The Indians don’t have a whole lot in common with the Cubs, as evidenced by the fact that Cleveland is one win from going to the World Series.
But one thing they do share is a bullpen situation that oftentimes tests the patience of their fans, their pitching coaches and their managers.
Indians closer Joe Borowski, like his former Cubs teammate Ryan Dempster, lacks a killer fastball and gives up far more runs than most of his peers. Indians setup man Rafael Betancourt, like Cubs setup man Carlos Marmol, is a former position player who has dominated hitters in 2007 and seems far more suited to closing games than being a stop-gap reliever.
But Indians manager Eric Wedge, like Cubs manager Lou Piniella, has never wavered in his late-inning game plan, and now his relief corps has played an instrumental role in the Indians’ march to a possible World Series berth.
Borowski, Betancourt, Jensen Lewis and Tom Mastny have combined for a 1.59 earned-run average in the postseason, helping Cleveland overcome up and down performances from starters C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook.
“The bullpen, seventh or eighth inning, you get us there to set up for Joe, and I don’t want to jinx it, but all year it’s been almost a done deal,” Mastny said.
Sabathia takes on Josh Beckett in Game 5 Thursday night at Jacobs Field as the Indians try to close it out and take on Colorado in the World Series.
Only a few days ago, it appeared the Indians were about to become road kill, trailing 1-0 in the series and watching Carmona get roughed up in Game 2. But since reliever Rafael Perez served up back-to-back home runs to Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell to help Boston erase a two-run deficit in the fifth inning of Game 2, the Indians’ bullpen has combined to allow one run in 13 innings.
Lewis, a 23-year-old rookie called up in July, recovered from a mammoth Ramirez home run Tuesday night to pitch two strong innings before Betancourt finished it off with two perfect frames, giving Borowski a rest after he’d pitched a scoreless inning in each of the first three games.
As an Indians fans who grew up in Reds country, Lewis vividly recalls watching Cleveland’s last march to the World Series in 1997, which ended in a Game 7 loss to Florida.
“It was gut-wrenching,” he said. “I didn’t sleep that night. I knew the next day I was going to get so much [abuse] from everybody who was a Reds fan. But the ultimate comeback was they were watching [the Indians] for a long time.”
Betancourt came up in the Red Sox organization as a shortstop and reluctantly switched to relief when told he didn’t have the offensive skills to make it to the majors. After pitching briefly in Japan, he has posted a 2.80 ERA since 2003 with Cleveland and has 7 1/3 scoreless innings in the ’07 postseason.
Borowski is well know to Cubs fans for his role in the 2003 season, after Cubs vice president of player personnel Oneiri Fleita, then the Latin American coordinator, watched him pitch in Mexico and convinced former general manager Ed Lynch to take a chance on him.
When Antonio Alfonseca was hurt in the final week of spring training in 2003, then-manager Dusty Baker was going to go with a closer-by-committee.
“We were going to hold on until he came back, and it just so happened the first save opportunity, I was pretty much the last one left in the pen who hadn’t thrown in back-to-back days,” Borowski recalled. “I converted it, but it wasn’t like ‘Joe is closing now.’
“Then, three to four days later, it was the same thing. I was the last guy left, and after five chances, they stayed with me.”
Borowski became “Lunchbucket Joe” in the ’03 playoff run, but injuries and ineffectiveness led to his being released in 2005. After stints with Tampa Bay and Florida, he saved an AL-leading 45 games with the Indians this year, but his 5.07 ERA prevents him from attaining league-wide respect.
“I think everything you look for in a closer, in the end you just want to see the save,” Indians catcher Victor Martinez said. “He’s been doing that for us pretty good.”
Borowski knows he’s not your classic closer and that many believe he should trade roles with Betancourt. But at this point in his career, he has stopped trying to please everyone.
“All I worry about doing is what I can control — go out and get guys out,” he said. “The only people I worry about are my teammates and the coaching staff. As long as I have their respect and they’re behind me, what else matters? Nothing.”
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psullivan@tribune.com
