So what are we to make of C.C. Sabathia’s three-start whiff in the postseason? There are lots of theories, but the one I’m sticking with is this:
He’s out of gas.
Sabathia’s workload has finally caught up with him.
After throwing a major league-high 241 innings in the regular season Sabathia has pitched 15 more in the postseason, hiking his season total to 256. That’s almost 50 more innings than Sabathia’s previous career high.
Throw in about 30 more innings in spring training, and the Indians’ No.1 starter is at 286 innings. That’s a lot of wear and tear on one arm, even if it is attached to a body as big and durable as Sabathia’s.
And all that mileage seems to be taking its toll in the postseason. After averaging seven innings per start in the regular season Sabathia has averaged just five innings in his three postseason starts.
There hasn’t been much dropoff in his velocity, but there has been a dramatic dropoff in his ability to control and command his pitches. In those 15 postseason innings Sabathia has walked 13 batters, after only walking 37 batters in his 34 regular season starts.
Sabathia looks like a pitcher who has hit the wall this season. So even if the Indians advance to the World Series, there are no guarantees about how effective Sabathia would be if they get there.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
A "slice'' of heaven
David S. Glasier
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
DISPATCH FROM THE STREETS AROUND JACOBS FIELD, THURSDAY, GAME 5
The sidewalks on both sides of East 9th Street between Prospect Ave. and the ballpark are packed tonight.
Jam-packed.
People are eating, drinking, smiling, hanging out, talking about the Indians.
Bars and restaurants are operating at full capacity and beyond.
No pretense of precision here, but 75 percent of the thousands of the men, women and children I've seen in the last 20 minutes are wearing Tribe gear.
Every once in a while, someone in Red Sox garb joins the passing parade. So far, I haven't heard one derogatory comment directed at a Boston fan.
It's a beautiful, summer-like night, and the lack of venom is a beautiful thing.
Just outside of the ballpark, I run smack dab into Bernard Lechowick and his son, Vince. Bernie is a successful writer and producer of TV shows. He also teaches screenwriting at University of Southern California. Vince is a college student.
Although he's lived in Los Angeles for many years, Bernie grew up in Mentor and still thinks of himself as a Clevelander. He's also a big Tribe fan.
That's why he spent a nice chunk of change to buy four Game 5 field-box tickets from a broker. He and Vince flew in from L.A. yesterday.
Seen those clever commercials for a popular credit card?
Here's one for Bernie: "Two round-trip airline tickets and two nights in a nice hotel, big bucks. Four great tickets to ALCS Game 5, REALLY big bucks. Chance to do the full Cleveland with my kid, priceless.''
Bernie and Vince were making their way to the ballpark with Norman and Laura Aladjem, Cleveland-area natives who also have live in L.A. Norman is an agent representing Bernie and his wife, Lynn Marie Latham, executive producer and lead writer for "The Young and the Restless.''
Tribe fans from near and far are mixing with Red Sox fans, and it's all good.
This is the dynamic brought to downtown Cleveland by baseball in October.
When the vibe is right and big games are being played at Jacobs Field, downtown is alive again. It's the place to be and be seen.
Vincenza Turchi is smiling from ear to ear at Vincenza's Pizza and Pasta, the restaurant she owns and operates with her sons, Anthony and Nick.
The family-style place, at the Prospect Avenue end of the Colonial Arcade, bears her name and the feeling of a "pizza-by-the-slice'' emporium in New York City.
No surprise there, as Vincenza and her late husband, Dominic, came to Cleveland some 40 years ago from Brooklyn.
Folks are lined up to buy a tempting array of pizza, pasta, calzones, subs and salads. The service is fast and friendly, the food is great and the prices are outstanding.
"This place is buzzing,'' one guy says to his buddy when they come inside just after 7 o'clock.
Vincenza overhears the comment. Again, she's smiling.
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
DISPATCH FROM THE STREETS AROUND JACOBS FIELD, THURSDAY, GAME 5
The sidewalks on both sides of East 9th Street between Prospect Ave. and the ballpark are packed tonight.
Jam-packed.
People are eating, drinking, smiling, hanging out, talking about the Indians.
Bars and restaurants are operating at full capacity and beyond.
No pretense of precision here, but 75 percent of the thousands of the men, women and children I've seen in the last 20 minutes are wearing Tribe gear.
Every once in a while, someone in Red Sox garb joins the passing parade. So far, I haven't heard one derogatory comment directed at a Boston fan.
It's a beautiful, summer-like night, and the lack of venom is a beautiful thing.
Just outside of the ballpark, I run smack dab into Bernard Lechowick and his son, Vince. Bernie is a successful writer and producer of TV shows. He also teaches screenwriting at University of Southern California. Vince is a college student.
Although he's lived in Los Angeles for many years, Bernie grew up in Mentor and still thinks of himself as a Clevelander. He's also a big Tribe fan.
That's why he spent a nice chunk of change to buy four Game 5 field-box tickets from a broker. He and Vince flew in from L.A. yesterday.
Seen those clever commercials for a popular credit card?
Here's one for Bernie: "Two round-trip airline tickets and two nights in a nice hotel, big bucks. Four great tickets to ALCS Game 5, REALLY big bucks. Chance to do the full Cleveland with my kid, priceless.''
Bernie and Vince were making their way to the ballpark with Norman and Laura Aladjem, Cleveland-area natives who also have live in L.A. Norman is an agent representing Bernie and his wife, Lynn Marie Latham, executive producer and lead writer for "The Young and the Restless.''
Tribe fans from near and far are mixing with Red Sox fans, and it's all good.
This is the dynamic brought to downtown Cleveland by baseball in October.
When the vibe is right and big games are being played at Jacobs Field, downtown is alive again. It's the place to be and be seen.
Vincenza Turchi is smiling from ear to ear at Vincenza's Pizza and Pasta, the restaurant she owns and operates with her sons, Anthony and Nick.
The family-style place, at the Prospect Avenue end of the Colonial Arcade, bears her name and the feeling of a "pizza-by-the-slice'' emporium in New York City.
No surprise there, as Vincenza and her late husband, Dominic, came to Cleveland some 40 years ago from Brooklyn.
Folks are lined up to buy a tempting array of pizza, pasta, calzones, subs and salads. The service is fast and friendly, the food is great and the prices are outstanding.
"This place is buzzing,'' one guy says to his buddy when they come inside just after 7 o'clock.
Vincenza overhears the comment. Again, she's smiling.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Belly of the beast
David S. Glasier
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
During this AL Championship series, some players on the Indians have expressed wonder at the size of the media contingent streaming into their clubhouse before and after games.
Third baseman Casey Blake was smiling and shaking his head yesterday when, before an off-day workout, he was encircled by at least 20 media types wielding notepads, tape recorders, microphones and TV cameras.
No offense meant to the always accomodating Blake and his equally media-friendly teammmates, but they've had it easy compared to the guys quartered on the opposite side of the lower level in the visitors clubhouse at Jacobs Field.
Let me set the scene as I witnessed it yesterday.
Just before the 1:15 p.m. opening of the Boston clubhouse, I counted 86 people with media badges waiting to get inside. At least 15 of the properly credentialed had TV cameras perched on their shoulders.
When the doors swung open, the media mass moved as one into the main clubhouse. My eyeball's guess is that the room measures 60 feet by 25 feet. Comfortable, to be sure, but maybe half the size of the home team's digs.
The majority of the media types were from newspapers, radio stations and TV stations in New England that regularly cover the Red Sox. Plenty of big-city newspapers had reporters in the room, too, as did ESPN, Fox Sports and a bunch of sports dot.coms a la mlb.com and espn.com.
Once inside, the wait was on for individual Red Sox players to appear at their assigned dressing stalls and signal a willingness to talk.
When one of Boston's big-name players did so, the rapid movement of media types toward interviewee was analagous to antibodies surrounding and enveloping rogue cells in the bloodstream.
The media crowd fanned out six-deep around Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek in a half-circle. If you were in the first couple of rows, no problem. From the third row back, it was lean in and hope to catch bits of the conversation with scribbled notes or a tape recorder.
Varitek, in his 10th season with the Red Sox, was in complete command of the situation. He knows the drill - TV videographers roll in with the first wave, get what they need in five or so minutes and then step back to allow print and radio reporters to move in and do their thing.
The scene was repeated in front of the stalls of two other media-savvy veterans, first baseman Kevin Youklis and Mike Lowell.
This reporter staked out his turf in the first row of the scrum around Lowell. It proved to be a mixed blessing, as prime access came at the price of having to make like a wall as multiple layers of men and women leaned in to get within earshot of Lowell.
(Memo to self: All the squat thrusts you did this summer just paid a dividend.)
Then came the day's biggest and most pleasant surprise.
Amiable but enigmatic Boston slugger Manny Ramirez, who started his career with the Indians, decided to hold court for only the second time in two years.
That's the good news. The great news was Ramirez was stationed two stalls down from Lowell. All I had to do was pivot slightly to the left to be in the second row for "Manny being Manny.''
The normally media-shy Ramirez stole the show, holding forth on topics ranging from his latest return visit to Jacobs Field, post-home run antics and his team dangling on the edge of postseason oblivion.
"Alright everybody, it's time for the 2 o'clock workout. Let the players do their work,'' said a team official.
With that, the interview session ended and the media types slowly filed out of the clubhouse.
It was just another moment in another October day in Red Sox Nation, where baseball long ago ceased being a pastime and became an obsession.
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
During this AL Championship series, some players on the Indians have expressed wonder at the size of the media contingent streaming into their clubhouse before and after games.
Third baseman Casey Blake was smiling and shaking his head yesterday when, before an off-day workout, he was encircled by at least 20 media types wielding notepads, tape recorders, microphones and TV cameras.
No offense meant to the always accomodating Blake and his equally media-friendly teammmates, but they've had it easy compared to the guys quartered on the opposite side of the lower level in the visitors clubhouse at Jacobs Field.
Let me set the scene as I witnessed it yesterday.
Just before the 1:15 p.m. opening of the Boston clubhouse, I counted 86 people with media badges waiting to get inside. At least 15 of the properly credentialed had TV cameras perched on their shoulders.
When the doors swung open, the media mass moved as one into the main clubhouse. My eyeball's guess is that the room measures 60 feet by 25 feet. Comfortable, to be sure, but maybe half the size of the home team's digs.
The majority of the media types were from newspapers, radio stations and TV stations in New England that regularly cover the Red Sox. Plenty of big-city newspapers had reporters in the room, too, as did ESPN, Fox Sports and a bunch of sports dot.coms a la mlb.com and espn.com.
Once inside, the wait was on for individual Red Sox players to appear at their assigned dressing stalls and signal a willingness to talk.
When one of Boston's big-name players did so, the rapid movement of media types toward interviewee was analagous to antibodies surrounding and enveloping rogue cells in the bloodstream.
The media crowd fanned out six-deep around Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek in a half-circle. If you were in the first couple of rows, no problem. From the third row back, it was lean in and hope to catch bits of the conversation with scribbled notes or a tape recorder.
Varitek, in his 10th season with the Red Sox, was in complete command of the situation. He knows the drill - TV videographers roll in with the first wave, get what they need in five or so minutes and then step back to allow print and radio reporters to move in and do their thing.
The scene was repeated in front of the stalls of two other media-savvy veterans, first baseman Kevin Youklis and Mike Lowell.
This reporter staked out his turf in the first row of the scrum around Lowell. It proved to be a mixed blessing, as prime access came at the price of having to make like a wall as multiple layers of men and women leaned in to get within earshot of Lowell.
(Memo to self: All the squat thrusts you did this summer just paid a dividend.)
Then came the day's biggest and most pleasant surprise.
Amiable but enigmatic Boston slugger Manny Ramirez, who started his career with the Indians, decided to hold court for only the second time in two years.
That's the good news. The great news was Ramirez was stationed two stalls down from Lowell. All I had to do was pivot slightly to the left to be in the second row for "Manny being Manny.''
The normally media-shy Ramirez stole the show, holding forth on topics ranging from his latest return visit to Jacobs Field, post-home run antics and his team dangling on the edge of postseason oblivion.
"Alright everybody, it's time for the 2 o'clock workout. Let the players do their work,'' said a team official.
With that, the interview session ended and the media types slowly filed out of the clubhouse.
It was just another moment in another October day in Red Sox Nation, where baseball long ago ceased being a pastime and became an obsession.
Proud teacher, star pupil
David S. Glasier
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
It's great talking baseball with Lee May Jr.
May just finished his fourth year as a coach or manager in the Indians' minor-league organization. This season, he was hitting coach for the Class AA Akron Aeros.
In 2006, the 39-year-old son of former major-league standout Lee May managed the Lake County Captains, the full-season Class A team I've been covering as beat reporter for five years.
The younger May is a baseball guy by choice and by birth. He was the first-round draft choice of the New York Mets in 1986 out of high school in his native Cincinnati.
Although he never made it to the big leagues as a player, May now is helping some of the most talented prospects in the Tribe's farm system hone their skills.
One of those prospects, 21-year-old middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, started the 2007 season at Akron. May worked with Cabrera on driving the ball more consistently.
Cabrera was promoted to Class AAA Buffalo on July 30 and to the Indians on Aug. 7. Tribe manager Eric Wedge quickly made Cabrera his starting second baseman and No. 2 hitter.
May was in town this week along with many other Tribe minor-league managers and coaches to watch Games 3 and 4 against Boston in the AL Championship Series.
I ran into May both nights at post-game receptions at Jacobs Field. He is pumped about the way the Indians have played in beating the Yankees in AL Division Series and staking themselves to a 3-1 lead over Boston in the best-of-seven ALCS.
"The Indians are doing so many things well right now,'' May said. "They're getting contributions from everybody in the batting order. The pitching and defense have been great, too.''
May is proud of the way Cabrera emerged as a key contributor in the Indians' exciting run to the brink of the franchise's first World Series appearance since 1997.
"As a coach or manager in the minor leagues, there's nothing more satisfying then seeing guys you worked with get to the big leagues and make an impact,'' May said.
If at all possible, May said he'll be back Thursday to take in Game 5 at Jacobs Field.
"I'd love to see these guys finish the job against Boston at home and get to the World Series,'' May said.
So would Tribe fans everywhere.
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
It's great talking baseball with Lee May Jr.
May just finished his fourth year as a coach or manager in the Indians' minor-league organization. This season, he was hitting coach for the Class AA Akron Aeros.
In 2006, the 39-year-old son of former major-league standout Lee May managed the Lake County Captains, the full-season Class A team I've been covering as beat reporter for five years.
The younger May is a baseball guy by choice and by birth. He was the first-round draft choice of the New York Mets in 1986 out of high school in his native Cincinnati.
Although he never made it to the big leagues as a player, May now is helping some of the most talented prospects in the Tribe's farm system hone their skills.
One of those prospects, 21-year-old middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, started the 2007 season at Akron. May worked with Cabrera on driving the ball more consistently.
Cabrera was promoted to Class AAA Buffalo on July 30 and to the Indians on Aug. 7. Tribe manager Eric Wedge quickly made Cabrera his starting second baseman and No. 2 hitter.
May was in town this week along with many other Tribe minor-league managers and coaches to watch Games 3 and 4 against Boston in the AL Championship Series.
I ran into May both nights at post-game receptions at Jacobs Field. He is pumped about the way the Indians have played in beating the Yankees in AL Division Series and staking themselves to a 3-1 lead over Boston in the best-of-seven ALCS.
"The Indians are doing so many things well right now,'' May said. "They're getting contributions from everybody in the batting order. The pitching and defense have been great, too.''
May is proud of the way Cabrera emerged as a key contributor in the Indians' exciting run to the brink of the franchise's first World Series appearance since 1997.
"As a coach or manager in the minor leagues, there's nothing more satisfying then seeing guys you worked with get to the big leagues and make an impact,'' May said.
If at all possible, May said he'll be back Thursday to take in Game 5 at Jacobs Field.
"I'd love to see these guys finish the job against Boston at home and get to the World Series,'' May said.
So would Tribe fans everywhere.
Monday, October 15, 2007
The "it'' factor
David S. Glasier
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
Indians closer Joe Borowski isn't quite sure when "it'' happened.
"It,'' Borowski explained after the Tribe's 4-2 victory Monday over Boston in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series, being the moment he and his teammates bought into the notion they were serious World Series contenders and not just pretenders.
"It was when we started to believe we belonged here and were here for a reason,'' Borowski said.
Probably, a combination of moments have carried the Indians to the brink of something big in this marathon of a season.
Maybe it was when the Indians shook off their August funk and stormed through September to claim their first AL Central title and playoff berth since 2001.
Maybe it was finishing the regular season with a 96-66 record, tied for tops in the big leagues with Boston.
Maybe it was when they powered past the bugs and the New York Yankees to win the AL Division Series in four games.
Maybe it was when, in the wee hours Sunday morning, they hung a 7-spot on the Red Sox in the top of the 11th inning to win Game 2 at Fenway Park.
Borowski said he's less concerned with pinpointing "it' than enjoying "it'' to the fullest.
Consider the reaction in the Indians bullpen Monday when starting pitcher and eventual winner Jake Westbrook used three inning-ending double plays to squelch promising Boston rallies.
"We're down there screaming and pumping our fists. It was great,'' Borowski said.
To be sure, the Indians have a lock on nothing right now beyond carrying a one-game lead into Game 4 tonight at Jacobs Field. This series could still turn Boston's way in a heartbeat.
But the more you watch Borowski and his teammates go about their business, the more they seem possessed of the "it'' that extends a season deep into October.
DGlasier@News-Herald.com
Indians closer Joe Borowski isn't quite sure when "it'' happened.
"It,'' Borowski explained after the Tribe's 4-2 victory Monday over Boston in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series, being the moment he and his teammates bought into the notion they were serious World Series contenders and not just pretenders.
"It was when we started to believe we belonged here and were here for a reason,'' Borowski said.
Probably, a combination of moments have carried the Indians to the brink of something big in this marathon of a season.
Maybe it was when the Indians shook off their August funk and stormed through September to claim their first AL Central title and playoff berth since 2001.
Maybe it was finishing the regular season with a 96-66 record, tied for tops in the big leagues with Boston.
Maybe it was when they powered past the bugs and the New York Yankees to win the AL Division Series in four games.
Maybe it was when, in the wee hours Sunday morning, they hung a 7-spot on the Red Sox in the top of the 11th inning to win Game 2 at Fenway Park.
Borowski said he's less concerned with pinpointing "it' than enjoying "it'' to the fullest.
Consider the reaction in the Indians bullpen Monday when starting pitcher and eventual winner Jake Westbrook used three inning-ending double plays to squelch promising Boston rallies.
"We're down there screaming and pumping our fists. It was great,'' Borowski said.
To be sure, the Indians have a lock on nothing right now beyond carrying a one-game lead into Game 4 tonight at Jacobs Field. This series could still turn Boston's way in a heartbeat.
But the more you watch Borowski and his teammates go about their business, the more they seem possessed of the "it'' that extends a season deep into October.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The longest night
Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
So you say you want to be a baseball writer? Well, the baseball writers who were covering the Indians-Red Sox game Saturday night at Fenway Park were seriously questioning their choice of a profession at about 1 a.m.
See, there’s this thing in the newspaper business called a deadline. That’s the time by which you must get your story in so it can appear in all the papers.
Saturday night’s game was a baseball writer’s worst nightmare: an east coast game that went so long it ended on west coast time. Most of the reporters at the game missed at least some portion of their deadlines.
Let’s just say that when a game ends at 1:38 a.m. in the morning, the chance of you reading about it in your morning paper isn’t real good.
It reminded me of a game I covered in Oakland several years ago. There was a rain delay, and then the game went into extra innings. The game ended at something like 4 a.m. Cleveland time.
After the game, I sent my story to the paper, and called the office. The night watchman answered the phone and said there was nobody there. The papers had already been printed. Everyone had gone home.
To this day, I don’t think anyone east of the Mississippi knows what happened in that game.
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
So you say you want to be a baseball writer? Well, the baseball writers who were covering the Indians-Red Sox game Saturday night at Fenway Park were seriously questioning their choice of a profession at about 1 a.m.
See, there’s this thing in the newspaper business called a deadline. That’s the time by which you must get your story in so it can appear in all the papers.
Saturday night’s game was a baseball writer’s worst nightmare: an east coast game that went so long it ended on west coast time. Most of the reporters at the game missed at least some portion of their deadlines.
Let’s just say that when a game ends at 1:38 a.m. in the morning, the chance of you reading about it in your morning paper isn’t real good.
It reminded me of a game I covered in Oakland several years ago. There was a rain delay, and then the game went into extra innings. The game ended at something like 4 a.m. Cleveland time.
After the game, I sent my story to the paper, and called the office. The night watchman answered the phone and said there was nobody there. The papers had already been printed. Everyone had gone home.
To this day, I don’t think anyone east of the Mississippi knows what happened in that game.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Fenway
Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
First trips to Fenway Park can be memorable. It’s not often you get to visit a ballpark built in 1912, and still hosting major league games nearly 100 years later.
“I’ve always wanted to come here, and I finally made it,’’ said Channel 5 cameraman Tom Livingston. “When I walked through the gates I thought I’d hear the sound of trumpets and angels singing.’’
Fenway does have a different feel, a different, smell, a different sound than other major league parks. For all its character and charm, however, it’s not the greatest place in which to watch a game.
The seats are very close together, the aisles very narrow, and the concrete under the stands in the concourse is uneven and at times slippery.
But it is one of the only places you can go to watch a ballgame being played on the same field Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb played on, so there’s something to be said for that.
There’s another feature at Fenway that is very appealing. They play organ music there. A lot. This is just a personal opinion, but there isn’t enough organ music played in major league ballparks anymore.
In most parks the music is loud, short bursts of recorded music, sandwiched around all the mindless games and gimmicky promotions displayed on the Jumbotron.
Fenway Park doesn’t have a Jumbotron.
That’s another reason why Fenway is so nice to visit. It can be noisy, but the noise is generated by the baseball team, not the marketing department.
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
First trips to Fenway Park can be memorable. It’s not often you get to visit a ballpark built in 1912, and still hosting major league games nearly 100 years later.
“I’ve always wanted to come here, and I finally made it,’’ said Channel 5 cameraman Tom Livingston. “When I walked through the gates I thought I’d hear the sound of trumpets and angels singing.’’
Fenway does have a different feel, a different, smell, a different sound than other major league parks. For all its character and charm, however, it’s not the greatest place in which to watch a game.
The seats are very close together, the aisles very narrow, and the concrete under the stands in the concourse is uneven and at times slippery.
But it is one of the only places you can go to watch a ballgame being played on the same field Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb played on, so there’s something to be said for that.
There’s another feature at Fenway that is very appealing. They play organ music there. A lot. This is just a personal opinion, but there isn’t enough organ music played in major league ballparks anymore.
In most parks the music is loud, short bursts of recorded music, sandwiched around all the mindless games and gimmicky promotions displayed on the Jumbotron.
Fenway Park doesn’t have a Jumbotron.
That’s another reason why Fenway is so nice to visit. It can be noisy, but the noise is generated by the baseball team, not the marketing department.
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