One game, one loss for Tribe

By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- The 2001 Cleveland Indians starting lineup has two newcomers in the outfield (Juan Gonzalez and Ellis Burks), a different number-one catcher (Einar Diaz) and a substitute third baseman (Russell Branyan).
But some things haven't changed.
Just like they did most of last season, the Indians again are looking up at the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central Division standings following Monday's Opening Day, 7-4, loss at Jacobs Field.
The story: David Wells, the left-handed pitcher who has given the Indians fits over the past five years while pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, continued his mastery of the Tribe with the first Opening Day win in his long career.
"It's fun pitching against these guys," Wells said. "A lot of [pitchers] are very timid [facing] the Cleveland Indians but they bring out the best in me."
Over six innings, Wells limited the home team to four hits and two runs before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
"Wells didn't have his good fastball today," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said. "Instead, he had his knowledge and he kept his poise by using his breaking ball and changeup."
Meanwhile, the White Sox jumped on 25-year-old Indians starter Bartolo Colon for seven runs in his first Opening Day assignment.
Paul Konerko and Magglio Ordonez had the key hits. Konerko doubled and scored in the second inning to put Chicago ahead for keeps.
His one-out single in the fourth inning scored Jose Valentin and Frank Thomas to extend the lead to 3-0.
"That was luck," Konerko said of the hit. "It was two feet off the plate and neck high. I don't want to make a habit of going for those and it showed in my next at-bats when I thought I could hit everything."
Konerko whiffed in his final at-bats, but the damage had already been done.
Cushion: In the sixth inning, Ordonez homered on the first pitch after Colon intentionally walked Thomas. That three-run blast gave Chicago a 6-1 cushion.
"That was the big hit of the game," Manuel said. "Our advance gameplan says you're not going to let Frank Thomas beat you.
"We knew Ordonez is a good hitter and you've got to watch the breaking balls to them on the first pitch because they are looking for them," Manuel said. "Ordonez sat on a breaking ball.
"I think Colon had good stuff, but he just started falling behind [in the count]. Then he made some mistakes."
Colon said he was trying to induce a groundball doubleplay on the pitch to Ordonez, "but I left the ball too far up in the strike zone. I left too many pitches up and paid for it."
Wells, the ace whom the White Sox acquired from the Blue Jays in an offseason trade, was never in danger.
Indians first baseman Jim Thome, who went 0-4, said Wells "threw well.
"He moved his fastball in and out," Thome said. "He didn't use his breaking ball all that much, but he had a cutter and he had a good changeup that offset our right-handed hitters a little bit."
Branyan, who is filling in for the injured Travis Fryman at third base, and Gonzalez, the free-agent right fielder signed to replace the departed Manny Ramirez, tagged solo homers off Wells.
Teeing off: Branyan, who struggled mightily last year against lefthanders, homered on a 1-0 pitch in the fifth inning, reducing Chicago's lead to 3-1.
"When I'm going good, I hit righthanders and lefthanders," Branyan said. "When I'm not, I don't hit either."
In the eighth inning, Gonzalez hit another solo homer off reliever Antonio Osuna.
"I think we're all happy to get Opening Day out of the way," Thome said. "It's a big game, you get a little jittery. There's a lot of hype and lot of buildup to it. Now we can [concentrate on] getting going."