Fenway Park

Boston, Cleveland share a history of curses when it comes to baseball

Bill LubingerPlain Dealer Reporter

Cleveland struck down baseball's Evil Empire when it disposed of the Yanks. Next stands another Goliath.

Boston boasts a whole "Red Sox Nation" of fans. Cleveland is merely a North Coast, defended by a scrappy militia of Canadian Soldiers.

Moneywise -- the game's real cleanup hitter -- Boston, the nouveau New York, buys star players at will. For Cleveland, it's like standing behind Bill Gates at the checkout line, clutching food stamps.

Respectwise, Boston is the oddsmakers' favorite.

As the best-of-seven American League Championship Series opens tonight in Boston with the Indians' first World Series trip in a decade at stake, Cleveland steps to the plate outsized, outspent and unappreciated.

So it would seem that Boston, the preppy Silicon Valley of the East, and blue-collar, industrial Cleveland would never be found at the same cocktail party. What would they ever talk about?

A lot, actually. The Indians and Red Sox - and their cities' sports fans - share more DNA than just the season's best records and a special dark place for the Yankees.

"It's already a victorious postseason when the Red Sox advance and the Yankees haven't," said David Horne, a Cincinnati-area author of "The Red Sox Fanatic."

"I'm ecstatic - and I'm sleeping better."

Boston's scorecard lists former Indians Manny Ramirez, Coco Crisp, Alex Cora and pitching coach John Farrell, who still lives here. Indians Trot Nixon, Kelly Shoppach and manager Eric Wedge once played for the other guys.

Boston's storied Fenway Park and its "Green Monster" was designed by Cleveland's Osborn Engineering.

The towering left-field wall is so cool that Jacobs Fields was designed with a green mini-monster, too.

In both cities, teams that win pack 'em in. From 1995 to early 2001, Cleveland set a major-league record 455 consecutive sellouts. Boston is on track to break the streak by late next season. Boston manager Terry Francona is an ex-Indian, just like his father. Tito Francona is among Cleveland's top 100 players of all time and said he still roots for both teams on satellite TV.

Both teams tragically lost young promising stars: Indians pitcher Herb Score with a line drive to the eye; Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro with a fastball to the same spot.

And both teams have a history of gouging each other's hearts.

In 1995, the Tribe's first postseason game in 41 years, former Red Sox-turned-Indian Tony Pena launched a game-winning homer in the 13th inning and began a series sweep.

In turn, Pedro Martinez returned from the dead with six innings of no-hit relief in the fifth and deciding game of the 1999 division series as Boston came back from a 2-0 deficit to advance to the ALCS.

"I remember being at that game and feeling nauseous," said Adam Grossman, formerly of Shaker Heights and formerly a lifelong Indians fan. Now he sleeps with the enemy as special assistant to Larry Lucchino, Red Sox president and chief executive.

And way, way back in '48, the teams were tied for first at season's end. The Indians beat the Red Sox in a one-game playoff and went on to win the World Series. Their last.

"There are so many ties, so many connections," said Red Sox radio voice and former Indians broadcaster Joe Castiglione. Beginning with a "woe-is-me, how-are-we-going-to-get-close-and-blow-it-this-year" mentality, he said.

Like a religion, Cleveland and Boston sports fans match tales of sports heartache, blow for blow.

In any Cleveland sports bar on any night, someone is whining about "Red Right 88," "The Drive," "The Fumble," "The Shot," Jose Mesa blowing game seven of the 1997 World Series and the dreaded "Curse of Rocky Colavito."

In any Boston sports bar on any night, someone is whining about "Bucky 'bleepin' Dent," "Bill 'bleepin' Buckner," and the dreaded "Curse of the Bambino" - despite exorcising that demon in a fairy-tale World Series run in 2004.
"You would think they haven't won, ever," said Boston sports talk show host Michael Holley, an Akron native and Indians-turned-Red Sox fan. "Red Sox fans complain even in good times."

Yet, with all that the Indians and Red Sox have in common, the Boston side owns the one jewel Tribe fans don't: a modern-day World Series ring. (It's been so long in Cleveland that "fall classic" refers to the neighbor's annual clam bake.)

When Boston finally won the title after 86 years, all of New England sighed in relief that now they could die happy. As it turns out, Sox fans still aren't content. So don't expect any we-feel-your-pain, here's-a-gift-from-us-to-you in this series.

"It's never enough," Grossman said. "Once you have one, you want to have two."

OK, pleasant cocktail conversation over. Dear, grab your coat, we're leaving.

There's a game on.

Red Sox woes are no match for the misery of the Indians - Terry Pluto

Friday, October 12, 2007
The Indians once had a pitcher named Bob Lacey, whose idea of how to lose weight was to drive to the ballpark with the windows rolled up, the heat on full blast -- in August.

They had another pitcher named Juan Eichelberger who refused to sit next to a window on an airplane. Why? Because he thought he'd catch a cold in his pitching arm.

They had a catcher named Jerry Willard who was told by the trainer to "gargle with salt and lukewarm water" for his sore throat.

confused Willard asked, "Where do you get lukewarm water?"

He was told politely to try the faucet.

They had an outfielder named Rodney Craig, the players called him "Buckethead," be cause he wore a size-9 batting helmet. They had a pitcher named Ray Searage, and his nickname with some teammates was Raw Sewage.

They also had a manager named Mike Ferraro who was convinced the Indians "have a black cloud hanging over them."

Why did he say that?

Because his team ran off the field with two outs -- the first two outs of the game. Because his third baseman (Toby Harrah) fell off a ladder. His star pitcher (Bert Blyleven) slipped off a roof -- all in the same off-season. Because his pitching coach (Don McMahon) had a heart attack. And Ferraro himself came down with cancer of the kidney.

All of this was in 1983.

Why bring all this up with the Indians opening the American League Championship Series tonight at Fenway Park?

Because the national media will overwhelm us with Boston Red Sox lore, the ball through Bill Buckner's legs and all the other curses. You'd swear no other team ever endured such misery listening to celebrity mourners such as Stephen King, who remind the world how to be a Red Sox fan is to be tormented.

But a little check of history reveals Boston was in the World Series in 1967, in 1975 and in 1986. In 1988 and 1990, they were in the playoffs. During that same approximate time span -- 1960-1994 -- when the Red Sox were in the postseason five times, the Indians never played a significant game in September. They never did anything but run through 18 different managers in 34 years.


They talk about the Curse of the Bambino, we had the Curse of Rocky Colavito. It was the trade of Colavito in the spring of 1960 that set off the 34-year slump. As bad as the Harvey Kuenn-Colavito deal with Detroit was, even worse was trading Tommy John and Tommie Agee to bring Colavito back in 1965. Talk about compounding the felony, John won 286 games after the Indians traded him and Agee played 10 more seasons as a starting outfielder. Colavito spent two years with the Tribe.

At least the Red Sox never traded Ted Williams.

The Indians once had a hitter like Williams, only he swung from the right side. You will see him tonight in a Boston uniform, wearing No. 24 and a pair of baggy pants with room for a family of four in the seat. And just how did these poor, beleaguered Red Sox acquire Manny Ramirez? Was it shrewd scouting, or a savvy trade?

Nope, they just tossed $180 million at him.

Talk about curses, you should have heard Tribe fans after that happened. Boston misery? Just who are they kidding? When it comes to utter despair, Tribe fans have Boston beat -- no matter what happens in these playoffs.

The Twilight Zone - Cleveland

The Twilight Zone
Other strange but true instances that have occurred in Cleveland:

1. June 4, 1974: Ten Cent Beer Night was an ill-fated promotion held during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Fans could drink as many eight-ounce cups of Stroh's beer as they wanted for just 10 cents apiece, thus increasing ticket sales. But the stunt turned ugly when the fans turned into a rowdy and raucous crowd devoid of all inhibition. Ultimately, the game was forfeited to Texas on the orders of home-plate umpire Nestor Chylak because of the crowd's uncontrollable rowdiness, and because the game could not be resumed in a timely manner.

Inning 9: Cleveland was down 5-3. Despite all the projectiles and the occasional fan rushing the field, Cleveland managed to score two runs and tie the game. More fans ran onto the field in celebration. Then someone tried to steal Burroughs' glove for a souvenir. Reports vary about whether the fan was able to get the glove away from Burroughs or not. The fan punched Burroughs; Burroughs punched back.
In reply, nearby drunk and angry fans jumped onto the field, swarming around Burroughs. Some still in the stands wrenched their chairs out of their bearings and threw them onto the field, aiming for Burroughs.

Texas Rangers manager Billy Martin (known to show his temper now and then) grabbed a bat and said to his team, "Let's get 'em, boys," on his way out of the clubhouse. When Martin and his team rushed the field, thousands of fans streamed out of the stands.

Utter chaos. Teams fought with the fans on the field and tried to duck flying chairs and other projectiles. The fans fought with each other, with the Rangers, with the Indians, with the police. They threw a chair at an Indians pitcher, and they hit the umpire with a folding chair. Martin's bat was later recovered, broken.



Chylak, the umpire who had been struck by a chair, waited until all the Rangers players were off the field -- escorted by the Indians players -- and then he called the game a forfeit to Texas, 9-0.
About 65,000 cups of beer had been consumed in four hours.

A mere nine fans were arrested.
The Indians' ownership had no plans to cancel 10-cent beer night until after the American League president said it would be a bad idea to do that again, remarking, "There was no question that beer played a great part in the affair" of June 4, 1974.
All cheap beer nights were subsequently banned from all professional baseball stadiums.

So the next time you're enjoying a beer at your favorite professional ball game but you're not enjoying the price, raise your cup and say, "Thanks, Cleveland!"


2. May 27, 1986: A game between the Red Sox and the Indians was called because of fog after six innings. It led to the infamous Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd quote: "That's what they get for building a park on the ocean." The game was on the shores of Lake Erie.

3. April 6-9, 2007: The entire home series with the Seattle Mariners is snowed out.
Source: ESPN Research

Joba, Yankees can't avoid the plague
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com
Updated: October 5, 2007

CLEVELAND -- The word "bizarre'' doesn't do justice to some events on a baseball field. Randy Johnson once struck and killed a dove with a fastball. A black cat walked in front of the Chicago Cubs' dugout in the summer of 1969, portending the team's late collapse against the Mets. And 15 years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates actually enjoyed a winning season.

Then you come across games like the one that took place in Cleveland on Friday night. They haunt the losers' dreams, make the winners feel blessed, and force the rest of us to scramble to make sense of it all.

With the New York Yankees on their way to pulling even in their American League Division Series with the Indians, Jacobs Field turned downright Biblical. Plagues of insects dropped from the sky, swarmed the infield and turned New York reliever Joba Chamberlain into an "Off''-drenched monument to distraction.

While Chamberlain was looking itchy, the Indians scratched out a run to tie the game. Three innings later, Travis Hafner's bases-loaded single off Luis Vizcaino scored Kenny Lofton to give Cleveland a 2-1 victory, and you could only wonder where this thing might be headed.

The Indians are resigned to playing without the support of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, a diehard Yankees fan from head to toe. But they just might have a claim on destiny.

"Just when you think you've seen it all, you see something new,'' New York shortstop Derek Jeter said. "I guess that's the home-field advantage for them -- just let the bugs out in the eighth inning. It worked.''


On a normal night, the storyline would have revolved around the stellar performances of the two starting pitchers. Andy Pettitte lived up to his reputation as the Yankees' big-game guy, keeping the Indians off the board despite allowing a leadoff hit in five of his seven innings.

And Cleveland's Fausto Carmona, who emerged as a star this season with a 19-8 record, was as good as advertised. He pounded the zone with sinking fastballs in the mid-90s, induced lots of uncomfortable swings, and easily outdid staff ace C.C. Sabathia, who labored through five innings in the series opener Thursday.

"I've had guys come down to first base all year, great hitters in our division who just want no part of him,'' said Indians first baseman Ryan Garko. "I'm talking about guys who've made All-Star teams and won MVP awards, and they're like, 'This guy is just nasty.' You don't hear that a lot about pitchers. I hear it about him all the time.''

Through seven innings, the Yankees held a 1-0 lead on a Melky Cabrera solo home run, and events were playing out just the way manager Joe Torre envisioned. He would call upon Chamberlain, his new weapon of mass destruction, and Kid Joba would blow away the Indians with his fastball and confound them with his slider as the bridge to closer Mariano Rivera.

The strategy worked to perfection in the seventh, when Chamberlain whiffed Franklin Gutierrez on three pitches and retired Casey Blake on a harmless fly ball to escape a one-out, two-on jam.

But something weird was in the air. During an at-bat in the eighth, Yankees first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz stepped out of the batter's box and began waving his hand in front of his face.

"We didn't know what was going on,'' Jeter said. "I thought he just had something in his eye.''

By the bottom of the inning, swarms of small flying bugs, apparently midges, had engulfed the infield. It was bad enough that Chamberlain had to summon the trainers from the dugout twice to shower him with bug spray.

All over the infield, umpires and Yankees were suddenly waving their arms like human windshield wipers. The bugs were more distracting than TBS sideline reporter Craig Sager's lavender sportcoat.

"It was really tough,'' said Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. "They came out of nowhere, and they just kept coming. For some reason, it seemed like it was the worst right around the mound.''

Control has been a strong point for Chamberlain all year during his progression from Class-A Tampa to national sensation in the Bronx. In 112 2/3 innings encompassing four stops, he walked only 33 batters, hit four and threw seven wild pitches.

Not on this night. With New York nursing that tenuous 1-0 lead, Grady Sizemore walked on four pitches to lead off the eighth. He moved up on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, then hustled home with the tying run when Chamberlain bounced a pitch past Posada.
The TV cameras showed Chamberlain squinting, flinching, swatting bugs in front of his face and squirming as the insects covered the back of his neck. But Chamberlain, to his credit, declined to use the buggy onslaught as an excuse. He expressed regret for wasting a hard-fought effort by his teammates, and took full responsibility for his performance.

"They were in front of my face, but I wasn't the only one who had to deal with it,'' Chamberlain said. "They didn't show up just for me. You can look at it a million ways, but when you come down to it, we were in the loss column. And it's because I didn't do my job.''

The bugs were an equal opportunity annoyance, for sure. But Carmona, who had it just as bad as Chamberlain, was so focused he never stepped off the mound, much less paced or lost his concentration.

"I played in the Dominican Republic with [Carmona] last winter, and there were bugs 10 times that size flying around that field,'' Garko said. "Those bugs scared me to death. They were enormous.

"It just shows what kind of guy he is. It doesn't matter if it's raining, it's hot, it's cold or there are bugs. He just goes out there and pitches his heart out.''

Before scoring the tying run without benefit of a hit, the Indians had to wonder if they were the cursed team. They went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position, and caught a bad break when shortstop Jhonny Peralta hit a 420-foot shot off the center-field wall that just missed being a home run in the seventh.

Now the teams head to the Bronx for Games 3 and 4, with Cleveland in need of one more win to end New York's season. If it doesn't happen there, the Indians have the luxury of knowing Sabathia will be waiting to pitch Game 5 at the Jake.

Don't look now, but Alex Rodriguez is 0-for-6 in two games, the Yankees are hitting .121 as a team, and they sure seem to be on the wrong side of the series karma.

At this point it's hard to tell what they need more -- a psychologist or an entomologist

Passion by design helps Eric Wedge - Terry Pluto

Passion by design helps Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge thrive
Thursday
October 04, 2007Terry Pluto Plain Dealer Columnist

Life is a tough place. Bad things happen to good people. The only way to make it is to work hard, do what you're told, expect no favors. Eric Wedge grew up in Indiana learning many of those lessons from his father, a Fort Wayne truck driver who later became a supervisor for his company.

As the Indians' manager said: "When kids came to our house, he'd tell them that he didn't care what they did at their own house or down the street, we have rules here. And you better follow them."

Tim and Nina Wedge were married in 1963. They moved into their current house in 1965, and they still live there. Eric was born in 1968. His mom is a registered nurse. Everyone was expected to obey their parents, not cause problems at school.

"We were not allowed to be soft," said Wedge. "There were chores, and you did them. You wouldn't even think about talking back."

What if you did?

"You just didn't," said Wedge. As his college coach, Gene Stephenson of Wichita State said: "I never had to worry about Eric's parents coming to me about something. They didn't believe in interfering."

Stephenson was the man in charge, and that man deserved respect. Just as Tim Wedge did when he served as the president of the local Little League in Fort Wayne, and was at the fields nearly every night when Wedge was playing.

Understand that Wedge loves his parents, he treasures growing up in Fort Wayne. He believes they made him the man that he's become today, a 39-year-old who just managed the Indians to 96 victories, tying Boston for the most victories in the major leagues this season. But their impact is not just about winning the Central Division for the first time since 2001, or him being a strong candidate to be the American League Manager of the Year.

It's about making him strong enough to take over the Indians when the budget was being whacked, veterans were traded off and they were destined to nose dive deep into the Central Division. When he was hired in 2003, he knew that it would be at least two years before he could even dream of managing a winning team. But he believed he would handle it. That's because he's used to being the underdog. He is not shocked when things go wrong, and yes, he knows life isn't always fair.

Wedge the hunk

But first, here's something you don't know about Eric Wedge, something he'll never tell you.

It comes from his wife, Kate. They met in 2001 at a T.G.I. Friday's when Wedge was managing the Tribe's Class AAA Buffalo team.
"There was an instant attraction," said Kate Wedge. "I mean, just look at him."

So Kate thinks her husband is a hunk, which is good for any marriage. But there's more. They dated for nine months, then one day he led her up to his room at the Buffalo Hyatt.

Wedge went down on one knee and asked her to be his wife.

She accepted.

Then he pulled out an engagement ring. It was obvious that he had been thinking about this, preparing for it, making sure to cover all the romantic bases.

"We went to the lobby and I told the person at the desk that I wanted the chair where I was sitting when he proposed," said Kate Wedge. "We bought it, and they had it tagged so I knew they'd ship us the right chair. I'm just glad it's not some ugly plaid thing."

The chair is in their living room.

Wedge the dreamer

Just as Wedge recruited his wife, he had to pursue a college scholarship.

Stephenson still remembers the day a videotape arrived at his office from someone in Fort Wayne named Eric Wedge. The coach of one of the nation's top collegiate programs, Stephenson had never heard of Wedge. He had a few minutes, so he popped the tape into the VCR and, "saw a big, strong kid who was a catcher and seemed to have a pretty good swing."

Stephenson had lost two catchers to graduation. He had recruited a player who was drafted in the 11th round out of high school - and decided to attend Wichita State instead.

"I could use another catcher, so I called Eric and offered him a scholarship," he said. "I never saw him play. I based it on the tape. As far as I could tell, the only school recruiting him was Valparaiso."

Wedge's team won a state championship at Northrop High, so he had some credentials. Nonetheless, he was underrated coming out of high school.

"Especially since he came in and started as a freshman," said Stephenson. "He beat out the high school kid picked in the 11th round. He was a leader from Day One. I tell my players that most people have a will to win, but few have the will to really prepare. Eric always had that."

Within three years, Wedge wasn't just a good college player, he was a great one. He was first-team All-American in 1989, runner-up to Ben McDonald for the Rotary Smith Award as the college player of the year. He led the NCAA Division I players in walks and total bases, and was second in home runs and RBI. His team won the College World Series.

The Eric Wedge of 1989 was a power-hitting catcher who could throw and call a game. "He had a chance to be a major-league catcher for a long time," said Stephenson. "If only he had stayed healthy."

From the moment Wedge was picked in the third round by Boston in the 1989 draft and signed with the Red Sox, he had a painful career. "I had eight surgeries," he said. "I never had an off-season where I wasn't rehabbing something."
What impact did this have on Wedge, the kid who had big-league dreams from the moment he was a Little Leaguer under his father in Fort Wayne?

Wedge just shrugs.

"I hate talking about myself," he said.

Wedge the leader

Wedge also loathes the hypothetical. What's the point of thinking of what would have happened had he not had all those knee injuries, the elbow injuries, the endless injuries. He says given all that, he's grateful to get those 39 games in the majors over small snatches of four different seasons in the early 1990s.

"But it had to be disappointing and frustrating for him," said Stephenson. "He expected to play a long time. He never found out how good he could be."

Here's a player from Fort Wayne who had to fight for a scholarship to an elite program, then becomes a star. He did it with sheer sweat, lots of desire, and maybe a few tears he never allowed anyone to see. And his knees went. First one, then the other. Then the elbow. It was always something. He never had any serious injuries in college, he was almost a man of iron behind the plate. Now, it hurt just to squat.

By 1997, he was 29 years old. His body felt 70. His big-league playing dreams were dead, buried and he was not about to dig them up and endure the heartbreak again. It was time to move on, time to "separate," as he likes to say. Yesterday is gone, today is all you have, so make something of it.

"I knew I wanted to stay in the game, and I was preparing myself to manage for the last few years I was a player," he said.

Or as Kate Wedge said, "He really does take lemons and tries to make lemonade."

Stephenson encouraged him. "He really knew the game," Stephenson said. "He had strong opinions. We butted heads a lot [about strategy], but I loved his passion. He thought about the game. He's a natural leader, players listen to him."

The Indians' minor-league director in 1998, Mark Shapiro, had gotten to know Wedge when he tried to sign him as a minor-league free agent. When he heard Wedge wanted to manage, Shapiro called and offered him the Class A Columbus, Ga., job.

"There's something about him, a presence," said Shapiro. "I knew he'd be successful as manager because of his work ethic, his passion."







Pen could spell trouble for New York Yankees, says Terry Pluto
Friday, October 05, 2007
Scribbles in my playoff note book as the Indians bounce the Yankees, 12-3 . . .

Recipe for the Indians to win? Get to the Yankees bullpen in the middle innings. Their first reliever - in the fifth inning - was Ross Ohlendorf. He wears No. 60! He was recalled from the minors on Sept. 9 and had pitched only 6 1/3 big-league innings. The Indians knocked him around for three runs in one inning to take command of the game.

In Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the 25-year-old right-hander was 3-3 with a 5.02 ERA, allowing 86 hits in 66 innings - not exactly dominating as opposing batters hit .320 against him.

Next was Jose Veras, who started the year on the disabled list and pitched only 21 innings in the minors before his September promotion.

This highlights the Tribe's big advantage, bullpen depth. In the sixth inning, they turned to Rafael Perez. Many Tribe fans may not recall that he opened the season at Class AAA Buffalo, where he was 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA as a starter. He was recalled on May 29 and became one of the premier lefty relievers in baseball. Perez whiffed four in two innings, six up, six down. Then came rookie Jensen Lewis, three up, three down in the eighth inning. Lewis was 3-0 with a 1.72 ERA in minors with 61 strikeouts in 52 innings. Put together what Lewis and Perez did in the majors and you have a 1.90 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 90 innings.

Don't you love to watch Franklin Gutierrez play the outfield? He made a terrific diving catch on Derek Jeter in the seventh inning. Earlier in the game with a runner on second base, he made a strong throw that prevented Shelley Duncan from advancing to third base. Duncan didn't even think about it. Gutierrez has played a Gold Glove right field for the Tribe after being recalled on June 1. It's especially impressive because his natural position is center field, where he is outstanding, as anyone who saw him play for any length of time in the minors can attest.

Gutierrez drew two walks. And to think he walked only three times in 143 official big-league at-bats in 2006. He has improved his plate discipline considerably.

I hear the Indians will open next season at home with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at the end of March, then head west for a long trip. Right now, they are projecting a 2008 attendance of about 2.5 million - minimum. That can go up if the Tribe advances in the playoffs or off-season ticket sales are brisk.

Veteran Bruce Froemming was the home-plate umpire and he did no favors for the pitchers. His strike zone was tight, especially early. Yes, C.C. Sabathia was a little nervous and some of his pitches were high. But six walks in five innings? He never walked more than three in 34 starts this season. He walked only six in five September starts! New York starter Chien-Ming Wang also has good control, but walked four in less than five innings. It's not like Froemming favored either side, he just made it tough for the pitchers.

Froemming, 68, has been an umpire since 1971. In his biography, he lists his first baseball memory as watching the 1948 World Series with a team from Cleveland in it, one that happens to be the last Cleveland team to win a World Series.

Not sure what this means, but Wang allowed only three homers in his last 17 starts dating back to June 28. Asdrubal Cabrera and Victor Martinez homered off him on Thursday night. Sabathia had allowed three homers to lefty hitters in 202 at-bats in the regular season. He gave up two on this night.

Not sure what this mean, either, but the last time the Tribe won a postseason game was Oct. 13, 2001. The winning pitcher? C.C. Sabathia in his only postseason start before Thursday night. The score? How about 17-2 over Seattle. That gave the Tribe a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. We won't mention what happened after that, but it wasn't good as the Tribe scored only three runs over the next 18 innings. But the good news is the team that wins the opener of a five-game series prevails more than 70 percent of the time.

Previous columns online:
cleveland.com/columns
To reach Terry Pluto:
tpluto@plaind.com, 216-999-4674


Chilling thought: Tribe hitters get quiet at home
Thursday, October 04, 2007


Chilling thought: Tribe hitters get quiet at home

My biggest fear about the Tribe is . . . they won't hit. This team still can turn cold at the plate. After the All-Star break, the Indians were 44-30, but the main reason was because they had the second-lowest ERA in the American League in that span. But they ranked only 10th of 14 teams in runs scored. The Yankees scored 164 more runs than the Tribe after the break - that's two per game!



Las Vegas has the Yankees favored . . . and they should. New York was 51-25 after the All-Star break. This team can mash like the 1995 Tribe. They had a team batting average of .300 after the break! The Indians' pitchers should not be shelled by these Yankees, but the Yanks will score some runs.

Tribe player likely to have a big postseason . . . Go with Travis Hafner. He batted .316 in September and seemed to be on a crusade to get the Indians into the playoffs and drive in 100 runs - he did both, driving in 23 runs in the final month. He hit .373 in his last 17 games. This guy is hot. This season, he was 8-for-12 vs. New York and 28-for-62 in the past four seasons.

Tribe player the nation will discover . . . Grady Sizemore. Tribe fans love him, he sells twice as much merchandise as any other player on the team, according to the marketing department. But the nation still hasn't seen him, especially on a big stage against New York. Sizemore's season was almost greeted with a yawn, but he batted .277. He led the team with a .390 on-base percentage. His 24 HRs were one behind team leader Victor Martinez. A year ago, he had a staggering 101 extra base hits. He had 63 this season, and stole 33 bases in 43 attempts. Fans sometimes dwell on his 155 strikeouts, but he does so much, so well - it's not a huge negative. He plays with such passion, look for him to have a big series.

Tribe player who will be immune to playoff pressure . . . Why not Asdrubal Cabrera? In every postseason, a rookie acts like he's spent his life in the playoffs. In 1997 for the Tribe, it was Jaret Wright. Remember rookie Adam Wainright saving the World Series for St. Louis last year. Like Wright in 1997, Cabrera began this season at Class AA Akron with no word that he'd be a key piece to a playoff drive. The Indians are 31-13 since he took over as a starter at second (and sometimes short) and 24-6 when he bats second.

Indians fans hate to see these numbers . . . Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are a combined 9-for-13 with four homers against Tribe closer Joe Borowski. Saving games against the Yankees in this series will be the greatest challenge of his career. His only postseason experience is good: seven scoreless innings for the Cubs in 2003. The question is, what will manager Eric Wedge do if Borowski struggles? Another bad number: Jhonny Peralta was 1-for-22 vs. the Yankees this season. The Indians really need him to be at his best in the field, because an error can change one of these games.

The bullpens will matter . . . Especially if the Indians can get into the Yankees pen early. In September, Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain had a 1.75 ERA. The rest of the Yankees bullpen was 7.51, with 49 earned runs in 58 2/3 innings. A key guy for the Yankees will be Luis Vizcaino, the veteran who has been solid in the past but had a weary arm in September with a 10.12 ERA. The Indians have three good set-up men before Borowski: Jensen Lewis (2.15 ERA), Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez. The Indians have an edge here.

The pressure will be on . . . the Yankees. They have not won the World Series since 2000, not been to the World Series since 2003 and not survived the first round since 2004. The pressure on the Indians is different, because winning 93 games in 2005 and missing the playoffs shows how hard it is for a middle-market team to get here. The Yankees are a great team (52-29) at home, but a modest 42-39 on the road. The Indians should try to beat these guys now with their top two pitchers in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona backed by the home crowd

Wedge the Thinker
Kate Wedge knows what Shapiro means by the presence. When she met Wedge, he was 33, but seemed older. It's the same thing most people say about him. It's not just his rugged appearance, but his attitude. He seems to think about things. He tries not to appear surprised. He keeps a lid slapped down hard on his emotions.

"He thinks things out," she said. "He plans."

It seems like some people are born 40, and that's Wedge.

"I immediately noticed that," said Shapiro. "It's why I wasn't afraid to make him a manager [at 29] in the minors, and why I had no concerns when I hired him [at 36] to manage the Indians."

"I don't know why, but people have said that about me since I was a kid," said Wedge. "I suppose I've always felt older."

Maybe it comes from his parents, who taught him there are few shortcuts in life. Or Fort Wayne, where the wealthy are few, a man earned respect by doing the job, keeping his mouth shut, taking care of his family and not wasting much time or money.

Wedge moved up the Tribe minor-league ladder as a manager, making stops at every level. By 2002, he was named the Manager of the Year for the entire minor leagues by The Sporting News.

The placid Eric Wedge you see in the dugout is by design. He doesn't want to seem angry or panicked, he knows the cameras are on him and he "refuses to show my players up by throwing stuff or screaming when they make a mistake." He said "behind closed doors, it's different." He will rip into his team. But that's not for the public to see or hear.

"I knew Eric was going to be a big-league manager when he first came to Buffalo," said Mike Harrington, a veteran baseball writer for the Buffalo News. "You could see it the way he carried himself. He was only 33, barely older than the players. But he was so in charge. I'd never seen any manager like that. He was demanding with the players, I never saw one of his guys not run out a ground ball. He had such confidence."

Wedge the Grinder

"When we met, Eric was very focused on his career," said Kate Wedge. "I think what happened with us surprised him. I mean, 18 months after we met, we were married."

Wedge says it's the best move that he's ever made, a smart husband talking. But he seems to mean that. He is capable of working insane hours, but when he comes home, he is dad to 17-month-old Eva.

"He changes diapers, he gets up to see her in the middle of the night," said Kate Wedge. "He gets excited when she calls him Da-Da, or when she sees Chief Wahoo or the Indians on TV and starts saying Da-Da. He loves being a father."

And he will soon be again, as Kate is expecting their second child (a boy) in February.

Mark Lombardi is Wedge's best friend and business partner. They own Strike One Sports Complex, a 40,000-foot indoor facility in Danvers, Mass. He and Wedge started the business in 1992, and Lombardi said it took at least "6-7 years" to turn a profit. He said Wedge refused to become discouraged, how they kept changing their approach to the business, thinking deeper, working harder.

"With Eric, there's a sense that he'd be successful at whatever he wants do to, or he'd almost kill himself trying to get there," said Lombardi. "When he commits to something, he stays committed. Kate has been great for him. They met before they had any money, any fame and she really didn't know who he was. She brings some balance to his life, and I really think that has made him even a better person and manager."

Wedge finished his fifth season managing the Tribe. Overall, he took a team that has been in the bottom 25 percent in payroll for most of those five seasons from 68-80-93-78-96 victories. The big picture is one of gritty, determined progress against the odds.

"This team reflects Eric," said Shapiro. "It's not real flashy, but it's determined. The guys like each other, hang together and finished strong. That didn't happen by accident. Eric had a lot to do with it."

You Gotta Love These Guys - Cleveland INdians Basball

'You gotta love these guys'
Indians' fun-filled playoff run hits home to fans young and old Sunday, September 30, 2007

Nice guys can finish first, or at least they did in the Central Division.

Think about this year's Indians, winners of 95 games, more than any National League team.

Think about all the smiles

Think about the home-plate home-run celebrations. Little Leaguers seldom seem to have so much fun.

Think of the Indians at the high-roller table with teams from New York, Boston and Southern California.

Think about the Indians vs. the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

They aren't just playoff underdogs, they're Cinderella at the ball with a dress from Kmart.

Now think of whipped cream pies in the face for the hero of the game. Think of how Casey Blake seemed even more shocked than the fans when he won two games in four days with ninth-inning homers. Think of Joe Borowski sweating and fretting through the ninth inning, of Travis Hafner stomping and stalking in the on-deck circle, waiting for a chance to bat.

Then think of Hafner wearing a shirt reading: I may not be smart, but I can lift heavy things. Or think of how none of these players have complained about being in Cleveland, how they score high on the ladder of gratitude, low on the thermometer of entitlement.

Now, think of the fans - new ones come to the team every day.
"I think of my childhood rooting for WHO-LEE-OO [Julio Franco], Cory Snyder, Brook Jacoby and buying $2.50 general admission seats with my dad," e-mailed Trey Edwards from Mentor. "Now my 5-year-old son Ben wakes up every morning and asks who the Indians are playing. We watch the evening games on TV as long as he can stay awake, then the next morning he gets up and asks me to turn on STO for the replay."

Or, as Susan Keen Flynn e-mailed: "My 7-year-old son Connor has been obsessed with the Indians for two seasons. He rattles off the pitching lines and checks the stats in The PD. He takes his glove to the games, even though we often sit in the nosebleed sections. Connor even asked the barber to give him a "Pronk cut."

Playoffs help families make baseball memories

The Indians are in the playoffs.

Think about that - "the Indians" and "the playoffs" in the same sentence. Or the Indians and the World Series in the same dream for a team that was only 78-84 last season and 18 games out of first place.

But the playoffs are about more than winning and losing. They are about parents and kids, and maybe grandparents, too. It's about families making baseball memories. It's about a town rallying around a team, neither of which are supposed to be winners.

The fans began to warm up to the team as the season went on, averaging 31,869 fans after the All-Star break compared with 24,840 before. They sold out the final three games of last weekend's homestand as the town began to sizzle. The Tribe had one sellout in 40 games before the All-Star break, 10 in 37 games after.

"On Sunday, Sept. 23, we had the second-biggest regular-season merchandise sales in team history," said Kurt Schloss, team merchandising director. "People are buying anything that says Division Champs on it. We have six retail stores, and we are fighting to keep up with the demand."

The Indians are supposed to be too cheap to play with the big boys in this medium-sized major-league market with one of the nation's highest poverty levels. According to a USA Today survey of salaries at the start of the season, the top four payrolls were New York Yankees ($190 million), Boston ($143 million), New York Mets ($115 million) and the Los Angeles Angels ($109 million). The Indians ranked 22nd at $62 million.

The Tribe payroll has increased to about $72 million with the bonuses from the contract extensions to Travis Hafner and Jake Westbrook. But the Yankees' payroll rose to $216 million, and Boston up to $153 million with their additions during the season.

So the Indians remain the Little Engine That Could in this high-octane playoff race where everyone else seems to be roaring around the track in a Porsche.

But that also has become part of their appeal.

"They play good old-fashioned baseball and leave their egos at the door," e-mailed 55-year-old Kerry Kralik. "It's refreshing to see a group of athletes that actually have fun and put the team first before themselves, jumping around like little kids."

With 13 victories at Jacobs Field in their last at-bat, the Indians might lead all of baseball in mob scenes at home plate, the players piling on the hero of the day. Then there's the pie-in-the-face routine when the star of the game is interviewed on television. Good teams have these rituals. The 1995 World Series Tribe would stick bubblegum on each other's caps. The 1997 Tribe all pulled up their socks to honor Jim Thome on his birthday, and they began to win with the high uniform socks. It carried all the way to the World Series.

Andy Sikrovsky of Shaker Heights has three children, and he e-mailed, "In addition to falling asleep to the [radio] voice of Tom Hamilton . . . my daughter Mary likes Kenny Lofton. Alison likes Jhonny Peralta. Jimmy likes Victor Martinez. They all like C.C. [Sabathia] and Grady Sizemore. . . . My favorite memory was holding Jimmy in my arms when [Kelly] Shoppach connected on a 3-run homer on June 26 to cap an amazing 5-run, ninth inning rally.

"Fireworks, cheering, celebrating . . . Jimmy got hooked."

And dad was glad to reel in the Tribe's new 6-year-old fan.

Indians fever catching up nationwide

This team is developing its own identity, apart from the failures of the past or the near misses of the late 1990s.

As Mike Luck e-mailed from Gahanna, Ohio: "I'm 61 years old and my first Indians memories are from 1954. This team has been on a mission since the start of the season. . . . It has no egos, everyone helping each other. . . . Victor Martinez is my new favorite Indian . . . consistent, but plays with passion."

Ah, yes, Victor Martinez.

The catcher who a year ago couldn't throw, but now he can. The catcher some wanted to make into a first baseman. The catcher who once barely said three words when he came to the majors, but has matured into a team leader who encourages most players. He also challenged pitcher Cliff Lee in a voice that roared early in the season.

Victor Martinez, the switch-hitting catcher, the clean-up batter, the guy who made up special handshakes for each teammate. He is a superstar, but it seems no one outside of Northeast Ohio realizes it. Even some of the hometown fans don't fully appreciate the thoughtful, determined, gritty man behind the catcher's mask.

The most popular player is Grady Sizemore, dominating merchandising with more than $1 million in sales. Next is Travis Hafner at about $500,000, according to the Indians.

Sizemore appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated this season and no jinx attacked the star center fielder. Instead, the 25-year-old continued to be one of the most potent leadoff hitters in baseball, and attracted even more fans.

"One of my grandsons is named Grady, you can figure out who he's named after," e-mailed Steve Eighinger from Quincy, Ill.

Tribe fans are not just limited to Northeast Ohio. Clevelanders now spread across the country are living and dying with their favorite team, passing the tradition down to their children.

"Last Sunday, my 11-year-old son Jake came down to breakfast in his Grady Sizemore shirt and Indians cap," e-mailed Larry Dunn from Salt Lake City. "He said this was the day we're going to clinch. We subscribe to MLB Gameday Audio and listen to the radio play-by-play and follow pitch-by-pitch on the Internet scoreboards."

Unlikely heroes make game fun for all

The Indians have been building up to this season from June 2002, when General Manager Mark Shapiro realized the team that treated the Central Division as its own baseball playground was getting too old, too expensive to compete. Over the next five years, the team went from 68 to 80 to 93 to 78 and finally to 95 victories this season.

"They are a real TEAM full of unlikely heroes," e-mailed Fritz Johnson from Dover, Ohio. "Down the stretch, Casey Blake, the same Casey Blake that nearly no one wanted at third base - me included - hit two walk-off homers in a week!"

While many adults become frustrated with Blake's struggles to hit with runners in scoring position, he is fourth on the team in merchandise sales as kids love his No. 1 jersey.

This is not a time for hard-eyed, stat-driven logic. It's the Tribe in the playoffs.

"My 6-year-old son Noah and I have invented songs about the Indians set to the 'Jetsons' theme," e-mailed Jim Gill from Beach City, Ohio. "The song goes, 'Meet Trot Nixon. His boy Casey. Daughter Sizemore. Pronk, his wife!' We laugh and laugh when we sing that song."

Why not? The Indians don't do this every year.

"These guys are easy to like," e-mailed Jeff Musselman from Wooster. "We met the team at a function in August. . . . Ryan Garko took my [8-year-old son] around to meet the players. What a nice guy!"

That is the Tribe's reputation. Solid citizens, not especially flashy, perfect for Northeast Ohio.

Kristine Meldrum Denholm e-mailed that her 9-year-old son loves Kenny Lofton "because he played for the Indians three times." Seven-year-old Ryan likes Sizemore because he's fast, and Fausto Carmona because he's winning a lot of games.

But what about 4-year-old Caroline?

"She doesn't follow the Indians too much," wrote Denholm. "But she says she likes Slider, 'He's a funny guy. Once, I sat by him!' "

Welcome to the playoffs, time to enjoy, no matter who your favorite Tribe player (or mascot) may be.