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Wednesday, June 27, 2001

Lloyd McClendon knows all about John Rocker, knows he's an extraordinary talent, knows he's that rarest of baseball commodities -- a left-hander who can throw it nearly 100 mph.

He also knows he wouldn't want him on his team.

"I'm glad they didn't trade him to us."

That was McClendon's reaction to the Friday night deal that sent Rocker from the Atlanta Braves to the Cleveland Indians for relief pitchers Steve Karsay and Steve Reed.

Curious, isn't it, that the manager of the National League's worst team wouldn't be interested in the game's best left-handed closer?

Curious and understandable.

The Rocker trade was fascinating. Strictly from a baseball standpoint, it made the Indians the team to beat in the American League. Certainly, it made them a lot easier to like against the New York Yankees in October now that they have Rocker to pitch in Yankee Stadium.

But the deal also made the Braves better, maybe even made them the team to beat in the National League. It's no coincidence they had won four in a row since the trade going into their game in Philadelphia last night. Karsay and Reed add depth to their bullpen. But more than that, they are better because they got rid of their cancer.

It's no secret Rocker is a bad guy. It goes beyond the Sports Illustrated article in which he attacked gays, minorities and just about everybody else who isn't American, white, rich, athletically gifted and a redneck. You know his type. You can't help but be tense when he's around because you don't know what sick thing he's going to do next.

Rocker has battled with the media. Didn't he say something about how he would rather mop the floors at a peep show than talk to the press? He has battled with the fans. His rants against New York fans forced a need for extra security, including bomb-sniffing dogs, at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium and put not just himself, but the other Braves, in unnecessary danger. He even has battled with his teammates. They'll never forget how he called Randall Simon -- a black player -- "a fat monkey."

Worst of all, Rocker made his messes, then left it to the Braves' organization to clean them up. More often than not, that dirty job fell to the players. He would hide from the media and they would have to answer for him. God, how they hated that.

It's surprising the Braves didn't stand and cheer in their clubhouse when the trade was announced.

Tell the truth.

Aren't you thrilled to see Rocker with the Indians?

Don't you think Cleveland deserves him?

Indians fans will adjust to Rocker. Some will boo, of course, when he sprints from the bullpen to the Jacobs Field mound for the first time this weekend. But if he happens to get a save against the Kansas City Royals, the cheers will rock the stadium.

Fans everywhere, not just in Cleveland, would cheer Osama bin Laden if he could close games.

The Indians will have a tougher time accepting Rocker. They must live with him every day. It's not like they don't have experience playing with a boor. Albert Belle was their teammate from 1989-96. But Rocker is worse. He's so bad, Indians General Manager John Hart and Manager Charlie Manuel felt the need to poll their veteran players before making the trade. Apparently, the players told them they would try to tolerate anybody if he helped the team win.

Rocker will test them.

His kind can make even winning an unpleasant experience.

"I've never had a player like that or played with one," McClendon said.

That's not entirely true. McClendon played with Barry Bonds. The Pirates loved what Bonds did for them on the field, but many despised him because of his moodiness, his arrogance and his self-absorption. Many of the San Francisco Giants feel that way about him now even though he's off to the best home run start in baseball history and surely will be remembered as one of the handful of the game's greatest players.

It was after Bonds' infamous blowup with Jim Leyland during spring training in 1991 that one of the Pirates' veterans said, "I'd rather lose without him than with win him."

And Bonds is a saint compared to Rocker.

Not even Cleveland deserves that guy.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.