Omar Vizquel News

"Omar Vizquel is not happy with some of his countrymen. Several major-league stars from Venezuela, including Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordoñez and Johan Santana, have said they will not play in the second World Baseball Classic next spring. Carlos Zambrano might not play, either. They reportedly are unhappy with the process that led to Luis Sojo being rehired as Venezuela's manager. There reportedly were hard feelings in 2006 when Sojo picked several coaches and players from his Venezuelan winter-league team over others who were considered more deserving. Some of the stars also are upset they were not consulted about the managerial choice. "I think it's kind of sad that ..."

"Omar Vizquel has forced the Giants to rethink turning shortstop over to the kids. Manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday that the 41-year-old Vizquel, who was mired in a batting slump in the first half, was going to be phased out in favor of youngsters Emmanuel Burriss and Ivan Ochoa. But those plans have changed - or at least been put on hold - because Vizquel has been the Giants' hottest hitter since the All-Star break. Friday night, Vizquel made his fifth start in seven games since the break and singled in his first plate appearance. That marked his third game in a row with a hit, matching a season high. "He's swinging the bat well," Bochy said. "I just wanted to get him back out here." ..."

"The three infielders did knee bends and happily chatted together during the Giants' warm-up Wednesday, Eugenio Velez to the right of Omar Vizquel, Emmanuel Burris trailing a half-step to his left. Vizquel looked no older than the twenty-somethings flanking him, and Burriss appeared not at all eager to squeeze Vizquel out of the picture. But the Giants told the 41-year-old Tuesday that he can expect to go to the bench sometime after next Thursday's trade deadline, making way for the next generation. He responded with such professional decorum that it's tempting to say he handled the news as gracefully as he plays the game, but that would be impossible. It will be a long time before the ..."

"Shortstop Omar Vizquel poses a sticky wicket for the Giants. On one hand, they surely want to see prospects such as Emmanuel Burriss and Ivan Ochoa at shortstop for the rest of the season. But with Vizquel hitting .166, he might be difficult to trade. In similar cases, the Giants simply released struggling older players, but they are loath to embarrass a player of Vizquel's stature that way. If a contending team needs a backup defensive shortstop and a strong clubhouse presence for a playoff push, regardless of his hitting, Vizquel would be a great choice. Vizquel said Sunday he prefers to stay in San Francisco for the rest of the season. He will be watching and waiting ahead of the ..."

"The crowd at Progressive Field embraced Omar Vizquel with constant cheers in his first visit since leaving the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 2004. Vizquel, affable as ever, squeezed back. The Giants' 41-year-old shortstop couldn't come through with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, but he executed a bunt on a suicide squeeze for an important insurance run in the ninth. Then he flashed his golden glove, picking up David Dellucci's grounder in the hole and throwing across his body for a force-out at second base. Those two contributions loomed large for closer Brian Wilson, who allowed a run but struck out Kelly Shoppach to strand two runners and record his National ..."

"Teams with the misfortune to be hitting-challenged invite disaster. A club that struggles to score can win only by playing virtually mistake-free baseball. Pitchers are loathe to throw a fastball down the middle, and the defense must be as airtight as a tin of vacuum-packed coffee. So it was with the Indians on Tuesday night at Progressive Field. Aaron Laffey pitched expertly but not perfectly, and the defense made a critical mistake as the Tribe lost 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants."

"If Omar Vizquel played in Boston, they'd build a statue of him in front of Fenway Park. If he played in New York, they'd write a Broadway play about him and he'd have his own sandwich at Carnegie Deli. In Chicago, he'd have a restaurant next to Michael Jordan's. And no one would be wondering if he would go into the Hall of Fame -- he would do it on the first ballot. But that may not happen, primarily because Vizquel has spent his 20-year career in the wrong places, at least for some voters."

"The charge, barehanded snag and snappy throw. The pesky clutch hitting from both sides of the plate. The daring on the base paths. Indians fans have all those images of Omar Vizquel. But, more so, they have what Vizquel calls a "connection" that endures between him and those fans he thrilled for 11 splendid seasons. "When I think of that, the relationship that you build up with the fans and the people who live here in Cleveland, it's something really different," Vizquel, now the San Francisco Giants' shortstop, said prior to the Giants' 3-2 win over the Indians at Progressive Field on Tuesday night. "The people really know about the game. . . . I think it's part of a different ..."

"Duane Kuiper has been waiting years for today. The Giants broadcaster and former second baseman will call his first game in Cleveland, where he played the bulk of his career and endeared himself to fans with his boots-and-lunchpail effort. The advance ticket windows are reporting brisk sales for the return of the city's celebrated infielder. The Indians will show a special video tribute before the first pitch, and they'll sprinkle in mini tributes throughout the three-game series. One detail, though. That infielder - the one who will move turnstiles and be honored on the Jumbotron - is actually Omar Vizquel. "Omar is going to steal my thunder," Kuiper said. "I've reminded him of that ..."

"It was 1993 when Indians general manager John Hart went to Puerto Rico to watch winter ball and he asked Edgar Martinez of the Mariners about Seattle's young shortstop. Martinez raved about Omar Vizquel, called him "the glue of the team and a great guy." Hart did not tell Martinez that the Indians were hours away from acquiring Vizquel. "That night I completed the trade, and Edgar was not happy about it," Hart recalled with a laugh Sunday. The city of Cleveland could not have been happier, and the memories of what Vizquel and his teammates brought to a forlorn baseball town should emerge in vivid color over the next three nights as he returns for the first time since he signed with ..."

"Large crowds are expected to watch the Indians and Giants tonight through Thursday at Progressive Field. What's the attraction? Certainly not the woebegone group from San Francisco, which is rattling around in the nether world of the National League West. Nor is the erratic Tribe a big draw these days. The reason for the excitement is Omar Vizquel, who for 11 seasons played shortstop in Cleveland like no other in the history of the franchise. Eric Wedge was a year younger than Vizquel when he took over as manager of the Indians, but he felt compelled to chastise the future hall of famer when he failed to run out a ground ball."

"When Eric Wedge became Indians manager in 2003, the Tribe was rebuilding. Omar Vizquel was the last conduit to a past filled with division titles and two trips to the World Series. "He was the one constant we had," Wedge said. "He brought a veteran presence." The 11-time Gold Glove shortstop brought something else as well. "You hear me talk about having fun and enjoying the game and loving to come to the ballpark," Wedge said. "I don't know if you could think of somebody who did it better than him. "I just remember watching Omar play. It was like he was playing Little League. He was so relaxed and enjoyed it so much. And I don't think that was just baseball, I think he ..."

"Omar returns to Cleveland on Tuesday for the first time since he left for San Francisco as a free agent in 2005. How good was Omar? (And he was always just "Omar," by the way. Fans felt they were on a first-name basis with him. It has been a long time since players had to hold jobs in the off-season to pay the bills, but it always felt like Omar was your next-door neighbor.) He was so good that teammates joked he should just get a Gold Hand instead of a Gold Glove. He has won 11 of them, eight here. It is the second-best ever at shortstop. Yet in all that time, his signature play was the barehand grab on Baltimore chops whenever the glove-hand exchange would have been too slow."

"The Omar Vizquel love parade will stop in Cleveland on Tuesday, when the Giants begin an interleague series at Progressive Field. An Indians official said the club is planning a pregame video salute and congratulatory message for the 11-time Gold Glove shortstop, who played his prime years with the Tribe. But although Vizquel is looking forward to returning to Cleveland, he cannot put his whole heart into it - just as he couldn't get too worked up in May, when he broke the major league record for games played by a shortstop. Not while his knee still bothers him. And not while he is batting .180 when he had hoped for a renaissance at the plate."

"Johnnie LeMaster, a .222 career hitter but one of the smoothest defensive shortstops in Giants history, wishes he could have been more like Omar Vizquel. "Omar's emotional. People who show a little emotion, those are the ones fans relate to and gravitate to," LeMaster said. "If I had something to change as a player, that would be something I'd change. I wasn't like that." LeMaster, a Giant from 1975 to '85, participated in Saturday night's pregame ceremony honoring infielders who were part of the team's 50-year San Francisco history. Outfielders and pitchers will be honored later in the summer."

"Here's the thing about Omar Vizquel - he's a walking, talking, smiling, smooth-fielding, joyful contradiction. No one doubts that Vizquel, the owner of the sweetest glove and quickest hands since the halcyon and backflipping days of Ozzie Smith, is a once-a-generation shortstop. Yet Vizquel has always found himself in the "Oh yeah, him" part of the conversation. You could say it began in his first major-league game, April 3, 1989, when he took the field for Seattle in Oakland. Thing was, some kid named Griffey was making his big-league debut that day for the Mariners."

"On Friday there was a celebration of Omar Vizquel at AT&T Park. Which was very cool, because Vizquel is a guy who should be celebrated as often as possible. The evening's events acknowledged Vizquel's new record for the most games ever played at shortstop. Last weekend in Florida, Vizquel passed fellow Venezuelan Luis Aparicio on the all-time list. Friday's game - his first home appearance since breaking the record - was his 2,587th at shortstop."

"The Giants have set aside Vizquel's jersey, spikes, hat and a few other objects from Sunday's game. Idelson will meet with Vizquel to determine what he wishes to donate and how the accomplishment should be represented. "It's up to him," Idelson said. "He has such a profound respect for the history of the game and where he fits in its lineage." There is one item at the top of Idelson's wish list: a game-used fielding glove. Vizquel isn't likely to part with one until his career is over, though. "He's superstitious and sticks with his gamers. We understand that," Idelson said. "And you can't look at only his defense or you miss the 2,600 hits, the stolen bases and the fact he's been ..."

"Something to watch as the Giants play three games in Arizona starting tonight: how Omar Vizquel's surgically repaired left knee responds to having played 15 innings Sunday. Before Vizquel tied and set the big-league record for games played by a shortstop, manager Bruce Bochy said they would not overdo it in the doubleheader against Florida simply so Vizquel could do it in South Florida. "We're not going to compromise ourselves by having to break the record if we break him down," Bochy said. But after the second game, Vizquel admitted the knee was sore, prompting him to ask out of the final three innings of the nightcap after he played all nine innings in the opener. Sore or not, ..."