THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 3, 1996 TAG: 9610030551
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: BALTIMORE LENGTH: 61 lines
Clevelanders who associate Crabtown, USA with thievery and greedy opportunism must be asking themselves, ``Haven't we suffered enough?''
They are suffering again at the hands of Baltimore. The city that plundered Cleveland of its beloved Browns is on the verge of stealing the Indians' hopes for another World Series.
You may be able to get Netanyahu and Arafat into the same room, but don't try arranging a one-on-one with a couple of fans from Cleveland and Baltimore.
As this Division Series moves to Ohio, the Indians are reeling. The Orioles jumped ahead two games to none in the best-of-5 playoff, winning Wednesday 7-4.
Both teams are known for their big bats, but the play that turned Game 2 in Baltimore's favor started with a bases-loaded grounder back to the mound by B.J. Surhoff.
What should have been an Indians' double play - pitcher-to-catcher-to first - resulted in an Orioles' victory when Sandy Alomar's worm-burner skipped past first baseman Jeff Kent.
One run scored on Alomar's error, and two more would cross the plate before Cleveland could stop the bleeding.
The eighth-inning play turned controversial when Kent and the Indians complained that Surhoff ran out of the baseline.
``I think,'' said Kent, ``the play was screwed up because Surhoff's tailend was on the grass.''
Said Alomar: ``He definitely was blocking my view. I aimed the ball.''
As Surhoff lumbered to first, his feet were in fair ground, but as he said, ``Ninety-nine percent of the time, guys do that.''
A pool reporter dispatched to the umpire's room returned with this terse reply from first base arbiter Tim Tschida: ``In our judgment, it was simply an errant throw.''
That's the way it will look in the box score.
The city of Cleveland, no doubt, has already filed a police report. It recognizes another robbery when it thinks it sees one. But the Indians understand that they haven't needed a lot of help in losing two games at Camden Yards.
Until then, the Orioles had reason to feel pretty good about themselves on a day when they figured out Indians starter Orel Hershiser, who entered the game with a lifetime postseason record of 8-1 and a 1.64 ERA.
Meanwhile, Baltimore's bullpen, so suspect this year, found a way to muffle one of the game's most potent lineups. In their own half of the eighth, the Indians also loaded the bases with no outs, but managed to score only once.
``We match up good against the Indians,'' Orioles manager Davey Johnson said of his pitching staff. ``Against some clubs you don't match up, but against this one, we do.''
For most of the season, the Orioles were branded underachievers. No wonder, then, that they are enjoying their role as upstarts.
``We're lucky just to be where we are,'' said Bobby Bonilla, tongue in cheek.
Added Johnson: ``We just managed to eke into the big picture.''
Eking or not, the Orioles have larceny in their hearts. If Indians' fans are suspicious and fearful, who can blame them?
Nobody understands more then Clevelanders what can happen when an eager bunch from Baltimore goes after something it wants. by CNB