Wickman’s
Warriors 2005 Player of the Year
#31
- Cliff Lee
With the magnificent performance by the entire Cleveland Indians pitching staff last season, it’s a small wonder that the pick for Warriors Club Player of the Year would be a pitcher. Of the seven nominees - Scott Elarton, Arthur Rhodes, Scott Sauerbeck, David Riske, Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Cliff Lee - five are hurlers.
On an Indians pitching staff that was tops in the American League in ERA (3.61), Cliff Lee finished at a respectable 3.79. But it was his 18-5 record that attests to the fact that he was the ace of the 2005 starting staff - a staff the likes of which Tribe fans probably won’t see again anytime soon. Simply put, when Cliff Lee pitched, we won.
Yet going into the month of July with a record of 9-3, Cliff Lee again failed to make the 2005 All-Star team (Bob Wickman was the team’s only rep.). In 2004, 10 wins at the break weren’t enough for Lee to make the squad.
“One of my goals is to make the All-Star team. Maybe one year I’ll do it, but it’s completely out of my control right now.”
Perhaps the third time will be the charm. Lee’s overall record after completing his second full season in the Bigs is an impressive 35-17, and his growth and improvement as a pitcher continue at a steady pace.
Until then, Cliff Lee will have to settle for taking top honors as the Warriors Club’s proud Player of the Year for 2005.
|
|
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SHO |
SV |
SVO |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
|
2005 |
18 |
5 |
3.79 |
32 |
32 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
202.0 |
194 |
91 |
85 |
22 |
52 |
143 |
|
Career |
35 |
17 |
4.38 |
76 |
76 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
443.2 |
429 |
234 |
216 |
59 |
161 |
354 |
*The fourth annual “Golden Spitter” trophy will be presented to Cliff Lee at the First Pitch Luncheon on April 11th by Joseph Ladd and Mr. Bob Wickman.
Scott
Elarton didn’t care much for the “Fifth Starter” tag at the beginning of
the season, but after finishing the year on the best pitching staff the Indians
have seen in decades I’m sure that he’s been called worse things.
Scott started the last game of the
’05 campaign on October 2nd, the game that saw the Tribe’s
storybook season come to a heartbreaking end. Though not one of his best starts,
he pitched well enough to win. Like so many of the team’s other gut wrenching
losses during the year, he was betrayed by anemic run support.
For a pitcher with past shoulder
and arm problems, Elarton came out strong, durable and stayed reliable to the
very end. He went 4-2 in the last month finishing up the season at 11-9 with a
4.61 ERA in 31 games started. In 181.2 innings pitched, he gave up 189 hits, 93
earned runs, 32 homers, and 48 walks with 103 strikeouts.
“The toughest part about this is
that we had such a good chance to make it,” said Elarton after the 3-1 loss to
Chicago in the final game. “It’s tough to take for granted that we’ll get
the kind of performances we got from so many people this year next season.”
Scott is one of the free agent pitchers who are question marks for next year, along with Kevin Millwood, Bob Howry, Scott Sauerbeck, and of course Bobby Wick. We can only hope that they’ll all be back to try and repeat their fine performances.
We’ll need Wick back to present the Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Year trophy in April. Say your prayers, Warriors…
A
sub par start to the 2005 season turned out to be no hindrance for August’s
Player of the Month. Catcher Victor Martinez figured that at some point he’d
hit as he’s always hit, and that point seems to have arrived.
As one of the driving forces behind the Tribe’s
emergence as a serious wild card contender, Victor has raised his batting
average from a mediocre .267 to .294 as August rolled toward September. Martinez
was named American League Player of the Week for the week of 8-22 to 8-28, in
which he batted .536 (15-for-28), hit three homers, knocked in six runs and
scored eight.
“I’ve been kinda lucky that I hit the ball and find
the hole,” said Victor. He’s been finding a lot of holes lately. Some of his
numbers on the season: in 119 games played, Martinez is batting .294 with 18
home runs, 68 RBIs, 131 hits, 48 walks with 58 strike outs and 58 runs scored.
He also had back-to-back four-hit games, becoming the first Indians catcher to
do so since Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1997.
Let’s hope the Warriors Club’s proud Player of the
Month keeps up his torrid pace during this seasons crucial final month to help
drive the Indians to their first playoff berth since 2001.
As
the first non-pitcher to win Player-of-the-Month this year, the Tribe's Jhonny
Peralta ended the month of July in grand fashion.
In the final game of a four game series in Seattle with the Mariners on July
31st, the Indians’ young shortstop knocked in a career high 4
RBI’s, highlighted by a 3-run double in the second inning
of Cleveland’s 9-7 victory.
Jhonny started the season in the
unenviable position of trying to take the place of Omar Vizquel, but has quietly
proven that he is a legitimate core player on which the Indians can build a
contender. His defense was
a
bit
shaky early during the adjustment period, but his bat has been solid throughout the
season so far.
Peralta finished up the month of
July batting .298, with 87 hits, 46 RBI’s, 14 home runs, 27 walks and 70
strikeouts in 87 games played. One of the biggest question marks at the
beginning of the year, Jhonny has been providing much needed power to the team's anemic offense. He and second
baseman Ronnie Belliard provide a more than adequate double play combination
behind Wick and the boys.
Add in a complimentary comparison to Derek Jeter from Bobby Wick, and Jhonny Peralta takes top honors as Wickman’s Warriors proud Player-of-the-Month for July ’05.
Last
year at this time, Indians starting pitcher Cliff Lee had 10 wins and felt
pretty good about his chances of making the All-Star team. This year,
Cliff goes into the month of July with 9 wins and 3 losses. Inexplicably,
he has failed both times to make the squad.
Cliff was understandably disappointed about coming up short again. He didn't even give Ken Griffey Jr. a shave this year.
"One of my goals is to make the All-Star team. Maybe one year I'll do it, but it's completely out of my control right now."
Lee has an ERA of 3.68 in 17 games, with 73 strike outs against 30 walks in 102.2 innings pitched.
It's tough luck for a classy starting pitcher and a stand-up guy, but maybe Cliff will come away with the Golden Spitter at the end of the year as a consolation prize. Until then, he'll have to settle for being the Wickman's Warriors proud Play-of-the-Month for June of '05.
The
two lefties in the best bullpen in the League tied for last month’s Warriors
Club Player of the Month award.
In a deal with the Pirates on December 11th, the Tribe picked up Arthur Rhodes in exchange for right fielder Matt Lawton. Arthur is a flyball pitcher who has bounced back from a bad season with Oakland. In 22 games (21.2 IP), Rhodes is 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA, with 18 strikeouts and 3 walks. He’s been more effective against righties (.145) than lefties (.273).
Scott Sauerbeck was coming off rotator cuff surgery when he signed with the Indians in 2003. Signed as an injured player in 2004, Scott was ready to compete for a job in spring training of this year. In 21 games (16 IP), Sauerbeck posted a 0-0 win/loss record, a 3.94 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 5 walks. The side-armer is stellar against lefties, not so with righties (.387).
The two southpaws are almost interchangeable in the bullpen. Rhodes usually pitches in the eighth or ninth, but Eric Wedge has used Sauerbeck in the same spots.
“Having Rhodes and Sauerbeck allows us to do things in the game that we couldn’t do last year,” said pitching coach Carl Willis. “We’ve played a lot of tight games, a lot of extra inning games, and we’ve got seven guys that just keep on pitching well together.”
In another Wick’s Warriors first, 2 of those 7 guys are saluted as Players of the Month for May 2005, adding at least one additional candidate for the Golden Spitter trophy given to the Player of the Year this fall.
Can
anyone stand the suspense?
After last year’s April from hell, who
would have thought this year’s first Player of the Month award would go to a
reliever?
It’s always fun to give the
Warriors’ POM award to a bullpen guy, since Bobby Wick isn’t eligible to receive
it himself. The honor could really have gone to the entire pen for the first
month of the 2005 campaign, and I’m sure David Riske would be more than glad to
share it.
David’s numbers a year ago
didn’t look quite as nice. Wick’s unexpected injury in spring training rankled
the makeup of the bullpen just before opening day, throwing Riske into the
closer’s role. You won’t, however, find him using that as an excuse.
“Pressure had
nothing to do with it,” says Riske. “I love being in tight situations. I thrive
on them. I just pitched poorly. Every player goes through down periods over the
course of the season, and mine happened to come at the wrong time.”
Not this April. Through the end of the
month, Riske posted a 1-0 win-loss record with an outstanding 0.00 ERA in
11-1/3
innings pitched, giving up 5 hits for a .125 BAA. In his last 41 appearances,
David has posted a 1.49 ERA in 42-1/3 (7
earned runs).
“My main job is to help this
team no matter where I’m pitching, and we’ve got a great closer right now in Bob
Wickman- but I’d definitely like to close should the opportunity arise again,”
Riske said.
For the time being, the Warriors Club is happy with things just the way they are: Bobzilla closing, and Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month David Riske as his setup man.
Wickman’s
Warriors 2004 Player of the Year
#48
- Travis “Pronk” Hafner
This years’ choice for Player of the Year was the
most difficult and controversial since the Warriors Club instituted the award 3
years ago. The competition among the 6 Player of the Month candidates in 2004
was fierce, with every player turning in a serious bid for the top honor.
Jake
Westbrook, Victor Martinez and Ronnie Belliard were All-Stars. Lefty Cliff Lee
was fabulous in the first half and Coco Crisp continued to answer every
challenge with solid performances. Westbrook started the season in the bullpen
and ended up winning 14 games. Martinez elevated his game to where he looks like
the next I-Rod, and Belliard’s bat and defense sizzled for much of the season.
In
the end, though, the numbers don’t lie, and one player quietly put up some
big-time stats. Originally tapped to fill Jim Thome’s shoes after he bolted 2
years ago, Travis Hafner has become a more than adequate replacement and is
already a hometown favorite. 
Through
140 games played, Hafner (a.k.a. Pronk) lead the Indians with a .311 batting
average and 109 RBI’s. He finished with 150 hits and 96 runs scored, while his
28 home runs tied Casey Blake for the team best.
Travis could
have padded his stats a little if not for missing a few games at the end of the
season with a sore elbow, which he had successful surgery on in October.
Playing
all season long with elbow pain is good for extra-credit in Bob Wickman’s
club, and it may have been the added boost Pronk needed to nab the “Golden
Spitter” trophy and top honors as Wickman’s Warriors proud Player of the
Year for 2004.
*The Wickman’s Warriors POY trophy will be presented in to Travis Hafner in April, 2005 at the First Pitch Luncheon by Bob Wickman and Joe Ladd.
Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month – September,
2004 Playing
in pain alone won’t get you an award from the Warriors Club, but it sure doesn’t
hurt your chances. (OK…Sorry) After all, Wick
set the standard on playing with elbow pain, and a true warrior always puts the
team first.
Travis Hafner has gone all season with chips and spurring in his elbow
and will have surgery on October 6th to correct the problem. The man
known as “Pronk” had a similar operation in 1997.
“Usually you don’t want to have surgery, but after a while you just get
sick of it hurting,” said Hafner.
Travis finished the month (and pretty much the year) hitting .311
(150-for-482) with 28 homers (tied with Casey Blake for the team best) and 109
RBI. He may make another pinch-hitting appearance in October, but if not he’ll
finish off the season as one of the best designated hitters in the league. He
has solidified himself as one of Mark Shapiro’s core players around which the
2005 team will be built.
Travis Hafner completes the Player of the Month list for 2004. As always,
the six POM winners are automatically nominated for the illustrious “Golden
Spitter” trophy, which is presented to the Wickman’s Warriors Player of the
Year.
Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month for August 2004 grabbed a handful
of dirt from the warning track at Yankee Stadium before the August
31st game against the Indians began.
Tribe All-Star
second baseman Ronnie Belliard was born in the Bronx and wondered if his dream
of playing at the “Zoo” would ever come true. His first game at Yankee Stadium
was one for the record books as the Indians demoralized the pinstripes 22-0, a
game in which Ronnie went 3-for-6 with a run
batted in and 3 scored.
Belliard, who
has been labeled a second-half fizzler,
has sizzled to a .295 average since the break. He finished out the month of
August batting .301 with 154 hits in 512 at- bats, 61 RBI’s, 8 home runs, 55
walks with 83 strikeouts.
Ronnie credits hitting coach Eddie Murray with much of the success that
he’s enjoyed this season. “I’ve worked with Eddie a lot,” Belliard said. “He
tells me that some days I am swinging just too hard. He’s always trying to slow
me down.”
Hopefully this Warriors Club Player of the Month won’t slow down his sizzling pace anytime soon, as the Indians take their last shot at catching the division-leading Twins. J. Ladd 9-1-04
Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month – July
2004In
addition to representing the Indians in the All-Star game on July 13th in
Houston, Tribe catcher Victor Martinez was also named American League Player of
the Week twice this season.
Now
he can add the prestigious Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month award to his
growing collection of honors.
Victor
finished the month of July batting .304, with 17 home runs, 107 hits, and 79 RBI
in 352 at-bats this season. In the July 16th 18-6 thumping of the Seattle
Mariners, Martinez set three career highs by going 5-5 with 3 homers and 7
RBI’s, becoming the first Indians catcher to hit 3 dingers in a game.
“He’s
had a great year, even though he continues to learn on the job,” said Tribe
Manager Eric Wedge on Victor’s magnificent July run. “He’s been strong behind
the plate. He’s understood what we’ve been looking for from him both offensively
and defensively.”
Victor Martinez represents one of Mark Shapiro’s “core” players upon which the future of the Indians will be built. Wickman’s Warriors acknowledges Victor’s fine work and salutes him as our proud Player of the Month for July.
Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month - June, 2004 When the Wickman’s Warriors Road Trippers partied with Coco Crisp at Beef O’ Brady’s in Winterhaven last March, a lot of people had him a long shot to even make the team. But Milton Bradley’s spring training meltdown paved the way for Coco, and Alex Escobar’s demotion to Buffalo earlier this month gave him a chance to show the Indians what he could do full time.
His newfound freedom at the
opportunity to play every day translated into his hitting .389 in the games
without Escobar in the lineup, ending the month of June batting .262 with
22RBI’s, 48 hits, 3 home runs and a .311 OBP.
“You could see a change in his
demeanor,” Eric Wedge said of Crisp’s focus in the last couple of weeks. “He’s
really turned a page. I think he has more to give us, too.”
The Warriors Club loves to recognize players that go above and beyond for the team, just like the guy we’re named after. Hats off to our proud Player of the Month for June, Coco Crisp -- a guy who wouldn’t settle for a “fourth outfielder” tag.
Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month - May, 2004 
Cliff Lee’s best
pitching performance of the year didn’t even figure into his win/loss record. He
remained 5-0 at the end of May after his stellar 6 and one-third shutout innings
on May 28th. In a match up with Oakland’s Barry Zito, Lee handcuffed
the red-hot A’s by giving up 4 hits, walking 5 and striking out a season high 8
batters in a terrific pitcher’s duel that the Tribe won in the 9th on
Casey Blake’s walk-off homer.
The no-decision
didn’t seem to bother Cliff, who lowered his season ERA to 2.87 (3rd
lowest in the American League). “They didn’t score, so I’m happy.” What he
wasn’t happy about was being pulled in the 6th after throwing 109
pitches. “I don’t like to come out, especially in the middle of an inning,” Lee
said.
Good things have happened for the Indians
so far this year when Cliff has taken the mound. After being sidelined for much
of last year with hernia problems, Lee has pitched well and given his team a
chance to win in each of his appearances. And win they have.
Hats off to Tribe starter Cliff Lee, the
Warriors Club proud Player of the Month for May.
Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month - April, 2004
The hands-down
winner of the first Player of the Month award for 2004 is pitcher Jake
Westbrook. Jake was named American League Player of the Week on 4-26 after retiring 27 consecutive batters over three
appearances.
Westbrook gave up two runs
on two hits in 16 innings of back-to-back appearances against Detroit (April 19,
25). He pitched seven perfect innings in relief at Cleveland, then threw a
two-hitter in a start at Comerica. Counting a final out recorded April
14th against Minnesota, Jake compiled a pseudo-perfect game. Lenny
Barker needn’t worry though- his record is still safe for now.
After beginning the season as the
Indians'
long man, Westbrook’s outstanding performance may land him in the starting
rotation. Eric Wedge and Mark Shapiro have yet to make that call as of the time
this article, but it’s a very difficult decision given the current state of the
team’s bullpen.
Whatever their decision, it’s comforting to know that the Tribe has Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Month Jake Westbrook to call on to stop the bleeding when needed.
Wickman’s
Warriors 2003 Player of the Year
#9 - Jody Gerut
Award Announcement
Jody
Gerut didn’t let his late start stop him from
snagging the Warriors Club top honor for
the 2003 season.
A leading candidate for Rookie of the
Year, Gerut’s season with the Tribe started with an April 26th call-up and ended with him hitting
.279 (134-for-480) with a team- high 22 home runs and 75 RBI’s in 127 games.
Jody led American League rookies in slugging percentage (.494), was third in
home runs, fourth in RBI’s and tied for fifth in runs with 66. He also made
enough highlight catches to earn some recognition for the Gold Glove.
The 26-year-old Gerut stepped it up against the league’s
elite, batting .331 against the Yankees, Twins, Red Sox and Athletics.
Jody says he
won’t let his success affect how he approaches his preparation for 2004.
“People say the second year
is tougher, especially coming off a good year. But I’ll just
try to keep a humble heart and not lose the chip on my shoulder.”
Jody Gerut beat out fellow Player of the Month winners Ricardo Rodriguez, C.C. Sabathia, Milton Bradley, Jack Cressend and David Riske for the 2003 Golden Spitter trophy, which will be presented next spring. The club is hopeful Bobby Wick, who inspires the award, will do the presentation honors at the First Pitch Luncheon in April. We are equally hopeful that he won’t help Jody break it in.
The 2003 Nominees:
Wickman’s
Warriors 2002 Player of the Year
#55 - Danys Baez
Presentation
CeremonyDanys Baez was presented
with his Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Year award for 2002 at the Tribe’s
First Pitch Luncheon on April 9th. The much-coveted “Golden Spitter”
trophy is awarded to the player that excels at his position while always putting
the team before himself, and is picked from among the 6 Player of the Month
nominees during the season. Baez beat out Omar Vizquel, Bartolo Colon, Karim
Garcia, Paul Shuey and C.C. Sabathia for last year’s top honor.
Although Bob Wickman inspires the award, he is not eligible to receive it. Hopefully he won’t help Danys break it in, either.
Award Announcement
Among
the qualities required to be chosen as a Wickman’s Warrior Player of the Month
is perseverance. All six of the 2002 POM awardees have shown that attribute
during this past year’s difficult campaign. Tribe pitcher Danys Baez has
demonstrated the ability to excel no matter what his team asks of him.
After
spending most of the 2001 season in the minors, Danys was called upon late to be
Bob Wickman’s set-up man and to help the Indians in their drive to win the
Central. He was moved to the starting rotation for 2002, where he pitched much
better than his 10 – 11 record would indicate- as the team was decimated all
around him by trades and injuries.
As
the season mercifully wound down, Danys’ final test found him in the closer’s
role after Wick’s year ended with a torn ligament in his pitching arm. Baez
became much more aggressive and accurate with his pitches as a reliever. The
Indians replaced his changeup with a splitter to compliment his 94-97 MPH
fastball. Danys went 6-2 as a closer, the role he now finds himself in until
Wick’s return in 2004. He’s quick off the mound and fields his position well.
The Tribe must be careful not to overuse him. Danys thinks he’s superman and can
pitch every day, much like the man he replaced.
Some of Baez’s other 2002 stats:
W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO SV BLSV
10 11 4.41 39 26 165.1 160 84 81 14 82 130 6
2
So although the competition was fierce among the six nominees, one very young and relatively inexperienced player rose to the ever-changing demands of his team in splendid fashion. His versatility, determination, competitiveness, professionalism and team spirit have earned Danys Baez the honor and title of being the very first “Wickman’s Warriors Player of the Year”.
The 2002 Nominees:
