Wickman's Warriors

10-21-07: BOSTON -- A few eyes reddened. More than a few hugs were shared.

Corrupting the quiet of the visitors' clubhouse was the distant roar of the Fenway Park crowd, as the American League championship trophy was hoisted by the home club. It could have been them.

The Indians swallowed that hard truth as best they could in the wake of their 11-2 loss to the Red Sox in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series on Sunday night. They wrestled with the knowledge that they had become just the sixth team in LCS history to see a 3-1 series lead go to waste.

And then, just as they've done quite often in this season of unimaginable perseverance, they accentuated the positive -- even when it was at its most difficult to decipher.

"There's no reason to hang our heads," said Jake Westbrook, whose six gutsy innings of work had made victory seem so tantalizingly obtainable earlier in the evening. "It's disappointing, yes, but you look back on it -- we came together as a team. I think we're going to look back at what a great year we had and what a great team we had. This is something we'll learn from."

The lessons came hard and fast the last few days. One victory away from clinching the organization's first World Series berth in a decade, the Indians were blindsided, 30-5, over the last three games of this series.

Behind a patient offensive attack, a bend-but-don't-break start from Paul Byrd and some resolute relief work on Monday night, the Tribe pulled off a captivating, 6-4 victory in Game 4 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium.

Now, it's on to Boston, where the Indians will open the best-of-seven ALCS on Friday night at Fenway Park. It will be the Tribe's first ALCS appearance since 1998.

"This is what you dream of," center fielder Grady Sizemore said. "When we broke camp, this is where we wanted to be, and we believed we could do it."

Byrd had joked that he was playing the part of the "little gun" to the bigger guns provided by Sabathia and Fausto Carmona. Clearly, the little gun fired a big shot into the heart of the Yankees' hopes.

"One of my goals was to keep their fans out of the game," Byrd said. "I didn't want to start walking people and hearing the crowd go crazy with each ball."

The crowd was largely held quiet, particularly when the Indians provided added separation and support for Byrd in the fourth. After Mussina intentionally walked Hafner to load the bases, Martinez ripped a two-run single up the middle.

And so it was a 6-2 lead that was handed to the Tribe bullpen in the sixth. As was the case all series, the 'pen did not disappoint.

10-5-07: This was a night that echoed a year. The man known as Pronk had struggled all season to live up to his own enormous potential, and the frustration was mounting on the game's biggest stage. Then came a twist.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Hafner drew a full count from reliever Luis Vizcaino and lined a single up the middle to score Kenny Lofton with the winning run. It gave the Tribe a thrilling 2-1 victory and a commanding 2-0 lead in an ALDS that will now shift from Jacobs Field to Yankee Stadium.

"I came up in a great situation," Hafner said of his heroic at-bat. "Bases loaded, two outs. That's what you dream about as a kid."

In the eighth, something happened that neither club could have expected. With the Indians down, 1-0, and up to bat in the bottom of the inning, a swarm of insects descended upon The Jake and severely bugged Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain.

A distracted Chamberlain walked Sizemore, then threw a wild pitch that allowed Sizemore to move to second. Sizemore advanced to third on Asdrubal Cabrera's sacrifice bunt. And when Chamberlain threw another wild pitch, Sizemore sped home and just barely eluded the tag at the plate.Gnat's all there was to it. The game was tied.

Those were certainly attributes Sabathia would go on to display on the mound in Thursday night's convincing 12-3 victory over the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS at a raucous Jacobs Field, albeit with a twist.

In the waning hours before the first pitch of the Tribe's first postseason game in six years, relaxation was not necessarily Sabathia's strong suit.

"He was so excited," said left fielder Kenny Lofton, whose four RBIs were only a portion of the impressive offensive display the Indians would stage for their ace. "I'm like, 'C.C., we've got time. The game doesn't start until 6:30 p.m.' He was so fired up about getting out there to start the game."

With a soldout crowd of 44,608 fans on hand -- many of whom were donning shirts of red and waving flags of white -- the game started with a bang. And a controversial one, at that.

Yankees leadoff man Johnny Damon smacked Sabathia's 3-1 pitch down the right-field line and over the wall. Initially, umpires Jim Wolf and Laz Diaz, positioned on the line, were unsure of a ruling. They conferred with the rest of the six-man umpiring crew, and a dinger it was.

All the build-up and all the energy that palpitated the ballpark were in danger of being rendered moot. And all that discussion of Sabathia's growth and emergence as an ace was about to be put to the test.

Sabathia was erratic. His pitches were elevated, and his command was shaky. He walked Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez with one out, and danger was on deck, in the form of Jorge Posada."I was fired up," Sabathia said. "I was trying not to throw hard, and I looked up there a couple times and saw I was throwing 97 [mph]. I was like, 'Calm down, and try to throw strikes.'

"He bent," Yankees manager Joe Torre said of Sabathia, "but he didn't break."

CLEVELAND -- Kenny Lofton is coming back to Jacobs Field, and the Indians hope the third time is the charm.

The Indians acquired Lofton from the Rangers in exchange for Class A catcher Max Ramirez on Friday afternoon. This will be the 40-year-old Lofton's third tenure with the Tribe. He played in Cleveland from 1992-96 and again from 1998-2001.

With All-Star Grady Sizemore already manning center field, it's expected that Lofton will be moved to left field. He could potentially platoon with Jason Michaels, who gets the starts in left against left-handed pitching. It is also conceivable that Lofton could take over Sizemore's leadoff duties, allowing Sizemore to move down a couple notches in the order. That, however, is mere speculation, at this point. The Indians are expected to address their plans for Lofton before Friday night's game against the Twins.

Lofton was batting .303 with a .380 on-base percentage, seven homers, three triples, 16 doubles, 21 stolen bases and 23 RBIs in 84 games this season entering Friday's action. He was on a one-year deal with the Rangers worth $6 million, and he hasn't played any other outfield position, other than center.

For his 16-year career, which has included stints with 11 teams, Lofton has hit .299 with 130 homers, 620 stolen bases and 766 RBIs. He is a six-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner, and he is listed on the Top 100 Greatest Indians roster. The 620 steals is most among active players, and he holds the Indians' franchise record with 450.

When the Indians were in Texas last week, Lofton told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the idea of returning to the Tribe was interesting. "I just want to get a ring," he said. "This is my 16th year, and I feel like it's all been for nothing. I don't want to be like Charles Barkley [who played 16 NBA seasons without a championship]."

CLEVELAND -- Bob Wickman isn't one to arrive at the ballpark ahead of schedule, but Friday was a special day. With the Indians and Braves meeting up in Interleague Play this weekend, Wickman is making his return to Jacobs Field for the first time since the Indians traded him last July. The Tribe's all-time saves leader, therefore, had plenty of old acquaintances to see.

"It's happened enough times, where I've gone back to teams I've gotten traded from, that you just go about your business," said Wickman, the Braves' closer. "[But], I decided to come early so I could talk to some people."

The conversations Wickman had with members of the Indians organization on this day were mere pleasantries, catching up with old comrades.

But last summer, a conversation Wickman had with general manager Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge was a bit more businesslike.

The Indians, out of the playoff picture, had a deal in place to trade Wickman, who, when healthy, had been their closer since 2000. Wickman had the power to veto the trade, though the lure to pitch for a contender was a powerful one.

For the Indians, the pressing question was whether Wickman would be retiring at the end of the year. They would obviously be less inclined to deal him if Cleveland thought it had a chance at retaining him as its closer for '07.

Wedge has spoken publicly about that conversation. During a Winter Caravan stop in Canton, Ohio, in January, he was matter-of-fact about its contents.

"I don't think anybody thought Bob was going to play this year," Wedge said. "He looked us in the eye and told us that. I have a problem with people saying they'll do one thing and doing another. But that's his issue."

On Friday, Wickman was reminded of those remarks and asked if the conversation was that direct. "I think that would be something for Eric and I to talk about," Wickman said. "I'm not going to talk to the media about it."

The 38-year-old Wickman did say that at the time of the trade, in which the Indians acquired Class A catcher Max Ramirez and ridded themselves of what remained of the closer's $5 million contract, he had little reason to believe that he'd be pitching in '07. "A year ago at this time, my hip was a little sore and stuff like that," Wickman said. "I didn't really think my body would come around the way it did the second half of last season and this season, so far."

Upper back tendinitis put Wickman on the 15-day disabled list earlier this year, but he rattled off nine straight scoreless outings after his May 15 return. That streak came to a close on Thursday night in Minnesota, where he blew a save for the first time in a month and a half.

Wickman came into this series with 802 career appearances, tying him with Walter Johnson for 35th on the all-time list. He is 25th on the all-time saves list with 257, and he's hoping to keep going. "It would be cool to get to 300 saves," Wickman said. "If I'm put in a situation where I don't believe I could be put into the closer's role or can't compete in the closer's role, then I'll quit this year. But if I still feel I can compete in the closer's role and somebody's willing to give me a job for that, I'll definitely try again." But that's a conversation Wickman will have with his body later this year.

Bob had plenty of time to spare for the people that matter the most to him in Cleveland. I never saw so many Wickman's Warriors at the Jake before in the 6 years I've been doing the Club, and Bobby spent a little time with as many of us as he could. He must have shook hands with and hugged a thousand people this weekend, and every one of them let him know how much he is missed. J. Ladd 6/17/07

CLEVELAND -- Coming off a demoralizing defeat and having just seen their most dominant reliever victimized by an eighth-inning homer, the Braves could have folded their tents. But as Braves manager Bobby Cox told his players at his regular pre-series meeting before Friday night's game at Jacobs Field, he never once got the sense that he was guiding a team that was willing to quit, despite all of the struggles that Atlanta has faced over the past month.

Less than 24 hours after watching Bob Wickman blow a two-run ninth-inning lead against the Twins, the Braves saw their closer return to his former park and finish off a potentially key 5-4 win over the Indians, who were foiled while giving C.C. Sabathia a chance to contribute a third straight nine-inning effort.

"Tonight, we made our comeback, and it was a great win against another great pitcher," said Cox, who saw his standout rookies, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Yunel Escobar, key a two-run ninth-inning comeback with doubles off Sabathia.

While snapping a three-game losing streak and winning for just the fourth time in their past 13 games, the Braves saw Buddy Carlyle's strong six-inning effort nearly foiled when Casey Blake began the bottom of the eighth with a homer off the usually stingy Rafael Soriano, who had allowed just one earned run in his past 21 appearances.

Soriano's hiccup brought back memories of Thursday night, when Wickman saw a 2-0 lead quickly turn into a 3-2 loss. But Saltalamacchia wasn't about to let the hangover of that loss prevent him from brightening his rising star. The 22-year-old top catching prospect, who was making his second career start at first base, began the ninth with a double off the left-field wall.

"Honestly, when I saw C.C. come back out, I had a feeling we were going to win," Saltalamacchia said. "In that situation, me personally, I think you've got to put your closer in and let him do the job."

Entering the game, Sabathia hadn't allowed a run in his previous 18 innings. That scoreless streak was extended to 22 1/3 innings before Woodward snapped it with his fifth-inning RBI single. The Braves then began their game-tying two-run sixth with four straight singles against the big Indians starter, who was charged with five runs -- four earned -- and 12 hits in 8 1/3 innings.

"We've played great against two outstanding pitchers back-to-back," Cox said. "We had [Johan] Santana beat [Thursday] night and let it get away."

Wickman, who was traded by the Indians to the Braves last July, shook off the effects of the bad luck he'd encountered in Minnesota on Thursday. With runners on first and second in the ninth, he ended things with a strikeout of Blake.

"It was fairly strange," said Blake, of facing his former teammate. I faced him in spring training and it was fun. This wasn't too much fun. "I should have known how he was going to pitch me. He won."

INDIANS 12, WHITE SOX 5

Tribe delivers early knockout punch
Grady Sizemore led off the opener with a home run and the Indians never relented en route to their first Opening Day win since 2002. C.C. Sabathia brushed off his recent injury to pick up his first victory. Trot Nixon had three hits and Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta each drove in three runs.
Oh yeah-Boo-Boo went 0-fer in the humiliating rout. That's...a shame >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

CLEVELAND -- In the end, all that remained from the Indians' ill-fated attempts at a home opener Friday were the disappointed die-hards in the stands, a frustrated pitcher, an injured catcher and, yes, a whole bunch of snow.

One strike away from an official game and, perhaps, a victory over the Mariners, the Indians saw their former skipper -- a man once referred to as the "Human Rain Delay" -- put a human snow delay on the proceedings at Jacobs Field.

Mariners manager Mike Hargrove charged out to the field with the bases loaded, two out and a 1-2 count on Jose Lopez in the top of the fifth inning and convinced umpire crew chief Rick Reed to put a halt to the snow-covered ballgame, which the Indians led, 4-0, behind an impressive performance from Paul Byrd. Tribe manager Eric Wedge tried to present a counter argument, but Hargrove got his way.

Only in Cleveland. In New York, Boston or Chicago the home plate ump would have told Hargrove to shut up and get back into the dugout and ordered the pitcher to play ball and get this thing over with. Umpire Rick Reed and MLB should be ashamed of themselves for denying the 42 thousand of us that braved weather more suited for a Browns game the chance for an opening day victory in our own park. And what about the awesome ground crew that froze their butts off for 12 hours removing snow from the field?

In the time it took Hargrove and Wedge to argue their points to the umpiring crew the game could have been over. The Mariners had no problem with the snow when Byrd lost the strike zone in the fifth and began walking batters to load the bases, but when he got to 1-2 on Lopez with 2 down all of a sudden they couldn’t see and were in mortal danger. Wusses.

The Indians had the chance to have the opener earlier in the week when it was 80 degrees, but opted not to interfere with the women basketball championship games being played across the street at the Q. This is what they get for choosing Good Friday instead. J. Ladd 4-6-07

The Curse of Jim Phony

Thome just can’t seem to jump on the right bandwagon-Infected World Champions succumb and are eliminated

The nice-guy facade is still intact, but the miasma that follows Jim Thome seems to have infected his latest team.

After the Phillies gladly paid half of his remaining salary to be rid of him, Jimmy thought his quest for a ring (at any cost) was a done deal when he attached himself to the White Sox this year. He sanctimoniously told the Chicago press that he felt sorry for Cleveland when he was booed during his first appearance at Jacobs Field since he took the money and ran in 2003. Being the DH for the first time in his career, he was able to focus all his attention on hitting the ball over the fence and nothing else-and to his credit he did have a great season. But like the bad marksman he keeps missing the target. No playoffs, no World Series, no ring.

Both of his former teams, which he pledged his undying loyalty to before he bolted, did better after he left. Though the Indians took a step back in 2006, they built a strong nucleus in ’04 and fielded a superb team in ’05 that won 93 games. Charlie Manuel found a new hitter in Ryan Howard to replace Thome and drove Philadelphia to the brink of the playoffs before being eliminated on the second last day of the season.

And now the powerful White Sox, who destroyed every team that stood in their way on the road to a championship last year, find themselves Thomenated.

Jim Thome’s problem lies in the fact that with all of his talent, he is not a leader. Nor does he know how to be, or even want to be. He loves to be one of the guys jumping up and down after the victory and spraying champagne on everyone, but is incapable of picking up his teammates when their backs are against the wall. Jim Thome does not inspire.

He’s also running out of time. At this stage of his career, he’ll only have to lose a little off of that swing to become an overpaid pariah that his team needs to unload. J.Ladd 10/1/06

Bob pitches back-to-back innings and picks up his first win in nearly 4 years

Bob met another challenge on his remarkable comeback from Tommy John surgery, and it resulted in first win since August 10, 2002.

The Warriors Club remembers that win well. It’s the “Bobzilla Sighting” piece that’s been archived on the Bobzilla page since that August day. Bob and I took the surgery picture spoofs that we used while he was rehabbing after that game, and we both wondered if he would ever pitch again after that win. It was his last appearance of the season, and Bobby had the surgery in December after waiting 4 months for the swelling in his elbow to subside.

Three and a half years later, Bobby worked 2 innings in Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh for the first time since July 7, 2001.

“We were going to try it a couple of other times earlier in the season,” said the Wickster. “With the off-day tomorrow, we decided to try it.”

With the score tied 2-2 in the ninth, Bobby put Jeremy Burnitz and Ryan Doumit on with no one out. Jose Hernandez laid down a bunt that Ben Broussard fielded and gunned down Burnitz at third. A 6-4-3 double play ended the threat.

Wick pitched an uneventful 10^th, and Grady Sizemore’s line drive over Burnitz’s head in the bottom of the inning scored Aaron Boone from third to give Bob the win.

At 37 and on top of his game, Bob Wickman continues to smash down all barriers in his way. 5-21-2006

Maybe Bob should go 1-2-3 in the ninth for some real excitement. This putting guys on and then escaping by the skin of his teeth is getting boring.

Bob Wickman passed Doug Jones with 130 saves on May 7^th at Safeco Field by slamming the door on C.C. Sabathia’s 2-0 masterpiece against the Mariners.

After tying the record 0n April 28^th, our hero had to wait 10 days for his chance. The pattern this season so far: When the Tribe isn’t blowing out the opposition they’re on the receiving end of a spanking. Luckily, the Maestro has his veteran experiences to rely on to keep him sharp when that call does come.

After retiring cleanup hitter Ritchie Sexson on a routine grounder, the Master began conducting another of his patented tension-filled symphonies.

Carl Everett and Adrian Beltre both singled to put runners at first and second, bringing the winning run to the plate. Bob Wickman and catcher Kenji Johjima had never faced each other before, but Bobzilla always does his homework. Having studied him extensively, Bobby went right at him with 3 straight fastballs. Johjima sent the third one to shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who started a slick game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

“It was typical Wicky fashion,” said Sabathia. “I don’t even get nervous anymore. I knew he’d get that ground ball. I’m just glad I could be part of it.”

The Wickster is 6-for-6 in save situations this year and has converted 22 straight saves since last year. Bob, of course, was gracious and humble amid all the accolades.

“I remember my first game as a new closer,” said Wick. “Doug Jones came up to me and said, ‘If you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here for you.’ I took the job from him and he had no hard feelings.”

Bobby is going to give the record-setting ball to Chris Kelley, a former Indians bat boy seriously injured in a car accident in 2004.

There's a long tradition of fans painting letters on their chests in an effort to get on television. Usually, fans stick with short words or acronyms; network initials or player names, for example. Some local high school students had a different idea.

Almost 50 seniors from St. Ignatius High School, a Jesuit academy in Cleveland, came to Saturday's game against the Angels and sat in left field with letters painted on their chests. The message?

"We were here one day, and we saw en entire empty row in the right-field bleachers," Zach Szep, the group's ringleader, said. "And we thought, wouldn't it be pretty awesome if a whole row in the bottom of that section spelled out a huge sentence? And we just thought about it. And after a while, we just came up with one about Bob Wickman.

"Because he's the greatest baseball player ever," Szep said. "He always makes the game interesting. "

QUESTION: What portion of my contribution goes to Cleveland Indians' Charities?

ANSWER: ALL $26 goes to Cleveland Indians' Charities. Please feel free to declare your CIC check amount in its entirety as a non-taxable contribution on your IRS Form 1040. The cost of club shirts, the expense of publishing and housing the club website, and other club expenses are borne by Bob Wickman, Joseph Ladd, and other Wickman's Warriors sponsors.

Joseph Ladd
President, WW

Wickman's Warriors is a total non-profit organization that is sustained solely through the generosity of its members for the support and enjoyment of its team--The Cleveland Indians. The website, internet fees, tee shirts, graphics, writing, photography, props, postage, and time spent on organization as well as the Wickman's Warriors charitable fund are all donated by the club's friends and members.

The Curse of Jim Phony

Thome just can’t seem to jump on the right bandwagon-Infected World Champions succumb and are eliminated