Let Sizemore's star cut through gloom
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
Winter Haven, Fla.
Grady Sizemore drives a '66 Lincoln Continental convertible that's only slightly smaller than the QE2.
"My dad had an old car, a big, long boat," Sizemore said Tuesday. "I used to make fun of it, but when he got rid of it, I kind of missed it. I'd been looking for something like it for a while."
He's 24. His musical tastes could run toward the latest rage. But he likes classic rock. The Doors' "Back Door Man" used to accompany him to the plate.
With the New York Yankees in Winter Haven oozing wealth from even a spring training lineup - Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui - baseball's best bargain in 2007 hit a home run, robbed Jeter with a diving catch in right-center and drove in another run on a sacrifice fly in a 6-5 Indians win. "That's the way he plays," said manager Eric Wedge. "That's what makes him such a fantastic player."
At what point does this plot line divert from the almost-too-good-to-be-true movie script it's become and get hijacked by an expect-the-worst fan base already fretting over whether Jake Westbrook, C.C. Sabathia and Travis Hafner will stay or go?
The answer should be calming, if anything ever is in sports here. Sizemore is under contract through 2011 with an option for 2012. Call it the Coup de Grady.
"I was excited when they offered me the contract they did," Sizemore said of the $23 million deal he signed last March. "It was great they made that commitment to me. It was overwhelming."
He'll make $750,000 in base salary this season. He's already outperformed that and next year's base of $3 million, the $4.6 million he'll make in 2009 . . . where do you want to stop?
"Who's to say I wouldn't have gotten hurt last year or had a bad year?" said Sizemore. "I wouldn't have signed it unless I was completely happy with it."
In the past decade, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez and even Jim Thome signed lucrative deals early, then either resented it or simply looked to the highest bidder in cashing in elsewhere. Sizemore might not be any different, but everything about him says not to reject the possibility out of hand.
He laughs that his agent is probably "ticked off" he keeps turning down endorsement deals because he doesn't want the distraction. He does a commercial for fitness equipment but says he shot that a few years ago before he became harder for agent Joe Urbon to sway.
The incentives in Sizemore's deal could make the option year worth $10.5 million. But if he comes close to repeating last year when he became only the second player in major-league history with 50 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, he'll invite a preemptive strike by the Indians' front office long before his contract expires.
There are young power arms behind Sabathia. Ryan Garko is in training behind Hafner. Because of Sizemore's power at the leadoff spot, there is no impersonator or cheap knockoff in the organization.
"When he took off after that ball today, he reminded me a lot of Johnny Damon," said outfielder Trot Nixon, Damon's teammate in Boston. "I see a lot of the same attributes."
So do the Indians. Same attributes, cheaper price tag. Sizemore's a keeper in every way, including contract length.
To reach Bud Shaw:
bshaw@plaind.com, 216-999-5639
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