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October 14, 2007, 04:13 AM ET
Still Hot To Trot

by John Perrotto

BOSTON _ If it wasn’t for him becoming the Cleveland Indians’ resident “pie man”, Trot Nixon would be all but forgotten.

The Indians signed the veteran outfielder as a free agent last winter after he spent the first 11 seasons of his major-league career with Boston but was told by the Red Sox that they no longer had room for him after signing J.D. Drew as a free agent.

Nixon had a disappointing regular season as he hit .251/.342/.336 with a minus-4.2 VORP in 354 plate appearances. Nixon had just 90 PA after the All-Star break as he ceded his job as the starting right fielder to Franklin Gutierrez.

That reduced Nixon to being the man who sneaks up on his teammates when they are doing post-game television interviews on the field or in the dugout and slamming whipped cream pies into their faces.

However, Nixon had one of his few moments to remember on the field with the Indians early this morning when his pinch RBI single in the top of the 11^th broke a 6-6 tie and sparked a seven-run inning as Cleveland went on to beat the Red Sox 13-6 in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park, evening the series at 1-1.

Nixon was a fan favorite during his long tenure in Boston and received a warm ovation from the Fenway faithful during player introductions before Game 1 on Friday night.

“I had some great years here in Boston and I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to play here,” Nixon said. “But I’m also grateful to have the opportunity to play in Cleveland. Whether playing time has been cut on not, I feel it’s important for me to keep these guys upbeat.”

Nixon was there when the Red Sox reversed the curse in 2004 and won their first World Series title in 86 years. The Indians have gone 60 years since their last world championship and Nixon is wondering if destiny may not be on their side after beating the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series then outlasting the Red Sox in a Game 2 that started at 8:23 p.m. Saturday and took five hours and 14 minutes to play.

“It’s special when you’ve got a young ballclub because sometimes they might not be smart enough to realize where we are right now,” Nixon said. “They’re just worried about playing baseball and they’re having fun at it.

“I know from past experiences when you have a great clubhouse camaraderie that it’s fun to come to the clubhouse and good things happen on the field. That’s the one thing I want to always see in clubhouses and that’s what this clubhouse has been like the entire year.”

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