Finley Goes Face-to-Face With Past

Chuck Finley walked into the dugout at Edison Field--the visitors’ dugout--and saw his image plastered on the right-field fence.

“Damn, look at that,” Finley said. “Looks like they got my check.”

Same old Chuck.

His quips, and somewhat different perspective, went to the Cleveland Indians as a free agent last winter after the Angels made virtually no effort sign him. He returned to Edison Field for the first time Friday and was honored for being selected to the all-time Angel team--the reason his name and image, and those of 13 other players, are on the outfield fence.

“I knew this team was crazy, but I didn’t know it was crazy enough to put my name up there,” Finley said.

Finley has always been worth his weight in gold to writers. But his value as a pitcher? The Indians put it at three years and $27 million when they signed Finley last winter, ending his 14-season tenure with the Angels.

Finley has gone beyond the sixth inning only once in his last seven starts. The Indians, a half-game back in the wild-card race and trying to catch the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, need quality starts from Finley.

“I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately,” said Finley, who is 10-9 with a 4.09 earned-run average. “I haven’t been embarrassing myself, but I haven’t been opening any eyes.

“I haven’t been going very deep into games. Seems like I’ve been a pitch or two away from turning in a good game. I’ve been close.”

Sunday may be the day. He is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA in two starts against the Angels this season. This, though, will be his first start against them in Anaheim.

“I pulled in here today and started to go into the players’ parking lot, then thought, ‘Naw, I better not do that,’ ” Finley said before Friday’s game. “It will be strange to be in this dugout and look over there and see buddies.”

Finley was with the Angel organization so long, he pitched in the team’s last postseason appearance, in 1986.

His 14-year Angel career survived a 1992 bus crash, a 1995 team collapse and many freak injuries.

“After all the bad luck me and the Angels have had, I felt it was time for both of us to go our separate ways,” Finley said.

He chose Cleveland, where he was nearly traded last July. A good choice; the Indians have won five consecutive division titles.

He was ready for Cleveland, but was Cleveland ready for him?

On the fans:

“They’re great, they love the Indians,” Finley said. “But it’s hard to go out at night. Guys will come up to you and say, ‘Remember that 68th pitch you threw in the fourth inning?’ Course, when a guy who is 6 feet 6 and has bleach blond hair walks in, they’re going to know he’s not from around here.”

On the media coverage:

“The are five newspapers in Cleveland and about 50 around the city,” Finley said. “They have a magazine called Tribe Talk. They have another magazine called About Tribe Talk.”

The Indians, though, brought Finley in for his pitching, not his talking. For a time, Finley must have thought he was still in Anaheim as the body count mounted in the Indian clubhouse.

Among the wounded were starting pitchers Charles Nagy and Jaret Wright.

“I get here and two pitchers drop off the face of the earth,” Finley said. “I think guys were thinking for a while that I was a voodoo doll.”

The Indians, left flat by the White Sox early in the season, retooled, bringing in outfielders Wil Cordero and David Segui and pitchers Jason Bere, Bob Wickman and Steve Woodard.

“We got it going since the All-Star break,” Finley said. “I still think this is the right place for me. I have a chance to go to the playoffs, maybe pitch in the World Series.”

Which is more important to Finley than image . . . even the one on the outfield fence.

“Man, I hope I don’t let a ball get hit over that [on Sunday],’ Finley said.

Same old Chuck.