Old Man Damon
Corey Barnes
The “Johnny Damon” listed on the Indians’ 25-man roster is not the Damon you think it is. Oh sure, he’s about the same height as the chap who played for Boston. Even has the same batting stance. But this guy swings the bat like he’s trying to hit a fly with a tennis racket and runs with all the urgency of a drunken tortoise. At 38 years old, Damon is clearly out of his prime, which the Tribe brass knew when they signed him April 12. But it’s worse than they feared; Damon is playing for his Footnote Team and honestly should not be on the roster.
The Footnote Team is the club that a player signs with when he either cannot let go of the game or simply wants another paycheck. More importantly the Footnote Team is not the place where people will remember him. Here’s a great example: Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat played his first six years for the Boston Red Sox before a curse-bestowing trade sent him to the Yankees. The Bambino crushed 659 homers over 15 years with the Pinstripes. However, what most people don’t know (or choose to ignore) is that in 1935 Babe Ruth played 28 games for the Boston Braves. That’s right; the King of Crash hit a comatose .181 for Boston, though he did add on six more homers. But no one remembers that month in the National League; people only care about that House he built in the Bronx and the legend he became.
To be clear: I am NOT comparing Johnny Damon with Babe Ruth. Frankly no one would get those two confused. I am however pointing out that as Damon is to the Indians in 2012 so too was Ruth to the Braves in 1935. Let’s take a look at Damon’s numbers with Boston and New York (2002-2009):
Averaged 147 games, 24 stolen bases, 66 walks, .290 BA, .362 OBP, .449 SLG
I would love to have that Damon on the roster. He played fast and loose. Damon (and his Sampson-like beard) was a huge reason the Red Sox outmuscled the Yanks in the 2004 ALCS and won the World Series. He signed that lush $52 million/four year with the Bombers after the 2005 season then helped them win the 2009 World Series. Damon spent 2010 with Detroit and 2011 with Tampa Bay. Let’s take a look at his numbers those years:
Averaged: 148 games, 15 stolen bases, 60 walks, .266 BA, .340 OBP, .409 SLG
Over the past four years his average and on base percentage have been steadily dropping and this year he may have finally bottomed out. Through 22 games with Cleveland, Damon’s numbers read as follows: 0 steals, 9 walks, .151 BA, .239 OBP, .228 SLG. Clearly his age is showing.
I do not want to discredit Damon’s role in the clubhouse. He is a veteran player and there is great value having a guy around who has already earned some jewelry. Nor am I trying to discredit his place in history. Damon has more career hits than Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and Luis Aparicio. Whether or not he is Cooperstown-bound is a discussion for another day. If he does get enshrined though, you can bet a bucket of balls that he won’t have Chief Wahoo on his cap. Cleveland is just the last destination on Damon’s long train ride through the majors. For the sake of this team’s chances, I hope he gets to the station soon.
The Top 5 Cleveland Wins of the Past Decade
Corey Barnes
In the hallowed and oft maligned history of Cleveland sports, emphasis is always placed on the defeats. They are legion and have nifty nicknames that I will not mention here (you know what they are). But in all that mess, among the teary nights and broken hearts, the clubs that call Northeast Ohio home have won a few games from time to time. The following is a list of the top five wins for any professional Cleveland sports team in the past decade.
Rankings were determined by the following criteria: points were assigned for playoff victories, comebacks, overtime, rivalry games, and how well I remember the contest.
Number 5 - Cavs over Wizards: 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 6
For the first time in the LeBron James Era, the Cleveland Cavaliers had reached the playoffs. Their first opponent was the Washington Wizards and their leading scorer Gilbert Arenas. A hard-fought series favored the Cavs 3-2 entering Game Six in Washington. Regulation ended with the game tied at 107 and in overtime Cleveland was down two facing their last possession of the game. The Cavs worked the clock low with a few passes. The ball was kicked to Damon Jones (jump to the 13:18 mark) in the corner who did not hesitate in launching a three-pointer. Before Cleveland could collectively scream, “You put the potential game-winning shot in an ice-cold Damon Jones’ hands?!?” the ball fell through the cylinder. The Cavs led 114-113. The Wizards quickly inbounded the ball and crossed into the frontcourt. A buzzer-beating heave from Agent Zero struck iron and the Wine and Gold celebrated the team’s first playoff series victory since 1993.
To this day I do not know what is more confounding: the fact that such an important moment came down to the self-proclaimed best shooter in the world or the fact that he delivered in the clutch despite not having played a second the whole game. The flimsy argument can be made that we should have known then that James is allergic to the fourth quarter but it was for the most part chalked up to nerves and youth. I remember going out to my driveway the day after the game, measuring the distance to an NBA corner three and serving up airballs while yelling, “Jones for 3!” That was a great game.
Number 4 - Browns over Steelers: 2003 Week 5
If asked to pick a word to describe the 2003 Cleveland Browns I would go with “underwhelming.” Expectations were high coming off the reborn franchise’s first playoff appearance the year previous but the team struggled out of the gate, dropping three of their first four games. Fans were justifiably nervous entering the nationally televised Week 5 matchup against the hated Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Browns, however, refused to be intimidated. The Orange and Brown struck early going up 10-0 in the first. The best offensive play came just before half time when quarterback Tim Couch scrambled nine yards for a touchdown punctuated by a crowd-silencing spike and flex. The Browns, clad in their glorious orange pants, led 23-10 at the half. The signature moment of the game however was Daylon McCutcheon’s 75-yard pick six at the expense of Tommy Maddox. Cleveland ran away for a 33-13 victory. Couch finished with 208 yards and two touchdowns. The team won only five games all year but this one certainly meant the most to Cuyahoga County. That was a great game.
Number 3 - Cavs over Magic: 2009 Eastern Conference Finals Game 2
2009 was supposed to be the year for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team finished 66-16, including a 39-2 home mark. The national media wanted to see the LeBron-led Cavs to square off against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. All the Wine and Gold had to do was roll through the Eastern Conference. They swept the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks back to back. Many Cavs fans (me) thought the team was lucky in that they could avoid the Boston Celtics and instead play against some tall chap named Dwight. Then the Orlando Magic inexplicably beat the Cavs 107-106 at the Q in Game 1. In Game 2 the Cavs came out hot and at one point led by 23 points. Yet the relentless shooting of Hedo Turkoglu and the three point shooting of Mickael (f***ing) Pietrus kept the Magic in the game. Turkoglu hit a late jumper that gave Orlando a one point edge with exactly one second to go. No time to dribble, no time to head-fake, just a simple catch and release. Mo Williams found James about three feet behind the three-point arc where he uncorked a line-drive-buzzer-beating-game-winning-series-tying-heart-stopping three pointer (at the 2:56 mark). The Cavs walked away with a 96-95 victory.
Few people believed the Cavs could pull this one off with so little time left. We had been burned before; we were snake bit by failure. “The NBA in Cleveland: Where Despair Happens,” you get the idea. I sat in my college dorm with friends hoping for the impossible. When that shot fell through the net everyone just lost their minds. We were a jumping, screaming maelstrom of joy. It didn’t matter that we were two hours from home; it felt like we were right there in Loudville basking in playoff victory. That was a great game.
Number 2 - Tribe over Yankees: 2007 American League Division Series Game 2
Home field advantage is always more pronounced in baseball than any other sport. The rules naturally favor the hosting team and players have more experience with the unique nooks and crannies of their park. This advantage was taken to new limits during Game 2 of the 2007 American League Divisional Series. The Indians led the New York Yankees one game to none entering a battle of pitching studs: New York’s Andy Pettite and Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona (at least that’s what we called him back then). The Pinstripers took a 1-0 lead on a Miguel Cabrera homerun and the Tribe was stifled most of the night by lockdown Yankee pitching. The Yankees led 1-0 entering the bottom of the 8th with Joba Chamberlin on the bump for the visitors. Right about then the Fourth Plague of the Cuyahoga arrived. Midges swarmed the field tormenting the players, most significantly Chamberlin. The Yankees asked the Indians for some bug spray and were given what I can only assume was the last can on the retail shelf. It was not very effective. Grady Sizemore stood on third with two outs and Victor Martinez at the plate. Chamberlin continued to be pestered by the …. y’know….pests which resulted in his second wild pitch of the inning allowing Sizemore to score the equalizer. The game was tied and headed to extra innings.
Kenny Lofton walked to open the bottom of the 11th. Franklin Gutierrez singled and the runners advanced on Casey Blake’s sac bunt. Grady Sizemore was intentionally walked and rookie supreme Asdrubal Carbera popped out. Travis Hafner stepped up to the plate and delivered a walk-off single to right for the Indians. That was a great game. Plus two games later the Indians eliminated the Yankees and led to the creation of this musical gem.
Number 1 - Cavs over Pistons: 2007 Eastern Conference Finals Game 6
The number one win should not come as a surprise to anyone as this was the victory that got a Cleveland team to the title series. Coming off LeBron James’ superhuman 48 point performance in the Palace, the Cavs knew the Detroit Pistons’ defense would focus on the guy from Akron. Someone else would have to stand up. It turns out someone else wears number one. Rookie Daniel “Boobie” Gibson went off during Game 6, scoring 31 points including a perfect five for five from range. The game was tight for the first half and the teams entered intermission tied at 48. Cleveland led by one after three periods but simply out-shot the Pistons the rest of the way outscoring the visitors 31-16 in the final period. The noise level kept increasing with every shot as the Q started to realize that there would be no infamous “The ___” phrase associated with this game except maybe “The Conference Title.” The final horn sounded and confetti fell on Cleveland’s 98-82 win.
I realize that fondly remembering this game may be difficult. I know what happened in the NBA Finals in 2007; I know what was on ESPN on July 8, 2010; and I know how many games we lost last year. But I did not know that then. When the Cavs won the conference I was a 17-year-old kid who finally got to enjoy a significant playoff win. We as a city had to wait a long time for a team that good, and we loved it and everyone on it. Everyone. The memory is perhaps more bittersweet in retrospect, but I still remember driving home to see the end of the game while listening to Joe Tait go hoarse from calling Gibson’s name all night. No matter what has happened since then, on June 2, 2007 the Cleveland Cavaliers were the toast of the sports world. That was a great game.
Was I right? Was I way off? What did I forget? Tweet at me, bro @Corey_Barnes
My Projected Tribe Lineup
1. Michael Brantley
2. Asdrubal Cabrera
3. Shin Soo Choo
4. Carlos Santana
5. Travis Hafner
6. Casey Kotchman
7. Jason Kipnis
8. Grady Sizemore
9. Lonnie Chisenhall
Cleveland Literature
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”
This oft-quoted line was written by Charles Dickens in his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities. Clearly Mr. Dickens was not a Browns fan. If he was, he would have known that all he needed was the second half of that sentence.
Doubtless, these are dark days for the Cleveland sports faithful. Despite the Indians’ surprising success this past season, Cleveland is about to conclude the first year without a playoff run in any sport since 2005. (While I acknowledge the Lake Erie Monsters’ postseason appearance this spring, it seriously undercuts my admittedly whiney argument so for the moment I will ignore it.) I am also momentarily omitting Ohio State teams, and focusing on the three big teams on the lakefront. To get some perspective on the outlooks for the respective clubs, I turn to classic literature.
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Thomas Paine originally wrote these words and contrary to popular belief, The Crisis he was describing actually did not concern what to do with the West Coast offense. Mr. Paine’s words resonate with all the citizens of Cuyahoga County every Sunday. The Browns have been nearly unwatchable this year. This is not the team’s worst run in recent memory – remember the 1-11 start in 2009? … On second thought, don’t remember it. The odd thing is that the defense is not that horrific: the team is ranked ninth in the league in points allowed per game with 19.6. The Browns are the definition of inept on offense and are shooting themselves in the foot in new and imaginative ways. Remember that time our Pro Bowl center shifted his leg to the right and adjusted the flight of the ball from our Pro Bowl long snapper that ruined the concentration of our Hall of Fame kicker? Yeah it haunts me too. As I have mentioned previously, I want to believe in Colt McCoy. However, as I watch him compete every week, that faith is being shaken time and again. Soon however, the Browns will shuffle into the sunset as they do at the end of every December and Ohioans will turn their attention to the hardwood. They will find little relief.
“Now is the winter of our discontent.”
William Shakespeare died in 1616, 275 years before Dr. James Naismith set up a pair of peach baskets in a gymnasium in Massachusetts. Therefore we have no way of knowing if The Bard would have enjoyed basketball, though I maintain that he would have made a terrific color commentator:
“Sure was a great pass, huh Bill?”
“Upon my soul, against the towering quintet Irving navigated the sphere to his brother’s hand as a ship amidst stormy seas is led to the safety of harbor”
“…Yeah…”
So when Shakespeare wrote the above line for Richard III he had no idea how appropriate it would be to describe the Cleveland Cavaliers 2011-12 season. The Cavaliers are rich in potential but little else. The club has more questions than answers. How quickly will newcomers Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving adjust to the NBA? Is Anderson Varejão fully healed? Will JJ Hickson be missed? Is Omri Casspi the long term answer at small forward? How much will Baron Davis weigh when camp opens? I doubt the team will struggle as mightily as the 29 game losing streak last year but do not expect a return to postseason basketball anytime soon. Honestly the best news for Cavs fans right now may be that the season is only 66 games long.
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”
If Alexander Pope were alive today, I believe he would be an Indians season ticket holder because he has the right attitude. Not only does hope spring eternal, but also the best time for hope in the future is the spring. The Tribe turned heads, dropped jaws, and relocated other body parts by starting the 2011 campaign a surprising 30-15 before leveling off and finishing in second place in the AL Central at 80-82. The “window of contention” should be open starting on Opening Day 2012. The Tribe bolstered their starting rotation by signing veteran hurler Derek Lowe and retaining Fausto Carmona. Grady Sizemore is back from his tour of free agency and will be an inexpensive gamble. If the Indians can supplement the team with a veteran backup infielder and sign a slugging first baseman (I hear that Albert fellow from St. Louis is a free agent) then the team might be in good shape in the Central. The bullpen is a major strength and the team has a several up and comers. This no doubt is where hopes should be pinned.
The hard part of course is getting to the spring. We still have five poorly-played football games to look forward to and a whole season of bad basketball. My diagnosis: go check out the Lake Erie Monsters. Hockey is much better in person than on TV. If that does not intrigue you, there is always Ohio State basketball. As long as Jared Sullinger is suiting up for the Scarlet and Gray, the Bucks will be in the National Title hunt. It just goes to show what literary giant Woody Hayes always said, “A guy from Ohio can make it in life if he works hard enough.”
Thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? The author can be reached on the Twitter @Corey_Barnes
This is Oscar Gamble’s afro.
It might be tough to see, but Oscar Gamble is in the picture as well.
“What If” used to be such a happy idea.
The odds of the Cleveland Indians making the playoffs this year, according to Sports Club Stats
It doesn’t look good, folks.
This is a Chief Wahoo ballcap from my younger years.
Autographs include John McDonald, Grady Sizemore, Josh Bard, and Shane Spencer.
Cleveland Indians 2026 Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Omar Vizquel
Hitting Coach: Jim Thome
Pitching Coach: Charles Nagy
Bullpen Coach: Bob Wickman
Bench Coach: Kenny Lofton
First Base Coach: Sandy Alomar Jr.
Third Base Coach: Robbie Alomar
Let me dream.
Thomecoming
Jim Thome is coming home.
I don’t mean that he is coming back to Cleveland. I don’t mean that he is returning to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario (though those are both true). I mean that he is coming home.
His birth certificate may say Illinois but his baseball coming of age took place on the shores of Lake Erie. This is where he honed his craft, where he was a key contributor to two pennant winning ballclubs, where we fell in love with him. Omar may have been a fan favorite thanks to his highlight-making glove and charismatic smile, but chicks still dig the long ball. And after a while the good people of Northeast Ohio were swooning for number 25. He was our guy. He was a force of nature with 334 home runs, 52 in 2002 alone. Manny and Albert may have taken off, but not our Jim. No, sir; no way. Then, like the prodigal son, he claimed his money and left.
I was one of the many angry multitudes that cursed out Jim Thome’s name. I condemned him for chasing the almighty dollar. I was mad about all the interviews where he alluded that they would have to tear the jersey off his back for him to leave. The clips were played after he left and mocked us all. Of course, let’s remember that I was 12 when he bolted for Philadelphia. I did not yet understand that baseball is a business and some teams like the Indians were bound to fall on hard times. But none of that seems to matter anymore.
I know this acquisition guarantees nothing. I know that the Indians have still lost six of their last seven and their climb back to the top will be steep if not impossible. But wouldn’t it be such a story? Thome’s return sparking something special? One of the last active links to the 90s is back in the fold; anything can happen.
Jim has returned. Friday will be a day of celebration. He was lost and he has been found. Let us now run out to him, bring the finest robe and slaughter the fatted calf. Oh and put a ring on his finger
