Building A Dynasty
They were champions in Kinston. They're now champions in Akron. Could this group's winning ways create a new championship core for the Cleveland Indians?

DAN HICKLING
Minor League News
 
AKRON, Ohio -- They had lost together in the same manner as they had won: In unity. Given the chance to win together once more, the Akron Aeros grabbed victory with gusto and captured the 2005 Eastern League championship, their second in three years, in four games over the Portland Sea Dogs.

The first EL title in 2003 is ancient history for the current crop of Aeros, although seventeen members of the 24 man roster tasted victory together last year as the 2004 Carolina League champs with Cleveland's high Class-A farm club the Kinston Indians.

The Aeros add one more crown to the half dozen collected by Indians farm clubs over the past three seasons.

Akron survived the weight of a massive 12 game losing streak midway through this season.

“They played especially well throughout the year,” said John Farrell, the Indians’ farm director.  They did run through some adversity with (that) losing streak. But this is a recognition of a lot of hard work."

The losing streak would have flattened the resolve of a lesser team. Instead, the Aeros drew strength from it, and each other, and sizzled the rest of the way.

"We just tried to find bright spots," said Van Every. "We were hitting the ball hard, but they were right at people. Our pitchers were making good pitches. We were a better team because of that."

Aeros catcher Javier Herrera said that although those days were inky black, their title hopes were never completely blotted out.

"It was easy to bounce back,” he said, standing amid the mash of stale beer and cheap champagne.  “You can come back from losing 12 and go on a tear, (like we did). We put those 12 games behind us. We learned from it."

Bringing along units of players accustomed to winning ways may bode well for the Indians, who work with beer budgets in a league with the two biggest powerhouse champagne and caviar clubs, the Yankees and the Red Sox.

"It's really special to win with the same group of guys," said outfielder Jon Van Every. "This is kind of like Graduation Day. Nobody beat us this year. We were the best. We knew we were the best in the league and we went out and proved it."

For outfielder Nate Panther, who was named the series MVP, this clubhouse celebration was especially sweet. Left behind in Kinston at the start of this season, Panther caught up with his old mates in Akron midway though the year, and quickly regained his place with "the gang".

"I was with these guys last year," Panther said, "when we took it home in the Carolina League. To be back with these guys is awesome."

The crowd of 5,507 who were on hand for the clincher at Canal Park Stadium shouted their agreement, framed by a massive fireworks display that lit up the Akron skies and sent shockwaves the short ride up I-77 to Jacobs Field.

Standing safely apart from the sudsy clubhouse celebration, John Farrell, the Indians farm director, quietly basked in the afterglow of yet another Tribe farm success.

"I think the most gratifying thing," he said, "is that every player on the field was either an original draft choice or signee of the Indians. That coupled with the leadership of (manager) Torey Lovullo.”

The Aeros proved that the most important streak, all three games of it , came at at just the right time.

"It's great when you win the final game of the year," said Van Every.

GAME ONE: SEA DOGS 6, AEROS 4
SEPT. 13, HADLOCK FIELD, Portland, Maine
 

Portland's Jon Lester worked out of his early inning jitters, while the Aeros' Jeremy Sowers did not. Akron led 2-0 in the first when a Chris Durbin home run put Portland on the board. Brandon Moss sailed one over the fence for the Sea Dogs in the second. Lester finished his night whiffing Van Every with a head-shaking 93 mph fastball.

"I finally got the butterflies out," said Lester.

"I knew everybody had their confidence in me," said Closer Jim Mann, who blew the save against Trenton in Game Four of the North Division series, ."but still it was good to get back the one I lost."

GAME TWO: AEROS 4, SEA DOGS 3
SEPT. 14, HADLOCK FIELD, Portland, Maine

Akron manager Torey Lovullo was forced to dust off his batting practice knuckler to get his guys ready to face Portland's Charlie Zink, one of baseball's few knuckleball practitioners.

The crash course in "butterfly chasing" wasn't lost on Nate Panther. He smacked one of Zink's floaters over the right field fence in the fifth inning, which proved to be the difference in another see-saw thriller that knotted the series at a game apiece.

GAME THREE: AEROS 2, SEA DOGS 0
SEPT. 16, CANAL PARK, Akron, Ohio

A hurler's duel unfolded between Portland’s Wade Miller, down from Boston to make his second rehab start with the Sea Dogs, who put in five innings of one hit ball, while Akron's Brian Slocum pitched into the seventh, having allowed four hits. Slocum gave way to reliever Travis Foley, whose first pitch to Chad Spann resulted in a rally killing double-play. Portland fireballer Anibal Sanchez , who had entered in the sixth, found himself in a jam in the seventh, with runners on the corners and two outs, when Akron’s Jon Van Every came to the plate.

Van Every caught just enough of the ball to drive it over the sprinting Chris Durbin. The two-run bloop double dropped on the left field line, just out of the reach of the lunging Durbin.

"It was perfect placement. I think it landed right on the chalk, because I was fully extended. It was just tough luck. I probably missed it by half an inch. I thought I had it while it was in the air."

GAME FOUR: AEROS 4, SEA DOGS 1
SEPT. 17, CANAL PARK, Akron, Ohio

Akron starter Jake Dittler allowed the Sea Dogs just four hits in seven innings of work, three of them by Jeremy West. Akron dinked its way to a 1-0 lead in the third, after Eider Torres scratched out a dribbler that eluded Portland starter David Pauley. Torres later came in on Ryan Mulhern's sacrifice fly. The Aeros scored another run just like it in the fourth, then put the title in the bag with two more runs off Portland reliever Randy Beam in the fifth.

"We came up short, but we played the game the right way." said Claus. "We played it as hard as we could. We didn't disrespect the game. I was proud of the way we went about it."