Finley Cherishing Return to Playoffs

And on the 5,476th day, Chuck Finley made it back to the playoffs. Seems like only yesterday, doesn’t it? It does for Finley, the Cleveland Indian left-hander who will start against the Seattle Mariners today in Game 2 of the American League division series at Safeco Field.

Not because the 15 years between postseason appearances flew by for the former Angel, but because his previous playoff experience is so burned into his memory it can be easily recalled with a click of his mental mouse.

“There were 65,000 people in Anaheim Stadium--that was when they had it closed in--and I just remember how loud it was, and all the cops on the side of the field,” Finley said, recalling Game 5 of the 1986 AL championship series against the Boston Red Sox. “And when that pitch went over the fence, the one Dave Henderson hit, it got quiet. You could hear a pin drop, and everything settled back in.”

Actually, everything fell apart for the Angels. With the Angels one strike away from reaching the World Series for the first time, Henderson homered off reliever Donnie Moore to highlight a four-run ninth inning that gave the Red Sox a 6-5 lead. The Angels scored in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, 6-6, but Boston scored off Moore again in the 11th for a 7-6 victory.

The series then shifted back to Boston, where the Red Sox won Games 6 and 7 to eliminate the Angels. Finley, a 23-year-old rookie at the time, pitched in relief in Games 4, 5 and 6, giving up no runs and one hit in two innings. He would never reach the playoffs again as an Angel, leaving Anaheim after 1999 to sign a three-year, $27-million deal with the Indians.

“Looking back on it, I remember thinking that every year you get a chance to do this, but it’s been 15 years for me since I got another chance,” Finley, 38, said. “You just think at that point in time it would be happening every year. This is one of those things that you should cherish and enjoy, because you never know when it might come again.”

Finley (8-7) was limited to 22 games because of injuries this season, but he flourished in September and early October, going 3-1 with a 3.52 earned-run average in his last five starts. He is no stranger to the Mariners--Finley has a 19-8 career record and 2.81 ERA against Seattle.

“He has that great equalizer, the split-fingered fastball against right-handed hitters,” said Seattle left fielder Jay Buhner, who has five home runs in 69 career at-bats against Finley and will start in place of Stan Javier today. “He has a good arm motion, and when that splitter is working, it’s one of the toughest pitches to hit and hardest to lay off. He’s a veteran. He knows what he’s doing.”

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Seattle, which was shut out, 5-0, in Game 1 Tuesday, will counter with left-hander Jamie Moyer, whose postseason resume is about as barren as Finley’s. Moyer was forced out of his only playoff start (Game 2 of the 1997 division series against Baltimore) because of a strained left elbow in the fifth inning and missed the 2000 playoffs after suffering a hairline fracture of his left kneecap late in the season.

Moyer, who is 92-41 over the past five seasons, has the best winning percentage (.692) in the major leagues since 1996, remarkable because he may be the softest-throwing non-knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues.

Moyer’s fastball rarely tops 85 mph, but he has an outstanding 75-mph changeup and moves the ball around the strike zone effectively. Mark McGwire once joked that he should take batting practice with Nerf balls before facing Moyer.

The Indians know how McGwire feels. Moyer went 20-6 with a 3.43 ERA this season, giving up only one earned run on five hits in 14 innings of two victories over Cleveland.

“He can make even the best hitters look foolish,” Buhner said. “That [stuff] he throws up there is amazing; I tip my hat to him. He has that Bugs Bunny changeup and keeps you off balance. It’s a different look for them after facing Freddy [Garcia in the first game].”

How different?

“Well, Freddy is about 6 feet 5 and Jamie is 5-11, Freddy is right-handed and Jamie is left-handed, and Freddy throws about 95 mph, and Jamie throws about 25 mph,” Seattle shortstop Mark McLemore said. “There you have it.”