| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
CLEVELAND (AP) -- When the Indians' season officially ended at
7:18 p.m., sprinklers were soaking the grass in an empty Jacobs
Field and most of Cleveland's players were already home.
|  | | Cleveland pitcher Steve Reed shakes hands with Manny Ramirez after Sunday's victory. |
And for the first time since 1994, that's how things will stay
in Cleveland for the rest of October.
The Indians' slim playoff chances, kept alive by an afternoon
11-4 win over David Wells and Toronto, vanished early Sunday
evening when both Oakland and Seattle won their games.
"I got a real empty feeling inside," said Indians manager
Charlie Manuel, who watched the West Coast games in his office. "I
don't even feel like I'm going home. It will probably hit me later
tonight."
Cleveland is in a state of disbelief.
Not only did the Indians lose the AL Central this season for the
first time, but they're not going to the playoffs despite being the
AL's best team after the All-Star break and finishing with 90 wins
-- three more than the stumbling World Series champion New York
Yankees.
In a season where everything seemed to go against the Indians,
the end was especially tough.
"It hurts a little more because how well we've been playing,"
Manuel said. "I think we're a playoff-caliber team. But we had our
chances. We had 162 games. But it seemed like we could never get
over the hump. We got ourselves in a hole and we just couldn't get
out."
The Indians temporarily extended their season by at least a few
hours when they pounded Wells (20-8), who lasted just 2 1/3
innings.
But they still needed either the Mariners or the Athletics to
lose on Sunday, and for a while it looked like both might go down.
"I was pulling awfully hard," Manuel said. "But pulling
awfully hard doesn't get it done."
Manny Ramirez homered in perhaps his final at-bat for the
Indians and Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar and Kenny Lofton added homers
for Cleveland, which went 46-30 after the break.
A few of the Indians players stayed around to watch the late
games, cheering anything positive done by the Texas Rangers or
Anaheim Angels.
When the Angels took an early 2-0 lead, some of the Indians
seated in front of the big-screen TV cheered. Others couldn't bear
to watch.
"This is nerve-wracking," Omar Vizquel said. "It's probably
tougher to watch this game on TV than to be in any game I've ever
played."
The Indians had made travel arrangements for four cities, and a
charter plane, tentatively headed to Seattle at 10 p.m. EDT, was
waiting for them had the Mariners lost and forced a playoff.
But just like their season, the Indians never got off the
ground.
"Either way, I'm still proud of this team," Travis Fryman
said. "You can use any adjective you want to describe character
and they would apply to this team. We beat the best teams and the
best pitchers we had to, and as a team, that's all you can do."
And now that the offseason has started, the Indians have some
thought decisions to make.
Ramirez is eligible to become a free agent, and David Segui,
Sandy Alomar and Kenny Lofton are all in the final year of their
contracts.
Ramirez's situation is the most troublesome. He and his agent
have already turned down a $75 million, five-year deal from the
club. Indians owner Larry Dolan has promised he'll make a final
offer to Ramirez, who seems to drive up his price with every
at-bat.
In the seventh, with one fan holding a sign saying, "Uncanny
Manny" and more than 42,000 chanting "Man-ny, Man-ny", Ramirez
connected for his 38th homer -- a 452-foot shot that rattled through
the trees in a picnic area beyond center field.
"I was just lucky," said Ramirez as he left Jacobs Field for
maybe the last time on a golf cart. "So long."
As Ramirez came out for a curtain call, Dolan smiled and leaned
back in the chair in his luxury suite.
"That was great theater," Dolan said.
Alex Gonzalez and Tony Batista homered for the Blue Jays
(83-79), who dropped their final four games.
Thome's three-run homer, his 37th, chased Wells in the third
inning. The line drive into Toronto's right-field bullpen gave the
Indians a 7-2 lead and gave Cleveland fans reason to believe that
there might be some healing at the end of this injury-marred season
after all.
But even the final out of the season had fans worried when
Fryman collided with reliever Ricardo Rincon. Fryman remained on
the ground for several moments after getting his wind knocked out.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, God, I thought I was going to make it
through the season without getting hurt,"' Fryman said.
Wells came in with a 17-3 career mark against Cleveland, going
4-0 against them in the postseason and beating them twice this
year. But the left-hander lost to Cleveland for the first time
since June 22, 1997, and probably lost any chance of overtaking
Boston's Pedro Martinez in the Cy Young balloting.
"He wasn't really feeling good, he wasn't on top of his game,"
said manager Jim Fregosi. "But he went out and gave it all he had.
He's got a cold and a little bit of the gout."
Steve Woodard (3-3), who beat Martinez on Sept. 20 in one of
many must-win games the Indians played down the stretch, gave up a
two-run homer to Gonzalez in the first before retiring 17 in a row.
Woodard's performance -- four hits in 5 2/3 innings -- allowed
Manuel to save ace Bartolo Colon and Dave Burba for a possible
playoff game.
In the final 13 days of the season, the Indians beat Wells,
Martinez and Roger Clemens -- three pitchers who have dominated
them.
"We did everything we could, beat the best teams and beat the
best pitchers," Fryman. "It's not in our hands any longer."
Game
notes
There were signs all over the ballpark addressed toward
Dolan on Ramirez's future. Among them: "My Granny Said Pay Manny"
and "Manny Please Stay, Dolan Please Pay." ... Cleveland was an
AL-best 46-30 in the second half. ... Roberto Alomar's first-inning
single extended his hitting streak to 18 games. ... Wells missed a
chance to tie the Blue Jays' club record for wins in a season. Jack
Morris and Roger Clemens each won 21 games for Toronto. ...
Cleveland led the majors in attendance for the first time since
1948. And their 3,456,278 led the AL for the second straight year.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
Stark: One game short
Parting shot? Indians hope Ramirez homer isn't
RECAPS
Cleveland 11
Toronto 4
Detroit 12
Minnesota 11
Tampa Bay 3
Boston 2
Baltimore 7
NY Yankees 3
Kansas City 6
Chi. White Sox 2
Seattle 5
Anaheim 2
Oakland 3
Texas 0
Colorado 10
Atlanta 5
NY Mets 3
Montreal 2
St. Louis 6
Cincinnati 2
Florida 7
Philadelphia 5
Chicago Cubs 10
Pittsburgh 9
San Diego 4
Los Angeles 0
San Francisco 11
Arizona 4
Houston 6
Milwaukee 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Charlie Manuel felt empty after learning the Indians were eliminated from the playoffs.
wav: 186 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Steve Woodard pitched well in a must win game for the Indians.
wav: 139 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bob Wickman talks about the fate of Indians in the post-season.
wav: 61 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Sandy Alomar Jr has his bags packed and ready for the post-season.
wav: 110 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jim Thome hopes that the Indians have a chance be in the playoffs this season.
wav: 57 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
