Perez rips Front Office in rare Tribe Victory

Cleveland Indians' Chris Perez fires back at Manny Acta; Tribe rallies for 4-3 victory over White Sox

Published: Tuesday, October 02, 2012, 10:42 PM     Updated: Wednesday, October 03, 2012, 7:52 AM

By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Closer Chris Perez had a lot better stuff before Tuesday's game than he did during it.

A couple of hours before game time, Perez went up and in on departed Manny Acta and his managerial style. He must have used all his heat, because he didn't have much left against Dayan Viciedo, who hammered a 426-foot homer to center in the ninth inning.

It looked like certain defeat for Perez and the Tribe until Travis Hafner tied it with a two-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth followed by Jason Donald's game-winning single with two out in the 12th for a 4-3 victory over Chicago.

Perez brings drama even when he doesn't pitch well. Perez hit catcher Tyler Flowers with one out and one on, drawing taunts from the White Sox dugout. Perez gestured back at the Chicago players, who have had a running feud with Perez this season.

Plate umpire Paul Schrieber warned both teams. When the inning ended, Perez met Flowers between second and third base and patted him on the back, saying he didn't intentionally hit him.

There was nothing apologetic about the criticism Perez directed toward Acta. In September, Perez criticized ownership for not spending enough money to have a competitive team. Then he criticized the front office for its poor trading record.

Perez said Tuesday that he did not make those comments to get traded.

"A lot of it was heat of the moment," he said. "I was upset. A lot of that walked out the door last week."

 Perez was referring to Acta's firing on Thursday. Bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. is the acting manager. He's scheduled to interview for the full-time job Thursday followed by former Boston manager Terry Francona on Friday.

In a 15-minute meeting with reporters, Perez listed his complaints with Acta.

• "The Manny [reporters] saw and the Manny we saw were different guys," said Perez. "He's not a very confrontational person.

"In this game we're men. We can handle it. Sometimes we need a kick in the butt. He did it this year, but it was a couple of weeks too late.

"Last year we didn't get it at all. He only gave us two speeches, one at the start of the season and one at the end and we were playing for first place up until September."

Perez said the Indians took on Acta's personality.

"It sounds like a cliche, but a team does follow its manager, good or bad," he said. "If a manager has no activity on the field. If he doesn't argue calls or get upset, why would his team?"

• Perez said Acta seemed to push the panic button in certain series.

"We'd play the Yankees and have to change our whole lineup around," said Perez. "Why?"
He questioned how Acta used the bullpen at times. "OK, it's May and there are only 150 games left," said Perez. "Why use the whole bullpen against Detroit when we're going to play them 15 more times?"

• Perez said he'd go seven to eight days at a time without talking to Acta, unless he was coming into a game in the ninth inning.

"We're a family," he said. "We're together so much. It was just a weird dynamic. I have a great deal of respect for Manny. From what he's accomplished and the charity work he does. I just disagree with some of his baseball tactics and strategies and how he runs the ship."

• Perez said he felt Acta should have been fired on Aug. 8, when pitching coach Scott Radinsky was dismissed following an 11-game losing streak.

"The easiest way to get out of the kind of losing streak we were in is to get a new manager," said Perez. "It shakes things up and gets a new voice. They made the decision with six games left in the season.

"They had their reasons. ... I would have liked to seen what happened if they'd done it after that losing streak when they fired Rad. I would have liked to seen what happened with a month and a half to go. Who knows?
"It wasn't my decision. I stand by what they did. I respect them."

• On Monday, Perez had an hour-long exit meeting with GM Chris Antonetti. Perez did not feel he would get traded.

"I got the impression they were going to build around the bullpen," said Perez.

Justin Masterson made his last start of the season Tuesday. He allowed one run on four hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one. Shin-Soo Choo gave him a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer off Jake Peavy. The White Sox tied it on Orlando Hudson's single in the sixth.

Hafner tied the score, 3-3, with his 200th homer in an Indians uniform off Jake Peavy. It was his third career pinch-hit homer, hitting the right-field foul pole.

Lonnie Chisenhall started the game-winning rally with a one-out double off Matt Thornton (4-10). Russ Canzler was intentionally walked and pinch-hitter Jack Hannahan struck out before Donald sent a 1-1 pitch into left field to win it.

Chris Seddon (1-1) was the winner.

Humble Sandy

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sandy Alomar has moved into the Tribe manager's office ... sort of.
"I'm sitting on the couch, not on the chair [behind the desk]," said the interim manager. "There might be a ghost in that chair."

It could be the ghost of former manager Manny Acta, who was fired last week. But next season, someone has to sit there -- and it's likely to be either Alomar or former Red Sox manager Terry Francona.
I asked Alomar what he thought of Francona, as I'd heard they had a relationship going back to 1988.
"We played winterball together," said Alomar, who then showed his class and did the Tribe a tremendous favor by sounding like a press agent for Francona. He talked about Francona like this: "I don't have the resume that Terry has, that's a slam dunk. ... I wish I had that."

He said how Francona is "a great guy ... a great communicator." About how "no one owes me anything. ... This is a big decision [for the Indians] ... not about who is the most popular guy."

While it almost sounded as an endorsement for Francona, understand that Alomar desperately wants the job. "I feel I'm prepared for it," he said. But he knows that he's never managed a game anywhere until last weekend, when he took over for Acta.

After taking a year off to work for ESPN, Francona brings a strong background with tons of experience that would make him attractive to any team needing a manager.

Hometown favorite
 
Alomar is one of the Cleveland's favorite baseball sons. Many fans want him, and want the staff to include Omar Vizquel, Charlie Nagy and others from the great teams of the 1990s. But those glory days are gone.
The Tribe has lost 90 games for the third time in four years -- something that never happened before in franchise history extending to 1901. So the next manager is not about to work miracles. Nor will he sell many tickets. But hiring the right one is at least something positive for a team needing any sentence that hints of good news.

With Francona and Alomar as the main candidates, the Tribe is in a far better position than their last managerial search. That was in 2009, when the final three were Bobby Valentine, Torey Lovullo and Acta.
Valentine has been an embarrassment in Boston, the Red Sox joining the 90-game loser club. Lovullo is Toronto's first-base coach, and could be a candidate to manage the Blue Jays if current skipper John Farrell replaces Valentine in Boston. Acta will probably join someone's coaching staff next season.
As Alomar said, "This is a business."

The best way to handle the insecurity that is part of the job is to refrain from taking it personally. That's how Alomar is dealing with the possibility of Francona being hired.

The Francona Factor
 
Furthermore, the assumption has long been Alomar would be the next Wahoo manager whenever Acta departed. But Francona's availability and interest has changed all that.

Alomar can put himself in the place of the front office and know that Francona's 12 years of experience, two World Series titles and respect all over baseball make him a very appealing candidate. That assumes Francona's comments to The Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes about really wanting the job are sincere. There is no reason to doubt Francona's words.

Just as there is no reason to question that Alomar was speaking from the heart when he praised Francona.
While many fans want massive front office changes, it's obvious Francona thinks the situation here can improve -- or he would not be interviewing Friday.

Alomar has a Tribe coaching contract for next season. Obviously, if Francona is hired here and Alomar is offered a chance to manage another team the Indians will permit him to do so. He has interviewed with three teams over the previous two seasons.

But Alomar has wisely put himself in good position, regardless of who is the new manager. Because of his respect for Francona, it sounds as if he'd be content to stay here as bench coach if no manager's job came his way.

That would make the Tribe even stronger -- at least in the dugout -- next season.

Miguel Cabrera and the Tripe Crown

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Miguel Cabrera received a standing ovation after flying out and striking out in his only two at-bats Wednesday night, and leaving the Tigers' game against the Kansas City Royals in the fourth inning with the Triple Crown in sight.

Cabrera high-fived his teammates as he entered the Detroit dugout, then walked back to the top step and waved his helmet as a crowd of mostly Royals fans gave him a standing ovation.

Cabrera finished the regular season with a .330 average, 44 homers and 139 RBIs, wrapping up baseball's first Triple Crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

"I would say without question he's enjoyed it. How could you not enjoy what he's done if you're a baseball player?" Tigers manager Jim Leyland said before the game.

 "I would say without question he's enjoyed it. How could you not enjoy what he's done if you're a baseball player?" Tigers manager Jim Leyland said before the game.

"I would also add to that I doubt very much, knowing him, that he necessarily enjoys all the extra attention, and all the extra conversations he has to have, it's kind of out of his realm in personality, to be honest with you."

Only the Angels' Mike Trout provided a threat to Cabrera's second consecutive batting title, and only the Yankees' Curtis Granderson had a chance of hitting more home runs after the Rangers' Josh Hamilton finished with 43 homers earlier in the day.

Cabrera's pursuit of history has occurred largely in the dark, though, overshadowed by thrilling pennant races, the sheer enormity of the NFL -- even the presidential election.

An event that in other years might dominate headlines has been mostly cast aside.

 "The entire baseball world should be here right now," said Tigers ace Justin Verlander, the reigning AL MVP, who may soon watch that award get handed off to his teammate.

Perhaps part of the void has to do with Cabrera's very nature. He's not the boisterous sort, never one to crave attention. He would rather hang out with a couple of buddies than stand in front a pack of television cameras, answering countless questions about what makes him one of the game's most complete hitters.

"He's not a talkative guy," said Tigers catcher Alex Avila. "One, he doesn't speak English that well, but two, he lets his ability carry through."

It takes a special breed to hit for average, power and in clutch situations, which is why there have only been 14 players to achieve baseball's version of the Triple Crown, an honor roll that includes iconic players such as Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.

Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez never accomplished it, failing to win the batting title, and countless other Hall of Fame players have fallen short of one of sport's rarest feats.

To put it in perspective, consider horse racing's Triple Crown. The last thoroughbred to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in the same year was Affirmed in 1978, more than a full decade after Yastrzemski's magical summer in Boston.

Whether it's on par with Johnny Vander Meer's consecutive no-hitters, Jack Nicklaus' 18 major championships in golf, Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak or Brett Favre's consecutive games streak for quarterback is open to interpretation, and perhaps some bar-room debate.

Those who have witnessed it first-hand certainly have their opinions.

"It's pretty amazing," said the Royals' Alex Gordon, who's watched the drama unfold from his spot in left field. "Honestly, his numbers are like that every year. He has a great average, great home runs, great RBIs. He's a guy who can pull this off, and it's great for the game."

Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval said he was particularly proud that the Triple Crown would be accomplished by a fellow Venezuelan. Cabrera is from Maracay, along the Caribbean coast.

"I'm excited for the country and for the fans that support us every single day. It's a big deal in Venezuela right now," Sandoval said. "It's exciting, especially because of all the things that have happened in his career."
Yes, it seems that every fairytale these days carries a troublesome footnote.

In Cabrera's case, it stems from spring training last year, when he was involved in an ugly drunken driving incident. According to authorities in St. Lucie County, Fla., Cabrera refused to cooperate, directed an obscene gesture at police and even dared them to shoot him.

The Tigers have been careful to keep him from having to discuss his personal issues, but by all accounts, Cabrera has been a model player ever since. This year, he's the Tigers' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player "who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement."

"This clubhouse wouldn't be quite as good without him," Leyland said.

While the Triple Crown appears all but assured, the MVP award is not. On one hand, Cabrera is on the footstep of history, having dominated the major statistical categories favored by traditionalists, the ones that count toward the Triple Crown.

On the other hand, Trout is being championed by new-school baseball thought, number crunchers who rely on more obscure measures such as WAR (Wins Above Replacement), derived from several other statistics designed to judge a player's overall contribution to a team.

Tigers Hall of Famer Al Kaline said it would be "a shame" if Cabrera didn't win the league's most coveted award, while Royals manager Ned Yost offered a similar sentiment.

"I think they're both fantastic players, tremendous players, both of them," Yost said, "but if Cabrera wins the Triple Crown, he has to be the MVP, absolutely."