Indians Have Run Into Trouble

Indians 28, Marlins 25.

That was the final score, for the three World Series games just played here at Jacobs Field.

It should have made the Jake rattle and roll.

Instead, all is quiet on the banks of the Cuyahoga.

Because the Marlins took two of those games.

Because the Indians--who have gone 49 years without winning a World Series--might go yet another winter without a championship.

If they can’t win twice in Miami, another poor little Cleveland team will sleep with the fishes.

Orel Hershiser, maker of miracles for the Dodgers of 1988, was fresh out.

He went 0-2 for this World Series, losing twice to the Cuban missile, Livan Hernandez, a pitcher 17 years younger.

“I try to take the negative with the positive,” was the best way Hershiser could sum up Thursday night’s negative.

Game 5 went to the Fish, 8-7.

Moises Alou, the Cleveland pain dealer, struck again.

He homered off Hershiser, same as he did in Game 1. It was the 300th home run by a National Leaguer in the history of the World Series, and the seventh by a Florida player in this series.

“I got a slider up,” Hershiser said. “I just didn’t execute with Alou. I didn’t execute in Florida, either.”

The old Orel thrived in such situations.

He was 8-1 in the postseason, before the 1997 playoffs. Hershiser had a 14-6 record this season, won his 175th game and threw a three-hitter at Minnesota, a couple of days after his 39th birthday.

But he also was tagged by Mark McGwire for the first homer off the Jake’s left-field scoreboard (on April 30) and spent some time on the disabled list (beginning Aug. 3).

And he wasn’t impressive after it was hinted by an opposing manager (Davey Johnson)--and “confirmed” by a teammate (Chad Ogea), who later called it a joke--that Hershiser put a little something extra on the ball, and we don’t mean spin.

Which means, he could be looking for a job. Hershiser might never pitch here again. Cleveland already has Ogea, Jaret Wright and Charles Nagy to pitch, and could get John Smiley and even Jack McDowell back from season-ending injuries.

Even a second manager, Larry Dierker of the Houston Astros, all but accused Hershiser of cheating in a guest column for this week’s Sporting News.

“His stuff is a little below average now. . . . he didn’t have that mysterious pitch,” Dierker wrote, among other things.

This is not the way Orel would want to leave baseball, that’s for sure.

The Indian manager, Mike Hargrove, could have lifted the pitcher before the at-bat by Alou, had he sensed Hershiser was losing his stuff.

“There was no reason to believe that he was going to hit the wall and lose his stuff,” Hargrove said.

It was all eerie silence in Cleveland after that.

Not even an incredibly bad call in the ninth inning by Ken Kaiser, the first-base umpire, could save the Tribe.

Sandy Alomar Jr. also ran out of miracles.

He was the team’s last hope, and had he knocked one of Robb Nen’s 100-mph heaters over the fence, the Jake would still be rocking. Hershiser would have been witness to Kirk Gibson, Part II.

Alomar has done everything for Cleveland this season but bring back the Browns.

This time, though, his fly to right field was caught. And now his record-smashing season is 27 outs away from being over.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” Alomar insisted afterward. “This is great. I would rather be doing this than be at home, playing golf.

“I’m in a situation where if I fail, I fail, and if I succeed, it’s a lot of fun. The records don’t mean anything if you don’t win. I certainly don’t come to the ballpark to set records. I come to win. I’ll trade all the records for one World Series ring.”

His father--Sandy Sr.--sat in the park, watching to the final out.

Alou’s father--Felipe, manager of the Montreal Expos--was off in the Caribbean somewhere, maybe watching, maybe not.

“I think he’s fishing,” Moises said. “I think he’s tired of baseball this year.”

A lot of people are.

Some have been calling this the World’s Longest Series. Some have been saying that NBC should have shown Game 5 highlights only, sneaking them into an episode of “Veronica’s Closet.” Some have been calling this mustn’t-see TV.

In Florida, this series is a hit.

Here in Ohio, it could be another near-miss.