Inside Baseball: Lee trade helped Francisco, too
PHILADELPHIA — Back in April, former Buffalo Bisons star Ben Francisco became the answer to a trivia question when he scored the first run in the new Yankee Stadium. He told me after that game he didn't realize the significance until his phone was flooded with text messages when he came into the clubhouse.
Of course, Francisco was with the Cleveland Indians that day so there was no way he figured to be back in the Bronx in the World Series in October. But there he was Wednesday night, starting in Game One against CC Sabathia for the Phillies.
Francisco is the "other guy" for the National League champions, the other piece of the trade that brought ace Cliff Lee from the Tribe before the July 31 deadline.
"I was completely shocked the day of the trade," Francisco said. "Cliff was talked about and a few other [Indians] as well. I don't think my name was brought up at all. But you get the word, and you just say your good-byes, look where you're going. Then you see it's one of the best teams in baseball so it was pretty exciting."
Francisco won the International League batting title for the Bisons in 2007, becoming the Herd's first batting champion since Mark Ryal (1990) and the first in Buffalo's International League history since Ted Savage in 1961.
He got 25 games in the big leagues that year and has put up two pretty consistent years in the majors since. Last season in Cleveland, he hit .266 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 121 games. His combined numbers this year with Cleveland and Philly: .257-15-46 with 14 stolen bases. He hit .278 with the Phillies with five homers and 13 RBIs in 37 games after the trade.
Francisco is 0 for 7 in the postseason, including 0 for 3 against Sabathia in Game One. His biggest moment came in the eighth inning of Game Four of the division series against Colorado when he made a sliding catch to rob Troy Tulowitzki. It came right after he had been put into the game as a defensive replacement.
"He's been good for us. He's the fourth outfielder on our team and he actually needs more playing time," said manager Charlie Manuel. "If he had gotten a chance to play more, I think he could have put up some numbers.
"I think he has a chance to be a real good player. He can run a little bit, and he can play defense, and he's got a pretty good arm."
Francisco said it was a little bizarre to watch the Lee-Sabathia matchup in Game One, knowing how the Indians have essentially split up a team that was a win away from the World Series two years ago.
"It's the decisions they felt they had to make," he said. "That's how it goes. You don't necessarily feel bad for people because it's a business. You have to live with your decisions, and I'm sure Cleveland is going forward."
Francisco, meanwhile, is joining his new mates in moving ahead to try to capture a second straight Series title.
"This has been a blast," he said. "I've had a great amount of fun since I've been here. Everybody wants to win and that's how we go about our business. We expect to be here. It's great. I'm fortunate to be where I am."
Said at the Series
• Alex Rodriguez: "It's about winning at this point. I'm not going to go 4 for 4. You can be 0 for 4 and have a huge impact on the game, more than getting some two-out double with nobody on base."
• Derek Jeter on the Yankees' core of Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera: "We've been together for parts of 15 years. A lot of these fans grew up watching us. Yankees fans watch every game. You're talking about six months out of the year they're watching you every single day. It's almost like we're part of the family."
• Jimmy Rollins, on speaking the truth: "I'm from the Bay Area. I learned how to talk trash. You have to stand up and be able to produce. I don't play this game to not be good, not try to be great. I don't play going out there worrying about mistakes or losing. The first time I talked trash was probably to my mom. Hey, I know she was talking trash to me my whole life."
• Sabathia on Manuel bringing him to the big leagues in 2001, when then-GM John Hart and the Indians' staff wanted to send him for his year in Triple-A with the Bisons: "I owe him everything because at the time when I came up the front office didn't want to bring a 20-year-old up to the big leagues.
"Charlie told me at the beginning of spring training if I pitched well enough, he was going to take me. He kept his word. He was great to me and we have a great relationship."
• Manuel, on a 2001 spring training trip to Venezuela with the Astros that saw Sabathia get out of a bases-loaded jam by retiring Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman and cement his big-league role: "He struck out the two of them and popped out a third guy [Richard Hidalgo]. I turned to [pitching coach] Dick Pole and told him, "He's ready.' "
Bud wants sunshine
Series ratings are up largely because of boffo numbers the games are getting in New York and Philadelphia. But it's certainly helping that there's earlier finishes too. Games One and Two were both completed before 11:30 p.m. in the East, thanks mostly to the fact they started around 8 instead of 8:30 or 8:40 like in the past.
In an impromptu chat Thursday in Yankee Stadium, Commissioner Bud Selig said he wants to go one step further: convincing FOX to do a Series day game for the first time since 1987.
"I would like a day game, I've said that. I appreciate what FOX has done to accommodate us," Selig said. "We're starting at 7:57, that's 35-40 minutes earlier. I hope there's some way we can figure out how to do this." xleg
Around the horn
• Finally got the chance to get down to the Yankee Stadium food court prior to Games One and Two to try the Lobel's steak sandwich and the meatball hoagy from Mike's Deli of Arthur Avenue, a Bronx institution. Yes, it sets you back $15 and $12 respectively. But as ballpark food goes, that's not a hot dog. An easy A-plus. Two forks up.
What greeted writers in the press box workroom Friday in Citizens Bank Park? All the fixins for a self-serve Philly cheesesteak bar. Yum alert II.
• Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer and Lancaster resident Carlos Garcia is back in the big leagues as the Pirates named him their first base coach and major-league infield instructor on Friday. Good for him. One of the great guys in the game.
Garcia, the former Buffalo player and hitting coach who directed the franchise's record-setting 2004 offense, was the third base coach in Seattle from 2005-07. He had been the Pirates' minor-league infield instructor and is currently directing a team in the Venezuelan Winter League.
• Speaking of Buffalo Hall members, I've got my fingers crossed for Torey Lovullo. The Indians hired Manny Acta as their manager but Lovullo is certainly high on the list to get a job on the major-league staff, be it as bench coach or a first- or third-base slot.
• Still a little baffled by the Blue Jays' decision to announce Cito Gaston's role as a consultant beginning in 2011 once his contract as manager runs out after next season. The players were already fed up with Gaston at the end of last season. How exactly does management think they're going to respond now that the 65-year-old Gaston is officially a lame duck?
• It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox operate next season now that bench coach Brad Mills is gone to Houston to take over as Astros manager. You don't know much about Mills but he's been Terry Francona's right-hand man in the dugout and I've been at several news conferences where Francona has referenced what Mills said to him in a spur-of-the-moment situation.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments
Learn more about our moderation system.