The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 32

6C THE PALM BEACH POST THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1989 Yankees surge in ninth to defeat St. Lucie 9-81 St. Lucie took the lead in the who came in after Elli surrendered his third and fourth walks of the singled in Chris Donnels for the By IAN CARTER GADDIS Palm Beach Post Staff Writer PORT ST. LUCIE The Fort Lauderdale Yankees scored three runs on singles by Dan Arendas and Mel Rosario, and a double by Ralph Kraus to break a ninth-inning 6-6 tie and beat the St. Lucie Mets 9-8 Wednesday night in a Florida State League baseball game.

The Yankees (8-5) take over first place in the East Division. St. Lucie drops to 7-6. Mets relief pitcher Scott Diez was the loser. Yankees reliever Victor Garcia (4-4) was the winner.

Mike Hook got the last two outs for his first save. Mets starter Rocky Elli pitched second on RBI singles by center fielder Jaime Roseboro and Terry McDaniel. The Mets added a run in the third when left fielder Titi Roche doubled and later scored on a double by first baseman Al Jimenez. The Yankees cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth on a double by second baseman Mickey Tresh and singles by center fielder Bob Zeihen and third baseman Herb Erhardt. St.

Lucie extended its lead to 5-2 in the fifth on McDaniel's two-out, two-run triple. Fort Lauderdale cut the lead to 5-3 in the sixth with an RBI single by Nelloms. Nelloms' single came off Bross, Fort Laud. 9, St. Lucie 8 Florida State League 5 innings before being relieved in the sixth by Terry Bross, who was making his second appearance after recovering from a strained flexor muscle.

Elli had a 5-2 lead when he exited, but Bross immediately gave up a pinch-hit single to Skip Nel-loms that cut the Mets lead to 5-3. Fort Lauderdale reached Bross for four consecutive hits in the next inning, and his replacement, Diez, gave up one more to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead. Mets eighth run. Roseboro was thrown out at the plate by Yankees shortstop Carlos Rodriguez on a relay from Zeihen for the Mets final out. The Mets host Fort Lauderdale tonight at 7 p.m.

Mike Miller (7-4) is the probable starter for St. Lucie. Notes Jimenez extended his hitting streak to 13 games, one game shy of the team-record 14 set earlier this season by Roche Diez, who began the season with West Palm Beach, entered the game with a 3-3 record, six saves and a 2.12 ERA. He was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA for the Mets. game.

Bross was forced off the mound in the seventh by four consecutive Yankees hits, including an RBI double by Rosario and an RBI single by Tresh that tied it 5-5. Diez then relieved Bross, and Zeihen met him with his second RBI single of the night. The fifth consecutive Yankees hit in the inning gave them the lead 6-5. The Mets tied it in the eighth when McDaniel reached on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Rudy Hernandez. Roseboro reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the ninth to make it 9-7, and McDaniel FORT LAUDERDALE ST.

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Lucie Elli Bross Diez (L.3-4) ER BB SO 5 3V, 5 Vi 3 Cordero plays to support family Will Cordero At A Glance Name: Wilfredo Nieva Cordero Team: West Palm Beach Expos. Position: Shortstop. Age: 17. Height: 6-2. Weight: 185.

Bom: Oct. 3, 1971. Home: Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Acquired: Signed as free agent May, 1988 by Expos scout Pepito Centeno. Miscellaneous: Youngest player ever Invited to Montreal Expos major league spring training camp.

invited to the Expos' major league spring camp. Last winter, he played for the Puerto Rican League team in Caguas with major leaguers Ron Gant of Atlanta, San Diego's Roberto Alomar and Houston's Ken Caminiti. Boy among men A prodigy among such men would be expected to feel the emotional and physical strain of trying to compete at that level, but not Cordero. Rather than shying away, he watched, listened and absorbed every aspect of baseball at its competitive best. "I learned a lot about basic stuff, like how to take things in a nice, cool manner, rather than a high-voltage manner," Cordero said.

"I gained a lot of maturity." His experience has paid off. Cordero isn't intimidated by competing with players three to five years his senior. CORDEROfrom 1C men of Mayaguez. By the time he was 15 he realized his talent went beyond junior leagues and the high school level. "When I was about 15 1 felt like I could go somewhere big in baseball," Cordero said.

"A lot of scouts were watching me play, and I knew I was as good as some of the people who had signed." Cordero was signed as a free agent in May 1988, at age 16. He was assigned to Jamestown, the Montreal Expos' farm team in the Class A New York-Penn League. A signing bonus of more than $100,000 was enough to convince him to grow up in a hurry. Expos General Manager Rob Rabenecker said a bidding war between Montreal and the New York Yankees escalated Cordero's bonus. "I'm the father figure in my house.

I have a father, but he's not around. I'm the one who has to bring (the money) home," Cordero said. "If my family is going to get out of where they live, I'm the one who has to do it." Cordero attended the Montreal Expos spring training camp last March as a non-roster player, making' him the youngest player ever SCOTT WISEMANStaff Photographer Expos catcher Bert Echemendia (left) has helped shortstop Will Cordero adapt to life in the minor leagues and the United Statesr- Cordero's Minor League Stats "I just go out and play," Cordero said. "This is a man's game, whether you're 14 or 15 or 17." Cordero confronts this strange new English-speaking world with a broad smile reminiscent of another Spanish-speaking standout from baseball's past Fernando Valen-zuela. And while the wide-eyed Va-lenzuela had Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda running interference during his Cy Young Award-winning rookie season, Cordero has had Echemendia.

The 24-year-old infielder turned catcher has been the father figure Cordero lacked while growing up and, since meeting a week before departing for Jamestown in 1988, Echemendia and Cordero have been inseparable. "I don't let nobody put anything in his head," said Echemendia, a 1984 graduate of Columbus High School in Miami. "I keep him out of trouble." Echemendia has been a stabilizing presence for Cordero. "He has been like a big brother for me," Cordero said. "He has made it much easier for me to adjust to life here." With Echemendia taking care of the social end, Cordero has been able to concentrate on improving his game.

He batted .258 in his first professional season at Jamestown and is hitting .267 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 67 games for West Palm Beach. Concentration needed Cordero has the range and arm to become an excellent fielder but he needs to concentrate more to cut down on errors. He has a team-high 24 errors, but his stock still remains high with the Expos. "I think Cordero is still lacking in concentration on defense," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "We'd like for him to get over that as soon as possible, not when he's 22 or 23.

We'd like to see that now." Right now Cordero is a middle-infielder who can hit with power PREVENT TRANSMISSION TROUBLE Year Team Class Avg. AB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB A .258 52 190 18 49 3 0 2 22 15 44 3 1988 Jamestown A .267 67 251 31 67 11 1 5 21 26 51 1 1989WP Beach FREE Multi-Check FREE Road Test FREE Towing wMajor Service WE HONOR EXTENDED WARRANTY .263 119 441 49116 14 1 7 43 41 95 4 Totals 10 SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT wmrV 'I I'flV 102S.E. 5th AVE. mm ft-- akArfi DELRAY BEACH OPEN 7 DAYS 3180 S. MILITARY TRAIL LAKE WORTH TO 582-3499 ON OT0.177 WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE THIS SERVICE TRANSMISSION IS NOT IN PROPER OPERATING CONDITION.

summer camp, Cordero gets homesick. Sometimes he misses his family and is tempted to quit, but his desire to make it to the major leagues and stern reminders from Echemendia keep him going. "Sometimes I just want to get a plane ticket and get the hell out of here," Cordero said. "I just want to go home and leave this thing. This game is full of ups and downs more downs than ups but every player thinks those things." At times when he is lowest, when he feels like the adaptation process never is going to end, Cordero remembers his other options back home and trudges on.

"Here is where I know I can get somewhere," Cordero said. "This is where I can make it in this game." and consistency, a rare commodity. "Cordero takes hitting seriously, and we believe he could be as good a fielder as he is a hitter," Alou said. "He's got good hands and a good arm and range. It's just a matter of getting a little more dedicated to if." Alou said if Cordero continues to improve at his present rate he could be in the major leagues by age 20.

"His thing is just to become more mature and to have him understand the responsibilities he has," Alou said. "He's a hitter right now, but he has all the tools to become a great fielder. "We've got to also realize that we can't push it too hard, too soon." Like a kid away from home for 0 if' Discover Florida's Waters Wtii in Ump ejects announcer, others in Texas POWERBOAT RENTALS I Midland manager Max Olivaras was thrown out for protesting the call. In the eighth inning, relief pitcher Luis Merejo applied a hard tag on Wichita's Dave Hollins on a plgy at first base. Hollins fell over the bag, got up and charged Merejo.

The benches emptied and the game was halted for 20 minutes. Owen threw out three Midland players and three Wichita team members in the incident, including Merejo and Hollins. "We have to forget about what happened to us and get ready to tee it up again Thursday (today)'," Midland pitching coach Gary Ruby said. "It didn't have anything to do with the way the series has been played," he said. "This has been a very clean series.

Things like that just happen." The game ended as a 9-1 victory for Wichita and then the fans were treated to a fireworks display: The Associated Press MIDLAND, Texas The trouble started in the second inning, and the first to get bounced was the public address announcer. Before the Texas League game between Wichita and Midland ended Tuesday night, Midland's manager was ejected and six players were thrown out following a bench-clearing brawl. Announcer Barry Sykes was ejected after he had played the Linda Ronstadt tune, "When Will I Be Loved?" which contains the lyrics, "I've been cheated, been mistreated." It was Sykes' timing rather than his tune selection that got him in trouble. He played the song after an argument over an umpire's call which went against the home team. Catcher Otto Gonzalez hauled in a foul pop close to the screen, but umpire Brian Owen ruled that Gonzalez had trapped the ball.

LnjL5 vbliULr MixM IMS uUVAijlS WW GULFSTREAM PARK 1 NOVEMBER 4, 1989 It's happening for the first time in Florida. It may never happen here again. It's a rare chance to see the event of a lifetime. But tickets are just as rare. Act now to reserve your place in history.

SEATS AND ADMISSION ARE LIMITED Complete the reservation request form and mail it today. Your request MUST be received no later than July 13 to reserve your seat or to purchase general admission tickets. THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL SEATING OR ADMISSION TICKETS AVAILABLE WHEN CURRENT SUPPLY IS SOLD OUT See the world's fastest and most valuable thoroughbreds and leading jockeys compete in World Championship, Saturday, November 4. The Breeders' Cup events will feature the $3,000,000 Classic, the $2,000,000 Turf, and five $1,000,000 stakes. The Breeders' Cup will be the centerpiece of Gulfstream's Ultimate Racing Weekend, Friday through Sunday, November 3-4-5.

There'll be ten races daily, including three stakes races on both Friday and Sunday one hr $200,000 and two for 100,000 each..