Cleveland players have little postseason experience

When Indians rookie relief pitcher Jensen Lewis went looking around the clubhouse for someone to ask about postseason baseball last week, he found his resources a bit limited.

<p class="MsoNormal">Lewis eventually consulted with left-hander Aaron Fultz, who pitched in the postseason for San Francisco in 2000 and 2002.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He said there's a lot of hype, a lot of hysteria, a lot of buzz around it," Lewis said. "He also said your game-day routine shouldn't change that much, but you may not sleep that well because you're so excited."

<p class="MsoNormal">Fultz was able to offer some help, but not many other teammates could. In fact, only eight players on Cleveland's potential roster for the Division Series against New York that begins Thursday have participated in the playoffs. Veteran outfielder Kenny Lofton has appeared in 84 games -- almost half of the 173 combined games of postseason experience on the Indians.

<p class="MsoNormal">New York, by comparison, has 20 men who have played a combined 597 games in October.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Experience is a good thing to have," Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon told the New York Times, "but when you don't have any experience, you can throw caution to the wind, and that can be scary."

<p class="MsoNormal">"If we win, they say it helps," shortstop Derek Jeter told Newsday. "If you lose, the other team was hungrier. I don't think it matters. It's all about how you want to spin it."

<p class="MsoNormal">There is no spinning the fact that the Indians will be at a significant disadvantage when it comes to postseason experience. Cleveland is taking part in the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Lofton and C.C. Sabathia were the only players who participated in that Division Series loss to Seattle.

<p class="MsoNormal">Those Indians players who have been there said the game itself is largely the same. There is more pitch-to-pitch intensity and concentration and the crowds are louder. The games are often low-scoring duels among the game's best pitchers.

<p class="MsoNormal">"The keys are pitching and scoring early," said Lofton, who has been to the postseason 11 times.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It sounds dumb, but the best explanation is, the game matters," Fultz said. "No matter how well you perform, you're not going to be satisfied if your team doesn't win."

<p class="MsoNormal">"It feels different," said infielder Luis Rivas, a five-year starter for Minnesota's playoff teams. "It's a more exciting game. The hardest thing is not to put pressure on yourself. You should just play the game and have fun, but it's not that easy. The first time, I just didn't want to go out there and look bad."

<p class="MsoNormal">The primary distractions for players are off-the-field issues -- obtaining tickets for friends and relatives, arranging travel for family members who wish to go on the road, and the hoards of media that cover the event.

<p class="MsoNormal">"You have to make a point of trying to make it the same, because that helps your mindset," said utility infielder Chris Gomez, whose primary postseason experience came with San Diego. "If you can do as many of the same things the same way you've always done them, it helps calm your nerves and not get too hyped up."

<p class="MsoNormal">Gomez said the number of TV, radio and print media at the games can be overwhelming the first time around.

<p class="MsoNormal">"When I went out of the clubhouse for Game 1 of the World Series, you couldn't even see the field for them," Gomez said. "That was my first impression of the World Series -- I couldn't even see the field. But, that's also part of the excitement as well."

<p class="MsoNormal">Right-hander Paul Byrd was the only pitcher to beat Chicago's 2005 World Series champs when Byrd was pitching for the Angels.

<p class="MsoNormal">"To some degree, the pressure of making the playoffs is released, so you can enjoy the atmosphere, the crowd, the fact that every pitch counts," Byrd said. "Remember, it's what you play for."

<p class="MsoNormal">Lewis<span style=""> </span>said the most sage advice he has been given to date is what he obtained from Fultz -- to avoid modifying what brought the player or the team to the postseason in the first place.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He told me to stick with the same process, the same routine," Lewis said. "Just because it's a playoff game doesn't necessarily mean you have to change anything."

<p class="MsoNormal">Reach Repository sports writer Andy Call at (330) 580-8346 or e-mail andy.call@cantonrep.com.