Cavaliers, Indians celebrate tonight
Cleveland hosts Game 1 of World Series; NBA champs raise banner
Coco Crisp made his major league debut in August 2002, as the Cleveland Indians began a grim rebuild, the crowds at Jacobs Field dwindled and, across the street, the Cleveland Cavaliers were coming off a 53-loss season.
Perhaps most notably, Crisp says, “LeBron was still in Columbus.”
Indeed, LeBron James was in high school during Crisp’s first stint with the club, playing for Akron’s St. VincentSt. Mary High School, winning state championships and often selling out Ohio State’s arena in Columbus. We all know what happened since: The Cavaliers drafted James No. 1 overall in 2003, lost him to the Miami Heat, got him back and then broke a five-decade, citywide title drought with a seven-game conquest of the Golden State Warriors in June’s NBA Finals.
Tuesday, a city long bereft of titles will look far different. James’ Cavaliers will receive their championship rings at Quicken Loans Arena while kicking off defense of their NBA title, just a few minutes before the Indians return to the World Series for the first time since 1997.
It is going to be a scene — Progressive Field is just a fast break or a long home run away from the “Q.”
“Everybody wanted (James) to get drafted and come here. And he did,” says Crisp, who returned to the Indians via an August trade with the Oakland Athletics and homered in each of the Indians’ playoff series. “The city boomed. Everybody was in love with the Cavs; we, the Indians, were playing well.
“I wasn’t here when LeBron left. But I can still tell that the city has grown. There’s different areas that had more life that weren’t here before. Cleveland itself has picked up its game.”
The Indians insist the Cavaliers’ title doesn’t alleviate pressure. After all, they don’t get rings for the Cavs’ championship.
Yet the franchises’ concurrent success has undeniably energized the Indians’ surprising 94-win season and 7-1 roll through the American League playoffs, punctuated by James and several teammates attending a playoff game at Progressive Field.
“I try to get over and watch them play as much as I can,” Indians outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall says of the Cavaliers. “To see them guys come over here and have a good time at a baseball game — you don’t see that a whole bunch. To have (James) come — he’s done so much for Ohio — just to have that little extra bit of energy is great.”
That brings us to Tuesday and a scintillating 90 minutes. The Cavaliers will celebrate their title. Kenny Lofton will throw out the first pitch at a Progressive Field bursting with a standing-room-only crowd. And then Corey Kluber will throw the ball for real in Game 1 against the Chicago Cubs, the Indians searching for their first title since 1948. RUN, RUN, RUN Everyone knows Jon Lester’s weakness. The Cubs’ Game 1 starter is a reliable lefthanded workhorse at the front of Chicago’s rotation, a four-time All- Star with great command of a fastball he can move in various ways and an effective curveball that keeps hitters off balance. When it comes to throwing baseballs to the catcher’s mitt, few are better than Lester. It’s throwing anywhere else that’s the problem.
It’s uncommon but not unheard of: Pitchers spend so much time honing mechanics for throwing off the mound and as hard as they can that something goes awry when making far more routine throws. Lester’s case might be the most jarring: He’s a big, strong and athletic pitcher, an imposing presence on the mound who appears to tense up when he needs to make a pickoff throw or field a bunt.
To hear Crisp tell it, players can take such big leads off Lester that they venture into parts of the basepaths they rarely see before pitches are thrown.
“It’s hard to believe that they’re really off as far as they are and he’s really not going to throw over,” Crisp said. “It’s kind of like, ‘Is he ...? Nah. Nah. This was all a hoax, just for this moment.’ That’s kind of what goes through the back of your mind. It’s a real fear, like spiders and snakes.” SPECIAL DELIVERY? Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber played another rehab game in the Arizona Fall League on Monday and then flew to Cleveland, where he’ll be re-examined by team physicians. It’s possible he’ll be activated for the World Series six months after reconstructive knee surgery — a prospect that has teammates abuzz. Schwarber hit five homers in 27 playoff at-bats in 2015.
“If he’s ready,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo says, “it will be a big boost for us.”