Leaving trouble behind - Winter Haven, Fla.- Venezuela is sick. It is torn by strikes and violence.

www.cleveland.com 02/23/03 Paul Hoynes Plain Dealer Reporter

Indians outfielder Alex Escobar has known about the illness for a long time.

Three years ago, he was having lunch with a cousin in the capital city of Caracas. After eating, they were sitting in Escobar's car when there was a disturbance on the street.

"A robbery had taken place," Escobar said. "One of the robbers took a car and the police were chasing him. It was midday, there were people all over the place, the sun was shining and the police just started shooting. One of their bullets went right through our windshield. It went between us and out the roof.

"I told them, What are you doing? We almost got killed by you guys.' They said, Well, it's not our fault. We're chasing the robbers.' "

Now it is worse.

Oil is a big business in Venezuela. Thousands of oil workers went on strike in December as part of a movement to oust leftist President Hugo Chavez. The strike ended Feb. 4, but the country still is battling a continued walkout in the oil industry.

Unemployment and inflation have risen, and food and gas are in short supply.

"When the oil workers went on strike, the country shut down," Escobar said. "People are getting desperate."

The desperation has made some of Venezuela's big-league ballplayers and their families targets.

Houston's Richard Hidalgo was shot during a car-jacking attempt. Former player Chico Carrasquel was robbed. Anaheim pitcher Francisco Rodriguez said members of his family were robbed this winter.

Escobar and his family have been fortunate. They live in Valencia, which is about a two-hour drive from Caracas.

"Most of the trouble is in Caracas," he said. "Where we live is peaceful and quiet. But my parents don't go out much. They don't spend much time in the street. I'm always worried about them."

Escobar knows why players are being robbed and shot.

"It's hard for people to get a job," he said. "It's hard to get a loan. Inflation is outrageous. People have to feed their families. They see in the paper that some Venezuelan guys have signed for good money. They go after it. They don't care."

While Escobar has avoided Venezuela's violence, the unrest has hurt him in other ways.

He came to the Indians as a part of General Manager Mark Shapiro's most daring trade. Shapiro sent future Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar to the New York Mets in December of 2001 for Escobar, Matt Lawton, Jerrod Riggan, Billy Traber and Earl Snyder. Shapiro said the deal wouldn't have been made without Escobar.

Escobar, 24, was the Mets' No. 1 prospect in 2001. A blend of speed and power, he hit 27 homers with 49 stolen bases at Class A Capital City in 1998. He had a contact problem, striking out 146 times in 397 at-bats at Class AAA Norfolk in 2001, but that didn't prevent him from getting called up to New York in the same year.

In his first spring with the Indians, Escobar was making a good impression when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on March 4 while making a catch against Pittsburgh near the center field wall. He was done for the season, the second season he's missed because of injuries in the last four years.

The Indians wanted Escobar to test the knee this winter in Venezuela. But the strike canceled the country's winter league, which meant Escobar has gone almost a full year without playing a game.

"I think not playing actually helped me," Escobar said. "After last season, I went to the Instructional League in Florida and my knee was still sore. I was having trouble with my left hamstring where they took the graft out to use for the new ligament in my knee.

"I couldn't run at all and I was still getting used to the brace on my knee. From that perspective, the extra rest this winter helped me."

Escobar spent his winter in Caracas working out. When he returned to Valencia in January, there was a problem.

"There was no gas," he said.

Escobar almost missed his visa appointment in Caracas because he didn't have enough gas to make the drive. He needed the visa to get out of the country to play baseball.

"Fortunately, a friend of mine found some gas," he said.

On another occasion, he spent two days in his car waiting for fuel at a bone-dry gas station.

"We're the fifth leading oil-producing country in the world and we have no gas," Escobar said, the frustration still in his voice. "There had to be 300 cars in the line. You had to wait or you'd lose your place.

"The gas station was right near our home, so my sister kept coming by to see if I was all right. When the gas truck finally came, they would only give you a half tank. You wait two days for a half tank. That's when I shut it down. I said, 'I'm not going anywhere.' "

The Indians had other ideas. They asked Escobar to come to Cleveland at the end of January to check his knee. So far they have been pleased with his progress.

Doctors Mark Schickendantz and Lou Keppler of the Tribe's medical team performed the surgery. They took two muscles out of Escobar's left hamstring to repair the ACL.

"This is always a tough rehab, but Alex has done a great job," Schickendantz said. "From a pure medical standpoint, our goal is to get Alex out there and playing. The year after a surgery like this is usually an up and down one."

Escobar has been wearing a brace on his left knee through the first week of spring training. Schickendantz said Escobar eventually will be able to play without it.

"The approach we're taking right now is to get Alex as many at-bats as we can this spring," said John Farrell, Indians director of player development. "We know his timing at the plate is going to need work after missing last season."

Escobar is scheduled to open the season at Class AAA Buffalo. He came up as a center fielder with the Mets, but the Indians probably will start him in right field to protect his knee and arm.

"I haven't been 100 percent for so long that I don't know what it feels like," Escobar said. "But right now, I feel 100 percent every day because I'm so much better than I was last year. My swing feels good. I'm getting good jumps on balls in the outfield. I hope to be there on Feb. 28."

The Indians open the exhibition season with a split-squad game against Pittsburgh and Minnesota on Friday.

The trade that brought Escobar to Cleveland did not have a good first year. Escobar was the first player in the deal to get hurt, but not the last. If the players in the deal weren't getting hurt, they were having bad seasons. That included Alomar with the Mets.

"I think it was an unlucky situation," Escobar said. "You can't control that. There will be a payoff, too. That's not the only year you can judge the trade by."

Those judging Escobar will have to wait as well. There are times when he'll do something on the field that feels so free and easy that it's as if nothing ever happened to his knee. But then he looks down and the bulky brace is there to remind him.

"I remember what my game is like," he said. "I know what I can do. It will take time, but I will get there."

To reach this Plain Dealer Reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5754