Tag: jose mesa

Death. Taxes. Clase. All Hail To The Franchise Saves Leader

Since the Cleveland baseball team started the most successful period of baseball in franchise history in 1995, they’ve usually had an excellent closer.

It started with Jose Mesa and his tremendous 1995 season where he saved 46 games with a 1.13 ERA and finished second in the American League Cy Young Award race. Mesa also saved 39 victories in ’96, but by 1997, Mike Jackson was sort of sharing the job with him.

We all remember though, it was Mesa on the mound in Game 7 of the World Series, trying to protect a 2-1 lead for the world championship, but he didn’t save that one.

Jackson had the job for the next two years, which resulted in division titles, saving 39 and 40 games in back-to-back years.

With the bullpen struggling in 2000, Cleveland traded for Bob Wickman, who held the job through the middle of the 2006 season, saving 45 for the 2005 squad that just missed the playoffs. In total, Wickman saved 139 games, and passed Doug Jones as the franchise all-time save leader.

Jones was a relief ace in a different era, saving 303 games in his career. The great Peter Gammons once said that his changeup, his best weapon, was as dominant as Nolan Ryan’s fastball. He saved 129 games for Cleveland, mostly over a three-year period.

When Jones saved 36 games for Houston in 1992, he pitched 111 innings, something unheard of right now.

Cody Allen was the closer during the Terry Francona era from 2014-2018, although he arguably wasn’t the most heralded bullpen arm in that period. Andrew Miller’s performance in the 2016 AL Championship Series earned him the MVP of that series.

Allen was used hard, saving 149 for Cleveland, pitching in 67 games for five consecutive seasons.

Friday night, the Indians/Guardians put a new name at the top of the saves list, as Emmanuel Clase recorded his 150th save, topping Allen on the list.

When the Guardians traded for Clase after the 2019 season, getting him as part of the package for two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, we remember Francisco Lindor saying when he faced him in ’19, it was like hitting a bowling ball.

Clase missed the 2020 season under suspension for testing positive for a PED, and started the ’21 season sharing the closer job with James Karinchak. He quickly won the job, saving 24 games with a 1.29 ERA.

His save on Friday gave him his 40th of the year, the third consecutive season reaching that milestone. His highest ERA in any of those four seasons was 3.22 posted last season.

One of the things we always say about relief pitchers is they cannot walk people and cannot give up home runs. Clase is a prime example of that. The most hitters he has walked in a given season is 16 (’21 & ’23), and this year he has walked just eight.

Long balls? When the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen took him deep Friday, it was shocking. Last year, a year Clase was dissatisfied with personally, he allowed four home runs. That’s his career high.

After this year’s All-Star Game, Royals’ veteran catcher Salvador Perez was asked about his biggest thrill of this year’s game. He replied it was catching Clase. That’s the kind of respect the right-hander has among his peers.

We said before the game that if the AL had the lead in the ninth, there was no question on who Bruce Bochy would give the ball to. It was going to be Emmanuel Clase.

He’s the best in the game right now without question. And now, he’s the best closer ever to wear a Cleveland uniform.

When he saves a game, we post the following on social media: Death. Taxes. Clase.

Best Game We’ve Seen? ’97 ALDS Game 5

When anyone asks us what is the best sporting event we have attended in person, we have one answer.  It was Game 5 of the 1997 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.

Of course, the Tribe won the contest, dethroning the World Champion as part of a magical post-season run that would be thought of today the same way the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1988 season, if not for a blown save in Game 7 of that year’s World Series.

Cleveland scored 5 runs in the first inning of Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, only to watch Eric Plunk implode in the bottom of the 6th.  The Indians headed into the frame with a 6-3 lead, but Plunk served up back-to-back jacks to Tim Raines and Derek Jeter, and then Paul Assenmacher served up another to Paul O’Neill, and the Tribe lost 8-6.

New York took a 3-0 lead in the first off Jaret Wright in Game 2, but Cleveland countered with a five run 4th, highlighted by a 2-run double by Tony Fernandez, and Matt Williams belted a two-run homer in the 5th and the Indians hung on for a 7-5 win, despite solo tallies in the 8th and 9th by the Yanks.

Wright threw five scoreless innings after that shaky first.

The series returned to Cleveland for the balance of games, and New York put themselves one win away from a clinch with a 6-1 victory, David Wells throwing a complete game and Charles Nagy taking the loss.  The Tribe mustered just five hits.

The next night though, is talked about a lot because it was one of the few times Mariano Rivera failed in the post-season.

Orel Hershiser threw seven innings on three days rest, allowing just two runs, but Dwight Gooden and the NY bullpen held the Tribe bats at bay until Sandy Alomar Jr. tied it in the bottom of the eighth with a homer off Rivera.

Omar Vizquel’s single off reliever Ramiro Mendoza’s glove in the ninth won the game and forced a deciding game five the following night.

So, Mike Hargrove sent Wright to the mound on three days rest to take on Andy Pettitte in a rematch of Game 2 starters.

Wright escaped trouble in each of the first two innings, giving up a hit and a walk in the first and two singles in the second, but kept the Yanks off the scoreboard.

In the bottom of the third, the Indians struck.  With one out, Marquis Grissom and Bip Roberts singled.  Vizquel hit into a force, but then stole second. Manny Ramirez then doubled, to score two, and that was followed by a Williams’ single to make it 3-0 Tribe.

Cleveland added to its lead in the fourth when Alomar led off with a double, moved to third on get this…a Jim Thome sacrifice bunt, and scored on Fernandez’ sacrifice fly.

New York cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth.  After Wright walked two hitters, with two outs, Bernie Williams singled and the second runner scored on an error by Ramirez.

The Yankees scored again in the top of the sixth, when Mike Stanley led off with a double and scored on a one out single by Wade Boggs, which ended Wright’s evening.  Mike Jackson struck out Jorge Posada and got Raines on a ground ball.  And the Tribe’s lead was just one after six innings.

Jackson gave up a leadoff hit to Jeter to start the 7th, but Assenmacher came on to get two ground balls off the bats of O’Neill and Bernie Williams, the second a double play to get out of it.

In the eighth, after Assenmacher got Tino Martinez to foul out to Alomar, Hargrove decided it was time to go to his closer, Jose Mesa.

Mesa fanned Stanley, and gave up back-to-back singles before getting Posada on a comebacker to end the threat.

The Indians tried to add to the lead in the bottom half, getting two on with two out, but Mike Stanton struck out David Justice.

Mesa got Raines and Jeter to start the ninth, but O’Neill, who wound up 9 for 11 in his career against the Cleveland closer, hit a bullet of the very top (and we mean the very top) of the wall in right center, just missing a game tying homer by a foot.  He wound up at second.

Bernie Williams hit Mesa’s next pitch, a fly ball to medium deep left where Brian Giles caught it.  On Fox, Joe Buck simply said “celebrate” and Mesa fell to his knees on the mound.

The Tribe was moving on to Baltimore and ultimately, Miami.

Still, the best game we’ve ever been at.

MW