The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 49

fXQS ANGELES TIMES MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1999 Df3 Seeing Stars of No Help Koufax Stands Up and Delivers to Millwood Long season has obviously taken toll on young pitcher, who lasts only two innings. l' ByMIKEDiGIOVANNA TIMES STAFF WRITER (ATLANTA A stirring pregame ceremony featur-' Dodger broadcasting great Vin Scully's introduc-', "tjon of the all-century team, which included the likes of iHank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ted Williams and Pete Rose stage, produced a few million goose bumps among a Field crowd of 51,226 Sunday night. bad they had to start the game and ruin everything for Atlanta fans. Brave starter Kevin Millwood, looking as ragged as one might expect a youngster who has thrown 250 innings this year 76 I more than he had thrown in any professional season had absolutely nothing. v' The New York Yankees turned Millwood into 'tomahawk-chopped liver in the first inning, scoring three runs on five hits, and the Braves never recovered.

The Yankees went on to an easy 7-2 victory in Game 2 of the World Series, taking a commanding "2-CJ lead in the best-of-seven series. "You don't like that feeling, being down by three 'Cruris so early," said Millwood, who gave up a five runs on eight hits in two innings. "It's fault. That's the bottom line. You're going to lose game you pitch when you throw like that." 1 CT v- -'ft 7 I fjX 1 g- THE SITUATION Associated Press Brave shortstop Ozzie Guillen is unable to make the catch as Yankees' Scott Brosius slides safely into second.

l' No score, top of the first the Braves are still in it. S'Tjot for long. Millwood felt fine during warmups and said he was not bothered by IIPNIN 1 Ullllll the delay caused by the lengthy ceremony, but his fastball has little life, and too many of his pitches are cutting the plate in half. "I'd make one good pitch to a hitter, and the others PI ByROSSNEWHAN TIMES STAFF WRITER ATLANTA A private and 'retlofyit Sandy Koufax, one of nine pitchers selected to baseball's all-century team, appeared al a media interview session in conjunction with the team's introduction before Game' 2. of the World Series on Sunday and was asked if he was apprehensive about being exposed to an hour of questioning.

"There wasn't any apprehension, Ihe former Dodger left-hander "but I'd almost rather have a root canal." Koufax, however, was patient and revealing. A resident of the Vero Beach area who has periodically worked for the Dodgers during spring training, Koufax said he recently rejected a chance to join the organization on a full-time basis-'perhaps even as pitching coach. "Kevin asked me if I'd be interested," he said, referring to General Manager Kevin Malone, "but I don't want a regular position. First of all, you get older and you start looking funny in a uniform. I'm 63 and not interested in traveling that regularly, and I'm certainly not interested in a front-office position.

Those people put in 18 hour days. They're in the office long before the game and long after it." The Dodgers under Fox have criticized for not embracing a rich tradition and including their former stars in the current organization. Asked if he retains his previous attachments and feelings toward the Dodgers, Koufax said, "It's hard. I grew up with Peter O'Malley and his sister, Terry. We're the same age.

Part of my affinity for 'the organization is the people. I'm still "a fan, but it's not the same people, so the feelings and emotions are different. That affinity is not the same." Koufax said he regarded the all-century team, basically selected in a vote 'of the fans, as primarily a popularity situation because of the difficultly in comparing players of different eras. He added that any post-playing honors are basically anti-climactic because nothing can top the special feeling of sharing a World Series triumph with teammates who have worked toward that goal for six months. I Koufax was questioned on a variety of subjects and said there are several pitchers he enjoys watching, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, IMike Mussina and Randy Johnson "just because his stuff is so good." Of his all-century teammates, he said Willie Mays was tne best player he ever saw and Hank Aaron was the best hitter and that "raises the question of where do you put Roberto Clemente who was not selected.

With Willie? With Henry? He's right there." Of the pitchers, Koufax laughed and said he would take Warren Spahn "but not for what he did on the field. I mean, he'll kill me for saying this, but he pitched for the whole damn century." Now, the private Koufax said, he's ready to move on to the next century. Enough questions about the man and the "I'll be glad when it's 2001 and we can start talking about the next 100 years'," he said. him to answer those same questions before coming to work for your favorite team. OK, so the national TV guy was guilty of surprise, surprise showboating.

But the basic equation remains. Rose would be allowed back in baseball if he would just admit, apologize and made amends for what to reams of evidence show, and what he signed a suspension agreement to avoid facing. That he bet on baseball. Rose should be allowed in the Hall of Fame regardless. But again, with fingerprints all over betting slips involving the Cincinnati Reds, and no sign that Rose thinks this was wrong, would you want him managing your team? Enough about all that.

Let's get back to something really tawdry. The loudest cheers during Sunday's actual game came when Guillen actually caught a soft pop fly to end the seventh inning. Said Guillen: "We haven't had a good at-batyet." Said Millwood: "You're going to lose every game you pitch if you do the things I did tonight." There remains hope in history. When these teams met in the 1996 World Series, the Braves won the first two games in Yankee Stadium, then the Yankees won the next four. Said Lockhart: "You can look at that and try to draw on it." Said Guillen.

"I don't even care about that." Every World Series has its rallying cry. This one needs a laugh track. Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail PLASCHKE Continued from Page 1 York Mets, for all their turmoil, would have done the same here. But so far, not the Braves, who have taken these 40-degree temperatures a little seriously, acting very much like the Buffalo Bills. On Sunday, as in the opener, they were undisciplined at the plate, lackluster in the field, and unbelievable in the dugout.

Or maybe you would have benched two of your top postseason hitters and one of your top postseason hitters. Out was Bret Boone, Walt Weiss and Eddie Perez. In was Keith Lockhart, Ozzie Guillen and Greg Myers. Bobby Cox was looking for any sort of left-handed hitter to face David Cone, and this is what he found. "We said, 'What the said Brian Jordan.

How inspirational of them. Guillen dropped a soft fly ball that cost them a run, he and Lockhart messed up a double play that cost them another run, and the three guys went a combined two for nine at the plate. After two games, the Braves are batting .121. With 10 more strikeouts than hits. With as many errors as runs scored.

From such destruction has risen this observation from third base Ned Yost to Brian Jordan, when he saw Jordan actually reach third base in the seventh inning Sunday. "You're the first one to come see me in two days," he said. And to think, the evening started with Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Cy Young and, best of all, Vin Scully. They were part of the on-field ceremony surrounding baseball's all-century team, an affair that would have been cut short if baseball officials knew that Kevin Millwood would take a would be right down the middle or way out of the strike zone," Millwood said. "I thought I had pretty good stuff.

I just didn't make pitches." WHAT HAPPENED r'V Chuck Knoblauch led off the game with a single, Jeter singled, and Game 1 hero Paul O'Neill, saftjer fouling off three 0-2 pitches, smacked an RBI jingle to right-center for a 1-0 lead. Williams, swinging at a 2-0 pitch, grounded into a 6-3 double play, raising Millwood's hopes of escaping the inning with just one run. But Tino Martinez lined an RBI single to center, 7 Ricky Ledee walked, and Scott Brosius, fighting off an 0-2 count, hit an RBI single to center for a 3-0 lead. In all, three hits came on two-strike pitches. THE BOTTOM LINE i The way the Braves have been hitting and Yankee David Cone has been pitching, three runs seemed a big enough cushion for New York, and it was.

i A.cluster of Yankee fans in the left-field corner even began taunting blase Braves fans with chants of: "Beat the traffic! Beat the traffic!" Williams and Martinez singled off Millwood to open the third, Ledee hit an RBI double, and the Yankees made it 5-0 when Cone's easy looper clanked off Atlanta shortstop Ozzie Guillen's glove for an error. Millwood held opposing hitters to a .202 average this year. Sunday night, the Yankees had eight hits in 13 at-bats (.615) against the right-hander. THE LAST WORD If the Braves need inspiration, they need only look at themselves. Atlanta won the first two games of the 1996 World Series in convincing fashion in New York, and the Yankees were written off by most.

IV. New York traveled to Atlanta, won three games and ended the series with a Game 6 victory in Yankee Stadium. v' got to turn this thing around and get it back to ''Atlanta," Millwood said. "We're not going to give up." Associated Press Kevin Millwood leaves mound after giving up three runs in the first. century to get out of the first inning.

The highlight was, of course, the minute-long standing ovation given Rose on his first official return to an organized baseball arena since being suspended for life for gambling in 1989. About Rose, a couple of observations: 1) Just because a guy has 4,256 hits doesn't give him the right to color his hair the approximate shade of a pumpkin. 2) Before squawking about that national TV reporter who asked him tough questions about his gambling, think about whether you would want address: bill.plaschkelatimes.com. SEETHE STARS OF WW! Jrris uto Speedway 1 1 ex 0h CM" a i iv a mm in I FtW -f3 i pacificQbell. SENIOR CLASSIC TICKETS 0IISRIE IWVJU! m4 Presented by October 25-31 Wilshire Country Club ASSiGXH) SEATS- $35 CHILD ASSIGNED SEATS- $20 CEXE2AL ACXISSO SEATS- $33 CHILD GEXEXAL ACKISSICJI SEATS- $15 To Order Tickets Cat (909) 940-0134 SAN MANUEL muluer MKWMTO1 yista -5SRT3U Pl linn V- I j0, PSJ Vff; Charge tickets by phone: pWj I 213480-3232 and 714740-2000 I 1 Online: www.ticketmaster.com These Guys Are 1 1 2EiW laaliW momm.