Cleveland Sports Forum

On the postgame Francona would not say who will probably take Carrasco's spot in the rotation. He said maybe they'll announce tomorrow. I have to assume it will be Salazar, who just happened to pitch yesterday so will be on his regular rest. Only other possibility is Bauer but if he were again the choice Francona wouldn't have to be so coy, and anyway after that last atrocious appearance he made for Cleveland I'm very doubtful they'll want him back for awhile. McAllister isn't ready yet; he could retaie the roster spot in a couple weeks while Salazar gets his feet wet.

Personally I never heard anyone refer to a pitcher's mound as a "bump" before today.

Obviously you know very little about baseball too.

I guess ego maniacs do not keep their word and go away.

Never seen Rhett with chipmunk cheeks and Alfalfa hair !

101 Slang Terms for Baseball Players

Here’s a list of 101 slang terms for baseball players to use on the field. Baseball is a sort of wacky sport, so it’s only fitting that it would have so many slang terms for players, equipment or game situations.

Slang Terms Used To Describe Individuals

Five tool player: a player has exceptional running and fielding skills, has a strong throwing arm and can hit for power and average
Battery: term for a pitcher and catcher
Field general: catcher
Backstop: catcher
Hot corner: third base
Southpaw: left-handed throwing player
Punch and Judy hitter: singles hitter
Slap hitter: term for a batter who doesn’t take a full swing
Table setter: leadoff hitter or a hitter who gets on base before the best hitters
In the hole: the batter behind the batter on deck
Ride the pine: sitting on the bench
Cup of coffee: spending a little time in the Major Leagues
Blue: umpire


Slang Terms for Pitches or Pitchers

Heater or bring the heat: fastball
Ol’ number one: fastball
Cheese: fastball that is hard to hit
BB’s: when a pitcher is throwing hard to hit fastballs
Cannon: term used when a player has a strong throwing arm
Deuce: curveball
Uncle Charlie: curveball
Hammer: good curveball
Pulled the string: more commonly known as a good change-up.
Eephus pitch: a low-speed junk pitch thrown to disrupt the hitter
Chin music: a pitch that is thrown up around the batter’s head
High and tight: a pitched ball thrown around the head of the batter
Brush back: a pitch that moves the batter away from the plate
Painting: when a pitcher is throwing on all corners of the plate
Bean: when the batter is hit by a pitch
Four fingers: intentional walk
Free pass: intentional walk
Payoff pitch: 3 balls 2 strikes pitch
Backwards k: called third strike
Stretch: when the pitcher is pitching with a runner on base
Fireman: typically a team’s last or closing pitcher, but can also be a pitcher that comes into a game to stop the large amount of scoring from the opposing team
Ace: team’s best pitcher
Meat: an easy to hit pitcher
Rubber arm: pitcher’s arm that never seems to get tired
No-no: no hitter
The hook: when a pitcher is taken out of the game


Slang Terms for Plays Made or Errors

O’lay: when an infielder doesn’t get in front of a ball and misses it
Through the wickets: when a ball goes through a players legs
Draw him a map: when a defensive player has trouble finding the ball
Barnum and Bailey: player has trouble fielding a ball and looks like he might be part of a circus act
Airmail: when a player throws the ball way over the head of the intended player
Boot: an error
Shoestring catch: when a player makes a catch right before the ball touches the ground
Pick: when a player catches a ball on a short hop
Twin killing: double play


Slang Terms for Home Runs

Round tripper
Grand salami: grand slam home run, 4 runs
Went yard
Dong
Tater


Slang Terms for Hits

Pea rod: a ball hit on a line drive
Frozen rope: a line drive hit
On the screws: hard hit ball
Bullet: hard hit ball
Hot potato: hard hit ball
Texas leaguer: a softly hit ball that falls in for a hit
Gopher ball: a ball that takes an odd bounce as in hitting a gopher or gopher hole. It was brought to my attention that “go for” ball can also mean home run.
Dying Quail: a ball that falls into play as a hit
Gapper: a ball hit between two outfielders
Chopper: a ball hit that takes a hard bounce toward the fielder
Knock: base hit
Swing for the fences: when a batter swings hard to try to hit a home run
Warning track power: when a batter almost hits a home run, but is either caught before going over the fence or falls in for a hit right before going out
Seeing eye: when a batted ball seems to find a secret way to be a hit
Suicide squeeze: when the runner from third base breaks for home and the batter tries to bunt the pitch
Choke and poke: choke up on the bat and try to hit it through the infield
Bagger: any hit, depending on how many bases the hitter gets; for example, two bagger would be a double
Cycle: when a batter hits a single, double, triple and home run in the same game
Ribbie: run batted in
Wheelhouse: slang term for hitter power zone
Sawed off: when the ball hits near the handle of the bat
Can of corn: easy fly ball resulting in an easy out
Mendoza Line: when a player has a batting average below .200



Slang Terms for Baseball Equipment or Field

The bump: pitcher’s mound
Rubber: the white piece of rubber on the pitcher’s mound
Dish:home plate
Leather:glove
Gamer: glove
Pill: a baseball
Darth Vader mask: term for the protective cup a player wears
Alley way: slang term for the area between outfielders in the outfield
Yard: another name for the baseball field, example Tropicana Field


Slang Terms for Other Baseball Events

Small ball: when a team uses a lot of bunting and hit and runs
Bush league: when a team does or says something negative towards the other team
Rhubarb: a scuffle between teams
Circle up: team stretching
Around the horn: throwing the ball around from third base to second to first
Slump buster: when a player is going through a rough patch, they try to find luck in something
Ducks on the pond: runners on base
Juiced bases: runners on all bases
Hot box: fielders chasing a runner between bases
Pickle: when a runner is caught in between two bases
Free 90: either a walk or when there is a pass ball and the runner advances to the next base
Goosed or goose egg: shutout or scoring no runs in an inning
Golden sombrero: striking out four times in a game
Hat trick: striking out three times in a game
Whiff: when a batter swings and misses the ball
Key holed: when an umpire is being very picky when calling a pitchers strikes

Fans can now relate when they hear some of the slang terms for baseball players used during the course of the season.

Reynolds could use a "slump buster"

Slump buster: when a player is going through a rough patch, they try to find luck in something
Something?

J.R. wrote:Slump buster: when a player is going through a rough patch, they try to find luck in something
Something?

For some reason, I immediately recollected the guy who admitted to peeing on his hands to (I think) help reduce bat stinging or something.

Speaking of too much coffee.....

Moises Alou.

Omar Vizquel won Cleveland's heart, on and off field: Terry Pluto

on July 07, 2013 at 7:35 PM, updated July 08, 2013 at 2:24 AM




When I was growing up, Rocky Colavito was my favorite player.

Now that I’m growing old, the Tribe player who will always be special is Omar.

That’s right . . . one word . . . Omar.

Omar Vizquel will always be just Omar to Tribe fans, just as Colavito was Rocky to fans of a different Wahoo generation.

Omar was in town this weekend, his artwork being featured around town. The Tribe is handing out Omar bobbleheads to the first 10,000 fans at tonight’s game against the Tigers.

“Bobbleheads are strange,” said Omar. “This is my fifth bobblehead, and none of them look like me.”

Omar said it with a smile, a laugh, a sign that the man is savoring every moment of his few days in Cleveland.

On my Facebook page, I asked fans for stories about Omar. So many people had met him.

Justin Cassady remembered seeing Omar buying an ice cream cone, then signing autographs one afternoon at Edgewater Park.

Mark Lindhurst was working for Audio Craft and went to Omar’s home to install some equipment. He left with an autograph, a $100 tip and a new favorite player.

Jennifer Pignolet threw her cap to Omar, who signed it and threw it back.

Lynn Maslinski was an usher at Tribe games in the late 1990s.

“Omar was one player who would consistently and genuinely treat the workers with a friendly attitude and with respect when passing them in the lower level on his way from the parking lot to the locker room.

“During a rain delay, I ran into Omar just sitting outside of the locker room on a folding chair. I was on the way for a lunch break. I stopped to talk to him and spent my entire break talking with him about teaching, music, art, and his favorite cities to visit. From that point on, whenever I saw Omar at work or outside of work at an area restaurant, he would always come up to me and greet me by name.”

The point is not to put Omar on a church window. Nor is it to insist that he never had a bad day where he treated people with disrespect.

Omar did more than play Hall of Fame caliber shortstop during his 11 years with the Tribe. He made friends.

Chris Kasick wrote: “Omar pulled up to the diner in his yellow Porsche. As he was walking to his table, we asked for his autograph — he then sat down at OUR table and chatted with us for about an hour as he ate his meal. He picked up the tab and thanked us for being Indians fans. I couldn’t believe his generosity.”

He made thousands and thousands.

And thousands more who never met him, but just loved how he played with such joy — and how this man who grew up in Venezuela embraced Cleveland. 

The best ever?

“When I came here, I sensed my career was about to take off,” Omar said. “We had such great players.”

He then went through the list: Belle, Baerga, Lofton, Thome, Ramirez . . . and many more.


Omar Vizquel doffs his baseball cap to Tribe fans after a video highlight film was shown before the baseball game between the Indians and the San Francisco Giants, on June 24, 2008 at Progressive Field.
Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer

That was before the 1994 season as the team was moving into what was then called Jacobs Field. The Tribe traded Felix Fermin and Reggie Jefferson to Seattle for a supposedly good-field, no-hit shortstop.

He became a very good hitter because he could bunt, slap singles to the opposite field and steal bases. In 11 years with the Tribe, he batted .283 (.731 OPS) and averaged 25 stolen bases a season.

And at shortstop . . .

I once asked former Plain Dealer columnist Hal Lebovitz how Omar compared to the best he had ever seen. Remember that Lebovitz once sold a hot dog to Babe Ruth at old League Park. He went WAY . , , WAY . . . BACK with baseball.

A long conversation ensued, and it came down to the final three: Marty Marion, Ozzie Smith and Omar.

Lebovitz said Marion had the same soft, steady hands as Omar. He said Smith may have been a better athlete with a little more range.

But he gave the edge to Omar, because Smith played on artificial turf (more true hops) and Marion didn’t cover as much ground as Omar.

Omar played on grass in a cold climate and seemingly played forever.

At the age of 39, he won a Gold Glove as a shortstop with the Giants. You can debate the merits of Gold Glove winners, because sometimes the votes go to players who are popular or whose careers are in decline, but they have a reputation as terrific defenders.

But the fact is Vizquel made four errors in 152 games at shortstop at the age of 39! And he started again at 40. I don’t believe any player ever played shortstop that well for so long. 

The memories!

“You know what I remember about coming to Cleveland?” he said. “When I made the three errors in a game. Then I heard them say on talk radio, ‘Why the hell did we get this guy?’”

What I remember about that is how Omar stood up and took the blame for “messing up the whole game” after that April 16, 1994, loss to Kansas City. And I remember how he made only three more errors for the rest of the season. And I also remember a conversation a few years later with former manager Mike Hargrove about that game, and how he said Omar had the flu that day — but he never mentioned it.

In 2000, Omar made only three errors in 156 games all season. His gift wasn’t just the flashy great plays, it was that he made all the routine plays. And seemed to do it with a sense of boyish fun.

“When I come back [to Cleveland], it feels like I just left yesterday,” he said. “People loved the Indians of the 1990s. Those teams, they were amazing. We felt like we were unbeatable. We had swagger, there was a certain intimidation [for other teams] when we took the field.”

Omar talked about a game in which Manny Ramirez was on first base. He ran on the pitch, and a line drive was hit to right field.

“It looked like a hit, but someone caught it,” he said. “Manny was all the way around second, heading for third. Everyone was yelling at him to go back to first base.”

Ramirez did as told — he ran directly across the diamond, over the pitcher’s mound “and dove into first base,” laughed Vizquel. “He was out.”

Now a minor-league infield coach with the Angels, Vizquel filled in for four games as a Class AA manager, “and we won three.” He wants to eventually manage in the majors.

But in Cleveland this weekend, he found himself looking back at some of the greatest teams in Tribe history, two trips to the World Series (1995 and 1997) and six seasons in the playoffs.

“We were like the Bad Bears,” he said.

You mean the Bad News Bears?

“Yeah, the Bad News Bears,” he said. “Only we won a lot of games.”

And made marvelous memories. 

CLEVELAND -- Manager Terry Francona believes that his team is best aligned when right-hander Vinnie Pestano is in charge of locking down the eighth inning.

In light of his recent struggles, though, Pestano has been pulled from regular eighth-inning duty, but Francona feels he'll regain that critical role soon enough.

"We'll try to set him up where he can have some success and let him start getting some confidence," Francona said, "because I really do think when he's in the eighth inning, pitching well, that's our best team. At the moment we probably need to do something different."

Prior to Monday's game against the Tigers, Francona noted that sidearmer Joe Smith -- typically responsible for the seventh inning -- will temporarily take over as the primary setup man for closer Chris Perez. Francona plans on finding spots to mix in Pestano with the hope of getting the reliever on a roll again.

Pestano, who set the Indians' single-season franchise record with 36 holds a year ago, dealt with discomfort in his right elbow earlier this season and has been inconsistent since returning to the bullpen in May. In 21 games since coming off the disabled list, he has an uncharacteristically high 5.66 ERA to go along with a .289 opponents' batting average.

Pestano, 28, surrendered three runs in two-thirds of an inning against Detroit on Sunday, giving him a 7.04 ERA over his past eight appearances. For the season he has a 4.71 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 16 walks in 28 2/3 innings.

Pestano has been working through some mechanical adjustments lately -- his arm angle and release point were off following his return from the DL -- but he was blunt on Sunday when discussing what he needs to do.

"I've just got to get back to attacking guys," Pestano said. "Quit pitching scared and quit trying to miss bats. Just go out there and throw the ball and let what's going to happen, happen. Right now it seems like when I'm throwing the ball, I'm trying to make the outcome happen instead of just going out there and pounding the strike zone."

Across the 2011-12 seasons, Pestano posted a 2.45 ERA with 160 strikeouts in 132 innings for the Indians. That is the kind of pitcher Francona hopes to have back in the eighth inning in the near future.

"We've seen glimpses of the old Vinnie, but there's been some inconsistencies," Francona said. "We're going to try to pitch him in games where maybe we think it sets up a little better for him. We'll try to get that confidence rolling, because I think that's part of it.

"And then, once he gets back on a roll, then we'll get him back where it's a designated role."

I'd prefer he take a breather in Columbus while working out his problems. Demotion doesn't mean giving up on a guy; it means he can figure out what's wrong without hurting the big league club. Anyway I hope Vinnie is back in form soon. We need him.

http://www.stationcaster.com/player_ski ... &f=1604721

Omar interview on ESPN 850.

Terry Pluto

I have received a lot of great emails on Omar, but this was so good...I had to share it:

Jim Smith wrote.

While my son was at Rainbow Hospital back in the summer of 2000, he had a surprise visit from Sharon Hargrove. I believe she was just visiting all the kids in the cancer ward.

One of the nurses told Sharon that my son (Tony Smith) was a HUGE Omar fan, so she stopped in to say hi. When she asked if she could do anything for him, Tony replied he would love to get Omar's autograph.

She relayed the message to Omar's wife (Nickie I believe) and the wife relayed it onto Omar. Instead of just an autograph, Tony received a phone call about a week later at home from Omar. He invited Tony, me and my youngest son to be his guests at a Tribe game about a week later.

When we arrived, Sharon and Omar's wife sat us in the players' family section and spent the evening showering us with gifts, hot dogs, peanuts and whatever they felt like buying....including two Omar Indian jerseys.

After the game, Omar's wife escorted us to the Indians' clubhouse where we met Omar - who in turn introduced us to the entire team in the clubhouse (both Alomars, Mike Hargrove, Jim Thome and everyone else!!

He then gave one son his batting gloves used that night and the other son received the jersey that Omar worre that night - autographed no less !!

The boys' biggest thrill was having me take their picture with Omar --- in his underwear!!!

Sadly, Tony passed away the following February (2001) from leukemia.

But for the rest of his life, he told everyone about the night he met Omar, Omar's wife and that wonderful woman, Sharon Hargrove.

Needless to say, I too will never forget their hospitality, their caring and their friendship. I only wish the 3 of them knew that Tony didn't make it....but that evening with Omar's family and with Sharon Hargrove was one of the highlights of his shortened life.


Jim Smith

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports that the Indians have held discussions about the Cubs' Matt Garza and the Brewers' Yovani Gallardo.

The Indians are targeting a top-of-the-rotation starter and have focused on Garza and Gallardo exclusively. No deal is close with either pitcher and the Indians are willing to stand pat with internal options if they can't get a big name pitcher. Gallardo has the Indians on his no-trade list, according to Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish.

Indians are willing to stand pat with internal options

Not if they want to win.

J.R. wrote:Omar Vizquel won Cleveland's heart, on and off field: Terry Pluto

on July 07, 2013 at 7:35 PM, updated July 08, 2013 at 2:24 AM




When I was growing up, Rocky Colavito was my favorite player.

Now that I’m growing old, the Tribe player who will always be special is Omar.

That’s right . . . one word . . . Omar.

Omar Vizquel will always be just Omar to Tribe fans, just as Colavito was Rocky to fans of a different Wahoo generation.



Reminder for those short of memory or the obtuse here, most on the history of this forum were hellbent on trading or disposing of "light hitting" Omar Vizquel at the time of this group's beginning in late 1997.

My voice was clear and consistent with the exact words, "Omar Vizquel is the glue to this team."

2,000 hits or so later, he is on the threshold of possible entry into Cooperstown. I'll be lobbying for votes, as you all should, too.