Indian Offense Can Survive a Bad Break

Wil Cordero broke his left wrist making a sliding catch in Milwaukee last Tuesday and will be lost to the Cleveland Indians for two months, maybe longer. Cordero, the left fielder and designated hitter, was batting .316 and had driven in 26 runs with five homers in 40 games. Ordinarily a tough loss, but little more than an inconvenience to Cleveland’s offense.

“I love where we’re at, but I could see us being a better team offensively than we are now,” Cleveland batting coach Charlie Manuel said, expressing a frightening thought.

The Indians are averaging 6.7 runs with the most prolific offense in baseball and on a pace to break the major league record for runs in a season, set by the 1931 New York Yankees.

“With all the speed we have at the top of the lineup, I think we can get guys in scoring position better than any team I’ve seen in a long time,” Manuel said, referring to Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar. “We don’t have to hit the home run to beat you.”

Of course, if they have to hit the home run they can, being that rare combination of power and speed. The Indians are second in the American League in homers and first in stolen bases. They lead in on-base percentage, but they also lead in grand slams with six.

Lofton began the weekend batting .344, Vizquel .333 and Alomar .338. Is it any wonder that the Indians had not been shut out and that Manny Ramirez, who follows them in the batting order, had 70 RBIs and was on a pace to collect 196? That figure would break Hal Trosky’s club record of 162, set in 1936, and Hack Wilson’s major league mark of 190, set in 1930.

“If he has 100 or more at the All-Star break, he can definitely make a run at it,” Manuel said. “The key is our top three hitters. If they keep hitting and getting on base like they have been, he has a very good chance.”

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The Oakland Athletics plugged in another building block Tuesday night as they slowly advance on contender status. Tim Hudson, 23, a right-hander who was the club’s sixth-round draft choice in 1997 and had been 7-0 in double A and triple A this year, struck out 11 in five innings of his major league debut against the San Diego Padres, one shy of the debut record.

Hudson got no decision in a 5-3 A’s loss but appeared ready to replace Tom Candiotti in the Oakland rotation. Candiotti, designated for assignment to make room for Hudson, may be headed back to Cleveland, where he spent 5 1/2 seasons. Asked if he had any pregame advice for Hudson, veteran catcher Mike Macfarlane nodded and said, “I told him to make sure he had my paper closer to the door in the morning.”

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Luis Polonia, who spent 3 1/2 years with the Angels in the early ‘90s, was released by Atlanta in 1996, spent the last two years in the Mexican League and is said to be 34 on the verge of 44, has resurfaced as a productive leadoff hitter with the Detroit Tigers.

Polonia began the weekend having nailed down that assignment by batting .417 during a two-week trial at the top. Polonia said he benefited from the Mexican experience, learning to hit the breaking ball in a league in which it is the predominant pitch. It’s also the pitch, Polonia said, he struck out on or ended up taking when in the big leagues previously.

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A sequel to the Great Home Run Chase? Forget about the possibility of Ken Griffey Jr. versus Jose Canseco. The tightest duel might involve Griffey and his Seattle Mariner teammate, pitcher Jeff Fassero. Griffey hit his 23rd Wednesday in Colorado, but Fassero caught him at 23 by yielding four homers to the Rockies. Griffey might have a shot at 70, but Fassero might eclipse 50, the record total yielded by Bert Blyleven with Minnesota in 1986.