Wells not fazed by flu or Tribe

CLEVELAND -- David Wells arrived at Jacobs Field Monday morning feeling the effects of a flu. He spent the remainder of the day making the Cleveland Indians ill.
Wells, who somehow came across a flu bug while eating a "large meal of pasta" Sunday night, handcuffed the Indians -- isn't this a redundant story line? -- ruining an otherwise spectacular, sun-splashed opening day near the lakefront.
Other than a couple of mistakes -- solo home runs by Russell Branyan in the fourth inning and Juan Gonzalez in the sixth -- Wells kept the Cleveland lineup in check for most of his six innings.
Feeling the pain: He did it while harboring a stomach ache, fever and headache, facts that were not lost on his new teammates. After all, when a guy who has a stomach the size of Wells', he figures to have the mother of all stomach aches.
"David is usually one of the last [players] to arrive, but today he came very early into the clubhouse," said slugger Frank Thomas. "I knew right away something was wrong."
Still, it didn't surprise the Chicago designated hitter that "Boomer" not only took the mound, but came away with the victory, his 14th in 18 career decisions against the Indians.
"That's what we've come to expect from him," said Thomas. "He's from the school of hard knocks."
Other than the dingers by Branyan and Gonzalez, the Indians didn't manage many hard knocks against the portly left-hander.
Certainly not Roberto Alomar, who came to the plate in the first inning with one out and Kenny Lofton at third base. Alomar got fooled, and his weak grounder to third kept Lofton stranded. Gonzalez followed with a strikeout.
"A lot of [pitchers] are very timid [facing] the Cleveland Indians," said Wells, "but they bring out the best in me.
"To hold them to two runs is very gratifying. It's fun pitching against these guys."
Added catcher Sandy Alomar Jr.: "The guy is a gladiator."
Effective pitches: Wells was aggressive as usual, relying mostly on off-speed pitches and mixing in an occasional fastball. He struck out Gonzalez again in the fourth inning, setting him up with four straight off-speed pitches before fanning him with a chest-high fastball.
"I felt like I needed to redeem myself," said Wells, who was shelled in his last start at Jacobs Field (seven runs in less than three innings) as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays last September.
Uncomfortable as he was from his illness -- "I felt like Bo Jackson beat the [expletive] out of me for two days" -- Wells was equally perturbed by a spectator who revived the long-running feud the pitcher has had with Jacobs Field fans.
While warming up before the game, a "fan" taunted Wells about his deceased mother, in a scene reminiscent of the 1998 playoffs, when Wells was a member of the New York Yankees. A similar taunting incident took place as he was warming up in the bullpen.
Still human: "The first time it really hurt, and it still does," said Wells. "The guy [Monday] didn't even have the guts to look me in the face. He made his comment and then ran."
Wells dismissed talk that he is the White Sox's ace.
"We have five guys who are aces," he said. "We have 18 more games against the Indians and I hope to have the opportunity to pitch against them many more times."
That could have been the worst news the Indians heard all day.
XRob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator.