St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 14

3 DEC 15 1989 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH PORT SECTION 2 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1989 -1 BERNIE YZ MIKLASZ COMMENTARY Cards Sign Free-Agent Tudor; Have Both Men From Big Deal TUDOR'S CAREER STATISTICS Games 256 Innings Pitched 1650.2 Won 105 Lost 68 Earned-Run Average 3.18 Strikeouts 925 Walks 445 Shutouts 15 CAREER TRANSACTIONS Selected by the NY Mets in the 21st round of the free agent draft, June 4, 1975. Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the secondary phase of the free agent draft, Jan. 7, 1976. Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Mike Easier, Dec.

6, 1983. Traded to the Cardinals with Brian Harper for George Hendrick and Steve Barnard, Dec. 12, 1984. Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pedro Guerrero, Aug. 16, 1988.

The Cardinals dealt Tudor to Los Angeles for Guerrero in a one-for-one swap on Aug. 17, 1988. Tudor finished the 1988 season with the Dodgers, appearing in nine games and posting a 4-3 record with a 2.41 earned-run average. However, he experienced soreness in his left elbow at the end of the season. He started Game 2 of the 1988 World Series, but had to leave after just 1 '3 innings because of elbow pain.

Tudor had surgery on the elbow after the 1988 season and started 1989 on the disabled list. He appeared in six games at the end of the season, pitching Hi3 innings with a 3.14 ERA. See TUDOR, Page 11 "If I didn't want to come back I wouldn't have come back," said Tudor, who will turn 36 on Feb. 2. "I had a good experience in St.

Louis. I loved the city. It's a great baseball atmosphere. I had a good rapport with manager Whitey Herzog and pitching coach Mike Roarke. It is very comfortable for me to come back there." Tudor's agent, Steve Freyer, told The Associated Press his client passed up possibly more lucrative offers to sign with the Cardinals.

"From the get-go, he wanted to go back there," Freyer said. "He probably could have gotten a better deal with one or two other clubs." WKTT Cites Contract Problem And Threatens To Retire 1 John Tudor "Comfortable" in St. Louis BLUES' PETER Zezel wept after hearing news Page4C say whether it was an oral agreement, a written agreement or a handshake. "I thought we had an agreement, which I can't go into, but which I think has now been breached," Caputo said. "Because of legal implications, I can't say more than that.

"Suffice it to say I think we had an agreement and part of that agreement was that he'd not be traded unless he was consulted because of several reasons: He's a veteran of 12 years in NHL, family and personal concerns, a green card, he owns propertyand all of a sudden they say to a man without a moment's notice that he has to leave family and forget financial considerations, the green card. "I think that's totally unreasonable." At 7 p.m., Caron reiterated the Blues' position as put forth in Quinn's release. "We don't want to have an ax to grind with our friend," he said. "We traded our rights of a valid contract as signed by Greg and accepted by the president of the National League and filed with central registry to Quebec. "Then, the onus, if the guy is not injured and has not officially signed something to retire, falls on the team accepting the rights to convince the player to fulfill his obligation." When asked about Caputo's statement, Caron said, "I don't want to make any comment on that.

I'll leave that to other people." When asked if the Blues had discussed renegotiating Millen's contract, Caron said, "I don't want to make any comment on anything resurfacing the deal. The Nordiques added a twist to the deal, with general manager Martin Madden giving Millen until Saturday to join the team in Vancouver, where it will play Sunday. "They're taking the position that his See MILLEN, Page 4 By Dan O'Neill Of the Post-Dispatch Staff If the Pedro Guerrero deal already was looking good for the Cardinals, it looks even better now. The Cardinals announced Thursday they have signed free-agent pitcher John Tudor to a one-year, guaranteed contract. The team did not release details of the contract, but Tudor is expected to earn $450,000 in salary and a signing bonus for 1990.

The lefthander could earn an additional $900,000 in performance incentives. Tudor, whom the Cardinals traded for Guerrero In 1988, had offers from at least two other teams. But he preferred a return to St. Louis." ViJ 1 i Greg Millen is tight-lipped about UNI 1 ,1 S' iff 1" 4 i. It 1 Blues' Future Put In Hands Of Young Goalies So Greg Millen isn't eager to call his travel agent and book the next available flight to Quebec City.

How can that be? The Nordiques (6-22-4) are so bad that they will not qualify for the National Hockey League playoffs. Yes, ttaf bad. They are coached by an angry man, Michel Bergeron, who can curse his players in two languages. The citizens of Quebec are snobs, so enamored with themselves and their haughty French culture that they have expressed a desire to separate from the rest of Canada and form their own nation. Millen will have to pay higher taxes.

He'll get paid in Canadian money, and eat a big loss in the exchange. His children will ask: "Daddy, what's a Nordique?" There are no English newspapers. If he's lucky, Millen will live in a neighborhood that gets a cable television station out of Burlington, Vt. If you're not a Frenchman, living in Quebec City is as socially rewarding as being a non-Caucasian in Mississippi before the civil rights movement. Except that they do televise hockey games a privilege that Millen doesn't have as a resident of Chesterfield.

When defenseman Jeff Brown, who has come to the Blues from Quebec in exchange for Millen and Tony Hrkac, landed on American ground at Lambert Field on Thursday, he cried freedom. Brown felt emancipated. Millen acted like someone who had just been banished to Siberia which he was. Millen didn't deserve this. His wife, Ann, didn't deserve this.

His three young daughters Allison, Emily and Caroline didn't deserve this. And the Blues who now will conduct their version of "The Gong Show" to decide on a new goaltender didn't deserve this. I can only interpret the Millen trade this way: Blues management doesn't believe the team can advance far in this season's playoffs. General manager Ron Caron must believe that, or he never would have created such a void at his team's most critical position. Caron, as always, is taking a risk.

This is how he operates on the edge. Gamble. Wheel. Deal. Sometimes you get Brett Hull; sometimes you get Eddy Beers.

"Sometimes you must challenge risk to locate a missing Ingredient," Caron said. This deal might look good in two years, because Caron has added another young recruit to a promising nucleus that is constantly expanding. Brown, if he is right, belongs In the company of the brightest young Blues: Hull, Rod Brind'Amour, Adam Oates, Paul Cavallini, Peter Zezel. Millen is 32; Brown 23. Again, Caron has managed to exchange age for youth.

(See Bernie Federko). Moreover, the Blues lack scoring punch from their defense, and the hard-shooting Brown will make plays, take chances and ignite the power play. He adds a dimension the Blues have lacked since Rob Ramage burned out and was traded. He is the player Brian Benning failed to become. But Brown, something of a head case in Quebec perfectly understandable has been known to roam too far and take foolish gambles, leaving the defensive end vulnerable.

It will be interesting to hear coach Brian Sutter's reaction the first few times that Brown makes an ill-advised rush and gets caught up ice. "We don't have someone like Brown," Caron said. "He can average a point a game. We're adding offensive dimension, risking defensive absence." Caron has been on a roll, stealing players and draft picks from general managers throughout the continent, but this is the kind of trade that needs to be made before the season if your goal is to win today. If the priority is a short-term return, you don't trade Millen unless you're positive that a reliable replacement can fill his equipment.

Despite the occasional lapse, Millen is in his prime, having his best season. Trying to position themselves favorably in the Norris Division, slowly making progress on that long road to the playoffs, the Blues now look to the following candidates to play goal: Vincent Riendeau, who has played in 41 NHL games. Pat Jablonski, who has played in 0 NHL games. Guy Hebert, who has played in 0. Curtis Joseph, who has played in 0.

Reindeau is 23; the others are 22. Joseph is the $1 million rookie, but youth is difficult to project. In any equation, a young blood will inherit the goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs. "This is Riendeau's fourth year," Caron said. "Either he is able to play now, or he'll never be.

And the time has come to find out about the kids." If they flop, the Blues will flop. Is Jeff Brown destined to become the next Caron folly, the next Eddy Beers? Caron certainly has nerves of steel. Unless his young goalies are made of the same fiber, the Blues will go nowhere this season. Kevin ManningPost-Dispatch his reasons for not wanting to report to the Quebec Nordiques. Trade Gets Brown Out Of A Rut By Dave Luecking Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Former Blues goaltender Greg len promised that fireworks would erupt at his news conference day afternoon, in the wake of his trade to the Quebec Nordiques.

He did not disappoint, and the plot thickened in Millen's first day in limbo, his status as a player in the National Hockey League uncertain. Millen threatened to retire. If he does, the trade that sent him and center Tony Hrkac to the Nordiques for defenseman Jeff Brown could be nullified in accordance with NHL rules. The day's events: At 2 p.m., Millen said at a news conference at the Double Tree Hotel that he would not report to the Nordiques and was considering retirement because "we have a contractual problem with the St. Louis Blues organization." He deferred all questions to his "attorney, friend and business partner," Frank Caputo and provided no further details other than to say it had nothing to do with the Nordiques, whom he called "innocent bystanders in all this." He also expressed concerns about uprooting his family from his home of almost five years.

At 5 p.m., the Blues Issued a press release from team President Jack Quinn "so there is no misunderstanding." The release, in effect, said Mil-. len signed on Dec 16, 1988, a new "standard" contract for three years and an option year. NHL President John A. Ziegler signed it on Jan. 9 and the NHL central registry approved it.

The statement reiterated that the Blues had transferred the rights of Millen and Hrkac to the Nordiques for the rights to Brown. At 6:30 p.m., Caputo, in a phone call from Toronto, said his visit to St. Louis two weeks ago was more business than pleasure, with a meeting with general manager Ron Caron. Caputo contended that some kind of agreement was made. He would not THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL Pitt Shakeup University of Pittsburgh coach Mike Gottfried is fired, according to several broadcast reports 2 MEDIA Lomax Fires Away Quarterback Neil Lomax uses his appearance on ESPN's "Sports Look" to rip St.

Louis and Big Red management. 2 SOCCER Fernando's Fire Defender Fernando Clavijo has been one of the few bright spots for the Storm this season 7 REGULARS Sports Shorts 2 Eye Openers 8 Fishing Report 11 "Change Brown is an explosive skater, a deft puck-handler, and he possesses a big righthanded shot. His offensive ability has never been questioned, but his defense and intensity has. Nordiques coach Michel Bergeron benched him for two games earlier this season and publicly questioned his work ethic. At that point, Brown was put on the trading block.

After the Nordiques shopped him around, he was taken off the block and offered a new contract. Brown said he was pleasantly surprised by the terms and was close to signing. "Actually, I felt pretty good about that the last week or so," Brown said. "We were only $5,000 or $10,000 apart. That's not much for where we were at two or three months ago." Then, Wednesday morning, Bergeron called him in and said a trade was in the works.

Brown was only mildly surprised by the turn of events. "They reeded a shakeup in Quebec," he said. "It was like we came to the rink every night See BROWN, Page 4 I've never been a bad liver, nor will I be. If some of the guys went out for a beer after a game, I'd go with them. "Then drugs got into the rumors.

I never tried drugs and I never will." Between the team's failure, the trade speculation and scuttlebutt about his personal life, Brown's season became a nightmare. "It seems like everything I did was happening in a negative way," he said. "As long as you're winning, everybody is happy but the last couple of years we were losing. It surprised me. We had so much talent in Quebec City.

I don't know if it was the chemistry or what." The Nordiques had won just six of 32 games before their game Thursday night in Calgary. In their previous four seasons, the Nordiques slipped from 91 points to 72, 69 and 61. After scoring 68 points last season, his second full NHL campaign, Brown had produced just 16 points in 29 games this season. He had a minus-14 rating. By Jeff Gordon Of the Post-Dispatch Staff At least the latest Blues trade made one man happy.

Defenseman Jeff Brown, acquired by the Blues from the Quebec Nordiques for center Tony Hrkac and goaltender Greg Millen, hopes the trade will give him a fresh start on his National Hockey League career. "I was kind of getting into a little bit of a rut in Quebec City," said Brown, 23. "I think the change will do me a world of good. I think with the losing and the problems we went through there the last couple of years, the controversies, I got into a rut." When he did, fans and the local media began wondering why. The rumor mill was grinding him up.

"There were some things I didn't appreciate in Quebec City," he said. "Things started getting blown out of proportion when a rumor started. 1 Ted DarganPost-Dispatch Jeff Brown will do me a world of good" Confidence Rising Bills Face Unbeaten Salukis By John Sonderegger Of the Post-Dispatch Staff CARBONDALE, 111. St. Louis University basketball coach Rich Grawer came to a couple of conclusions while watching a tape of Southern Illinois University's game against Evansville.

The Salukis beat Evansville 77-73 on Tuesday night, running SlU-Car-bondale's record to 6-0 going into tonight's game against St. Louis University at the SIU Arena (8 p.m., ESPN). "I think they're a better team without the big center," Grawer said. The big center would be Tony Harvey, who was a 6-foot-l 1 freshman last season and a starter against SLU at Kiel Auditorium in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. The Billikens buried the Salukis 87-' 54 In that game.

"In general, we See BILLS. Pane Coleman's By Jim Thomas Ol the Post-Dispatch Staff The problem for Jamal Coleman has been finding his spot on the University of Missouri basketball team. A spot other than the bench, that Is. About all you could say for his freshman season last winter was that he had one of the best seats In the house. Coleman played in only Coleman 16 games, for a total of 80 minutes, and scored a mere 27 points.

True, that was a 29-8 Mizzou team, arguably the deepest and most talented in school history. But it still was tough to swallow for Coleman, considering he was Colorado's high school player of the year two years ago at Mullen High in Denver. "It was kind of frustrating," Coleman said. "I kind of doubted myself a lot. but I tried to just keep my head up, concentrate on my books and things like that, and see how the season comes along this year." Was playing in college a bigger adjustment than Coleman anticipated? "I really don't think so," he said.

"I think it's more of a mental game than a physical game in college." The physical never has been a problem for Coleman, who is one of the best pure athletes on the team and has a 40-inch vertical leap to prove it. But at 6-foot-5, Coleman is at that 'tweener size. His talents are more suited to playing inside, but his height isn't. He has tried to improve his ballhan-dling and perimeter shooting, and was tried at off-guard this preseason. Then, in Wednesday's 89-88 victory over previously unbeaten Arkansas, Coleman found himself playing center for a while, and giving up four inches and 35 pounds to Arkansas' Mario Credit.

"I kind of got intimidated, so I tried to push him out of the post a little bit," Coleman said. Mizzou coach Norm Stewart had little choice but to play Coleman there because both Doug Smith and Nathan Buntin were saddled with four fouls. He could have played Jeff Warren or Jim Horton, but in recent games Coleman has moved ahead of them to become the team's top frontcourt reserve. Coleman already has scored more points (32) than he did all of last season and is seeing considerably more playing time. "I think I'm progressing all right," Coleman said.

"I need to move my confidence up a little bit more, know the things I can do out on the court and just try to do them." His confidence received a boost last week when he scored a career-high 16 points against Hawaii-Loa. But it was one thing to do it in that blowout, and another to do it on the road against a Top 10 team like Arkansas. Part of the Razorbacks' game plan was to wear Mizzou down with their depth and fast tempo, and try to get to the Tigers' still-suspect bench. Coleman was up to the challenge, however, with 10 points and a career-Sep COLEMAN. Pane 3.