RMJ 137 July 2

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 ● Houston, vs Indians

We had our meeting yesterday; the players had theirs today. It was a players-only meeting, called by Biggio and Bagwell.

I have been pushing the limit on meetings lately, but a players-only meeting is different. This format allows them to express themselves and gather some collective energy. Sometimes there are accusations of not hustling. Fights have broken out in meetings like this. Sometimes the players lash out at management. Who knows what they may have said about Gerry and me? About the coaches?

Who cares? Not me.

At best, a players-only meeting can have a purging effect. God knows, we need purgation. Most of the time, the backbiting and petty grievances that are common undercurrents on a ballclub come to the surface. Everyone gets to have their say, and the team usually feels more together.

 

The team certainly looked together tonight. Mike Hampton shut the Indians down in the first, then Biggio led off with a triple in the bottom of the inning and scored on Gonzo’s sacrifice fly.  Hampton kept them off-balance, scattering singles and getting double-play grounders. We routed Orel Hershiser with five runs in the fifth. A two-run triple by Hampton ignited the rally.

We have already learned that the Tribe scoffs at a large deficit. They proved it again when Hampton went back to the mound. Quicker than you could say Jackie Robinson, Seitzer singled, Ramirez doubled, and Alomar singled. Hampton regrouped and got a popup and a double-play grounder.

We now led 6-2, and that’s how it ended.

 

Vern and I had a debate in the eighth inning.

“Wagner needs to work an inning tonight,” he said.

I knew Hampton’s pitch count was low, and I intended to let him try for the complete game.

“Would you bring Wagner in, even if Mike has any easy eighth?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “He needs the work. If you want to keep your closer sharp, he needs to work every few days.”

“Remember what we said that one day, when he threw 30 pitches in an inning while he was getting some work, and we couldn’t use him the next day?”

“Yes, we said we would keep somebody behind him so that wouldn’t happen again.” He thought for a moment. “You don’t want anyone behind him tonight — do you?”

“No,” I said. “And I don’t want him throwing 30 pitches and not being ready for tomorrow, either. I want Wagner ready in case Mike has trouble. I want to see if Hamp can finish. I think it would do wonders for him, and be uplifting for the whole team.”

That’s what we did, and it worked like a charm.

Alomar led off with a single. Matt Williams flied to left. Omar Vizquel chopped a grounder on the left side of the infield. Billy Spiers leapt to his left and stabbed it, landed in a heap of bones, got to his knees, and forced Alomar at second. Biggio made a brilliant backhanded pickup of a hot smash by Damien Jackson, and that was it.