Baltimore vs. Cleveland: ALCS Thumbnail Sketches
Posted: Tues October 7, 1997 at 4:44 p.m. EDT
SportsTicker Baseball Editor
FIRST BASE
RAFAEL PALMEIRO hit a career-low .254 with a career-high 109
strikeouts for Baltimore, a performance that can be blamed on a
nagging wrist injury. The veteran still drove in a club-best
110 runs and should be in the starting lineup in every game,
unlike against Seattle when he sat against Randy Johnson. ...
JIM THOME hit a career-high 40 homers for the Indians and made
the transition to first base to make room for Matt Williams. He
was solid defensively against the Yankees and laid down his
first sacrifice bunt since 1994. Edge: Baltimore.
SECOND BASE
ROBERTO ALOMAR had an outstanding September after returning from
injuries, but the groin and ankle problems prevent him batting
right-handed and limit his range. JEFF REBOULET played the role
of supersub, homering off Randy Johnson in the clincher over
Seattle ... BIP ROBERTS was an excellent late-season acquisition
and hit .316 against the Yankees. He can also play left field,
making room for TONY FERNANDEZ, a four-time All-Star who hit
.286 this year. Edge: Baltimore.
THIRD BASE
CAL RIPKEN put to rest any discussion that he should have rested
toward the end of the regular season by hitting .438 against the
Mariners, including a key run-scoring hit in Game Four. Ripken
has made the adjustment from shortstop and has his sights on his
first World Series since 1983. ... MATT WILLIAMS took a while to
get adjusted to American League pitching after coming over from
San Francisco, but finished with 32 homers and 105 RBI. He was
a clutch hitter against the Yankees, blasting a homer in Game
Two and adding a run-scoring single in Game Five. Edge:
Cleveland.
SHORTSTOP
A .236 batting average and just 13 errors for MIKE BORDICK
brought back memories of good-field, no-hit Mark Belanger.
Bordick then hit .400 in the Seattle series and continued to
make the outstanding defensive plays. His stellar play made the
move of Ripken to third base go quite smoothly. ... OMAR VIZQUEL
is not mentioned in the class of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez,
but those two have nothing on him defensively. Vizquel led the
Tribe with a .500 average in the Division Series and made 26
total plays on defense without an error. He was just a .194
postseason hitter before this season. Edge: Cleveland.
LEFT FIELD
B.J. SURHOFF, at 33, has seen his RBI total grow in each of the
last two years, including a career-best 88 this season. He is an
underrated defensive player that can navigate the tight corners
of Camden Yards. He shares time with JEFFREY HAMMONDS, who hit
21 homers and played most of the second half with an Achilles
problem. ... BRIAN GILES made one of the plays in the series
against New York, throwing out Tino Martinez in the first inning
of Game Four to prevent a big inning. Giles plays when ROBERTS
moves to the infield against right-handers. Edge: Baltimore.
CENTER FIELD
Home run numbers for BRADY ANDERSON dipped from 50 to 18, but he
has played most of the year with a cracked rib in his left side.
A solid leadoff hitter, Anderson hit .353 and drove in four runs
against the Mariners ... MARQUIS GRISSOM, like Williams, needed
a period of adjustment after coming over from the NL. He
finished with a .262 average and hit best when dropped to the
bottom of the order. He is a better defensive player than
Anderson, but not the offensive threat. Edge: Baltimore.
RIGHT FIELD
The comeback of ERIC DAVIS from colon cancer remains one of the
best stories in all of baseball. He managed to play in three of
the four games against Seattle and had a key hit in Game One,
although he was just 2-for-9 overall. GERONIMO BERROA was an
excellent mid-season pickup from Oakland and can play if Davis
is not healthy ... MANNY RAMIREZ had a miserable series against
the Yankees until his two-run double in Game Five. He hit .328
with 26 homers, which is why Mike Hargrove stayed with him
despite a slump. Ramirez, however, can be a major liability in
the field. Edge: Cleveland.
CATCHER
The combination of CHRIS HOILES and LENNY WEBSTER had just two
hits in 13 at-bats against the Mariners. Injuries limited Hoiles
to 99 games and his throwing arm is mediocre at best. ... A
charmed season for the Indians' SANDY ALOMAR has continued in
the playoffs. He had a 30-game hitting streak, was the MVP of
the All-Star Game and hit two homers against the Yankees. Edge:
Cleveland.
STARTING PITCHING
The trio of MIKE MUSSINA, SCOTT ERICKSON and JIMMY KEY combined
for 47 victories during the year and it was Mussina that stole
the show against the Mariners, twice defeating Randy Johnson and
ending, at least for now, any talk that he can not pitch in the
big game. KEY won just three of his last 13 regular-season
starts and did not make it past the fifth inning in his one
playoff start. But the left-hander will start Game Two against
Cleveland with Mussina getting more rest before working Game
Three. Erickson will work the opener and Davey Johnson is
undecided if he will use SCOTT KAMIENIECKI in Game Four. ... The
Indians used everything they had against the Yankees, which may
force them to scramble for a rotation against Baltimore. The
Division Series made JARET WRIGHT a household name and the
21-year-old figures to get two starts, but Hargrove must guard
against overwork. OREL HERSHISER is 8-1 in postseason play and
at age 39 can still be a dominant October pitcher, as his
performance in Game Four against New York can attest. CHARLES
NAGY struggled at the end of the season and could not find the
plate in the Division Series against the Yankees. He fared
better against Baltimore this season, winning two of three
decisions, and will start Game Two. CHAD OGEA, an effective
pitcher in September who allowed a grand slam to the Yankees'
Paul O'Neill in Game Three, gets the start in Game One. ...
Edge: Baltimore.
BULLPEN
RANDY MYERS led the Orioles with a major-league 45 saves in 46
chances and is the centerpeice of what the team's strongest
component. With flame-throwing ARMANDO BENITEZ, the Orioles
have a tandem that rivals the Yankees' 1996 duo of Mariano
Rivera and John Wetteland. There is concern that ARTHUR RHODES
may not be available early in the series due to a sore arm.
TERRY MATHEWS might be watching from a distance after
surrendering back-to-back homers Saturday against Seattle ...
JOSE MESA, who missed spring training due to legal problems, has
regained his role as closer and finished out the Yankees in Game
Five. The bullpen fell apart in Game One against the Yankees,
but came up big in Games Four and Five, holding New York
scoreless in the final three innings of each game. MIKE JACKSON
and PAUL ASSENMACHER each worked in four games against the
Yankees. Edge: Baltimore.
DESIGNATED HITTER
HAROLD BAINES saw limited duty against the left-handed rotation
of Seattle and managed two hits in five at-bats. The
38-year-old is appearing in an ALCS with his third different
team after playing for the White Sox and Athletics. BERROA is
the DH against right-handers .... DAVID JUSTICE was everything
the Indians wanted after coming over from Atlanta, hitting .329
with 33 homers and 101 RBI and talking about how much he enjoyed
Cleveland. He hit .263 with a Game Four homer against the
Yankees. .. Edge: Cleveland.
BENCH
Manager Davey Johnson uses so many different players in his
starting lineups that his bench is never rusty. Those left out
of the lineup in the outfield or at DH are first off the bench.
REBOULET and JEROME WALTON are two other players available to
Johnson. ... ROBERTS, FERNANDEZ and GILES are first off the
Indians' bench when not in the starting lineup. KEVIN SEITZER
was used in just one game against the Yankees and was 0-for-4.
Edge: Baltimore.
MANAGER
JOHNSON may not win points for personality, but the record
speaks for itself as he kept the team riding high despite a
number of key injuries and illnesses. He was not afraid to bench
Palmeiro in the Division Series, a move that took guts. ....
MIKE HARGROVE has taken the Indians to three straight division
titles, and the pressure is squarely on to win a World Series or
his job could be in jeopardy. He made the decision to go with
Wright last week at Yankee Stadium when it might have been safer
to start a veteran like Nagy. Edge: Baltimore.
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