LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It's a wonder Kenny Lofton looks so happy these days. Most guys have a scowl on their faces when trying to rebound from the dreaded off-year.
If your off-year included a .333 average and 90 runs, you probably wouldn't take it badly, either.
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Kenny Lofton is swinging again in Cleveland, and he couldn't be happier. (Allsport)
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The edge that was so noticeable last season is gone, just like his Atlanta Braves uniform.
Lofton is a Cleveland Indian again, and obviously pretty happy about it.
AS THE SONG REVERBERATES through the speakers at the Braves' new spring training complex in Disney World, Lofton can't help but belt out the lyrics as he stands behind the batting cage. "I just wanna fly."
Last year, which ended with Lofton at home watching his old team lose in a gut-wrenching, seven-game World Series to the Marlins, Lofton seldom flew.
Grounded by a groin injury, the speedy center fielder stole just 27 bases in 122 games. To give you an idea of the burning speed Lofton displays when healthy, his previous low was 54 in 1995. And Lofton played just 118 games that year.
When Lofton played in 1997, he was merely a good player.
He wasn't the game's greatest leadoff hitter, which means he just wasn't Kenny Lofton.
Funny thing is, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox never noticed.
"He hit .330. That's all I can tell you," Cox said. "He was pretty damn good."
HOWEVER, COX DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME perspective as the Indians, who saw Lofton put together a magnificent four-year stretch in which he hit above .300 and stole more than 50 bases each season.
But the lasting image the Braves are left with is the guy who couldn't give them even a hint of a spark during a demoralizing six-game loss to the Marlins in the National League Championship Series. The Indians don't know that guy.
"Kenny can do it all," raved Indians shortstop Omar Vizuel. "He can catch the ball. He can hit it. He can steal a base."
Lofton is the dreamy five-tool (hit for average, hit for power, run, field, throw) the scouts drool over. There is nothing he doesn't do well.
SO WHY, THEN, DID THE INDIANS TRADE him to Atlanta for Marquis Grissom and David Justice? Because Lofton was a free agent at the end of the season and GM John Hart feared he would walk like Albert Belle the season before.
It's some coincidence, then, that Lofton is back with the Indians for the same reason he was traded. Just as Hart feared, Lofton became a free agent.
But instead of fleeing Cleveland, he went running back with the same speed he utilized to steal 354 bases in six seasons. The money ($26 million for three years) was less than Hart offered him a year ago. Lofton didn't care. He had to get back to Cleveland.
"We all knew Kenny wasn't happy in Atlanta and that he wanted to come back," Hart said. "That may be the biggest reason we believe he'll have a big year."
Lofton would rather forget last year.
"ATLANTA IS A TEAM MORE CONCERNED about pitching. Everything else took a back seat," said Lofton as he watched his former team take infield practice. "You win with pitchers there, and if you lose, it was the offense's fault. It was tough for me to deal with that."
Even tougher, though, was dealing with the groin problem that just wouldn't go away.
"I never had a groin injury before, and I didn't know how to react," Lofton said.
That serves as more proof that time heals all wounds. This spring, Lofton is sprinting around like the Lofton of old, stretching a single into a double in this meaningless game against the Braves.
The team that somehow won the pennant without their spark last year now hopes to win a world championship with it.
"WE DIDN'T HAVE A LEADOFF HITTER last year. Because of that, we were a little inconsistent offensively," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "Marquis tried. But he just wasn't a leadoff hitter."
In contrast, Lofton was born to lead off. Not since Rickey Henderson has anyone done it better for such a long stretch.
"Any time we've needed to get going in the past, Kenny has been there," Vizquel said. "He's the kind of player who motivates everybody else."
Ultimately, all Lofton needs to do is motivate these Indians to just one more victory than they had last year. Then he will really be flying again.
Ian Browne is a sportswriter on CBS SportsLine's staff.
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