Cleveland Seeks To Bolster Bullpen Via Trade

The window is wide open. The Cleveland Indians are the best team in baseball and are favored, even expected, to win their first World Series since 1948.

But as impressive as the Indians are, there is a sense of urgency. Cleveland is an organization built to be successful for a long time, with one of the best minor league systems in baseball.

This team, though, also is built to win now.

It has a blend of veterans (Eddie Murray, Orel Hershiser, Tony Pena, Dennis Martinez) and young stars (Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton).

The younger players are all closing in on five-six years’ experience and thus will be eligible for free agency. The Indians tied them up with long-term contracts, so most are signed for the next few years.

But with other young players improving, such as Manny Ramirez, 23, and Jim Thome, 24, the Indians (48-21) will be hard-pressed to afford all their players.

That’s why winning this season or next is so important.

So it should come as no surprise that the Indians are in the middle of trade rumors. They are reportedly seeking another starter, perhaps David Cone of the Toronto Blue Jays or Bret Saberhagen of the New York Mets.

The dilemma facing General Manager John Hart and Director of Baseball Operations Dan O’Dowd: how many, if any, prospects do you give up for a veteran pitcher? The Indians have plenty of young pitching, but they don’t want to deplete their farm system.

Dibble dropped

Fiery reliever Rob Dibble was placed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox, who want to give him his unconditional release.

Dibble, who signed with Chicago as a free agent Feb. 27, was 0-1 with one save and a 6.28 ERA in 16 games this year. He’d given up just seven hits in 14-1/3 innings, but walked 27 batters.

“We don’t feel anybody’s going to hit him, but he’s got two walks an inning and in the major leagues you can’t bring him into a game knowing that,” Chicago manager Terry Bevington said.

Ironically, Milwaukee manager Phil Garner said the Brewers are interested in signing Dibble.

It was only a few weeks ago that the Brewers claimed Dibble was trying to bean Pat Listach, a crime for which Dibble received a three-game suspension from the American League.

Gonzalez tops franchise mark

Juan Gonzalez became the career home run leader for the Texas Rangers when he hit one Sunday against the Boston Red Sox. It was his 14th of the season and the 154th of his career.

Gonzalez had been tied with Ruben Sierra at 153.

Gonzalez has homered in four of his last five games, five of seven and eight of his last 15. He is the 11th youngest player in baseball history to reach 150 home runs.

McClatchy prepared to enter bid

Kevin McClatchy, the California newspaper heir who wants to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates, apparently is ready to start talking bucks.

McClatchy, who made two recent visits to Pittsburgh to meet with Pirates’ executives and some of the team’s 10 owners, is expected to make a tentative bid for the money-losing team as early as this week.

McClatchy’s bid probably will be in the $90 million to $92 million range, or slightly higher than the $85.15 million offered by cable TV franchise owner John Rigas. Major league baseball advised Rigas that his bid probably would be rejected because it lacked sufficient equity.

Gooden making pitch for comeback

Dwight Gooden, suspended this season, has reportedly been throwing well. He is eligible to return from his suspension for substance abuse in 1996 and the Giants, White Sox and Yankees could be interested.

Umpires asked to enforce rules

The effort to pick up the pace of the game is nice, but most of the changes to be implemented are not changes. Instead, umpires will be asked to enforce existing rules.

Managers are not supposed to stand on the mound, chatting with a pitcher while allowing the reliever to warm up. But the rule that requires the manager or coach to signal to the bullpen upon leaving the dugout is never enforced.

Beginning July 28, that rule will be enforced. Umpires will also be required to monitor how far a batter strays from the box. No more than 3 feet, according to the new credo.

Pitchers will have 12 seconds to deliver a pitch after the batter is set and the time between innings will be cut about 25 seconds.

Television ratings overrated

The TV ratings for the All-Star Game were the lowest for any nationally televised All-Star Game since 1967. And the estimated 13.25 million who watched were the fewest since 1969, (8.61 million households).

But the 13.9 rating was still slightly better than the average for the NBA Finals, which featured one of the sport’s most recognizable personalities, Shaquille O’Neal.