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By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:48 p.m. EDT, May 10, 2009
CLEVELAND: You can tell that Mark DeRosa is new to the Indians.
The Tribe third baseman didn't see much of the darker side of baseball in his years with the Braves and Cubs.
''I haven't gone through a record like this,'' he said after the Tribe's 5-3 loss to the Tigers Sunday at Progressive Field. ''When I was in Atlanta, it seemed like we won every series. We did struggle at Chicago my first year, but we knew we had talented guys who would win. Kind of like here.''
Except that the Indians are not winning and after Saturday night's 4-0 defeat to Detroit, the players called a 40-minute meeting.
''It's about everybody looking at themselves in the mirror and being honest with themselves, realizing that everyone respects their teammates,'' DeRosa said. ''When you're scuffling, you carry the weight of the world. You feel like the whole city of Cleveland is watching you. But that's not the case.
''Baseball is a result-oriented game. If the team is winning, the fans don't care how it's winning, so it's not really just you. It's an individual game, but it's the team part that counts. That's the biggest thing I've tried to get across.''
DeRosa went 0-for-4 Sunday and is batting a meager .238. After he spent 17 games at the No. 2 spot in the lineup, his .203 average forced manager Eric Wedge to drop him down in the order and elevate Asdrubal Cabrera.
However, since then, DeRosa has begun to have a positive impact on the offense, batting .296 with three home runs and six RBI in his past 13 games.
''The other day in Boston, I went 3-for-4 [including a home run], but I was telling Kerry [Wood] that I felt terrible at the plate,'' DeRosa said. ''It's like the world is coming to an end for us. A lot of guys are pressing, including me. I haven't felt comfortable all season, for whatever reason.''
DeRosa is all too aware that the club has failed to take advantage of opportunities.
''We're wasting good starts by our pitchers, and that's frustrating,'' he said. ''You have to move runners, get bunts down and execute sacrifice flies with guys on third, but there's been none of that. We try to rally in the ninth when we're a bunch of runs behind, hoping somebody pops one.''
It's unlikely that anyone in the Tribe clubhouse thought the team would be stuck with an 11-20 record after 31 games.
''A lot of guys are struggling at the plate,'' DeRosa said. ''It's very frustrating. We had high expectations coming out of spring training, like every team, but it hasn't happened for us.
''If our record is 20-11 and I'm not playing well, who cares? But if I'm scuffling and the team isn't winning, then you really feel bad about your individual performance, because you're not helping win games.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
CLEVELAND: You can tell that Mark DeRosa is new to the Indians.
The Tribe third baseman didn't see much of the darker side of baseball in his years with the Braves and Cubs.
''I haven't gone through a record like this,'' he said after the Tribe's 5-3 loss to the Tigers Sunday at Progressive Field. ''When I was in Atlanta, it seemed like we won every series. We did struggle at Chicago my first year, but we knew we had talented guys who would win. Kind of like here.''
Except that the Indians are not winning and after Saturday night's 4-0 defeat to Detroit, the players called a 40-minute meeting.
''It's about everybody looking at themselves in the mirror and being honest with themselves, realizing that everyone respects their teammates,'' DeRosa said. ''When you're scuffling, you carry the weight of the world. You feel like the whole city of Cleveland is watching you. But that's not the case.
''Baseball is a result-oriented game. If the team is winning, the fans don't care how it's winning, so it's not really just you. It's an individual game, but it's the team part that counts. That's the biggest thing I've tried to get across.''
DeRosa went 0-for-4 Sunday and is batting a meager .238. After he spent 17 games at the No. 2 spot in the lineup, his .203 average forced manager Eric Wedge to drop him down in the order and elevate Asdrubal Cabrera.
However, since then, DeRosa has begun to have a positive impact on the offense, batting .296 with three home runs and six RBI in his past 13 games.
''The other day in Boston, I went 3-for-4 [including a home run], but I was telling Kerry [Wood] that I felt terrible at the plate,'' DeRosa said. ''It's like the world is coming to an end for us. A lot of guys are pressing, including me. I haven't felt comfortable all season, for whatever reason.''
DeRosa is all too aware that the club has failed to take advantage of opportunities.
''We're wasting good starts by our pitchers, and that's frustrating,'' he said. ''You have to move runners, get bunts down and execute sacrifice flies with guys on third, but there's been none of that. We try to rally in the ninth when we're a bunch of runs behind, hoping somebody pops one.''
It's unlikely that anyone in the Tribe clubhouse thought the team would be stuck with an 11-20 record after 31 games.
''A lot of guys are struggling at the plate,'' DeRosa said. ''It's very frustrating. We had high expectations coming out of spring training, like every team, but it hasn't happened for us.
''If our record is 20-11 and I'm not playing well, who cares? But if I'm scuffling and the team isn't winning, then you really feel bad about your individual performance, because you're not helping win games.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.
Comments
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Posted 01:21 AM, 05/11/2009
Another Wedge team that is lacking in fundamentals.
Stow, OH
Posted 08:01 AM, 05/11/2009
Tell DeRosa he can relax thanks to he and his teammates great start ,they should be out of contention by the end of the month .
Canton, OH
Posted 10:21 PM, 05/11/2009
AWWWW. .A Major Leaguer who feels pressure. . .NUT IT UP, DeRosa. . .
