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Do IT this week: Layering
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 09:02 p.m. EDT, Mar 31, 2009
GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: Most major-leaguers were stars in high school and college, but Scott Lewis was a cut above even these local and regional luminaries.
Consequently, Lewis probably was the least surprised of anyone that he outdueled four other pitchers to earn a spot in the Indians' rotation.
Did Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, David Huff and Zach Jackson even realize who they were up against?
Lewis was summoned to the majors for the first time in September and forced his attention on Indians manager Eric Wedge and General Manager Mark Shapiro by winning all four of his starts and compiling a 2.63 ERA.
''I threw well all year in the minors,'' Lewis said. ''I just tried to do the things that got me there and made sure that nothing bothered me. I try to think of it as just another game.''
Apparently, Lewis' powers of concentration were peaking at the right time. Or maybe that's just the norm for him. Lewis never had any trouble picturing himself in the big leagues.
Asked when he knew he could get major-league hitters out, Lewis said: ''I always had the mindset that I could succeed at this level. But after my debut, my confidence went up quite a bit.''
With good reason. Lewis vanquished the Baltimore Orioles on no runs and three hits in eight innings, earning a 7-1 win.
When he came to camp this spring, Lewis went about the task of making the team by methodically retiring opposing batters. He stumbled once or twice, in seven appearances, giving up 11 runs and 22 hits in 181/3 innings.
''When I got to spring training, I had a meeting with Wedge and Shapiro,'' Lewis said. ''They said I was competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. I thought at the end of last year, I'd be competing for something. I didn't think I would be guaranteed anything. I still have a lot to prove.''
Lewis' worst outings have come since he won a job in the rotation. In his past two outings, Lewis has been stung for 15 runs and 21 hits in 62/3 innings. That includes his start Tuesday, in which the Seattle Mariners battered him for 10 runs and 13 hits, including three home runs.
''I've been struggling with my grip on the ball,'' Lewis said.
Arizona's arid climate makes it more difficult for pitchers to get a feel for the baseball.
''I'm not making an excuse, because I wasn't making my pitches,'' Lewis said. ''I was thinking about that [the dryness] instead of getting guys out.''
Lewis is not just another guy from Washington Court House, Ohio, which isn't exactly a hotbed of baseball superstars. However, Lewis isn't the first player from the Central Ohio town to be drafted by the Tribe.
Jeff Shaw, who pitched for 12 years in the big leagues, played his first three major-league seasons with the Indians and ultimately became a noted closer who saved 69 games in three seasons for the Cincinnati Reds and 129 in four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lewis came to know Shaw and would work out with him in the winter. Whether that had anything to do with his development is open to question. But certainly it didn't hurt.
When it came time to attend college, Lewis had ''a little file cabinet filled'' with letters from universities interested in giving him a chance to become a student-athlete.
Lewis became a sensation at Ohio State, winning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors and being named first team All-America in 2003, when he posted a 9-1 record and 1.61 ERA, striking out 127 in only 832/3 innings.
Disaster struck when Lewis was 19, when his elbow began to ache. By May of 2004, it became clear he would have to submit to Tommy John ligament-transplant surgery. Lewis didn't pitch for a year. When he did return, he had time to make only four starts, a total of 201/3 innings.
Lewis' timing couldn't have been worse, because he needed to show major-league organizations he was healthy for the draft.
''There definitely were a lot of thoughts going through my head,'' Lewis said. ''I never had major surgery and now I had to reconstruct my elbow. I wanted to get back on the mound to show my arm was working for the draft.''
Despite the relative inactivity, the Indians took Lewis in the third round, which made him and his father, Dan, happy.
''As long as I can remember, my dad always worked with me,'' Lewis said. ''He coached me in Little League; he was real hard on me.''
Lewis said his father was a former minor-leaguer in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, so he knew more baseball than most dads.
''I remember pitching to him in the street,'' Lewis said. ''In Washington Court House, there aren't many cars on the streets.''
Nevertheless, Tribe officials would prefer that Lewis not play in the traffic. He's in the big leagues now.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: Most major-leaguers were stars in high school and college, but Scott Lewis was a cut above even these local and regional luminaries.
Consequently, Lewis probably was the least surprised of anyone that he outdueled four other pitchers to earn a spot in the Indians' rotation.
Did Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, David Huff and Zach Jackson even realize who they were up against?
Lewis was summoned to the majors for the first time in September and forced his attention on Indians manager Eric Wedge and General Manager Mark Shapiro by winning all four of his starts and compiling a 2.63 ERA.
''I threw well all year in the minors,'' Lewis said. ''I just tried to do the things that got me there and made sure that nothing bothered me. I try to think of it as just another game.''
Apparently, Lewis' powers of concentration were peaking at the right time. Or maybe that's just the norm for him. Lewis never had any trouble picturing himself in the big leagues.
Asked when he knew he could get major-league hitters out, Lewis said: ''I always had the mindset that I could succeed at this level. But after my debut, my confidence went up quite a bit.''
With good reason. Lewis vanquished the Baltimore Orioles on no runs and three hits in eight innings, earning a 7-1 win.
When he came to camp this spring, Lewis went about the task of making the team by methodically retiring opposing batters. He stumbled once or twice, in seven appearances, giving up 11 runs and 22 hits in 181/3 innings.
''When I got to spring training, I had a meeting with Wedge and Shapiro,'' Lewis said. ''They said I was competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. I thought at the end of last year, I'd be competing for something. I didn't think I would be guaranteed anything. I still have a lot to prove.''
Lewis' worst outings have come since he won a job in the rotation. In his past two outings, Lewis has been stung for 15 runs and 21 hits in 62/3 innings. That includes his start Tuesday, in which the Seattle Mariners battered him for 10 runs and 13 hits, including three home runs.
''I've been struggling with my grip on the ball,'' Lewis said.
Arizona's arid climate makes it more difficult for pitchers to get a feel for the baseball.
''I'm not making an excuse, because I wasn't making my pitches,'' Lewis said. ''I was thinking about that [the dryness] instead of getting guys out.''
Lewis is not just another guy from Washington Court House, Ohio, which isn't exactly a hotbed of baseball superstars. However, Lewis isn't the first player from the Central Ohio town to be drafted by the Tribe.
Jeff Shaw, who pitched for 12 years in the big leagues, played his first three major-league seasons with the Indians and ultimately became a noted closer who saved 69 games in three seasons for the Cincinnati Reds and 129 in four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lewis came to know Shaw and would work out with him in the winter. Whether that had anything to do with his development is open to question. But certainly it didn't hurt.
When it came time to attend college, Lewis had ''a little file cabinet filled'' with letters from universities interested in giving him a chance to become a student-athlete.
Lewis became a sensation at Ohio State, winning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors and being named first team All-America in 2003, when he posted a 9-1 record and 1.61 ERA, striking out 127 in only 832/3 innings.
Disaster struck when Lewis was 19, when his elbow began to ache. By May of 2004, it became clear he would have to submit to Tommy John ligament-transplant surgery. Lewis didn't pitch for a year. When he did return, he had time to make only four starts, a total of 201/3 innings.
Lewis' timing couldn't have been worse, because he needed to show major-league organizations he was healthy for the draft.
''There definitely were a lot of thoughts going through my head,'' Lewis said. ''I never had major surgery and now I had to reconstruct my elbow. I wanted to get back on the mound to show my arm was working for the draft.''
Despite the relative inactivity, the Indians took Lewis in the third round, which made him and his father, Dan, happy.
''As long as I can remember, my dad always worked with me,'' Lewis said. ''He coached me in Little League; he was real hard on me.''
Lewis said his father was a former minor-leaguer in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, so he knew more baseball than most dads.
''I remember pitching to him in the street,'' Lewis said. ''In Washington Court House, there aren't many cars on the streets.''
Nevertheless, Tribe officials would prefer that Lewis not play in the traffic. He's in the big leagues now.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 10:08 PM, 03/31/2009
.500 @ best. . .
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:53 AM, 04/01/2009
The dryness has not had the same impact on opposing pitchers shutting down our offense.
