Special_K19
05-18-2003, 04:10 PM
INSIDE STORY
Indians Center Fielder Milton Bradley wasn't benched by Manager Eric Wedge for failing to run hard on a flyout to center last Wednesday night, as was initially reported. It was because of what occured afterward. When Bradley came to the bench following his out, Wedge got on him for his failure to hustle. Bradley, frustrated with himself because of his batting slump after returning to the lineup, exploded. "Why don't you get on Matt (Lawton) and Omar (Vizquel) when they don't run out balls?" Bradley said. Now it was Wedge's turn to bristle. He ordered Bradley out of the game. Wedge got into Bradley's face in the clubhouse afterward for trying to show up the manager. It came down to, "Milton, are you happy here? Do you want to be part of what we're trying to do?" Even Bradley's agent, Sam Levinson, became part of the discussion. Bradley's answer: Yes, he wants to be here. He loves the guys. At a clubhouse meeting, he faced them and apologized for his behavior. In tears, he said he wanted to be more of a leader and more communicative. .... Bradley and Wedge talked again, front-office personnel included, and as of now it's peaches and cream. .... Those who know Wedge say he never keeps a grudge. He proved it by returning Bradley to the lineup Friday night.
SEQUEL
Apparently, Lawton didn't get the "hustle message," because the next night (Thursday) he loafed running to first. Showing no favoritism, Wedge yelled at Lawton upon his return to the bench, "Matt , that's not cutting it." The manager then went up and down the bench saying, "It's not that hard to run out four at-bats a game. Do it or don't play." .... If you saw Friday night's game, you saw all-out runs to first by everybody. .... The Indians, now loaded with outfield prospects, would like to trade Lawton, but not until his performance picks up would another club be interested. The Indians would pick up part of his $6 million-a-year salary to solidify a deal.
HITTING THE ROAD
Wedge, Tribe bench coach Buddy Bell and GM Mark Shapiro drove to Toledo last week when the Tribe's Buffalo farm team was playing the Mudhens. A second visit was made to Toledo later in the week to corroborate impressions. The guessing is that Bill Selby, a pinch-hitter and utility man, will be dropped and either Greg LaRocca or Zach Sorensen will be brought up. Both are hitting for Buffalo.
TUMMY TALK
C.C. Sabathia has hired a local chef to prepare nourishing pound-reducing meals. He's lost about 10 pounds since the chef came aboard. In spring training, Sabathia and the Indians jointly hired a chef for him, splitting the cost. Sabathia is paying this one himself. He intends to marry his fiancee after this season and then he'll have home cooking. .... Brian Anderson will be featured in the progarm for the All-Star game, to be held in Chicago on July 15. The piece won't be about pitching, though. It will relate how he and Carl Sadler chased and caught a thief who had snatched a woman's purse, an incident now known as "Pursegate." .... Mention of the All-Star game causes one to wonder who will represent the Indians. As of now, Sabathia should be a manager's selection. Vizquel is a possibility. Some Indians say Brandon Phillips should be a candidate. He's been a sparkler at second and now he's hitting. The mere mention of him as an All-Star is the ultimate compliment. .... Batting coach Eddie Murray occasionally gets printed swipes for the Indians' poor hitting, but don't rip him in front of Bradley or Phillips, who praise his teaching ability. Murray is a no-nonsense guy, and if that bothers some, it's their problem.
SELECTIVE
Continental Airlines, which has been a sponsor of the Indians and Browns, has dropped ads in conjunction with the Browns for "budgetary reasons." They continue to boost the Indians. .... Tribe reliever Dave Elder, who's on the disabled list, had a fine spring and did so well at Buffalo he was promoted to the Indians' bullpen. This was his big break, he thought. Three outings here and he developed tendinitis. Now he hopes he gets another chance when his elbow inflammation goes away. .... Besides Jeremy Guthrie, the ecstatic front office's talk about pitchers down on the farm centers on Fausto Carmona, who's been almost unhittable for the Captains. The Tribe had to pay Guthrie $4 million after drafting him. Carmona, just 19, cost them nothing. He grew up in the Indians' baseball school in the Dominican Republic. In nearly 50 innings, he has walked only four, fanned 24 and has an ERA of 1.11. The youngster has a heavy, sinking 94 mph fastball and is just learning a slider. .... Almost 10,000 Pepsi cans have been redeemed to date for the $6 discount for bleacher seats at Jacobs Field. The deal concludes at the end of this month.
SIGNALS OVER
Last week, this space reported Manager Lou Piniella is calling all the pitches for his Tampa Bay staff. Now that everybody knows it, he's stopped. .... Just when Jim Thome, struggling at the plate, said the change in leagues was affecting his "comfort zone" in the batter's box, he started hitting again. Funny how that "comfort zone" comes and goes. .... The Mets have Robbie Alomar on the trading block because he becomes a free agent at the end of the season and is on the downside of his career. The Cards have been talking about a swap for their second baseman, Fernando Vina, although St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa, a Robbie fan, is now cooling off. .... This one is buzzing around ballparks: The Rockies trading closer Jose Jimenez to the Red Sox for Shea Hillenbrand. Boston needs a reliever to catch up to the Yanks. .... The Rangers, who obtained Einar Diaz from the Tribe, now realize Diaz no longer is the catcher he was when John Hart ran the Tribe. He's third from the bottom among the Rangers in fielding percentage and below average as a hitter. "He's not the answer to our catching," says a Rangers executive.
Indians Center Fielder Milton Bradley wasn't benched by Manager Eric Wedge for failing to run hard on a flyout to center last Wednesday night, as was initially reported. It was because of what occured afterward. When Bradley came to the bench following his out, Wedge got on him for his failure to hustle. Bradley, frustrated with himself because of his batting slump after returning to the lineup, exploded. "Why don't you get on Matt (Lawton) and Omar (Vizquel) when they don't run out balls?" Bradley said. Now it was Wedge's turn to bristle. He ordered Bradley out of the game. Wedge got into Bradley's face in the clubhouse afterward for trying to show up the manager. It came down to, "Milton, are you happy here? Do you want to be part of what we're trying to do?" Even Bradley's agent, Sam Levinson, became part of the discussion. Bradley's answer: Yes, he wants to be here. He loves the guys. At a clubhouse meeting, he faced them and apologized for his behavior. In tears, he said he wanted to be more of a leader and more communicative. .... Bradley and Wedge talked again, front-office personnel included, and as of now it's peaches and cream. .... Those who know Wedge say he never keeps a grudge. He proved it by returning Bradley to the lineup Friday night.
SEQUEL
Apparently, Lawton didn't get the "hustle message," because the next night (Thursday) he loafed running to first. Showing no favoritism, Wedge yelled at Lawton upon his return to the bench, "Matt , that's not cutting it." The manager then went up and down the bench saying, "It's not that hard to run out four at-bats a game. Do it or don't play." .... If you saw Friday night's game, you saw all-out runs to first by everybody. .... The Indians, now loaded with outfield prospects, would like to trade Lawton, but not until his performance picks up would another club be interested. The Indians would pick up part of his $6 million-a-year salary to solidify a deal.
HITTING THE ROAD
Wedge, Tribe bench coach Buddy Bell and GM Mark Shapiro drove to Toledo last week when the Tribe's Buffalo farm team was playing the Mudhens. A second visit was made to Toledo later in the week to corroborate impressions. The guessing is that Bill Selby, a pinch-hitter and utility man, will be dropped and either Greg LaRocca or Zach Sorensen will be brought up. Both are hitting for Buffalo.
TUMMY TALK
C.C. Sabathia has hired a local chef to prepare nourishing pound-reducing meals. He's lost about 10 pounds since the chef came aboard. In spring training, Sabathia and the Indians jointly hired a chef for him, splitting the cost. Sabathia is paying this one himself. He intends to marry his fiancee after this season and then he'll have home cooking. .... Brian Anderson will be featured in the progarm for the All-Star game, to be held in Chicago on July 15. The piece won't be about pitching, though. It will relate how he and Carl Sadler chased and caught a thief who had snatched a woman's purse, an incident now known as "Pursegate." .... Mention of the All-Star game causes one to wonder who will represent the Indians. As of now, Sabathia should be a manager's selection. Vizquel is a possibility. Some Indians say Brandon Phillips should be a candidate. He's been a sparkler at second and now he's hitting. The mere mention of him as an All-Star is the ultimate compliment. .... Batting coach Eddie Murray occasionally gets printed swipes for the Indians' poor hitting, but don't rip him in front of Bradley or Phillips, who praise his teaching ability. Murray is a no-nonsense guy, and if that bothers some, it's their problem.
SELECTIVE
Continental Airlines, which has been a sponsor of the Indians and Browns, has dropped ads in conjunction with the Browns for "budgetary reasons." They continue to boost the Indians. .... Tribe reliever Dave Elder, who's on the disabled list, had a fine spring and did so well at Buffalo he was promoted to the Indians' bullpen. This was his big break, he thought. Three outings here and he developed tendinitis. Now he hopes he gets another chance when his elbow inflammation goes away. .... Besides Jeremy Guthrie, the ecstatic front office's talk about pitchers down on the farm centers on Fausto Carmona, who's been almost unhittable for the Captains. The Tribe had to pay Guthrie $4 million after drafting him. Carmona, just 19, cost them nothing. He grew up in the Indians' baseball school in the Dominican Republic. In nearly 50 innings, he has walked only four, fanned 24 and has an ERA of 1.11. The youngster has a heavy, sinking 94 mph fastball and is just learning a slider. .... Almost 10,000 Pepsi cans have been redeemed to date for the $6 discount for bleacher seats at Jacobs Field. The deal concludes at the end of this month.
SIGNALS OVER
Last week, this space reported Manager Lou Piniella is calling all the pitches for his Tampa Bay staff. Now that everybody knows it, he's stopped. .... Just when Jim Thome, struggling at the plate, said the change in leagues was affecting his "comfort zone" in the batter's box, he started hitting again. Funny how that "comfort zone" comes and goes. .... The Mets have Robbie Alomar on the trading block because he becomes a free agent at the end of the season and is on the downside of his career. The Cards have been talking about a swap for their second baseman, Fernando Vina, although St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa, a Robbie fan, is now cooling off. .... This one is buzzing around ballparks: The Rockies trading closer Jose Jimenez to the Red Sox for Shea Hillenbrand. Boston needs a reliever to catch up to the Yanks. .... The Rangers, who obtained Einar Diaz from the Tribe, now realize Diaz no longer is the catcher he was when John Hart ran the Tribe. He's third from the bottom among the Rangers in fielding percentage and below average as a hitter. "He's not the answer to our catching," says a Rangers executive.