a start but a long way from the big answer for Indians

CLEVELAND - Indians fans, the time has come to bring you the big name you have wanted to help the Tribe get back to the World Series and win.

He will be able to throw harder, run faster, and hit home runs in every at bat. The answer is here. It's time to start a new sellout streak, throw away all those old 1995 and 1997 World Series T-shirts. The time is now and the answer has arrived. Right?

Wrong.

Terry Francona will be your new manager of the Cleveland Indians. The same team that lost 94 games this past season. The Indians are banking on the fact that they can see that the Tribe spent more days in first place than any other team in the AL Central over the last two seasons. The issue is what place they are in when the season ends. Fourth place doesn't cut it. Empty seats don't cut it either.

The attendance in April being in the basement is old and tired. The Yankees and Red Sox are here next April on the first homestand. Indians fans need a reason to believe.

The Indians couldn't go wrong with Sandy Alomar Jr, or Terry Francona.

Francona is a major score for the Tribe. Hiring a guy that knows how to win the World Series is a coup, especially because he is clearly on the same page with Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti. He just won't be working with the same budget he had in Boston or Philly.

But more than anything, Francona brings something that isn't said a lot around these parts. He wants to be here. I repeat, he wants to be here. Maybe he can convince free agents to follow him here.

It's step one in the team's most important home makeover since getting Sandy Alomar Jr., Chris James, and Carlos Baerga in the Joe Carter trade. We will see if Sandy will be around for this rebuild.

The Indians changed a philosophy by going out to get a guy nobody would expect to be a manager here, now they need to keep going by spending money to keep players here long term.

I'm sick of talking about what the return was on CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. It's time for the fans to be able to believe the team can keep players for the long haul.

Francona is a great start. But last time he was in an Indians uniform he hit .311 in 62 games in 1988. They need to help him get more guys like him, plus 100 games.