Chili Puts Some Real Heat on Indians in 5-3 Victory

CLEVELAND —  Shortly after the Yankee Flipper had sloshed and flopped to another victory Sunday, his boss couldn’t help himself.

“I really like him,” said George Steinbrenner of David Wells. “I’m not sure how many Christmas dinners he’ll have at my house but . . . I’m even starting to like that Metallic band.”

Wells, walking past in shorts and flip-flops and a rock ‘n’ roll cap, stopped in his rather round tracks.

“That’s Metallica,” he shouted, pointing at Steinbrenner. “Metallica.”

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There are many reasons to give thanks for David Wells, who pitched the New York Yankees to within one victory of the American League pennant Sunday as they defeated the Cleveland Indians, 5-3, in the pivotal Game 5 of the American League championship series.

He plays heavy-metal music in the clubhouse before games--yes, Metallica--and doesn’t care who complains.

“I have to wait a second while I get that out of my ears,” said teammate David Cone after emerging one recent night.

He fights with his manager to stay on the mound during the game, causing a scene again Sunday when he refused to give Manager Joe Torre the ball in the eighth.

“He said, ‘Can’t you just send [reliever Jeff Nelson] back?’ ” Torre related.

He tips his cap to hostile fans after the game, including those Jacobs Field fatheads who threw off his concentration Saturday by chiding him about his deceased mother.

“I don’t care what you say about me, but don’t go talking about my family . . . those clowns talking about my mother didn’t know she was deceased,” he said. “To those idiots out there, ‘This one’s for you.’ ”

There are many reasons to give thanks for David Wells, who is 2-0 in this series and 7-1 in his postseason career and whose next start will probably be in Game 1 of the World Series.

For me, it’s the shirt.

He leaves the top couple of buttons of his uniform shirt unfastened, leaving part of a gray undershirt visible with every pitch.

My childhood softball heroes would dress like that.

My friend’s fathers, heading off to play in the plant hardball tournament, would dress like that.

My old baseball cards contained pictures of guys who dressed like that.

Didn’t Babe Ruth once dress like that?

With David “Boomer” Wells on the mound--as big and unkempt as the game itself--this rare baseball season that made us reminisce will keep doing it a little longer.

You can give thanks for that too.

Remember when players had fun, and weren’t afraid to show it? After striking out 11 Indians despite not having his good fastball, Wells was asked if he was having fun.

“Darn right, man,” he said. “This is what it’s all about. We’ve got to go out there and fight and get pumped up.

“Win or lose, you still go out there and have a good time.”

This would explain why, early in Sunday’s game, Wells did the unthinkable for a starting pitcher. While most even flee from a simple infield pop, Well chased a foul ball to the dugout and nearly jumped in before it bounced on the roof.

“He stood there and said, ‘Am I allowed to go into the dugout after a foul ball?’ ” Torre related, laughing. “I said, ‘Yes you can.” ’

Torre paused and smiled. “He was goofy all night.”

Oh, but that they were all this goofy every night.

Remember when players weren’t so wrapped up in their individual performances that they couldn’t appreciate the game?

After Wells gave up a 439-foot homer to Jim Thome in the sixth inning Sunday, his reaction on the mound mirrored those of fans watching around the country.

“Wow,” he said.

When he later returned to the dugout, he told Torre the same thing.

“He said, ‘Wow, that’s giving up a tater right there,’ ” Torre said, laughing again. “I tell you, he’s an animal.”

A very necessary one too, and not just for this game, but this team.

The Yankees, with tons of wins but no real classic superstars, are pleasant but tight. Perhaps one of the reasons they play so well is that they are afraid what will happen--to themselves, to their team--if they don’t.

They need David Wells like Tupperware needs a burp.

“He’s a loose horse, no doubt about it,” said Torre. “But it rubs off.”

With Wells, the Yankees remember it’s a game.

With Wells--especially in the early innings Sunday--they remember that they are people.

Yes, this 6-foot-4, 225-pounder with the Harley Davidson body took the mound hurting like a child after hearing the comments about his mother, who died two years ago from heart disease.

Even though the Yankees had staked him to a 3-0 lead, he gave up a leadoff homer to Kenny Lofton in the bottom of the first, then two singles, then a wild pitch.

With two runs in and runners at the corners, only a strikeout of Richie Sexson--one of three rookies at the bottom of the Indians’ scraggly order--saved him.

“Those comments . . . that got me out of focus,” he said. “But I finally came around.”

Although a Yankee complaining about being abused in a visiting park is a little like New Yorkers complaining that anyone else is rude, the point is well taken.

The other point is that Wells didn’t let the distractions win.

“That is the biggest difference in Boomer this year, he fights through it,” Torre said. “I may be prouder of this effort tonight than any shutout or maybe even his perfect game. Because it shows he doesn’t panic.”

Except when you get the name of his favorite band wrong.

“OK, OK,” Steinbrenner shouted back, giving in to David Wells under pressure like everyone else this fall, “Metallica.”