Sloppy fielding dooms Indians

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Posted: Wednesday October 14, 1998 02:10 AM

Tough night: Vizquel (left) made his first error in 17 ALCS games and failed to touch second base on a force attempt in the third AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- The ball slipped out of Omar Vizquel's hand, and another season slipped away for the Cleveland Indians.

Cleveland, which had clawed its way back into Game 6 of the AL championship series, was sloppy when it needed to be slick.

Vizquel, the Indians' Gold Glove shortstop made a costly error -- one of three by the Indians -- that helped New York score three runs in the sixth inning as the Yankees went on to win their 35th AL pennant with a 9-5 victory Tuesday night.

"We paid for that error," Vizquel said. "In a game like this you can't make errors. But there are no excuses. It was a little bit wet, but that's part of the game."

Left fielder Brian Giles made a fielding error in the second inning, and rookie second baseman Enrique Wilson pulled Vizquel off the bag in the third for another as the Indians allowed the Yankees five unearned runs.

Only once all season did the Indians give away so many runs, but that came in April when you're allowed some miscues. But this is October when every pitch counts.

And for the second straight year the Indians failed to throw and catch the ball cleanly in their biggest game.

In Game 7 of the World Series last October in Miami, the Indians made two errors, including one by second baseman Tony Fernandez on a routine grounder, that allowed the Marlins to score the winning run in the 11th inning.

It sure wasn't Jim Thome's fault against the Yankees.

Thome's grand slam in the fifth inning helped the Indians turn a six-run deficit against New York starter David Cone into a ball game again.

But trailing 6-5 with momentum on the Indians' side, the unthinkable happened: Vizquel made his first error in 46 consecutive postseason games and first in 17 straight ALCS games.

With one out, Scott Brosius hit a grounder to Vizquel that the five-time Gold Glover fielded cleanly. He seemed to reach into his glove for a second time before his throw sailed over leaping first baseman Thome.

"I'm still in shock after making that error," Vizquel said. "I just wanted to turn a double play or do something. They just busted it open right there."

After a walk and a strikeout, Derek Jeter hit a ball off the wall in right-center for a two-run triple that Manny Ramirez made a comical attempt at catching. Ramirez looked like he was going to climb the wall and leave Yankee Stadium when the ball bounced at his feet on the warning track.

"It's like a knife in the back," Vizquel said when asked how he felt when he watched Jeter's ball hit the wall. "Your body just kind of goes stone cold."

After coming within two outs from winning their first World Series title since 1948 last year, the Indians went into spring training with designs on ending their 49-year drought in 1997.

Thome, who set an ALCS record with four homers, handed out T-shirts this February in Florida to all his teammates that said: "It don't mean a thing 'til we get the ring."

For Cleveland, it still doesn't.  

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