The curse of caution

For weeks, I have heard names surrounding the Indians in trade rumors. The Indians selling, the Indians buying, the Indians staying put. It's just like colonial times, except no wampum beads.
The trade deadline is now less than a week away, and I am becoming more and more convinced that if you are waiting for even a mildly-impactful acquisition, you are going to grow old doing so.
One of the best moves the Indians could have made, nabbing a right-handed .300 hitter from the Reds in Joe Randa, fell by the wayside over the weekend when Randa was shipped to the Padres.
Randa could have given the Indians a legit bat at third base. He wouldn't have cost a top-level prospect, and since he was playing for the Reds, his salary probably was manageable.
We're not talking about mortgaging the future for Alfonso Soriano here. Or even giving up someone like Jason Davis for a young power bat like Kevin Mench.
I am getting the feeling the Indians might be the most cautious team in baseball. There's nothing wrong with thinking things through. Considering all possible outcomes is only prudent. But I think, when it comes to making trades, the Indians are cautious to the point of waffling.
I have no proof, but my guess that the rumor that the Reds were going to hold onto Randa, as The Plain Dealer reported last week, was either not right or a well-timed pump fake by the Reds. Randa is 36. The Reds, as has been the case more often than not in recent years, are on the fast track to Nowheresville. A 36-year-old third baseman with a .300 average is more valuable to a sub-.500 team as trade bait than for anything he can do on the field.
My guess is that the Indians were at least marginally interested, but spent so much time hemming and hawing over what players they should be willing to give up that the Reds quickly lost interest in dealing with them.
The Jody Gerut for Jason Dubois deal was an attempt at a last-minute kick save by general manager Mark Shapiro, trying to land a right-handed power bat. But that's probably what is going to have to pass for a clutch acquisition in Cleveland this summer.
A big bat for the heart of the order, coupled with the (hopeful) return of Travis Hafner to the lineup soon, could at least keep the Indians in the thick of the wild card race for the duration of the season. But this is what happens when the owner handcuffs the team's decision makers with financial constraints. Instead of being able to get a proven bat like Randa to augment the lineup, the Indians have to settle for a young bat like Dubois, of which they already have plenty.
The Indians are proving adept at restocking their farm system and cultivating the talent that will form this team's core in the coming years. Tribe brass loves to trumpet their team's future. To an extent, they should. But I am concerned getting "the future" to become "the present" is going to be a major stumbling block, as this team spends more time considering moves than actually making them.