Braves Finally Rid of Rocker

John Rocker, consistent at times only in the controversy he can’t seem to avoid, was finally traded by the Atlanta Braves Friday night.

The Braves sent the 26-year-old closer and minor league third baseman Troy Cameron to the Cleveland Indians for veteran relief pitchers Steve Karsay and Steve Reed.

Atlanta General Manager John Schuerholz insisted that nothing Rocker said or did off the field contributed to the trade, but he dealt a potentially dominant young closer who is under contract through 2004 for two veterans eligible for free agency when the season ends.

In referring to the incendiary fallout from a 1999 Sports Illustrated article in which Rocker denigrated New Yorkers, immigrants, homosexuals and others, Schuerholz said, “We managed our way through a very difficult situation last year, a firestorm. That had nothing to do with [this trade]. That hasn’t been an issue this year. We’ve had a very tranquil clubhouse.

“We simply feel like Karsay can step into the role of a closer he held [with the Indians] last year and Reed improves our depth.

“We’re deeper and stronger in the bullpen now.”

Said Cleveland General Manager John Hart, reached in Kansas City: “I didn’t just wake up yesterday. I’m aware of what happened with the SI article, but it was two years ago, the guy paid a price and regrets what he said, and for the most part he hasn’t put his foot back in his mouth. We have a multinational club and I talked to several of our core players and they each said, ‘go get him, he can help us win.’

“I had a long talk with [Rocker] and he looks on this as a fresh start. I mean, this is a risk-reward business, but I’ll bet on talent every time. Steve Karsay did a great job for us in a set-up role this year, but we gave up two guys who were probably going to leave at the end of the year for a guy we can control for the next four years.

“It’s tough to find a dominant left-handed power pitcher at any time, especially during the season, but Rocker is also a workhorse who has never been on the disabled list, never given up [an earned] run in the postseason and has a great strikeout-to-walks-to-innings-pitched ratio.”

Rocker was second in the National League with 19 saves in 23 chances. He had 36 strikeouts and 16 walks in 32 1/3 innings, restricting opponents to a .216 batting average. The Indians lead the American League Central, and Hart is always looking ahead, thinking about the New York Yankees and their core of left-handed hitters.

“At some point,” Hart said, “you know you’re going to have to get [David] Justice and Tino [Martinez] and Paul O’Neill out. Whether it’s during the regular season or postseason, at some point you have to beat New York. We have a better chance with Rocker.”

Right-hander Bob Wickman, who had been the Indians’ closer, will move into a set-up role with Paul Shuey in a bullpen that has pitched 238 innings, the league’s second-highest total. The Indian rotation has been riddled by injury and inconsistency. The starters have failed to get past the fifth inning 30 times.

The Braves, meantime, may have put a positive spin on the deal, but it came one day after Rocker gave up a two-out, two-run, ninth-inning homer to Derrek Lee in a 3-2 loss to the Florida Marlins and only one week after he was involved in a series of incidents that troubled club officials. He had engaged a fan in a shouting match outside Yankee Stadium after an interleague game with the Yankees, engaged another in a verbal altercation in a New Jersey bar and inflamed a potential beanball incident in Toronto by storming from the bullpen to confront Raul Mondesi, who was having words with Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine.

In addition, while Rocker had an 83.8% success ratio for his career save opportunities with the Braves, he was seldom flawless, bringing manager Bobby Cox off the bench to pace the dugout. Karsay, 0-1 with a 1.25 earned-run average in his set-up role with Cleveland, doesn’t boast Rocker’s heat but may not make Cox sweat as much. Nor is he likely to be called a cancer, the label Brian Jordan put on Rocker last year.

“I think this put some finality to it,” Brave third baseman Chipper Jones said. “John said some things that irritated people in and out of the clubhouse, but for the most part he was a pretty good teammate and closer.”

Now the risk and reward is Cleveland’s.