Masa in the Mix

Cleveland Indians sign reliever Kobayashi
Pitcher brought in to assist Borowski Wednesday, November 21, 2007Dennis Manoloff

The Indians looked to the Far East to bolster their bullpen, signing Japanese right-hander Masahide Kobayashi to a two-year contract with a club option for 2010.

Kobayashi made history as the first Japanese professional ever signed to a major-league contract by Cleveland.

"Masa," as he is known to his friends, was introduced Tuesday at a news conference in Jacobs Field. He sat between Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro and interpreter Kenta Yagi.
Asked what he knows about Cleveland, Kobayashi said through Yagi: "It has a beautiful lake and the Indians."

Kobayashi is one of three pitchers in the history of Japanese pro baseball with 200-plus saves. He has 227. He is the only Japanese professional to notch 20-plus saves in seven consecutive seasons (2001-2007).

Joe Borowski need not worry. Barring injury, he will continue to be the Tribe's closer in 2008. Kobayashi will slot somewhere in front of him, but not too far.

"One of our primary off-season goals is to add depth to the back end of our bullpen," Shapiro said. "We envision Masa' having many opportunities to pitch in meaningful situations."

Shapiro does not foresee a problem with Kobayashi, who will have a full-time interpreter, getting comfortable in the Tribe clubhouse.

"Baseball right now is about playing in a multicultural environment," Shapiro said. "Our players will embrace him."

Kobayashi, 33, went 2-7 with a 3.61 ERA and 27 saves in 49 appearances last season for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League. He was Chiba Lotte's No. 1 pick in 1999.
In 2006, Kobayashi went 6-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 34 saves in 53 appearances. He said the dropoff from 2006 to 2007 had nothing to do with "neck irritation," reportedly the reason for a disabled-list stint in September.

"My neck is fine," he said. "I'm surprised the U.S. media would say I have neck trouble."

Kobayashi, who throws a fastball, slider and split from an overhand slot, declared free agency at the beginning of November. In search of a new challenge, he looked to the States.
"I know the Indians are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, and they showed an interest in me," he said.

Agent Mark Pieper said negotiations unfolded as smoothly as could be expected for an overseas free agent. Because Kobayashi was an unrestricted free agent, a posting fee to Chiba Lotte was not required.

Under the direction of scouting director John Mirabelli, the Indians have increased their presence in Japan over the past several years.

At the news conference, Kobayashi held up Tribe jersey No. 30 - Andy Marte's number. Indians Assistant General Manager Chris Antonetti said not to read anything into it, that Marte remains in the mix. Kobayashi's addition brings the Tribe's 40-man roster to 40.

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Tribe finds bullpen help
Masahide Kobayashi, a right-handed closer from Japan, agrees to 2-year contract

By Sheldon Ocker Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007

CLEVELAND: As a celebrated reliever in his native country of Japan, Masahide Kobayashi speaks almost no English, but apparently he can cut to the chase in any language.

In a news conference to announce his signing by the Indians on Tuesday, Kobayashi was asked if he had formed any impressions of Cleveland, having been in the city not much longer than 24 hours.

Kobayashi didn't hesitate to answer through an interpreter, saying, ''It has beautiful lake and the city has Indians.''

Come to think of it, what more does he need to know? At least for now. Kobayashi will return to Cleveland in January with his wife and daughter for the grand tour. A month later, he will be exposed to the charms of Winter Haven, Fla., where the Tribe holds spring training.

Six weeks after that, General Manager Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge will begin to learn whether a reported $6.25 million investment in Kobayashi, a right-hander, is going to pay off. Kobayashi will earn $3 million in each of the next two seasons. The Indians hold a $3.25 million club option on his services for 2010. If they choose to decline the option, Kobayashi, 33, will receive a $250,000 buyout.

Although Kobayashi was a successful closer for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League, for whom he played for nine years, Shapiro is not counting on him to save games for the Tribe.

''If we're a good team, there will be many opportunities for him to pitch in meaningful situations,'' Shapiro said. ''With his experience as a closer, if we need him to save games because of an injury (to Joe Borowski), he can be an option. But one thing we
expect him to do is pitch in meaningful situations.''

Get the picture? Neither Shapiro nor anyone else associated with the team is willing at this point to pick a specific job for Kobayashi and be totally confident he can be successful. After all, he has not facedmajor-league hitters, at least not with any regularity. Twice, in 2000 and 2002, he pitched against big-leaguers for the Japanese national team, and Tribe operatives have scouted him.

''He pitches aggressively with his fastball, which comes in at 90 and sometimes gets up to 94,'' said scouting director John Mirabelli, who has watched Kobayashi throw. ''His out pitch is a wipeout slider, and he throws a split, which is more of a forkball.''

One thing that Shapiro emphasized is that Kobayashi throws strikes, unlike many pitchers who have come from Japan and prefer to nibble at the corners of the plate as if they were afraid to throw a strike.

The Indians' financial commitment and two-year deal indicate that club officials like Kobayashi's chances of ''adding to our back-of-the-bullpen depth,'' as Shapiro put it.

It's likely that Kobayashi will be worked into the bullpen pecking order slowly, behind Borowski, the closer, and Rafael Betancourt, the setup man.

For the Lions, who were managed by Bobby Valentine, the former big-league skipper, Kobayashi was 2-7 with 27 saves and a 3.61 ERA in 49 appearances last season, when he walked only 12 and struck out 35 in 471/3 innings. Kobayashi is accustomed to closing out games. He began to pile up saves in his second season with Chiba Lotte and amassed a total of 227 along with a career ERA of 2.79.

Injuries are not an integral part of Kobayashi's history.

''I don't remember going to a doctor or a hospital the last 10 years,'' he said, a neck injury last season being the exception.

Kobayashi declared for free agency on Nov. 2, the first day allowed under Japanese rules, and the Indians were among a group of teams that expressed interest. Kobayashi said other teams were in the hunt but would not reveal which ones.

''Several teams made offers, but I couldn't say which,'' he said. ''The Indians showed me the most interest. I know the Indians are one of the best teams in the major leagues, and I was impressed that they had interest in me.''

Asked if his offseason search for relievers is at an end, Shapiro said: ''I don't think we'll ever be satisfied with our bullpen, because of the volatility of relievers. So we'll continue to try and reinforce things there.''

Despite the limitations imposed by Kobayashi's lack of familiarity with English, he gave the language a gallant effort to get one important message across: ''My name is Masahide, but call me Masa,'' he said without the help of the interpreter.


Tickets on sale

Tickets for the March 31 home opener (3 p.m.) will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, as will those for the following two games of the opening series against the Chicago White Sox on April 2 and 3, and select ''six-pack'' ticket packages. Most tickets have increased in price by $1 or $2 from the 2007 season.

Tickets can be bought online at http://www.Indians.com, at Indians gift stores, through Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 216-241-5555 or 866-488-7423.


New uniforms

The Indians will wear uniforms with slight style and color changes in 2008.

The biggest difference will be the home alternate design. It will feature a cream-colored top with block ''INDIANS'' across the chest in red and Chief Wahoo on the left sleeve. The jersey will be worn with a blue cap with a red block ''C.''



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Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.

CLEVELAND: As a celebrated reliever in his native country of Japan, Masahide Kobayashi speaks almost no English, but apparently he can cut to the chase in any language.

In a news conference to announce his signing by the Indians on Tuesday, Kobayashi was asked if he had formed any impressions of Cleveland, having been in the city not much longer than 24 hours.

Kobayashi didn't hesitate to answer through an interpreter, saying, ''It has beautiful lake and the city has Indians.''

Come to think of it, what more does he need to know? At least for now. Kobayashi will return to Cleveland in January with his wife and daughter for the grand tour. A month later, he will be exposed to the charms of Winter Haven, Fla., where the Tribe holds spring training.

Six weeks after that, General Manager Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge will begin to learn whether a reported $6.25 million investment in Kobayashi, a right-hander, is going to pay off. Kobayashi will earn $3 million in each of the next two seasons. The Indians hold a $3.25 million club option on his services for 2010. If they choose to decline the option, Kobayashi, 33, will receive a $250,000 buyout.

Although Kobayashi was a successful closer for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League, for whom he played for nine years, Shapiro is not counting on him to save games for the Tribe.

''If we're a good team, there will be many opportunities for him to pitch in meaningful situations,'' Shapiro said. ''With his experience as a closer, if we need him to save games because of an injury (to Joe Borowski), he can be an option. But one thing we
expect him to do is pitch in meaningful situations.''

Get the picture? Neither Shapiro nor anyone else associated with the team is willing at this point to pick a specific job for Kobayashi and be totally confident he can be successful. After all, he has not facedmajor-league hitters, at least not with any regularity. Twice, in 2000 and 2002, he pitched against big-leaguers for the Japanese national team, and Tribe operatives have scouted him.

''He pitches aggressively with his fastball, which comes in at 90 and sometimes gets up to 94,'' said scouting director John Mirabelli, who has watched Kobayashi throw. ''His out pitch is a wipeout slider, and he throws a split, which is more of a forkball.''

One thing that Shapiro emphasized is that Kobayashi throws strikes, unlike many pitchers who have come from Japan and prefer to nibble at the corners of the plate as if they were afraid to throw a strike.

The Indians' financial commitment and two-year deal indicate that club officials like Kobayashi's chances of ''adding to our back-of-the-bullpen depth,'' as Shapiro put it.

It's likely that Kobayashi will be worked into the bullpen pecking order slowly, behind Borowski, the closer, and Rafael Betancourt, the setup man.

For the Lions, who were managed by Bobby Valentine, the former big-league skipper, Kobayashi was 2-7 with 27 saves and a 3.61 ERA in 49 appearances last season, when he walked only 12 and struck out 35 in 471/3 innings. Kobayashi is accustomed to closing out games. He began to pile up saves in his second season with Chiba Lotte and amassed a total of 227 along with a career ERA of 2.79.

Injuries are not an integral part of Kobayashi's history.

''I don't remember going to a doctor or a hospital the last 10 years,'' he said, a neck injury last season being the exception.

Kobayashi declared for free agency on Nov. 2, the first day allowed under Japanese rules, and the Indians were among a group of teams that expressed interest. Kobayashi said other teams were in the hunt but would not reveal which ones.

''Several teams made offers, but I couldn't say which,'' he said. ''The Indians showed me the most interest. I know the Indians are one of the best teams in the major leagues, and I was impressed that they had interest in me.''

Asked if his offseason search for relievers is at an end, Shapiro said: ''I don't think we'll ever be satisfied with our bullpen, because of the volatility of relievers. So we'll continue to try and reinforce things there.''

Despite the limitations imposed by Kobayashi's lack of familiarity with English, he gave the language a gallant effort to get one important message across: ''My name is Masahide, but call me Masa,'' he said without the help of the interpreter.

Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia wins AL Cy Young Award
Indians' Sabathia voted AL Cy Young Award winner Wednesday, November 14, 2007Story by Paul Hoynes

He has grown up right in front of us. Now that he's primed and polished and has the American League Cy Young Award trophy sitting in the back seat, will C.C. Sabathia drive right out of Cleveland?

Sabathia became only the second Indians pitcher, and first in 35 years, to win the Cy Young on Tuesday by a surprisingly easy margin in a vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Sabathia, named on 27 of the 28 ballots, received 119 points. Boston's Josh Beckett (20-7, 3.27 ERA) was second with 86 points and the Los Angeles Angels' John Lackey (19-9, 3.01) finished third with 36.

Fausto Carmona, Sabathia's teammate, was fourth in his first full season in the big leagues.

Manager Eric Wedge could be the next Indian to be honored. The BBWAA's AL Manager of the Year will be announced today, and Wedge is one of the favorites.

Sabathia received 19 of 28 first-place votes and eight second-place votes. Beckett received eight first-place votes, 14 second-place votes and four third-place votes.

Lackey received one first-place vote. The points were based on a 5-3-1 tabulation system as two writers in the 14 AL cities voted.

Beckett, baseball's only 20-game winner this year, beat Sabathia in Games 1 and 5 of the AL Championship Series, which Boston won in seven games. Sabathia's postseason failings held no sway with the voters because the Cy Young is decided by regular-season performance.

Sabathia went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA.

He led the big leagues in innings pitched with 241.

"The last couple of weeks, people kept asking me, did I think I had a chance," said Sabathia from his home in Fairfield, Calif. "I definitely thought it would be close, and I definitely thought Josh Beckett could have won it. I'm glad it worked out this way."
The Indians, in 1998, drafted Sabathia out of Vallejo (Calif.) High School. He was tall and too heavy, but he was left-handed and threw hard.

Then manager Charlie Manuel, against the wishes of the player development people, put him in the big-league rotation in 2001.

"I like him," said Manuel. "He looks big out there on the mound."
At 6-7 and 300 pounds, Sabathia had no choice in looking big. He won 17 games, his best season until this year.

Between then and now Sabathia lost some bulk, got scared out of running the streets by having a gun pointed in his face during a robbery, lost his father to cancer, got married, became a father and learned that it is not necessary to throw every pitch 98 mph to win.

"One of the joys of this job is watching a player go from teenager, to young man, to a man and a leader on this team," said Tribe General Manager Mark Shapiro.

Next year will be Sabathia's 11th with the Indians. It could be his last because he'll be eligible for free agency after the season.

The front office is working on a contract proposal to show ownership. If ownership OK's it, it will be sent to Sabathia's agents. Shapiro would like to have the matter resolved, one way or the other, by Feb. 15, the day training camp usually opens.

This is going to be an expensive proposition.

Sabathia will make a base salary of $11 million next year. He received a $2 million bonus -- his 2008 base salary jumped from $9 million to $11 million -- for winning the Cy Young. On top of that, he received another $250,000 for winning the award.
We have the utmost respect and appreciation for C.C. and have a strong desire to keep him here," said Shapiro. "C.C., I think, shares that desire.

"The only question is can we find a business deal that works for the Indians organization and C.C.? We're going to take the next three months to find that out."

Sabathia told XM Radio: "I've been an Indian my entire career. I grew up here, and I've been here since I was 17 years old, so I really can't see myself leaving the organization. My agent is meeting with the team, and hopefully they can get something done real soon."
Will he stay or will he go will be known soon enough. Here's a hint: If Sabathia wants $20 million a year to stay, it's not going to happen.

Another question of equal magnitude is just where Sabathia, 27, stands in his career. The Cy Young is nice but guarantees nothing.

Gaylord Perry, the only other Indian to win the Cy Young, was 34 when he won it after going 24-16 in 1972. He won his second Cy Young six years later in 1978 for San Diego.

"I watch C.C. every time he's on TV," said Perry. "He's got great stuff. He just has to learn how to harness it. If he does, he could be one of the greats."

Roger Clemens won his first two Cy Youngs at 24 and 25 for Boston in 1986 and 1987. He was 42 when he won his seventh while with Houston in 2004.

Bartolo Colon, a former Sabathia teammate, was 32 when he won the Cy Young for the Angels in 2005. This winter he's a free agent with a bad arm.

Arizona's Brandon Webb won the 2006 NL Cy Young at 27. He followed that by going 18-10 with 236 1/3 innings pitched this year.

Sabathia, who has never had a serious arm injury, is 100-63 in his career with the Indians. He's won 11 or more games in each of his seven seasons.

"I feel strongly that this season wasn't just a spike in C.C.'s career," said Indians pitching coach Carl Willis. "It's taken him a few years at the major-league level to find out what works and what doesn't work.

"He has always had that great fastball, but he's learned to pitch effectively and efficiently without it. That bodes well for what he can do in the future."

Just where the future takes him has yet to be decided.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158

Cleveland's Winning Ways in Business

Cleveland Indians' way of business is gaining respect throughout baseball Terry Pluto . Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Cleveland Indians are doing a lot right, that's what all the postseason awards should be telling you.

The latest is Eric Wedge being voted the American League Manager of the Year. That comes after C.C. Sabathia winning the AL Cy Young Award, center fielder Grady Sizemore being voted a Gold Glove and Mark Shapiro being named the Executive of the Year by The Sporting News.

Some Tribe fans tend to view the team through a microscope. They find some trade that backfired, a managerial decision that blew up, a comment made by the manager that just made no sense. It's sort of like dwelling on a few dents in a race car, missing the fact that the motor is humming that the driver has it running with the leaders.

That's what Wedge did with the Tribe this season.

Forget about the Indians being in the bottom third of major-league payrolls, the bottom line was 96 victories - tied with Boston for the most in the majors. And being the only team to even win a game against Boston in the postseason. And having a group of players who do "respect the game," as Wedge says over and over. They play hard. They don't embarrass themselves or the fans.

And they were the second-best team in baseball, period.

If you can agree that the team overachieved, the manager had something to do with it. So did the front office.

“From Mark [Shapiro] to Eric [Wedge] to the rest, those guys have their courage of their convictions,” said Mike Hargrove, the Tribe’s manager from 1991 to 1999.

Hargrove said a key to the Indians’ success was Shapiro believing in Wedge, and not taking the easy way out by changing managers when things on the field didn’t meet expectations.

“This organization doesn’t point fingers,” said Hargrove. “I appreciate how Eric doesn’t hang his players out to dry. There are times when you as a manager know a player screwed up. You called the right play, but he missed it. You deal with that in private. But with the media, you bite your lip and shoulder the blame. That can be real tough.”

A manager does that because players will soon turn on a boss whom they believe does not have their back. That’s also why Hargrove, Wedge, Joe Torre, Terry Francona and most other successful managers don’t throw fits in the dugout where the cameras broadcast it to the fans. Players believe that a manager kicking a helmet or screaming after an error is, in Wedge’s words, “showing them up.”

Hargrove then recalled a game sitting in Shapiro’s box, “It was in 2004, and some fan was calling Mark every name in the book. Mark just took it. He manned up. That’s what I like about Mark and Eric, they act like men. They don’t pass the blame.”

It actually begins with the Dolan family, which turned the team over to Shapiro after the 2001 season. They stuck with him during a demanding and sometimes frustrating rebuilding plan. Shapiro believed he could field a winner primarily through signing and trading for prospects.

Sabathia and fellow 19-game winner Fausto Carmona were both signed and developed by the farm system. Sizemore was a Class A player hitting .258 with zero homers in 256 at-bats when the Indians obtained him as part of the Bartolo Colon deal with Montreal. Wedge managed at every level of the Tribe farm system before Shapiro brought him to Cleveland in 2003.

Having managed the Indians to AL pennants in 1995 and 1997, Hargrove knows what it’s like to be Wedge. He also knows what it’s like to manage elsewhere, having worked in Baltimore and Seattle after leaving the Tribe.

“People in baseball notice what the Indians have built and the character of the people running it,” said Hargrove. “That’s why they have such a great reputation around the game.”

To reach Terry Pluto: terrypluto2003@yahoo.com, 216-999-4674

Best I've ever seen: RHP Jack Morris

Best I've ever seen: RHP Jack Morris
Sunday, October 28, 2007Paul HoynesPlain Dealer Reporter
The best right-hander I've ever seen isn't in the Hall of Fame and I have no idea why.

He won 254 games and on Oct. 24, 1991, pitched one of the greatest games in World Series history. Anyone who saw it, especially the Atlanta Braves, would have to agree.

Jack Morris pitched 10 innings in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series to lead the Twins to a 1-0 victory over Atlanta. Morris, 37, threw a 126-pitch shutout on three days' rest after starting Games 1 and 4.

Twins manager Tom Kelly told Morris he was done after the ninth inning. Morris changed his mind.

"I talked to him, told him I had a lot left," said Morris. "I told him, 'We don't play tomorrow.' "

Kelly relented, saying, "What the hell, it's only a ballgame."

Some ballgame.

Morris struck out eight, walked two and allowed seven hits in 10 innings. Wrote a Minneapolis sportswriter, “Morris could have outlasted Methuselah.”

The 6-3, 200-pound Morris was not the warm and cuddly sort. He wore a bushy mustache and was constantly in need of two things — a shave and an attitude adjustment.

Morris won 198 games for the Tigers, but manager Sparky Anderson hated to take him out of a game. Not because Morris would complain vocally, but because he’d slam the ball into Anderson’s hand when he came to the mound. Anderson said it hurt.

He was rude to reporters, male and female alike. He was cocky, too.

Morris was one of the first pitchers to master the split-fingered fastball. Tigers pitching coach Roger Craig taught it to him.

Once when the Indians were playing Detroit, Morris said Ty Cobb couldn’t hit the splitter.
Morris said he’d seen old films of Cobb and could tell by the way the Georgia Peach held and swung the bat that he couldn’t hit the splitter. What Morris was really saying was that Cobb, the greatest Tiger in history, couldn’t hit him.

Morris liked to throw at Indians leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton’s legs. After one particular game, in which Morris made Lofton dance for much of the afternoon, Tribe manager Mike Hargrove expressed his displeasure to reporters.

When the reporters relayed the information to Morris, he growled, “Tell Mike those are sliders. The same sliders he couldn’t hit when he faced me.”

In short, he was just what every manager wanted from a No. 1 starter — snappish, mean and talented.

Morris started 14 opening days and at one point made 500 consecutive starts without missing a turn in the rotation. He was on the disabled list twice in an 18-year career.

He won 162 games in the 1980s, the most by any pitcher.

He threw a no-hitter against Chicago on April 7, 1984. From 1979 through 1992, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, Morris won 233 games compared to Nolan Ryan’s 168 when both men were in their prime.

Ryan is in the Hall of Fame.

Morris is still on the outside looking in.

The Indians signed Morris in 1994 for their first year at Jacobs Field. They were looking for veterans to season a young team that would dominate the AL Central for the next seven years.

Morris still had his temper and splitter, but he was 39. He’d injured his right shoulder in 1993 with Toronto and the end was near.

During a tight spot in one game, second baseman Carlos Baerga came in to check on Morris at the mound.

“What do you want?” snapped Morris. “Get back to second base.”

It soon became clear that Morris had other things on his mind besides baseball. Catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., went to the mound once to see what was bothering him. Morris was crying because his girlfriend had broken up with him.

He started leaving the team between starts so he could help get the wheat harvested on his farm in Montana. Management tolerated it for a while, but Morris’ conditioning and performance suffered.

“Hey, it’s crunch time on the farm,” said Morris.

To which Hargrove replied, “It’s crunch time here, too.”

The Indians released Morris on Aug. 10, 1994. He won 10 games that season, his last in the big leagues.

Rickey being Rickey in LF

Rickey being Rickey in LF
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter

The most vivid memory I have of Rickey Henderson, the best left fielder I've ever seen, had nothing to do with what made him fa mous. Henderson, the best leadoff hitter to ever work a count, stole more bases and scored more runs than any player in history.

My clearest Rickey moment came at the Rogers Centre, then called SkyDome in Toronto. Henderson was batting leadoff against the Indians.

On this particular day, he was facing Jose Mesa. How old is the memory? It was 1993 and Mesa, two years away from becoming the closer that wrapped Cleveland in his arms before breaking its heart, was still a starter.

It was an afternoon game, the SkyDome roof was open and Henderson was taking his time getting into the batter's box. Mesa fumed while he waited. Before it all turned bad for Mesa in Cleveland, he was a decent guy with a sense of humor.

On the mound, he tended toward snappishness.

When Henderson finally stepped into the box, after much gyrating, digging and adjusting, Mesa sent him ankles over elbows with his first pitch of the afternoon. It was the best knockdown pitch I've seen, and nothing happened.

Henderson got up and stepped back in the box without protest. The umpire didn't give a warning, and Mesa continued pitching.

A future Hall of Famer had just been flipped like a baseball card in the wind, and the game continued without a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Things have changed since then.

Henderson played from 1979 to 2003. He came to the big leagues with Oakland at 20. He retired with the Dodgers at 44.

I saw a lot him because he spent most of his career in the American League. He looked cool and played cool.

When Henderson hit a home run, he'd take the big Cadillac turn around first base, running sideways for a while. I remember him wearing wrap-around sunglasses when he stole bases. He looked like Robocop sliding head-first into the bag.

Henderson's game was a constant battle between substance and flash.

On routine fly balls, he'd position himself under the ball, but wouldn't just catch it. He'd snatch it out of the air, crisscrossing his arms in the process like a man on a deserted island desperately signaling a low-flying plane.

He called it the snatch catch.

Secretly, I always hoped he'd drop one. If he did, I never saw it.

Henderson, built like an NFL tailback, hit out of a crouch. Jim Murray, the Hall of Fame columnist for the Los Angeles Times, said the crouch reduced Henderson's strike zone to the "size of Hitler's heart." Now that's a line that will get you into Cooperstown.

The small strike zone, and a good eye, helped Henderson draw the second-most walks in history at 2,190. He held the record when he retired, but was passed by Barry Bonds when the National League started walking Bonds three and four times per game. Henderson held his speed. He set the major-league record with 130 steals in 1982. Sixteen years later, he stole 66 bases for the A's in 1998. Henderson, born on Christmas Day, was 39.

Baseball is filled with unwritten rules. When it comes to base stealing, it's not polite to steal when you have a big lead or to pad your own stats. Henderson never worried about such things.

No one steals 1,406 bases by following protocol. On May 1, 1982, at Cleveland Stadium, the Indians had to put utility infielder Mike Fischlin behind the plate late in the game. Henderson stole second and third against the overmatched Fischlin in an 8-2 Oakland victory. It probably wasn't Henderson's greatest moment, but it was, in one of his favorite sayings, "Rickey being Rickey."

The Best I've Ever Seen: DH Frank Thomas

The Best I've Ever Seen: DH Frank Thomas
Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Big Hurt doesn't cause as much pain as he once did. He's looked every bit

of 39 years old this season while making his way around the bases in an ex aggerated hop, skip and jump for Toronto. It's the best he can do on a surgically repaired left ankle that will ache for the rest of his life.

Running never paid the bills for Frank Thomas. Hitting still does.

He's the best designated hitter I've ever seen because of that. Thomas spent his first 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox. When he stepped into the batter's box at U.S. Cellular Field, it reminded me of the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago with a bat in its hands.

Thomas wasn't quite 110 stories tall, but at 6-5 and pushing 280 pounds, he was plenty big enough.

Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn installed the DH in the American League in 1973 to put muscle and runs back in a pitching-dominated game. Kuhn probably had a hitter like Thomas in mind when he did it.

Nobody starts out as a DH. Players either get thrown into the job when they're young while management tries to create an opening for them elsewhere, or they back into it because of injury or age.

Then again, maybe they just can't catch the baseball.

In 1991, Thomas' first full season in the big leagues, he was Chicago's regular DH. He soon moved to first base and won consecutive AL MVP awards in 1993 and 1994. By 1998, Thomas was the White Sox's regular DH.

Thomas went into this weekend with 1,240 games at DH and 971 at first base.

DHs come in all shapes and sizes.

Edgar Martinez, regarded by some as the best DH ever, wasn't a big man at 5-11 and 210 pounds. A third baseman by trade, Martinez played 1,412 games at DH for Seattle. Over 18 seasons, he hit .312 with 309 homers and 2,247 hits.

Paul Molitor, 6-0, 185, came from the same mold. Molitor, the first Hall of Famer to play more games at DH than any other position, ended his career with 3,319 hits and 234 homers. Molitor appeared in 1,174 games at DH.
When I think of the DH, I think of power, not singles.

Guys like Thomas, David Ortiz, Andre Thornton, Travis Hafner, Don Baylor and Cecil Fielder are my idea of a DH - big guys who can dent a baseball and carry a team. General managers can move hitters like that into the middle of the lineup and not worry about them for the next five years.

Thomas certainly has that kind of power. On June 29, he became the 21st player to hit 500 homers. Through Friday he was at 513 and counting.

"I'm going to stick around until I hit 600," he told Toronto reporters in June.

Thomas brings more to the plate than a big swing. He has great knowledge of his strike zone, which makes him even more dangerous. Thomas has walked 100 or more times in 10 seasons, while striking out 100 or more times in just three seasons.

In Chicago, his managers used to get mad at him. They wanted him to be more aggressive, but he knew what worked for him.

Thomas has a career .303 batting average, .421 on-base percentage and .561 slugging percentage.

When Thomas was at his peak, the White Sox went to the postseason once, getting swept by Seattle in the 2000 division series. In 2005, when Chicago won the World Series, Thomas spent most of the season on the disabled list because of an ankle injury.

It was suggested the reason the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 was because Thomas' prickly personality was no longer at the center of the clubhouse.

Be that as it may, when Thomas left the club after that year to sign with Oakland, he did so as best hitter in White Sox history. He's the franchise leader in homers, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

For Paul Hoynes, Tigers' Ivan Rodriguez is best catcher he's seen
Sunday, August 26, 2007Paul HoynesPlain Dealer Reporter
The best catcher I've ever seen was not happy.

Jack Morris had just hit Ivan Rodriguez on the wrist with a pitch in a game between the Indians and Texas in 1994. Rodriguez, plotting revenge, slid hard into second base on a force play in the same inning. He was out, but he took out shortstop Omar Vizquel with a knee injury on a slide meant to injure.

After the game, manager Mike Hargrove was seething. When a reporter asked about Rodriguez's slide, Hargrove threw a paper cup full of pop and ice out his office door and into a wall across the hallway. The brown pop slid down the white wall as Hargrove raved.

Not only was Hargrove mad at Rodriguez for putting Vizquel on the disabled list, he was upset at reliever Jose Mesa for not hitting Rodriguez later in the game. Looking back, could the Mesa-Vizquel feud been blooming even then?

Rodriguez, however, paid a price.

Whenever the two teams played in the wake of Vizquel's injury, Rodriguez was hit by an Indians pitcher. He accepted it.

Finally, Charles Nagy hit him during a game in Cleveland and Rodriguez spread his hands, as if to say, "Has my bill been paid?"

The Indians didn't hit Rodriguez again, at least not intentionally.

Catching is a contact job. The ball can thud into your mitt between 100 and 200 times a game. Foul tips, wild pitches, stray bats and base runners collide with your body.

There are freak injuries. Sandy Alomar Jr. twice split the webbing on his throwing hand trying to catch Tom Candiotti's knuckleball. A hitter's backswing once broke his cheekbone
Contact and pain become second nature. Some catchers even like it.

Rodriguez may have that kind of streak running through him because it defined his best game.

In Game 4 of the National League division series in 2003 between Florida and San Francisco, with the score tied, 5-5, in the eighth inning, Rodriguez collided with Giants catcher Yorvit Torrealba while trying to score on a Miguel Cabrera single. Rodriguez knocked the ball loose from Torrealba, allowing himself and Derrek Lee to score for a 7-5 lead.

In the ninth, after the Giants made it 7-6 with two outs, Jeffrey Hammonds sent a soft single to left field with J.T. Snow on second base. Jeff Conine made a one-hop throw to Rodriguez. He buried the ball in his glove as Snow crashed into him.

Rodriguez held on, Snow was out and the Marlins eliminated the Giants to move onto the National League Championship Series and, eventually, a World Series title. Elias Sports Bureau said it was the only time in postseason history that the tying run was thrown out at the plate in a game-ending situation.

What better moment could a catcher have? A pitcher has a no-hitter. A power hitter has a four-homer game. A catcher, defining his craft, blocks the plate, saves the game, sends his team deeper into the postseason and rides off into the sunset.

Rodriguez hit .353 (6-for-17) with one homer and six RBI in the division series; .321 (9-for-28) with two homers and 10 RBI in the NLCS; and .273 (6-for-22) in the World Series that year.

He was 31, supposedly on the downside of his career after 12 seasons with Texas when he signed with the Marlins for one year. Teams wouldn't offer him a multiyear deal because they were afraid of the herniated disks in his back. The deal paid off.

Florida won its second World Series in six years and Rodriguez signed a $40 million contract with Detroit before the 2004 season. It seemed like strictly a money-driven move at the time, but Rodriguez was back in the World Series by 2006.

Rodriguez's game, even today at 35, is well- rounded. His arm, not as strong as when he could stop a running game with a mere glance to first base, is still dangerous. Offensively, he's no longer the AL MVP that he was in 1999, but he's still productive.

He calls a solid game and is as combative as ever behind the plate.

Rodriguez, like many players, has been tainted by steroid rumors. The rumors grew when he reported to spring training in 2005 significantly thinner than he'd been in the past. Rodriguez's body makeover coincided with MLB's stricter steroid-testing policy and being named as a steroid user in a book by former Rangers teammate Jose Canseco.

Did he or didn't he? The next time that question probably comes into play will be when Rodriguez becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame five years after his retirement.

Before the Johnny Bench e-mails start, please consider the parameters of this series. It is about the best players I've seen since I started covering the Indians in 1983. Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson always said that every conversation about the best catcher who ever lived should start and end with Bench.

Far be it from me to argue with Anderson, but here's my problem. Bench's last year was 1983, which was my first. So you can see why I took a different direction.