Remembering Bob Feller on Memorial Day 2012

On Memorial Day weekend, Bill Livingston remembers Bob Feller and everything he stood for

Published: Saturday, May 26, 2012, 5:09 PM Updated: Saturday, May 26, 2012, 5:56 PM

By Bill Livingston, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- He would sit in the third row at the end of the middle section of the press box at Progressive Field.

It is a seat no one else will ever sit in because such a local and national legend had warmed it for so long. When something was on his mind, Bob Feller would wave you over to sit and talk about it.
"We had a saying when we'd slaughter pigs on the farm back in Iowa. We'd say we used every part of the pig but the oink. Baseball is selling every part but the oink," said Feller, who wanted such goings-on to stop.

The issue several years ago was a plan to put advertisements for the upcoming movie, "Spider-Man 2," on the bases at major-league parks. It didn't seem that big a deal to me, considering the walking billboards NASCAR drivers resemble and the ads that cluttered the fences of major-league parks in years gone by.

But the opposition of traditionalists such as Feller meant the idea never really got started. Major League Baseball quickly scrapped the idea.

That was Feller. He knew Babe Ruth; pitched to Ted Williams; lived through the Great Depression, the biggest economic mess the country was ever in; and fought in World War II, the biggest conflict in which it was ever engaged. But, even though he was in his 80s when Spider-Man tried to cobweb the bases, Feller stayed as current as each morning's news.

Because sports are mostly a pleasant break from the demands of everyday life, I usually only talked to Feller about baseball. When Jaret Wright was quite the young phenom in 1997, Feller showed me how to throw the overhand curveball that had made Bob such a devastating pitcher. It complemented one of the fastest balls ever thrown. Three times, it made him utterly unhittable in big-league games. Feller thought Wright needed to develop that pitch.

"It's like pulling down a window shade," Feller would say, reaching back, far over his head. That "out" pitch for Feller, of course, would have been a wild pitch, diving into the dirt 55 feet from the rubber, for most men.

I did talk to Feller about his service in the Navy before the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in 1991. Feller had enlisted the day after the 1941 Japanese attack, in the prime of his career, although, with his father dying of brain cancer, he did not have to because he was the sole support of his family.
Extraordinary in what he did over 60 feet, 6 inches of a manicured diamond, Feller always emphasized the comparative ordinariness of what he did as a gun captain of the battleship Alabama.
He never liked being called a war hero.

"The heroes are the ones who didn't come home. I was a survivor," he said
.
On the Pearl Harbor Day of my lifetime, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, I called Feller for his reaction. He did not disappoint. Noting that it is impossible to stop some suicide attacks, he said that was because "they think they'll come back after they die as a daisy or petunia or whatever the hell it is they believe."

Politically, religiously and unequivocally incorrect -- that was Feller.

The day after Feller died in December of 2010, I appeared on "NewsHour" on PBS to talk about him. I was honored. Although I disagreed with him on many subjects, Bob Feller was the greatest American I ever knew.

Yet when Veterans Day neared in 2011, another war veterans piece I had planned went unwritten. I rummaged around the house for an information packet Feller's son, Steve, had sent me months before about a planned congressional salute to his father and others. I had misplaced it and was too embarrassed to contact Steve again. I feebly rationalized not writing about it, telling myself it was football season, which was far more interesting than some politicians' resolution.

Now another national patriotic holiday, Memorial Day, draws near. The Indians will be playing the Royals on Memorial Day Monday at the ballpark with the empty third-row seat in the press box. Amid the hot dogs and fireworks, many Americans will remember those who did not come back from war.

Along with a lot of Indians fans, I'll think of one who did. Feller lived here until he died at the age of 91, occasionally riling us, sometimes making us smile, and best of all inspiring us.
Freedom wasn't free in Bob Feller's day, and it won't be free tomorrow or the days after that, either. We occasionally need to be reminded of that. I know I do.

Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez hits home with comments on fans' lack of enthusiasm: Bud Shaw's Sports Spin

Bud Shaw, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer

May 24, 2012, 2:05AM

Build a winner and they still might not come a year after 30-15 became a 15-game deficit.

In a sports town much edgier than this one, pitcher Jack McDowell once earned the nickname "The Yankee Flipper" by making an obscene gesture to the booing hometown fans.

That was actually the nicest thing they called him.
Chris Perez didn't come close to that.

Quick forgiveness followed in New York for McDowell, who later explained that while the media bashed him for his obscenity, "the fans were the ones who actually brushed it off and really made me feel they were fine afterward."

It didn't hurt that McDowell's best work of the season followed. And that'll be the bottom line for Perez.

Pitch well and they will . . . well, they might still not come, but he'll at least have held up his end.
The same message McDowell received as the 1995 season unfolded greeted Perez as he ran out of the bullpen to cheers Tuesday night against the Detroit Tigers. The fact only 15,049 people were in attendance and that some of those wore Tigers' colors helped support his general point. But for one night at least, that was of secondary concern.

Perez was clumsy in how he called out the city for a lack of support. But let's be honest here. The Indians aren't only lagging in attendance. They're dead last. They're dead last by 3,000 per game.
That's not all cold weather. Or the price teams pay for staging games on school nights. I'm sure it will improve, just as it did a year ago. But in the meantime, dead last is difficult to ignore.

While it's never a good idea for a business to criticize its customers, what's the worst backlash possible in this case? The people who aren't coming will continue not coming?

Not unexpectedly, the front office distanced itself from Perez's comments. Just don't believe for a moment everyone in the organization was unhappy that the issue was put out there. The hope was that his words might even beat the drum for a bigger walk-up during the three-game series with Detroit.
Cutting through Perez's misinterpretations of the issue, his message was this:

We're pretty decent this year. We're in first place. We're off to a good start. Again. You know, the kind of good start people said we needed to excite the fan base after so many stumbles out of the gate under former manager Eric Wedge.

Some of the criticism of Perez has been just as clumsy as anything he's said. Namely, Kenny Lofton's smackdown of the Indians closer.

Lofton says the Indians of the '90s connected with fans because they were more involved in the community than the Indians of today.

That's why you loved them?

You mean it wasn't about a great team ending a 40-year stretch of ineptitude?

Or having a lineup filled with All-Stars and dotted with future Hall of Famers?

Or playing in a new park? In one of the highest-scoring eras in baseball history?

Or the fact that for three of those seasons, Cleveland's football team played in Baltimore?
 
All that apparently was no match for the impact a kid could feel spending Halloween night with Albert Belle.

Belle was a top drawing card in a town that made excuses for his behavior. Why? Because he could mash. Period.

After Perez complained about the low attendance and getting booed merely for putting runners on base, Lofton told WKRK FM/92.3 The Fan that Perez doesn't get it.

"You're in first place for a couple of days and you think you're big time? That's not how it works," Lofton said.

Perez never said anything about thinking the Indians were big time.

The Indians were in first for 95 days last year. That's more than a few days. They're in first again.
They finished 24th in attendance. They're last now.

I'm pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to work, either.

Maybe change your name to Bruce

Calling out Cleveland, Part II.
Did Perez's words rally the troops?
Clubhouses. in my experience, don't speak in a single voice.
Some teammates probably agree with him. Maybe even a few more do after seeing Tuesday's crowd.
Some think he should do his job and not worry about the boos or how many people pay to see the team play in a tough economy.
People pay their money. They can boo if they choose.
In a town so starved for a winner, though, why boo first place in the first place?
Perez wasn't the right guy to ask it, but it's a fair question.

Spinoffs

• According to the police report taken after a disagreement that didn't result in any charges being filed, reliever Joe Smith tried to walk into the Round House Bar in Put-in-Bay without showing his ID. When security personnel asked for it, he told them he played for the Cleveland Indians. I'm not sure identifying yourself as a Cleveland Indians pitcher is the best way to clear up any uncertainty about your age. (See: Fausto Carmona).

• Justin Verlander, today's starter for the Tigers at Progressive Field, has a cereal called "Fastball Flakes." Last week, we asked readers to name a Ubaldo Jimenez cereal. The winner -- "High Pitch Count Chocula" -- comes from Bill T., of Lakewood. Like all other Spin contributors, he must be proud. 

Vinnie Pestano lives by the Strikeout

Paul Hoynes, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer

May 23, 2012, 5:55PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Vinnie Pestano has a direct approach when it comes to pitching. When he takes the mound, he's does so to strikeout the opposing hitter.

He's not pitching to contact. He's not trying to induce ground balls or fly balls. He there for the K, swinging or called.

In Tuesday's 5-3 victory by the Indians over Detroit, Pestano pitched a one, two, three eighth inning. He struck out Alex Avila for the third out. It gave him at least one strikeout in his last 22 consecutive appearances.

It's not Bob Feller setting the club record in strikeouts with 2,581, but it is a team record. Pestano passed Paul Shuey to claim the record for his own. The streak started on Sept. 25, 2011.
"A record is a record, I guess," said Pestano. "Until somebody else comes along, it's mine."

Pestano (1-0, 2.55, one save) has 24 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings over 20 appearances. Last year Pestano finished fifth in the AL among relievers with 84 strikeouts as a rookie.

"I try to strikeout everybody out that I face," said Pestano, who leads the AL with 11 holds. "I was aware of it. I don't try to pitch to contact. The least amount of opportunity they have to put the ball in play, the fewer amount of hits they're going to get.

"If I can try and keep the ball away from somebody and punch them out, I'm going to try and take that opportunity."

Chris Perez gets cheers, 2012

Closer Chris Perez gets cheers, save as Cleveland Indians beat Tigers, 5-3

By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tribe closer Chris Perez writes killer endings to games for a living. He does it nightly.

But even Perez, the author of so many walk-off lines, didn't know how Tuesday night was going to end as he ran in from the bullpen to save the Indians' 5-3 victory over Detroit at Progressive Field.
"I didn't know what to expect," said Perez.

Perez criticized Indians fans Saturday for being last in attendance in the big leagues. He ripped them for booing him and blamed them, in part, for the team not being able to attract top free agents.

It didn't take Perez long to realize what the crowd of 15,049 thought of him. As he neared the mound, the fans gave him a standing ovation. The cheers grew louder as he retired Don Kelly to start the ninth. Then things veered off course, as they tend to do during a Perez save attempt.

Ramon Santiago walked, and Andy Dirks singled to put runners on the corners with the heart of the Tigers lineup, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, due to hit. Perez struck out Cabrera and induced Fielder to hit into a force play at second to convert his 14th straight save in 15 chances.

"I'm truly humbled," said Perez of the fans' response. "It didn't go unnoticed. Trust me. I'm humbled. It was really nice."

The reaction did not surprise Tribe manager Manny Acta.

"The majority of our fans are positive and supportive of this ballclub," he said. "It's just like in everything else, negativity is louder.

"Our fans appreciate it when people want to win and when people care. That guy does. Whether he says what people want to hear or not is another story. He gets out there and gives you everything he's got every day."

Asked if he regretted any of his statements over the past few days, Perez said: "The only thing I would take back is try to keep it away from the team this much. The last thing you want to do is bring undo attention to the team. Especially in this kind of light.

"At the same time, I think it kind of picked us up. The guys kind of said, 'Yeah, we're feeling like that, too. I'm glad you said something. I'm glad you didn't back down.' "

The win moved the first-place Tribe four games ahead of the third-place Tigers in the American League Central. The Chicago White Sox, in second, fell 31/2 games back with a 9-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Indians right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (4-3, 5.02 ERA) went six innings for the victory. He improve to 3-5 lifetime against Detroit.

Jimenez, despite walking six, allowed just three runs. He struck out two and allowed five hits in 99 pitches.
Casey Kotch
man and Jose Lopez gave the Indians a 5-3 lead in the sixth off Rick Porcello (3-4, 5.29). Michael Brantley opened the inning with a single and stole second. Johnny Damon struck out, but Kotchman singled to center for a 4-3 lead.

Porcello moved Kotchman to second with an errant pickoff attempt at first. Lopez, the only pure right-handed hitter in the Tribe's lineup, brought him home with a double off Brennan Boesch's glove in right field.

Lopez's double ended Porcello's night. Porcello allowed five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits in 51/3 innings.

Kotchman had three of the Tribe's 12 hits. After hitting .149 (10-for-67) in April, Kotchman is hitting .306 (19-for-62) in May.
 
"We found some holes and got great pitching out of Ubaldo and our bullpen," said Kotchman. "Ubaldo gave up three [runs] and kept us in it right there. Our bullpen . . . what more can you say? They just shut it down."

The Indians took a 1-0 lead on Asdrubal Cabrera's double off the center-field wall in the first inning. Jimenez held the lead for all of one out.

After retiring Delmon Young on a fly ball to center to start the second, Boesch doubled, Jhonny Peralta walked and Alex Avila hit a line-drive homer over the center-field wall for a 3-1 lead. Avila came into the game hitting .375 (3-for-8) against Jimenez.

"I learned a lesson," said Jimenez. "I started throwing my breaking ball earlier in the count. They were really aggressive in that inning."

Travis Hafner made it 3-2 with a two-out single in the third. He tied it in the fifth with a sacrifice fly.

Cleveland Indians and their fans get a welcome ... and needed ... win over Detroit Tigers: Terry Pluto

Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 11:35 PM Updated: Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:09 AM

By Terry Pluto, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio — For the Indians, this was more than a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
It was exactly what the first-place Tribe . . . needed.

I'm going to repeat that phrase again . . . the First-Place Tribe.

Before the game, if someone had told you that Ubaldo Jimenez would hold the Tigers to three runs in six innings . . . would you have signed up for it?

Well, that's what Jimenez delivered.
Don't ask me how.

Not with walking six, bouncing two wild pitches and allowing five hits . . . including a three-run homer.

In some innings, Jimenez was surrounded by more runners than the guy with the starter's pistol at last weekend's Cleveland Marathon. But after six innings, Jimenez had held the Tigers to three runs.
So Tribe fans, take it (along with a couple of Tums for the anxious stomach) and say "Thank you!"
Remember that Jimenez had a 9.98 ERA in his past three starts against the Tigers last season.
Then came Chris Perez out of the bullpen . . . to a standing ovation from 15,049.

This was the hardcore crowd, most of whom agreed with some criticism by Perez about the lack of support for a team that is last in attendance and deserved a larger crowd for this game.

Perez pocketed his 14th consecutive save. Yes, he put two runners on base. He had to whiff Miguel Cabrera and induce Prince Fielder into a groundout to end the game. Those two power hitters are being paid a combined $44 million . . . that is more than all the salaries of the Tribe's starting lineup Tuesday.

When it was over, Perez pumped his fist in the air. The fans stood and stomped and screamed. Suddenly all the attention was back where it should be -- on the diamond -- rather than dissecting the views of Perez on everything from booing to Tribe attendance to the players' opinions of the franchise.

Afterward, Perez seemed surprised by the love he felt from the fans, calling it "humbling."
And hopefully, it also will lead to some healing for those still reluctant to embrace this scrappy team.
If the Tribe is to contend in the AL Central, they need Perez owning the ninth inning.

Baseball is not figure skating. Saves are not "judged" by whether they look pretty. The game is either saved or not -- and Perez saved the fifth victory of the season for Jimenez. He's 14-of-15 in save opportunities this season.

That should make every Tribe fan feel good.

The Indians also need Jimenez (5-3, 5.02) to be at least a respectable starter.

They need Travis Hafner, who entered the evening batting .122 with runners in scoring position. But the Tribe's cleanup man did just that -- knocked in one run with a single, another with a sacrifice fly.
They need Michael Brantley, who broke out of a 1-of-19 slump with a single in the sixth. Then he stole second and scored what became the winning run on a Casey Kotchman single.

They need more than Kotchman's pure glove at first base. He has been Mr. May, batting .307 this month after a soggy .142 in April.

They need more wins like this against the Tigers, who finished last season with a 10-game winning streak against the Tribe en route to the Central Division title.

It seems impossible to believe, but the Tigers have not won two games in a row since April 18. That ended a four-game winning streak for Detroit, making the Tigers 9-3.

Since then, they are 11-19.

You can say that the Tigers seemed clawless early last season. OK, they were 22-20 at this point, compared to 20-22 now.

And the Indians are 24-18, not bad after their 1-4 start.

Yes, it's a long season. And yes, the Indians were 27-15 at this point last season -- and finished 80-82.
But this is a new year. The Indians are playing well. They opened their first of 18 games this season against the Tigers by beating them.

And yes, everyone in Wahoo red, white and blue needed that.

Patience pays off for Jeremy Accardo: Indians Chatter

By Paul Hoynes, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer

May 15, 2012, 7:39AM

Clubhouse confidential: Right-hander Jeremy Accardo tried to ignore what was going on with the Indians through the first six weeks of the season when he was at Class AAA Columbus, after coming close to making the big-league club out of spring training.
He has spent a lot of time in Class AAA ball over the past three seasons and knows that can be counterproductive.

“You can’t control what happens above you, you can’t control what happens below you,” said Accardo, after joining the Indians on Monday as their newest reliever. “You just try to go out there, do your job, shut your eyes at night, wake up and do it all over again the next day and hope something good happens.”

Well-ranked: Asdrubal Cabrera has had a quiet, but productive start to the season. He is ranked in the top 10 in the following offensive categories in the American League: average (.315, ninth), doubles (11, tied for seventh), on-base percentage (.411, sixth), home batting average (.333, tied for ninth), night batting average (.371, fourth) and hardest to strike out (one strikeout every 14.3 plate appearances, first).

Perez and the Brass

Closer Chris Perez meets with Cleveland Indians brass, sticks to comments

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 6:19 PM Updated: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 6:27 PM

Indians closer Chris Perez was called into the principal's office Sunday morning to explain himself after comments Saturday night that were critical of the fan base.

Perez told reporters later Sunday morning that he met with Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti. Indians President Mark Shapiro said the meeting also included him.

"I didn't get reprimanded or anything," Perez said. "I'm not suspended or fined or anything. It was a good talk, but I don't really want to get into what we talked about."

Saturday night, long after Perez struck out the side to earn the save in the Tribe's 2-0 victory against Miami, he criticized the fans who booed him Thursday during an appearance in which he didn't allow a run. But he saved his biggest blasts for those who haven't been attending games.
The Indians entered Sunday ranked last among the 30 big-league teams in attendance, with an average of 15,518 fans for 22 dates. No. 29 Oakland was at 19,573.

Perez continued to express his frustration in the dugout Sunday. Because so few reporters had been present for his comments Saturday night, he made himself available to everyone in order to "keep it out of the locker room and do it all at once."

Perez said he wasn't instructed to talk. If he had been, he probably would have apologized to some degree, or backed off his assertions. Instead, he held his line.
"The fans are going to come, I know that," he said. "It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance. Last. It's not like we're 25th, 26th -- we're last. Oakland is outdrawing us. That's embarrassing.

"In 2010, I wouldn't have made those comments [the Indians went 69-93 that season]. We deserved to get booed. We deserved to have nobody here. But we've been building up for this season. We're good. We have a good team. We haven't even played our best ball and we're in first."
Perez said some of his teammates feel the same way about the low attendance, but "they just won't say it."

"I'm not doing anything to bring extra attention to myself or distract from what the team's doing," he said. "I don't have an ulterior motive. I'm here to win. I want to win here. I care. We all care. We want to win. But right now, we're winning for ourselves, basically."

Within five minutes of Perez wrapping his session, Shapiro sat in the same spot and responded to Saturday's flare-up. Because Perez's comments Sunday were similar to those he made Saturday, Shapiro could have been responding to them as well.

"I, myself, and we, as an organization, have a lot of respect and appreciation for Chris," Shapiro said. "He's been one of the more dominant closers in major league baseball this year. What drives him to succeed in that role are emotion and competitiveness and passion, and I think a lot of that was behind what he said.

"In talking with him, and talking with him and Chris Antonetti, it's clear that what's behind the emotion is how great he feels our situation is -- how incredible he feels the team is, the ballpark is, and his desire for more people to experience it. [But] I can tell you that we, as an organization, clearly disagree with him about our fans. We appreciate our fans, we respect our fans."

Shapiro mentioned the word respect several times, including when asked if he worried that Perez's comments might alienate the fan base even more.

"No, I don't," he said. "I really feel like it's a moment in time, a story for right now. The reason I feel like that is, if you polled our players, by and large, and if you talk to our fans, by and large, and if you talk to every single person in this organization, what you'd see is a largely universal appreciation for our fans, a largely universal respect for our fans."

Shapiro was asked if he thought Perez was disrespectful of Tribe fans.

"I don't, but I'm not going to speak for Chris," he said. "He probably spoke to you in pretty clear terms. I'm guessing he was pretty crystal clear in how he felt. Obviously, he's a guy with strong opinions and a smart guy. He had thought out what he said and had reasons behind what he said. We agree on a lot of fronts and disagree on a few."

Perez, as one of the Indians' most accessible players, has been asked numerous times this year about the attendance issues. He has been adamant that he isn't disrespecting fans in any way -- he's just hoping that more come to watch a first-place club.

The reason these particular comments got so much play is because he was still running hot after being booed in the 10th inning Thursday against Seattle. Having entered a tie game with one out, Perez gave up a single and issued a walk on four pitches. When each of the next two pitches were balls, he was lustily booed. After rallying to get a pop-up to right, Perez was greeted with a Bronx cheer.
Perez struck out the next batter to escape unscathed. The Indians won, 6-5, in 11.

"Thursday was the last straw for me, and Saturday night was the first time I'd spoken [to reporters] since then," he said. "I just didn't understand the booing when I hadn't even given up a run. I don't understand the negativity, in general. Why? We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now?

"You think the Tigers are happy? The Tigers are in third place. We're in first place. Enjoy it. We could be in last place. We could be the Royals, we could be the Pirates, who haven't won anything in 20 years."

To the surprise of no one, Perez's comments have touched more than a few nerves. Perez has received plenty of support, but the blowback has been intense.

"I expected it, but I really don't care anymore," Perez said. "I'm here to do my job and play for this team. If the fans come, they'll come. If they don't, it will be just like it was in April, so who cares?"
Perez said the perception exists that playing in Cleveland isn't fun, that the atmosphere isn't good. He said it keeps select players from signing -- or re-signing -- with the Indians.

Shapiro respectfully disagrees.

"My experience has been that guys want to be here," he said. "I'm sure there are some who don't, but I think a lot do. You've got two recent examples in Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana, who signed extensions."

Shapiro doesn't think Perez will be adversely affected going forward.

"He's certainly not one to shrink from responsibility," Shapiro said. "He can handle the heat."

Chris Perez is a good closer, good teammate without much perspective, Terry Pluto writes

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 5:47 PM Updated: Sunday, May 20, 2012, 6:52 PM

By Terry Pluto, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer
My brother Tom Pluto coached Chris Perez for a few summers at the IMG Baseball Academy in Florida.

It was when the Tribe's reliever was in his early teens. Back then, Perez was mostly a catcher. A former baseball coach at Cleveland Central Catholic, my brother moved to Florida in 1973 and coached summer teams for decades.

Several times, my brother has said how amazed and impressed he's been by Perez, because the young Chris Perez was a volcano of emotions. His nickname is "Pure Rage," and he earned it with his words, actions and eruptions.

As a closer, Perez is operating in baseball's most pressurized job, one that St. Louis wondered if he had the self control to handle. That's part of the reason Perez was traded by the Cardinals to the Tribe for Mark DeRosa in 2010.

Perez likes to say what he feels, as many people do.

Problem is that what we feel doesn't always match reality, as was clear by the words of Perez the past few days about the fans and the franchise.

Let's start with what Perez had right.

Some fans have been too tough on Perez, as they were on Bob Wickman before him. Those fans believe every ninth inning should be three-up, three-down. They don't like base-runners, they don't want drama. They tend to forget every save and remember every failure.

Perez trashed a 4-1 lead on Opening Day, then saved the next 12 games before he allowed a couple of runners and heard some boos on Thursday.

That really upset Perez, who believes he's earned more good will from the fans.
Since he's 49-of-54 in saves since the 2011 opener. . . .

And 24-of-27 in one-run saves. . . .

And his 90-percent save conversion rate was even higher than Mariano Rivera in 2010. . . .

A GOOD JOB

The guy deserves some grace and patience.

It's understandable when Perez said: "They booed me against the Mariners when I had two guys on. . . . It feels like I can't even give up a base-runner without people booing me. It's even worse when there's only 5,000 in the stands, because then you can hear it. . . . They haven't even scored yet and you're booing me? You're saying, 'Get this bum out of there.' "

I was at that 6-5 win over Seattle on Thursday. Most of the fans were not booing him. The problem is when the crowd is small (12,894) you hear those who scream the loudest -- and some guys were bellowing at Perez.

Was he too sensitive? Perhaps.

But was he wrong? Not really.

Closers are blowing up all over baseball. It's a job that tends to attract strange and outrageous personalities.

No matter what the stats geeks insist, racking up the final three outs of a close game is different than a pitcher trying to get any other three outs in any other inning.

Almost every time manager Manny Acta hands the ball to Perez, the game is in his hands.

And more than 90 percent of the time since Opening Day 2011, he has delivered. In that span, he ranked No. 3 in the American League in save conversions.

WANTING SUPPORT

Perez then talked about the lack of attendance, how the team deserves better support. But he said it after Saturday's 2-0 victory, and two consecutive games where the Tribe had nearly 30,000 fans.

Just as the fans were grabbing on to the team, Perez was angry about them staying away. He sounded a bit like some pastors that I've heard over the years when they finally have a full church for a holiday service -- and they spend part of their sermon complaining how no one comes to church.

I've been told that Perez realizes that his timing was not the best. But he does believe it's
embarrassing the team is last in attendance while being in first place in the Central Division.
And he's right when saying other players agree with him, they just don't say it.

And there is a case to be made for Perez's plea for support.

The problem is the Indians came off seasons of 93 and 97 losses in 2009 and 2010, and they never had back-to-back losing seasons of 90 games before. And there was the trauma of losing Cliff Lee, C.C. Sabathia and Victor Martinez to trades in those seasons.

No team had ever traded back-to-back Cy Young winners before.

The Indians have not had back-to-back winning seasons since 2000-01, and ownership has a major public relations problems in terms of trust with the fan base.

But from the view of Perez, the team was exciting for most of last season (finishing 80-82), and it's been fun this year. So where are the fans?

The trouble is rather than turn it into a plea for more support, it came off like a whine of feeling underappreciated by a guy making $4.5 million who was given a chance to establish himself as a closer in Cleveland. No matter how Perez sees it today, the view of most fans is Cleveland has been the land of opportunity for this young man from Bradenton, Fla.

GOING WRONG

Perez also talked about how players don't want to come here -- and he said it was because of the fans.
He then mentioned Carlos Beltran.

Let's see, Beltran was offered $26 million for two years from the St. Louis Cardinals.
And $24 million for two years from the Tribe.

So he took the offer of more money to play for the World Series champions.
You can't blame the fans for that.

Yes, St. Louis has outstanding fans. And Albert Pujols owned the city and married a woman from St. Louis. The Cardinals did everything possible to make Pujols happy, and he apeared to be happy.
But then Pujols signed for more money with the Angels.

When Sabathia became a free agent, he said he preferred to play in the National League because he also wanted to bat. He was leaning toward the West Coast.

But he signed with the Yankees, an American League team in New York.
Why? Money. Lots of money.

If the Indians had offered Beltran $30 million instead of $24 million, and the Cardinals offered him $26 million, a safe guess is that he'd be in Cleveland today.

Is Cleveland one of the top destinations for players who mostly grow up in the south, the West Coast or Latin countries? You know the answer to that. But when the check is big enough, they will come to the Midwest. Just look at Detroit's payroll.

NOT A BAD GUY

Perez is 26 and a ballplayer, not a 56-year-old statesman who graduated from the Harvard school of diplomacy.

He doesn't look at the world through the eyes of fans who grew up with the Tribe, nor does he understand the different hot spots that some of his remarks have touched.

He's in his middle 20s, and not all of us can say everything we did at that point in our lives was wise and well-spoken.

I know that Perez doesn't run from the media or fans. He is buying tickets to give away. He signed autographs for kids before Sunday's game. He shakes hands and has generally been a good ambassador for the team.

He's not acted as if he can't wait to leave town.

Tribe President Mark Shapiro was correct when said Perez "is driven by emotions, passions and a drive to succeed."

It also can led to frustration and words uttered in anger. He also is active on Twitter. Like other forms of media, it's the most extreme voices that seems to receive the most attention.

I know from my brother the progress made by Perez. And I look at a man as more than what he might say in a weekend of anger, even if all the rage isn't justified.

One day, ballplayers may learn never to complain about the fans -- you always end up doing it in the wrong way at the wrong time.

Keep in mind that what a ballplayers says really doesn't amount to much in the big picture of the team, much less life. What counts is how he pitches and acts with his coaches and teammates.

So far, Perez has done very well in those areas. I disagree with some of his points, but I still like and appreciate guy and pitcher.

Baseball's mound etiquette? Cover your mouth!

Published: Friday, May 11, 2012, 4:04 AM Updated: Friday, May 11, 2012, 4:04 AM

By Bill Lubinger, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Meetings on the pitcher's mound are held under the cone of silence. It's a conference room where lips are not to be shown, where sounds are not to be made unless it's behind the muffled wall of a baseball mitt.

"It's a closed meeting," said Indians reliever Tony Sipp. "Camera's on you at all times. You don't want anyone reading your lips. If you have anything you want to keep in that circle, you've got to cover your mouth."

When players bury their face in a glove while they talk -- which is the rule, not the exception -- they ensure that what's said on pitcher's mound, stays on pitcher's mound.

It is baseball, after all, where some will resort to just about anything for an edge -- corked bats, nail files to scuff the ball, Vaseline to make it dance or even binoculars to steal a catcher's signs. Two seasons ago, Philadelphia bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was nabbed on television using binoculars to do exactly that against Colorado.

As it turns out, the game's most famous homer -- Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951 -- may have been aided by a telescope and buzzer system the Giants had installed at the Polo Grounds to steal the catcher's signs, alert the dugout and tip off the batter.
By comparison, lip reading is low-tech and relatively recent.

Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano said he has covered his mouth during mound conferences since high school. He doesn't remember why he started, but it's become a force of habit.
"I don't know where it originated," he said. "It had to come from somewhere."

Loose slips sink victories?

It did, although much of baseball's romance is the thin line between folklore and truth.
As the story goes, in 1989 San Francisco slugger Will Clark stepped up with the bases loaded against the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. When Cubs manager Don Zimmer came out to talk to pitcher Greg Maddux, Clark, while adjusting his batting glove, claims he saw Maddux mouth the words, "fastball in."

Sure enough, Clark stroked an inside fastball for a grand slam.

Peter Morris, author of "A Game of Inches: The Story Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball," said that Maddux and Clark's former teammate, Bob Brenly, refuted the claim, but pitchers and catchers began meeting under cover anyway.

"The point is," Morris said, "[Clark] said it, and there became this paranoia."

Paranoia or perception? It's baseball, after all, where deception is admired -- the hidden-ball trick, phantom tags, decoying runners, groundskeeping the field to your team's advantage -- and espionage within the rules isn't just admired, but rewarded.

Joe Nossek, former major-league player and coach, fashioned a career out of stealing signs. Mainly a platoon player, he spent his time on the bench watching the interplay between the manager, third-base coach and batter to crack their codes for bunts, squeeze plays, steals and the hit-and-run. He even kept a notebook.

When a player was acquired in a trade, Nossek would immediately pull the man aside and drill him for his former team's signs.

But in 15 years as a third-base coach and spy extraordinaire with the Indians and four other teams, Nossek, who lives in Amherst, never tried tapping into mound conversations.
"I guess they've been hiring lip-readers or something," he joked. "With all the technology and the cameras all over the place. ... I've seen it in football, too; coaches covering their mouths with [play sheets]. That's one talent I don't have."

A case of baseball blarney?

Indians starter Josh Tomlin said he's done the glove-over-mouth routine since Little League, although he's not aware of a hitter ever drilling a ball after reading a pitcher's lips.
"But," he said, "I don't want to be the first one to find out."

Former big-league ace Jim Kaat, now an MLB Network broadcaster, said he remembers former Minnesota teammate Jim Perry covering his mouth with his glove way back in the '60s. But catcher Earl Battey would complain he couldn't understand Perry's muffled directions anyway.

Which raises a question: When a Japanese pitcher meets on the mound with his Dominican catcher and American pitching coach, what could their lips possibly be tipping off?

"The hand over the mouth -- that drives me nuts," said Tim Belcher, former Indians pitching coach and major-league pitcher. "I never understood why we started doing that. Most time, when you're out there, it's pretty basic stuff anyway: 'Hey, relax, I'm just giving you a break.'"

Still, you wouldn't want your opponent picking up any covert information, like options for a wedding present in the classic meeting on the mound in the 1988 movie "Bull Durham."

"OK, well, uh. ... candlesticks always make a nice gift," the Bulls' pitching coach suggests to the boys gathered around him. "And uh, maybe you could find out where she's registered and maybe a place-setting or maybe a silverware pattern.

"OK, let's get two! Go get 'em."

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain DealerVinnie Pestano (left) and Carlos Santana assume the position -- gloves covering mouths -- during this recent mound conversation at Progressive Field. "You don't want anyone reading your lips," says reliever Tony Sipp.

Lip Service

What are they talking about behind those gloves anyway? Usually how to pitch to a hitter or which set of catcher’s signals to use with a runner on second. But sometimes the conversation has nothing to do with baseball

Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda: “It depends on the game. It depends on the situation. I’ve been out there to rip a guy, I’ve been out there to pat a guy on the back. It’s a situation conversation, I would call it.”

Like the situation he once had with struggling pitcher Jerry Reuss.
“I went out to take him out and he said, ‘Are you trying to take me out?’ and I said, 'You got it.’ And then he says, ‘Well, I think I should stay.’ He said, ‘I think we should do this in a democratic fashion.’ He said, ‘You want me out, I want to stay. Let’s call [catcher Steve] Yeager out here to break the tie.’ So Yeager comes to the mound and I ask him whether I should take Reuss out, and he says, ‘You should have taken him out last inning.’”

Former pitcher Jim Kaat: “When [manager] Billy Martin used to send [pitching coach] Art Fowler out to the mound, Artie would get out there and he’d say, ‘You know, I don’t know what I’m going to say here, but Billy sent me out here.’ So we’d just kill a little time and kind of grin at each other and kick the dirt and he’d go back to the dugout.”

Former Indians pitcher Scott Bailes: When Bailes played for Milwaukee, Jack Aker, the pitching coach called “Chief,” had a reputation for being a mean cuss. Bailes gets the first batter out, then goes 2-0 on Gustavo Polidor, who wound up batting .207 in seven major-league seasons.

“Chief calls time out and comes out and goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Trying to get Polidor out.’ He said, ‘This is Gustavo [blanking] Polidor!’
“For the next couple of years, [catcher] Andy Allanson would come out and say, ‘This is [blanking] so and so!’ and we’d always get a good laugh out of it.
”
Former Indians flame-thrower Sam McDowell: He considered the practice of covering the mouth to conceal strategy “a little hilarious. Even my own catcher didn’t know what I was throwing sometimes.”

Indians coach and former catcher Sandy Alomar Jr.: “If you have a guy who’s struggling, you kind of bring something out that has nothing to do with the game. I did that a few times, talk about movies or whatever, that had nothing to do with baseball.”

Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano: Most trips to the mound, he said, are to calm a pitcher down, slow a rally or give the bullpen more time to warm up. “But usually it’s the same message: Pull your head out and start throwing strikes.”

Indians reliever Tony Sipp: “Sometimes it’s a funny joke. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need.”
Such as?
“None that’s appropriate.”
-- Bill

Derek Lowe overwhelmed by Red Sox's classy gesture: Cleveland Indians Insider

Published: Sunday, May 13, 2012, 9:23 PM Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012, 11

Boston -- Spend five minutes with Derek Lowe, and it's clear he can talk -- forever.

Before Saturday night's game between the Indians and Red Sox at Fenway Park, however, Lowe was rendered nearly speechless when Boston executives John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner presented him with a 2004 World Series ring to replace the one that was stolen from his Florida home this year.
"You know me, I can talk," Lowe said. "But it was one of those moments where I didn't even know what to say. It wasn't like they just sent over a batboy or sent it over. All three of them came over to give it to me. They said some really nice things."

In 2004, Lowe went 14-12 with a 5.42 ERA in 33 starts, as the Red Sox ended an 86-year World Series drought by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals.

Lowe went 3-0 in Boston's postseason drive. He started and won Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees as the Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series to reach the World Series. In the World Series, he pitched and won the clincher in Game 4.

In seven years with the Red Sox, Lowe went from closer to starter. He saved 81 games and had a record of 70-53.
"I just thought it was one of the classiest things I've seen," said Lowe before Sunday's game. "The traveling secretary called over to our clubhouse and said, 'Hey, someone is going to stop by and wants to give you something.' "
It's not like the Red Sox had an extra ring sitting in their kitchen junk drawer. They had to order it.
"They didn't have to do that at all," Lowe said. "I just don't want it to go unnoticed. I knew there was an opportunity for me to buy another one, but to have all three of them there when they gave it to me really meant a lot.

"It's something I'll never forget," Lowe said. "It almost means more this time because it was a selfless act on their part. I just want people to know they did this."

Lowe's original ring, a World Series trophy and other items worth about $90,000 were recently stolen from his home in Fort Myers, Fla. Lowe said the investigation is at a standstill.

"The police are still working on it," Lowe said. "But on a case like this, you probably need a mistake to be made [by the thieves to get caught]."

Left on left: His average doesn't show it, but Shin-Soo Choo says he's feeling more comfortable against lefties.
"I'm not good against left-handed pitchers right now, but I think I'm getting better," said Choo, who's hitting .103 (4-for-39) against lefties. "I'm not getting hits, but I feel much more comfortable in the batter's box now."
Choo has struggled against lefties since getting his left thumb broken by a Jonathan Sanchez pitch last year.
"Early in the season, I had a lot of hit-by-pitches, and then I was a little bit afraid of inside pitches," Choo said. "Now, after talking to the hitting coach and talking to players, I think I was more scared for my body. I was scared on inside pitches, and I'd turn too quick.

"Now, I'm hitting hard fly balls, hard ground balls against left-handed pitchers. I think it's getting better."
Same old, same old: Jose Lopez, who joined the Indians from Class AAA Columbus on Saturday, will fill the same role he had at the beginning of the season.

He'll back up Jack Hannahan at third and provide manager Manny Acta with a right-handed option at first base.
We remember: Before the top of the third inning Sunday, the Red Sox played a video tribute on the center-field scoreboard to Indians left fielder Johnny Damon. The background music was Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."
It showed Damon doing great things for the Red Sox from 2002 through 2005. Damon came to the top step of the Indians' dugout and tipped his cap.

With the Indians, Damon is hitting .159 (7-for-44), with two RBI. In the four-game series at Fenway, Damon went 2-for-13.

"That's the first time they've acknowledged what I did with the Red Sox," Damon said. "It was nice. There were some hard feelings on both sides after I left for New York."

Finally: Acta on the Indians' left-handed hitters being exposed by lefty starters and relievers: "No one is sitting here saying that Choo, [Michael] Brantley, [Jason] Kipnis are platoon players. They were going to play against righties and lefties, regardless of our situation. . . . Should we trade Choo and Kipnis for right-handed hitters?"

5 ??? with Derek Lowe

BOSTON -- The 16-year MLB veteran is 5-1 in his first year with the Indians.

1. What do you like better, starting or relieving?

A: There's so much I like about both, but I'll say starting. I like the time in between starts to figure out what you can do if you're struggling. There is no time to figure stuff out when you're relieving.

2. What are you doing this year that you weren't doing last year when you lost 17 games with Atlanta?

A: The majority of it has had to do with huge mechanical changes that I'm not going to bore people with. I went back to pitching the way I did 10 years ago by throwing 75 to 80 percent sinkers instead of 40 percent.

3. At 38, how have you managed to fit in with one of the youngest clubs in the big leagues?

A: I've seen some older guys who were real big sticklers on old school baseball. They liked the way the game was played back when and had a hard time with the younger generation. I could care less how the game is played. I don't believe one style is better than the next. ... That definitely makes it easier to have that kind of mentality. It's a young game. If you don't accept it, you're going to be miserable.

4. After spending the last seven years in the National League, what challenges does the DH present?

A: I've found it easier than the National League. They swing the bats here. The National League is a lot more patient. They take a lot of pitches. In the American League, if you're on your game, you can have pretty quick innings.

5. What's your best baseball moment?

A: I would have to go with the World Series with Boston in 2004. So much because of what happened in 2003, losing to the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS. It was the best season I've ever been a part of.

Anyone remember Charlie Jamieson

 Q: Why is Charlie Jamieson not in the Indians Hall of Fame? I know he's listed as one of the 100 Greatest Indians, but why is he overlooked for the Indians Hall of Fame? -- Paul Rupright, Cleveland

 A: In 2006 the Indians started to induct players into their Hall of Fame after a 34-year absence. Before that, the last Indian inducted was Early Wynn in 1972. A backlog of candidates has been created in that time and Jamieson is one of them.
Bob DiBiasio, Indians vice president of public relations, says Jamieson gets several votes every year, but so far hasn't been elected. DiBiasio feels he eventually will be.

The year it turned 100, Cleveland was a town that hadn't aged particularly well.
Former Planning Director Hunter Morrison described Cleveland in 1896 as "a dirty, slum-filled industrial city."
That was about to change.
By 1912, Cleveland was poised to embark upon a decade of progress that, when viewed through the long lens of history, is so astonishing it almost defies imagination.
Tom L. Johnson laid the city's groundwork in the early years of the 20th century. Cleveland's most worshiped mayor lowered streetcar fares, built a municipal electric system, initiated the Mall Plan that changed the face of downtown, opened new parks throughout the city, and ran a Progressive-era government whose sole purpose was to improve the quality of life for its residents.
When Johnson left office in 1909, Cleveland was on the brink of greatness.
Three years later, it arrived.
And there to usher it in was Mayor Newton D. Baker, the only mayor worthy of mention in the same breath with his mentor and friend, Johnson.
Case Western Reserve University's John Grabowski is the city's pre-eminent living historian. Not one to toss about superlatives, Grabowski speaks with a sense of awe about the 10-year period that began here exactly 100 years ago.
"It was just an unbelievable decade," said Grabowski. "It was one of those times when everything came together."

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By 1912, Cleveland was a city with significant wealth. And those who had it -- prodded by those who governed -- were about to put it to good use.
The decade beginning in 1912 gave birth to institutions that, a century later, remain the region's most precious assets:
• The West Side Market, designated by the American Planning Association as one of the nation's "10 Great Public Places," opened its doors Nov. 2, 1912. A million customers a year still shop there.
• The Cleveland Foundation is the city's version of a gift that keeps on giving, the world's oldest community foundation, with nearly $2 billion in assets. It was founded in 1914 by banker Frederick Goff as a vehicle to pool the resources of Cleveland's philanthropists and distribute that wealth indefinitely to projects that benefit the city. In 2011, the foundation's grants totaled $80 million.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art, one of the nation's finest, opened to the public three years after gifts and bequests from a small group of wealthy Clevelanders led to the 1913 incorporation of an art museum. A $350 million expansion and renovation of the museum is scheduled for completion next year.
• The Cleveland Orchestra, founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes, played its first concert in Grays Armory on Dec. 11, 1918. Less than three decades later, it ranked amongst the world's finest -- a position it retains today. Severance Hall opened in 1931.
• The Cleveland Clinic owes its origins to George Crile and three of his colleagues who, returning home after service in a medical unit during World War I, founded a medical practice and gave it that name. In 1921, the Clinic's first building opened on Euclid Avenue and East 93rd Street. Today, the Clinic is one of the world's largest and most respected medical centers.
• City Hall and the Courthouse opened during the decade, and a voter-approved bond issue paved the way for construction of the Cleveland Public Library, fulfilling the vision of the Mall Plan.
• William Stinchcomb founded the Metroparks in 1917.
• "Fifth City" was the nickname bestowed on Cleveland after the 1920 census, a reference to its standing as the nation's fifth-largest, behind only New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit.
How could all of this happen within the span of a decade?
Morrison attributes it to the political leadership of Johnson and Baker, and "a civic establishment that decided Cleveland should become something really special."
Grabowski agreed, adding that the city's leaders at the time also "made rational use of great wealth."
In a must-read piece written for Teaching Cleveland, a website dedicated to the city's history, Grabowski argues that 1912 may have been the year "Cleveland became a modern city, one deserving of national emulation."
A century later, a new young leader walked through the West Side Market early one recent morning, talking about the upcoming 100-year celebrations of places -- like the market -- "that made this city so special."
But Eric Wobser, head of Ohio City Inc., added the centennials must also challenge Cleveland's leaders "to use these institutions, these cultural treasures, as drivers for the next 100 years."
Those treasures have aged well. Other parts of the city have not.
The challenge ahead is to become more like the Cleveland that grew out of 1912, and less like the one of 1896.

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Mayor Newton D. Baker completed the work his friend and mentor Johnson had begun.
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/05/cleveland_has_a_past_from_whic.html#incart_hbx