Human Fiber
by afh4 on Aug 2, 2011 9:59 AM EDT
in Analysis
Email
PrintLate last night, Jensen Lewis, former Indians relief hero and current job-seeker (he recently had a workout with Arizona, which did not lead to a contract offer), posted this message of congratulations and encouragement for two of his former Columbus Clippers teammates:
Congrats to my man @TheJK_Kid for his bigtime bomb tnite! Excited to see @theREALdavehuff deal tmrw nite in person! 1st gm since that day..
Obviously, it's nice of Lewis to support Jason Kipnis and David Huff, and it reinforces the story we've heard on Lewis for years—whatever you think of his pitching, he's apparently an 80-grade teammate, to the point that the Columbus Clippers are still using his bathrobe as an unofficial mascot, long after Lewis exited the scene. If his pitching career never gets back on track, I suspect there's a career in coaching or scouting for Lewis if he wants to walk either of those paths.
I wasn't taken by the graciousness of Lewis' tweet, though. I was drawn in by that last sentence fragment. When Jensen takes in Huff's start at Fenway tonight, it will apparently be the first game he's attended since being cut in the third week of June. My brain doesn't easily process what happens to borderline professional athletes when they're forced from the game they love—I know they go somewhere, but I've never really stopped to consider what happens next. I'm sure Lewis' life is tied up in the world of the sport, a world that he, currently, is trying to prove he still deserves to travel in. Some of Lewis' best friends are, I'm sure, his former teammates, like Huff and Kipnis. He, like a good friend, wants to support them—so, he'll go to the game tonight and clap and shout, trying to be supportive while not just becoming another fan. He was, after all, in the major leagues a year ago.
I assume Jensen Lewis will sit in the stands, and no matter where he sits he'll be staring out on the field where his career highlight came. It was just four seasons ago that Lewis went 2.1 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the American League Championship, helping to hold back the floodwaters of the Boston offense after Fausto Carmona had exited early and Rafael Perez had faltered. Lewis combined with Rafael Betancourt and Tom Mastny, holding the Red Sox scoreless from the fourth inning until the eleventh, when the cavalry finally arrived in the form of seven runs. The Indians won 13-6 and earned a 1-1 split in Boston.
It's hard to know how Lewis will feel tonight, and I don't pretend to have any inside track on his mental movements. I'll just assume that what Lewis is going to do tonight is going to be very hard. His entire life, any time he watched a big league game, he could look at his own trajectory and consider that he was on a path to that point. In fact, for most of the last five years, he could watch a big league game and reasonably assert that he was only an injury away to being a player in that game. That's not the case right now—Lewis has over shot the mark. Just as that trajectile arc reached it's peak in the majors, it began to travel back down, taking him further away from his goal and, worse, gaining momentum in the wrong direction.
Tonight, Lewis will attend the game not as a professional player on the cusp of the majors, or as a talented kid, collegian, or prospect on his way to them. Regardless of the niche he'd like to create, he's going to sit there at least as much a fan as a pro ballplayer—the likelihood of him ever reaching the majors again is nosediving as teams like Arizona rubber-stamp him as "not good enough" for their organization (whether that's true or not). It's hard not to like Jensen Lewis and, tonight, I'll stop and think of him more than a few times during the game. I hope he lands on his feet somewhere, soon, and for all I know he's got a terrific mental outlook on his current status. But, if he does start to feel what I think almost any of us would in his shoes, I hope the tears don't well up too quickly or too abundantly as he stares out on the field, thinking of what he was, what he wanted to be, and what he is.
93 comments
|
19 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Well written. Good title.
This site was designed for critical analysis. Given. But, we’re all too quick to judge and sometimes too harshly. And its much too easy to focus in on a player’s shortcomings. I try to be always mindful of the talent level required to play as even a fringe player in the big leagues.
Maybe Lewis should take up the knuckleball.
I try to be always mindful of the talent level required to play as even a fringe player in the big leagues.
While that is admirable, I honestly don’t think it’s necessary. As you say, even the absolute worst player in baseball is 5000x better than any of us on here, so it’s really not about that at all. As knowledgeable fans we should be and are able to have intelligent discourse on the merits of individual games, players, teams, managers, and executives without becoming personal. The regular content of LGT is by its nature detached from the personal side of baseball, which is why posts such as this one all the more refreshing and interesting. This isn’t to say that there aren’t strong emotions involved; on the contrary, we are, after all, just fans and you’ll find a great deal of emotion in the game threads, among other places. But what makes LGT so unique, so great, is the ability to keep emotion in its appropriate place as secondary to analysis.
Jensen Lewis is a great example. I’ll take the liberty of assuming we were all pulling for him, for he was and remains quite likeable. But for the very most part, this community judged his standing with the Indians based on his merits as a pitcher, not a man.
by jakesinger777 on Aug 2, 2011 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions
…..which of course is my way of saying: hell of a piece, Andrew.
by jakesinger777 on Aug 2, 2011 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Andrew, this is one of my favorite pieces to ever appear on LGT. Bravo and thank you.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 2, 2011 10:25 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs
I’ve always saw Jensen as an Indians fan who just so happened to be playing for them.
I hope he stays in baseball in some capacity.
he’s apparently an 80-grade teammate
I’ve never heard this phrase before. Is it the same as Grade-A?
Scouting scale = 20-80, judged on five tools. So, Bo Jackson had 80 arm, 80 run, 80 power. Other two tools are hit (contact) and glove. Three 80’s is incredibly rare.
Thanks for the compliment above—I appreciate it.
If you, like me, were wondering why they went from 20-80 and not 0-60 or 0-100, this link is kind of interesting.
Apparently it’s based on the normal standard deviation scale; 50 is the mean, 60 is one standard deviation, 70 (or 30) is two standard deviations, etc. There’s a 0.13% chance of being beyond three standard deviations in a normal range, so they don’t bother going beyond 20 or 80.
It’s fake math. They arbitrarily assigned 50 as the fake mean because 50 sounds average. Then the theory is that it plots a normal distribution, but what they really mean is that a 60 seems about one standard deviation better than a 50. I’m confident that if one actually plotted the distribution, it would look nothing like a normal distribution.
Of course, since we know that talent in professional baseball is not normally distributed. But talent across all people is normally distributed; however, that would mean all professional ballplayers would be in the high 70’s for every talents so it wouldn’t be very useful for scouting purposes.
by Buckeye Brad on Aug 2, 2011 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Beautiful. As a writer, I search for the human component in whatever I’m covering. Strangely, this has made it easier for me to find work, because that kind of approach is considered rather rare. Here’s another wonderful example of why it shouldn’t be. Thanks.
Absolutely, and ditto. This was excellent, Andrew. I don’t know if you write professionally, or if you take freelancing gigs on the side, but if you do, throw this one in the clip file. As we say in the newsroom, you just ‘wrote a clip.’
My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts.
Jesus, you want to poke holes in that? Just trying to compliment the guy.
My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts.
Jesus, you want to poke holes in that?
When taken out of context, that has to be one of the best lines ever.
by jakesinger777 on Aug 2, 2011 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Easy there. I’m allowed to ask about newsroom terminology. I’ve worked in several, print and broadcast. I simply hadn’t heard that.
And that explains why you’re in now slumming it broadcast, not print anymore. Zing!
by PBH on Aug 2, 2011 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s a fair criticism. Broadcast is the dregs, man. The absolute dregs.
That’s also why I continue to write for a long list of print outlets, as well as book work. I’d go nuts.
You know what a healthy newsrooms is people? It’s a magical place where people argue about things all the time.
- Augustus Haynes
Lou Marson fan.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 2, 2011 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I was just kidding. No actual criticism intended.
As a recovering newspaper man myself, I do not miss the newsroom. I miss most of the other photographers and reporters I got to work with, but not too many editors.
Freelancing has probably doubled my life expectancy.
by PBH on Aug 2, 2011 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks. I don’t keep a formalized clip file, and the only paid writing I’ve ever done was for the Maple Street Indians Annual a few years back. Maybe it’s something I should pursue more heartily—like many, I’m guessing, I don’t even know where to begin.
First thing first — compile that clip file. It’ll help you when you send pitches in to news outlets.
There’s no denying the talent in your, errm, keyboard.
Lou Marson fan.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 2, 2011 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice tribute. Thanks for reminding us of the highlights.
After the 2007, I made a bet with an old roommate from my Navy days that Jensen Lewis would have a better career than Justin Chamberlain (The Most Overrated Middle-Reliever In Baseball History™ ). I’m not letting him collect on that bet just yet.
Thanks for reminding us of the human side of the game. I hope Jensen finds a way back to the bigs. In 2007 during spring training I got to spend a half hour with Jensen’s mom and dad. They were killing time until 11 when Jensen had his next break. They were open and gracious answering my questions about Jensen and his observations about life in the minor leagues. A nice family, and no doubt are a great source of support for him as he faces the future.
Such a tremendous piece of writing. I really enjoyed that, man. I’ll be rooting for Jensen as well.
LGT's resident moderate Yankee hating fan.
by Joe. on Aug 2, 2011 11:17 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Especially sad, my best friend is related to Jensen. He was always a guy we really for success to find, if nothing else than because it’s cool to say. Bummed his arm just lost its elasticity or whatever it is that dropped his fastball from ML average to blech.
"Mixed emotions. Rather see him hit PEDroia [with that pitch]. I don’t care if he is in the dugout"
I know the MPH narrative is a popular one with Jensen, but I think it’s a little more complicated. It looks like he has been able to crank it up for a few short stretches in his career but, more often than not, he’s not topped 90.
But the tail-end of 2007 was when he was dominant…that kind of sticks out on the chart.
Really nice piece, Andrew.
Sure, so maybe the story is of a few magical weeks, not of a guy with big league stuff who lost it one day.
I think that’s a better story actually. A guy who made it to the top, at his very best, when it mattered.
Formerly fwembt
Now there’s a key thought. Cliff Lee had a bunch of great months for us, but never when it mattered.
by Jay on Aug 2, 2011 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s because he’s not a winner. Jensen Lewis is.
Trombone/creamy/soda.
by Joel D on Aug 2, 2011 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Which is why he shoudn’t be venerated here as much
Lou Marson fan.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 2, 2011 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions
A bit more, this has really got not just the heart and soul of a fan here but real insight into the human condition. You could be writing books of essays with pieces like this.
Lou Marson fan.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 2, 2011 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Very well done. Though, I did get a chuckle from the calvary/cavalry typo. I guess watching the Indians score is a bit like a religious experience.
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Alex White should hire Jensen to ghost-tweet for him.
by FredOx on Aug 2, 2011 1:07 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs
Convenient that we’ve now got a villain of sorts in this trade
Lou Marson fan.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 2, 2011 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s Cleveland. There’s always a villain.
@grantgw - sports and Cleveland and Columbus stuff
by woodsmeister on Aug 2, 2011 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It’s also interesting to note that here Twitter is keeping us connected to a guy who might have simply vanished into the ether, if he were in this same situation five years ago.
Right, I thought of that as well. We would never have any idea about his failed tryout, his attending tonight, etc. It’s probably very good for his ‘brand’, if such a thing is appropriate to say in this context.
Also, it’s interesting that he’s going to watch Huff. If we had been asked a year ago to imagine who’d be out of the organization, Huff or Lewis, I don’t think it would’ve been clear-cut. And now, one is starting for the Indians in a pennant race, and the other might be out of baseball.
Fickle mistress.
It’s not really that close of a call, except for Huff’s stupidity.
by Jay on Aug 2, 2011 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s probably very good for his ‘brand’
After such a great post, you made me barf all over my keyboard.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 2, 2011 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Just wait until he writes his memoir: Pitching With The Heart—The Stomp Lewis Story.
by afh4 on Aug 2, 2011 7:07 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I try to Jensen whenever possible, but sometimes Jensenning can be difficult without proper equipment.
by jakesinger777 on Aug 2, 2011 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Fantastic. Hope they can deliver a win for him… then his agent delivers a job.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Aug 2, 2011 2:01 PM EDT reply actions
Jensen will be paid more by the Indians to sit in the stands tonight than Huff will be paid to start a crucial game in Fenway in the midst of a playoff chase.
Baseball is a funny game.
Good piece. What wondering where he ended up.
I would be very interested to track his progress, which has the potential to result in a stint in amateur baseball. Would he do that to try to resurrect a pro career? Would say a lot about his faith in his ability and love of the game.
Len Barker Perfect Game Attendee
In fairness, Jensen is not a “borderline professional athlete,” he’s a borderline major leaguer. No doubt he would be average or better (and make decent many being so) in any number of professional leagues in Latin America or Asia, or in the Independent League here. I doubt any Ohio kid grew up dreaming of that, but I’m just saying, it’s not like his best option is to go into the management training program at Modell’s. He could probably be a pro ballplayer for another five or ten years.
Also, I hate to boil things down to money, but he was a bit of a bonus baby, and he did make it to arbitration as a big-leaguer. Even on the absolute lowest side of those two milestone, as he is, he’s made $2 million as a pro ballplayer already. And he beat the Yankees in the postseason. If he’s walking away from big-league dreams, he’s doing it with a lot more to feel good about than most.
In fairness, Jensen is not a "borderline professional athlete," he’s a borderline major leaguer.
True.
If he’s walking away from big-league dreams, he’s doing it with a lot more to feel good about than most.
Certainly. I suspect he doesn’t feel that way right now. Perhaps much more circumspect than I realize, though.
I can assure you he doesn’t feel that way every minute. But he sounds like a a smart enough guy to know that just as he has former teammates still in the majors, he has even more former teammates at various levels that never will get that cup of Joe in the Big Leagues. The problem is that you start to associate yourself with guys you perceive to be at your level. Then at some point the smallest of margins divides you … You weren’t wrong in your assessment, but as the ladder gets thinner, fewer continue to make their way up on it.
Yes, I think this is exactly right. It’s probably not fair to twitter-analyze anyone, but Lewis spent a lot of his time on twitter last night referring to Huff and Brantley as “roomies” and such. That would seem pretty clear-cut evidence fo what you’re pointing towards—Jensen associating himself with the two major leaguers in a way that’s irrefutable but also implies an intimacy of comparison that we could reasonably transpose to talent level.
Totally agree. So for someone who works 9-5 and plays recreational baseball every summer Saturday and Sunday at age 41, I am always curious to see how someone younger and with much more ability and success would choose to approach balancing baseball and the rest of life.
If I had the choice to play in the Mexican league at his age, that would have been amazing to me, but it would have been the apex of my career. But baseball has always just been a dream for me. He has pitched in the ALCS. So will he go the way of a Karim Garcia and play in Mexico, Japan, Korea while getting Spring Training looks every few years? Or just pack it in?
Len Barker Perfect Game Attendee
by PortlandVinny on Aug 2, 2011 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Jensen is not a "borderline professional athlete," he’s a borderline major leaguer.
Seems a bit like he is borderline minor leaguer, no?
Len Barker Perfect Game Attendee
by PortlandVinny on Aug 2, 2011 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions
No. I would imagine most any organization would offer him a job at lower levels, as organizational filler. He’s probably holding out for an offer at the Triple-A level, which he’s not getting because they don’t see him as a viable major leaguer.
by Jay on Aug 2, 2011 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Good point.
Len Barker Perfect Game Attendee
by PortlandVinny on Aug 2, 2011 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
You’re right! I was scratching my head wondering why Arizona (or the Tribe) simply didn’t put him in AA to see if he could make adjustments to get back up.
My first thought was that his years of MLB service made him more expensive in the minors, but I didn’t think it worked like that.
Him HOLDING OUT for a gig to get closer to the majors makes more sense.
Those fangraph numbers look like he needs a new coach to make his talent work.
Borderline professional athlete is probably better applied to a 39-year old Albie Lopez pitching in the North American Professional Baseball League eight years after his last ML appearance.
That guy must love the game. LGFT!
by InfiniteMonkeyTypists on Aug 2, 2011 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Excellent.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin
by Spidey on Aug 2, 2011 6:19 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Dude- I hope you get paid a lot of money for your work as a writer— if not right now, then very very soon. Are you represented? If not are you looking for representation? Hope I’m not being presumptuous somehow. I’m just a guy in the entertainment business who is very impressed with your work. Have been for some time now…
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Let's Go Tribe
Related FanShots on Let's Go Tribe
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Snoop Dogg delivers memorable first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field
- The Juice: Mesoraco’s grand slam helps Reds complete four-game sweep of Braves
- Please hold: Indians’ Joe Smith jumps the gun on relief appearance
- Local radio host honors Cubs’ Tony Campana with parody song
- Roy Halladay bobblehead with glove on wrong hand selling on MLB.com
