Borowski has kept Indians on the edge

CLEVELAND -- Symptoms can vary but usually include sweaty palms, an irregular heartbeat and mild indigestion.

Joe Borowski’s appearances can be downright sickening for Cleveland Indians fans.

Although Cleveland’s closer led the league with a career-high 45 saves, very few were of the 1-2-3 variety for the American League Central champions. More times than not, Borowski put a runner -- or two -- on base before finally getting three outs.

“No, he doesn’t come in and strike out the world,” starting pitcher Paul Byrd said. “But he comes in and gets the job done.”

And that’s the bottom line for the Indians, who will probably have to endure more high-wire acts from Borowski if they plan to slip past the New York Yankees in a first-round playoff series that begins Thursday.

In a season filled with unlikely comeback stories for Cleveland, Borowski’s is as compelling as any.

The 36-year-old right-hander, who saved 36 games for the Florida Marlins last season, was signed to a one-year contract in December by Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro, whose plan was to have Borowski compete for the closer’s role in spring training with Keith Foulke.

But when Foulke retired in February, Borowski won the job by default. It was a lucky stroke for the guy nicknamed “JoBo,” who had bounced around baseball for 10 years, pitching for both the independent Newark Bears and Monterrey of the Mexican league before signing with the Chicago Cubs in 2000.

Now, he’s the guy Indians Manager Eric Wedge turns to with the game on the line.

“He’s so tough, mentally, physically, emotionally,” Wedge said.

Borowski, who went 45 of 53 in save tries, has tested Wedge’s patience since April but never as much as last week in Seattle, when he blew back-to-back saves for the first time all season.

Undaunted, he was back on the mound a few days later in Kansas City and closed the regular season by getting consecutive saves as the Indians finished 96-66 to tie Boston for the best record in the majors.

Those were the Royals. Up next are the Yankees, who have battered Borowski.

At Yankee Stadium on April 19, he came into a non-save situation to protect a 6-2 lead and retired the first two batters. Then, he got burned in the Bronx.

New York, down to its last strike three times, got to 6-5 before Borowski grooved a pitch to Alex Rodriguez, who hit a three-run homer to cap an 8-6 win.

In all, players on the Yankees’ current roster have combined for a .379 batting average against Borowski (11 for 29) with four homers and 14 RBIs. For his career, Borowski is 0-2 with a 15.43 ERA in seven appearances against New York.

Wedge isn’t concerned.

“Joe’s our closer,” he said. “There’s no other way to say it. He’s our guy. He’s been doing it for us all year. We have confidence that he’ll continue to do it. For me, it’s a black-or-white thing. You either get it done or you don’t.”

On the day after getting rocked in Ruth’s House, Borowski picked up a save against Tampa Bay. So it goes for the life of a closer, who must forget the bad outings or risk having a bunch of them.

“It took me a long time” to learn that, he said.

“That’s why my career was so up and down. I never understood. I always let things fester. I started to worry about things I couldn’t control.”