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Tribe pitchers credit Belcher
Photo
AP
This is a 2011 photo of pitching coach Tim Belcher of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. This image reflects the Cleveland Indians active roster as of Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 when this image was taken.
By Bill Lubinger
Cleveland Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND
There were those pesky spring training questions about who would play second and third. And the recovering left knees of Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana.
But the Indians’ pitching staff — especially the starters — was a riddle, inside an enigma, wrapped in skepticism.
A month into the season, the staff — and especially the starters — has vaulted the team atop the AL Central, under the steady hand of second-year pitching coach Tim Belcher.
Manager Manny Acta, who doesn’t easily impress, recently called their performance “pretty remarkable.” He’s tickled how they’ve consistently thrown first-pitch strikes to gain an edge — a marked improvement from last season. Belcher preaches to the staff that, in the last three years, less than seven percent of first-pitch strikes have resulted in a hit.
“We showed these guys with stats how much just a little progress in that department can help the overall pitching,” Acta said, “and it’s been very good.”
The young staff, led by the emergence of unbeaten Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin, ranks fourth in the American League, and eighth in all of baseball in team ERA.
In the last 25 games, Indians starters are 13-3 with a 2.92 ERA. They’ve lasted at least six innings in 21 of the 27 games, and at least seven innings in 12 of them. The bullpen has been just as solid.
Surely, Belcher has nipped here and tucked there to turn a preseason riddle into reliable.
“I didn’t do anything specific to any of them,” he said. “They’re a year older and wiser and better, and they’re showing it.
“The other thing that’s happened, too,” Belcher said, “is we’ve played much better defense on the infield and we’ve probably scored a few more runs in April than we did a year ago.”
Belcher never won more than 15 games in 14 big-league seasons. He finished just over .500 (146-140) with seven teams. But he had the reputation of a player who couldn’t stomach losing.
“He and I have probably opposite personalities,” said Masterson. “He’s Type A and I’m not. I’m laid back and he’s to the point, but it’s great because he’s very smart and knowledgeable and understands the game.”
As intense as Belcher is about winning, about work ethic, his method to coaching is not. His style is to suggest, encourage, maybe point out a flaw in delivery, then back off.
“He’s pretty much told me to go out there and be me,” said Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano. “Don’t try and give in to hitters and don’t try to be anybody else.”
Masterson said, other than an occasional suggestion, Belcher leaves him alone during games.
“When things are going [well], he just kind of sits back and let’s you do your thing,” said the 6-6 right-hander. “Tries to make me smile here and there because he knows it keeps me relaxed.” Belcher spent eight seasons as an Indians special assistant, working with many of the Tribe’s young pitchers since the lowwer minor leagues. When Acta was hired to manage the club, Indians president Mark Shapiro asked Belcher to consider becoming pitching coach to provide some stability with the staff.
“It was something I’ve always wanted to do at some point, I just didn’t know when,” Belcher said. “And really, up until I said, ‘yes,’ I didn’t know last year was going to be the when.”