the it factor!

[furls]

Awesome piece as always Steve, i have an it factor for you guys to ponder.

Joe Carter: While an Indian, in games that we were well out of hand with the bases empty, "It factor".... 900 kabillion (had to make up a number).

While an Indian in a cluch situation, "It factor" .... -900 kabillion.

While on another team in a clutch situation, "it factor" .... 983749387.447 ask mitch williams. He told me that during his ramblings about aliens and the apocolypse.

[swerb]

Great, great column Buff.

You are right. That 1995 Indians team was loaded with "It" factor.

Grady has all kindsa It potential. So does Hafner. Fernando Cabrera, at 6'4 with nasty stuff, potentially does down the road as a closer.

That 95 Indians team though. It was like sex for the eyes. Especially give the quality of baseball those eyes had been forced to watch for the previous 40 years.

I'll never forget it. I was just outta high school, and in just a couple of years the Tribe had gone from doormats to dominance. You couldn't go anywhere or talk to anyone without the team coming up. And we weren't just winning, we were bludgeoning people to death.

[Steve Buffum]

You are right. That 1995 Indians team was loaded with "It" factor.

Well, the thing about '95 was that they must have won at least 10 games after being behind in the seventh. I guess I could look it up, but viscerally, I remember having the feeling, "I wonder how we'll pull this one out tonight?"

This is in direct contrast with like every other season of every other sport in Cleveland Fan History, where the default question is, "I wonder how we'll blow this one?" (most glaring recent example: the Browns' playoff loss to Pittsburgh)

[HoodooMan]

Joe Carter: While an Indian, in games that we were well out of hand with the bases empty, "It factor".... 900 kabillion (had to make up a number).

While an Indian in a cluch situation, "It factor" .... -900 kabillion.

While on another team in a clutch situation, "it factor" .... 983749387.447 ask mitch williams. He told me that during his ramblings about aliens and the apocolypse.

Except for that last part, that pretty much sums up Richie The Son of Sex as well, no?

Maybe it's just that my last memory of this team is The Collapse, during which it felt like Victor Martinez was the only player who was capable of making contact and doing something positive at the plate, but my feeling is that Victor might have the most at-the-plate "IT"-potential on the roster.

And what would the "IT" rating be for the inevitable decision Travis Hafner makes after rounding third and seeing the catcher snag the ball ten feet ahead of him at home plate?

[HoodooMan]

In another "IT"-related matter, Jim Rome said what has to be the dumbest thing to come out of his mouth since I've been listening.

He said the words "Jeff Kent" and "HOF" in the same sentence; a sentence in which additional words like "over my dead body," "not a chance in hell," and "pigs fly" were conspicuously absent.

Don't HOFers necessarily come with a positive "IT" of some kind included? Does Jeff Kent have an ounce of "IT" in his entire freaking body? Has there ever been a time in his career when he was one of the top, I don't know, twenty players in MLB? Sure as hell wasn't during his stint in Cleveland, that's for sure.

[Steve Buffum]

Does Jeff Kent have an ounce of "IT" in his entire freaking body?

Yes.

Sincerely,
The Houston Astros

[Jumbo]

Nice article. Is there anyone with an undefined It? Could be selective memory, but I seem to remember Jim Thome leading the Indians in both "Number of Successes in a Big Situation" and "Number of Failures in a Big Situation" but that could just be a consquence of his long career.

IMHO, most likely for undefined It is Peralta. Consistent production, but I have neither overwhelming confidence or despair when he comes up in a clutch situation.

He said the words "Jeff Kent" and "HOF" in the same sentence.

Jeff Kent's HOF chances got a huge boost from the unfortunate end to Robbie Alomar's career. Consider:

Alomar:
9073 AB, 2724 H, 210 HR, 1134 RBI, 1508 R, 474 SB, .300/.371/.443
0 MVP, 12 ASGs. 10 GGs.

Kent:
7157 AB, 2070 H, 331 HR, 1312 RBI, 1139 R, 92 SB, .289/.354/.506
1 MVP, 5 ASGs.

Alomar is still superior, but Kent is in the picture. He's probably the second-best offensive 2B of this era. (Still out of the Hall, IMO.)