Omar Vizquel is considering retirement after 22 years in the big leagues.
Omar Vizquel, captured during a pensive moment when he was still with the Indians, said Tuesday he may hang up his spikes after this season. Vizquel is a utility infielder with the visiting Chicago White Sox.
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has called Omar Vizquel the best player ever to come out of Venezuela.
Anyone who watched his artistry at shortstop in what was then known as Jacobs Field will not disagree, especially when he was teamed with Robby Alomar at second base.
Is Omar the greatest shortstop ever? A poll
Unlike some other Indians of that era -- Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and Albert Belle -- Vizquel remains dear to the hearts of Clevelanders. So even though he's part of "the enemy" now -- a utility infielder with the visiting Chicago White Sox -- those hearts are going to be a bit heavier with the knowledge that Vizquel is contemplating retirement.
Twenty-two years in the big leagues is a long, long time. The 11-time Gold Glover told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that the strain of being a utility infielder after starring for so long is why he may hang up his spikes.
Being a utility player the last two seasons has beaten up Vizquel mentally to the point that he doesn't see himself going through another season in this role.
"It's hard to play in the role that I am when you're used to playing every day," Vizquel said. "It's hard preparation. Sometimes you feel disappointed, sometimes you're sad. Your mental process is different. ... I don't know if I can do it another year. I could probably do it physically because I feel pretty good, but mentally it takes a toll on your [mind]. It makes you doubt sometimes. I don't think I want to go through that process again."
Is there a chance he will change his mind?
"I have to finish this season pretty strong," Vizquel said. "If I feel like I finish the way I really want to, I might give it a thought to go another year."
The problem is, he likely won't get a real opportunity to finish strong while playing sparingly like he has.
Here's hoping that when he does retire, it's after signing a ceremonial contract with the Tribe. He's spent time with San Francisco, Seattle, Texas and Chicago, but for those of us who saw him play, Omar Vizquel will always be an Indian.
More on OmarOK, Starting Blocks is starting to sound like the president of the Omar Vizquel Fan Club. So what?
We all know that Omar was a genius with a glove -- or without it (remember all those bare-handed plays?). We came to take for granted that if a ball was hit in the same time zone, O would make the play. And he believed the same. But he told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he takes even greater pride in his 2,713 (and counting) hits.
"Everything that I do, something offensively fulfills me more than making a great play," Vizquel said Tuesday. "I know that my glove always has been consistent, and I'm always at the top of my game. But the offense, for me, has been a question mark ever since I came to the big leagues. I only started switch-hitting six months before I made it to the big leagues and it has been a very hard process for me to develop my switch-hitting abilities."
Vizquel, now 43, went to the Instructional League in Arizona to learn to switch hit under the supervision of instructor Bobby Tolan, a former major leaguer who once worked in the Sox organization.
"The next year (1989) I got an invitation to the big leagues, and I stayed there," Vizquel said. "I've been around some great people, and it really has helped me to be around them."
It's a pretty sure bet that a lot of people can say the same about being around Vizquel.
All-star ballot, anyone?The struggling White Sox (isn't it funny to use that word in front of a team other than the Indians) "made Mitch Talbot look like an all-star pitcher," according to the Chicago Tribune's Gonzales in his game story on the Tribe's 7-3 win Tuesday night in Progressive Field.
For the second time in as many showdowns, the White Sox made Mitch Talbot look like an All-Star pitcher.As for Jake Peavy, the Sox have yet to see a lengthy period of dominance from the former Cy Young winner.
Those developments added to the astonishment of the Sox season, as their 7-3 loss Tuesday night at Cleveland typified their inconsistencies.
And there might not be one greater than that of Peavy (3-4), who has slipped into another regression.
In the estimation of manager Ozzie Guillen and Peavy, Wednesday's series finale is as important a game as any the Sox (19-26) have played to this point as they try to win their second series and regain momentum heading into this weekend's four-game set at formidable Tampa Bay.
"I think that's as frustrating as anything," Peavy said after allowing at least six earned runs for the fifth time. "We know we have to take care of business, I told you guys that the other day. Not being able to do that for the team, that's what gets to me the most. I mean you're going to have starts where you don't have good stuff, that's fine.
"This is the first time in a while I went out there and just didn't feel good, just didn't feel like I could go to something, and it can get me out of trouble. I didn't have anything to go to stuff-wise, and that's tough.
But we have our guy ( Mark Buehrle going Wednesday). I just hope the boys can pick me up and we can go down to Tampa on a good note and grind it out there."
Buehrle goes against Jake Westbrook in a rematch of Opening Day pitchers. The Indians lost that one in U.S. Cellular Field, 6-0, with Buehrle helping his own cause with a highlight-reel put-out of Indians catcher Lou Marson.
Boom!Rookie Jason Donald was one of two Indians to homer in Tuesday's game. The other was Shin-Soo Choo, but Tribe fans have come to expect Choo to deliver. It was a new feeling for the shortstop called up from Columbus last week to replace the injured Asdrubal Cabrera.
Jim Massie of the Columbus Dispatch was among a cadre of reporters who talked to Donald after the game.
Donald set the offensive tone with a leadoff home run into the bleachers in left field to open the third. It was his first home run and his third extra-base hit in the past two games.
"It felt good," said Donald, who was called up from the Clippers last week. "I put a pretty good swing on it. I hit it pretty good. I think that's the best I've got in me.
"(Peavy) is really one of the best starters in the game. I don't want to say I grew up watching him. But I've seen him for a long time on TV and I feel real fortunate. It's something that I'll keep with me for the rest of my life."
"I don't want to say I grew up watching him?" Great quote, made even funnier by reality: Donald is 25; Peavy will be 29 on Monday.
From The Plain DealerPaul Hoynes' game stories for The Plain Dealer usually are more entertaining than the game he's covering. Tuesday's 7-3 win was a rare combination of both.
Victory in itself has been a rare occurrence. To do it without having to come from behind with sirens blaring -- they've come from the back of the pack in 10 of their 17 wins -- is even rarer. To do it with a combination of power and guile borders on the mystical.
The Indians have hit the third-fewest homers in the AL. Tuesday night they looked like Power Inc., as (Jason) Donald started the third with a drive to the left-field bleachers off Jake Peavy for his first big-league homer. Choo followed one batter later with a long homer to right center for a 2-0 lead.
Hoynesie's Indians Insider covers a Major League Baseball warning to players with criminal records about travels to Toronto. Canada of late has been enforcing a provision that permits authorities to detain those crossing the border if they have any criminal record, no matter how old. The Tribe visits the Blue Jays at the end of July.
That's the serious business, but the funniest thing in the Indians Insider is Hoynesie's Clubhouse Chatter conversation with Mike Redmond:
Mike Redmond, Fausto Carmona's personal catcher, is not looking forward to interleague play after watching Carmona swing the bat Monday.
"I love Carmona to death, but I'm never going to get a pitch to hit," said Redmond. "They'll just walk me to face him."
When asked to describe Carmona's swing, Redmond laughed and said, "You know how some guys don't even look good wearing a batting helmet?"