The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 55

PHILLIES Sunday, Nov. 24, 1991 Philadelphia Inquirer The Phils9 big-dollars pursuit ofBonilla makes sense By FRANK DOLSON 1 ---f have shown a lot of people that up-and-coming clubs have a chance to win," Thomas said. "I think we're what you would call an up-and-coming club." Thomas also thinks or perhaps hopes that dollars alone will not decide Bonilla's final choice, that Bonilla might, for example, take a paltry $25 million in Philadelphia over, say, $27 million to play for the Mets or the Angels. "I really think Bobby Bonilla is going to the place he feels more comfortable," Thomas said. "Right now, I think we have as good a chance to get him as anybody." Whether they get him or not, the Phillies have another free agent to worry about bullpen stopper Mitch Williams.

Considering the sound and fury emanating from Williams' agent, they are facing a battle. "We have to go out and start looking for an alternative in case we don't get Mitch Williams," Thomas said. One can only wonder what John Quinn, the tightfisted Phillies general manager of pre-free-agent times, would say if he were alive to hear all this. him; if you operate a major-league team these days in a city-built stadium with the kind of fan support the Phillies receive, there's an obligation to do what needs to be done to put a contender on the field. This city has waited long enough.

"Sometimes you don't like what you have to do," Phillies general manager Lee Thomas said Friday, "but you have to do it." Intelligent shopping in the free-agent market could help the Phils turn the corner. Bonilla wouldn't guarantee a pennant flying over the Vet. There are no such guarantees in baseball. But by seriously pursuing Bonilla guarantee you, we're doing that," Thomas said), the Phillies are demonstrating a commitment to field a winner. "If we were where we were two years ago, we would have no chance to get him," Thomas said.

"We wouldn't go after him, anyway." But the front-office feeling is that, in '92, the Phillies finally will be in position to make a move. "I think Atlanta and Minnesota It was five years and four managers ago that the Phillies last put together a winning season. If there seems to be a sense of urgency now, that's as it should be. These things go in cycles. From 1975 through 1984, no Phillies team finished under .500.

Since then, only one Phillies team has finished over .500. It is time to start a new cycle. And so the Phillies have entered the Bobby Bonilla sweepstakes. To hear them tell it, they've got at least a 50-50 chance of earning the privilege of paying the most attractive of this year's free agents $5 million or so a year for the next five years. Of course, such privileges do not come easy.

The Mets and the Angels, among others, also are lining up to do fiscal battle for Bonilla. Some are offended by that, feeling that the auction of this soon-to-be ex-Pirate in these difficult economic times is more than the average, financially struggling American can take. Oddly, among those offended most are some of the very same baseball owners who are responsible for what's happened to the salary structure in the game. Sure, $25 million-plus over five BASEBALL Tartabull settles for a back seat ymmmmmtm iJ.iw.WW)ij jlsm Lk lf COLLEGE FOOTBALL Big Red's Will Appling tackling Jt'r ''et years for a ballplayer is a staggering amount. But this is show business; if a superstar entertainer can command huge sums for a concert, why shouldn't a superstar athlete get top dollar, too? Obviously, it's there to get.

When this madcap free-agency business gets onerous is when the mediocrities ask for and receive huge salaries. Bonilla is not a mediocrity but a legitimate high-impact player. Considering the world of baseball today, you can't blame a player of the stature of Bonilla a two-time arbitration loser in Pittsburgh, incidentally for making the most of his free agency. By the same token, you can hardly knock the Phillies for going after Baseball notes "Like lAngels vice president Whit-ey Herzog has said, it might be a good idea to have the winter meetings in February," Thomas said. "The way it is now, you can't do anything las far as trades because of all the free-agent signings there.

It's difficult to make deals with all the free agents being paraded around." If free agents were signed before the winter meetings, teams would know which needs they had to address when the meetings started, Thomas said. Bobby Bo, Part II. Bonilla said he would have signed with the Pirates if they had made their latest offer a reported five-year, $23 million deal during the season. Instead, they offered him a four-year, $16.8 million deal that they have gradually sweetened. Bonilla, who has a meeting scheduled with the Pirates this week, says he is 99.9 percent sure that he will not play for them.

"I don't feel bad about that because they have had ample time to sign me," he said last week. "Don't get me wrong. I made $2.4 million this year. Am I going to tell a guy in the South Bronx how tough I've got it?" Bonilla's signing is expected to trigger a slew of other signings. Other free agents, of course, will benefit from his astronomical contract.

Quotable. Jose Canseco's advice to Bonilla: "Ask for $35 million for five years. Then you and I will start our own league." Darrrr-ryl. It isn't a secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to deal outfielder Kal Daniels in order to add some righthanded bats to a lineup that is loaded with lefties. But Daniels' market value didn't exactly skyrocket after Darryl Strawberry, of all people, complained that the leftfielder was reluctant to play with injuries and that his negative attitude was one of the reasons the Dodgers didn't win the National League West last season.

Whether Strawberry was accurate or not, the ironic part is this: By claiming that Daniels wasn't a team player, Strawberry lowered his value and hurt the Dodgers. Oh, and Darryl the Team Player also said the Dodgers "should sign Ifree agent Steve Buechele to give us a set guy at third base." Hmmm. Wonder how Dodgers third basemen Lenny Harris and Mike Sharperson feel about that suggestion. Great Scott. Without much fanfare, Mike Scott's fine 13-season career came to an end when the Houston Astros righthander announced his retirement last week.

Scott, 36, underwent shoulder surgery last winter and then made just two starts before going on the disabled list for the rest of the season. Acquiring Scott from the Mets for outfielderfirst baseman Danny Heep in 1982 was one of the best deals in the Astros' history. With Houston, Scott was 110-81, with a 3.30 ERA, and he won the 1986 NL Cy Young Award. Heep? He spent four seasons with the Mets, hitting .263 in a part-time role, then signed with the Dodgers as a free agent. You could look it up.

The "Dad's probably rolling in his grave right now," Reds general manager Bob Quinn said. The Reds, it should be noted, won a World Series in 1990 with a $15 million payroll. Their payroll zoomed to $26 million in '91, and they didn't come close to winning anything. As many teams have discovered the hard way, there isn't necessarily a correlation between player payroll and team victories. Three National League West clubs the Giants, Dodgers and Braves had $30 million-plus payrolls last season.

The Giants shelled out $31 million and flopped. The Dodgers saw their payroll hit $39.65 million, fattened by the $11.5 million they spent on free agents Darryl Strawberry, Brett Butler and Kevin Gross, and faded in the stretch. The Braves plucked Terry Pendleton out of the free-agent market, boosted their payroll to $33 million and finished on top. To plunge into the market or not to plunge? That is the question. There is no easy answer.

The Reds and the Cardinals are among those who have decided to stay out of the bidding wars this Tne Philadelphia Inquirer MYRNA LUDWIG future downs and 70 total yards. "We just weren't able to convert, and you can't do that," Steele said. "I was scared to death, because I thought that would come back to haunt us. You've got to take advantage in those situations." It did look grim for Penn on the Big Red's first possession of the second half, when Cornell marched 83 yards on an 18-play, eight-minute drive that ended on a 2-yard run by Matt Speicher. But the snap on the extra point went through the hands of holder Bill Lazor, also the quarterback, and his pass went incomplete, keeping the score 13-7.

The Quakers responded by driving to the Cornell 21, but lost the ball on downs. But on its next possession, Penn went 54 yards, aided by a 26-yard pass from McKinnon to Mike Baker and a personal foul penalty that gave the Quakers first and goal on the 1 after McKinnon had been stopped at the 3 on third down. Rush then leaped over right guard for the score, Horowitz added the extra point, and the Quakers had their second and final victory of the season. And Steele was left to ponder his fate. Cornell Penn 0 13 7 14 Penn Young 2 pass from McGeehan (Horowitz kick) Cor McNiff 8 run (Cochrane kick) Cor Speicher 2 run (pass failed) Penn Rush 1 run (Horowitz kick) A 10.210.

Cor Penn First downs 20 13 Rushes-yards 51-159 43-110 Passing 151 79 Return Yards 1 1 28 Comp-Att-Int 15-26-3 8-23-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 2-15 4-31 Punts 5-34 4-44 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0 0 Penalties-Yards 8 63 6-4 1 Time of Possession 33.07 26:53 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: Cornell, McNiff 35-124, Lazor 10-18, Speicher 6-17. Penn, Rush 28-94, Bruce Matthews 1-18, Freeman 2-6, Brian Matthews 4-17, McGeehan 3-1-18), McKinnon 5-I-7I. Passing: Cornell, Lazor 15-26-3 151. Penn, McGeehan 6-19-1 44, McKinnon 2-4-0 35 Receiving: Cornell. Grant 4-46, Speicher 4-34, Branon 1-11, McNiff 2-24.

Martin 2-14, Jamin 2-22. Penn, Young 2-10, Reda 1-9. Baker 2-30, Miller 1-15, Freeman 1-6, Hernandez 1-9. Missed field goals: None time. "We went hard for Zane Smith (In last winter's free-agent market, and all we did was run the price up," the Reds' Quinn said.

"We were used as a tool." One of the most fascinating aspects of this off-season in baseball is the variety of approaches being taken by big-league clubs. Who would have thought that we'd see a winter in which the Phillies went after a Bobby Bonilla and the Yankees didn't? "We have a need at third base and a need in pitching," Yankees GM Gene Michael said Friday. "You go by what your need is. Bonilla's a good player. But if you're going to spend $25 million, he's got to be a knockout for you." So the Yankees are pursuing another soon-to-be ex-Pirate third baseman Steve Buechele and leaving the Bonilla-chasing to the Mets, the Phillies, the Angels and any other teams with $25 million or so to spend for a switch-hitting outfielder as a Christmas present for their victory-starved fans.

Dartmouth earns Ivy title, 31-13 1 By Jonathan D. Rockoff Special to The Inquirer 'y HANOVER, N.H. Dartmouth's Al Rosier, the Ivy League's leading rusher this season, sliced through the Princeton defense for 190 yards and a touchdown yesterday, giving the Big Green a 31-13 victory and the Ivy League championship. As the game ended, many students among the 11,330 in attendance streamed onto Memorial Field, muddied by the Green's 60 rushes and the heavy rains the night before. Others stayed in the bleachers, swaying back and forth and chanting the school's song.

Led by Rosier, a fifth-year senior who led the Ivy League with 1,432 yards rushing this year, Dartmouth's offense methodically dominated Princeton, gaining 304 yards on the ground compared to 69 for the Tigers. "They ran up and down the middle of our defense like no one else has done this year," said linebacker Jim Freeman, the captain of Princeton, which could have captured the conference crown if it had won. The Tigers (8-2 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) finished second in the Ancient Eight with their best record since 1965. The Big Green (7-2-1, 6-0-1) shared the Ivy crown with Cornell last year. Despite the effectiveness of Dartmouth's ball-control offense, which kept the ball for more than 34 minutes, the Big Green's defense, led by Tom Morrow, secured the In the decisive third quarter, Dartmouth stopped Princeton on three series, forcing two turnovers.

On the drive that began the second half, Michael Lerch nabbed a 24-yard pass from Chad Roghair to move Princeton to the Dartmouth 21. But on the next play, running back Keith Elias fumbled after a hit by Dartmouth linebacker Harry Wright and Morrow recovered. "I was trying to cover the ball up, but I just got wacked," said Elias, a sophomore who netted only 55 yards rushing after leading the Tigers with 902 yards for the season. Buddy Teevens, the Dartmouth coach who quarterbacked the Big Green to a title in 1978, said his defense "drilled" Elias. "That was a big situation for us." Michael Wilson dropped a Roghair pass at the Dartmouth 26 to halt Princeton's second series of the half.

And four plays after Russ Torres broke two tackles on a 9-yard run that increased the Big Green's lead to 17 points, Steve Tufillaro fumbled a Roghair pass on the Dartmouth 41 to close out the third. "We just needed to put the ball in early in the third quarter to pick up the defense and give the offense some confidence. We didn't do that today," said Roghair, the Princeton quarterback who finished his career completing 25 of 44 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. With Rosier carrying most of the load, Dartmouth jumped to a 10-0 lead. Dennis Durkin capped off an opening drive with a 42-yard field goal and quarterback Jay Fiedler faked to Rosier and then sprinted four yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

Rosier finished his career as his school's rushing leader with 2,252 yards. Princeton Dartmouth 0 7 3 14 6 13 7 31 Dart FG Durkin 42 Dart Fiedler 4 run (Durkin kick) Prin Lerch 17 pass from Roghair (Scott kick) Dart Martin 1 run (Durkin kick) Dart Torres 9 run (Durkin kick) Prin Beiswenger 20 pass from Roghair (pass failed) Dart Rosier 2 run (Durkin kick) Prin 21 30 89 244 37 25 44 1 4-165 2-2 3-32 Dart' 23 60-308 82 42 7 14-1 3-101 0-0 5-49 34.44 First downs Rushes-yards Passing Return Yards Comp-Att Ini Pun's FumBles-Lost Penalties-Yards Time of Possession INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 25:16 Rushing: Princeton, Elias 20-57, Bailey 5-27. Roghair 5-5. Dartmouth. Rosiar 34-190.

Fiedler 10-54. Torres 7-33, Martin 7-28, Hoffweister" 2 3, Passing: Princeton, Foghair 25-44-1-244. Dartmouth, Fiedler 7-13-0-82. Bobo 0-1-1-0. Receiving: Princeton, Tufillaro 7-48, Lerch 4-67, Beiswenger 4-45, Elias 4-25, Rudolph 3-22.

Wilson 2-25, Bailey 1-12. Dartmouth Bobo 6-73. Martin 1-9. i i By Sam Carchidi Inquirer Stall Writer Check out the offensive numbers produced by Bobby Bonilla and Danny Tartabull. You may be surprised at the findings.

Since entering the majors in 1986, the switch-hitting Bonilla has hit .283 and averaged 19 homers and 88 RBls per season. The righthanded-hitting Tartabull, like Bonilla, earned a permanent spot in the majors in 1986. The Royals rightfielder has a .287 lifetime average and is averaging 25 homers and 89 RBIs per season. Both players will be 29 when the 1992 seasor rolls around. Both are free agents.

Yet Bonilla is the one drawing teams' attention, even though Tartabull is a slightly more productive offensive player. "Teams want to see what happens with Bobby first, because he's perceived as the No. 1 free agent," said Brian Cohen, an associate of the agent who represents both Bonilla and Tartabull. "People don't really know Danny. He's never been in the playoffs or World Series, and he hasn't gotten the same recognition as Bobby.

But if you look at the power numbers, he's a better power hitter than Bobby." Bonilla is more versatile than Tartabull he can play right field, third base and first base. And his affable personality makes him a team leader. Which is why the Phillies, the California Angels, the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates (for starters) are trying desperately to sign him. The Angels, if they are unable to sign Bonilla, will be interested in Tartabull. The Phillies? "We do not have interest in Danny Tartabull," general manager Lee Thomas said.

"The guy we'd like to have is Bobby Bonilla. Period. We've set our sights on Bonilla, and we're not interested in any other Ipower hitter." Cohen said that, by the end of this week, Bonilla will have received enough input from teams to "sit down with his family and us and do his homework. There's no need to drag this thing out." As for Bonilla's impressions of the Phillies, "Bobby told me they took the extra step to give him a down-home feeling," Cohen said, "and that means something to him." Cohen said Bonilla figures to make his decision "by next weekend or the following week." That would be before the winter meetings in Miami, Dec. 6 through 11.

That would suit Thomas, who expects most free agents to sign at the meetings. The Allen Lewis baseball quiz Which two teammates combined for the most hits in a season? Answer to last week's question: The last pitcher to lead the American League in earned run average in a season in which he failed to pitch a shutout was Monte Pearson of the Indians. In 1933, he had a 10-5 record and his 2.33 ERA led the league. First with the correct answer was Patrick Mirabelle of West Wyoming, Pa. The parson with the first correct answer this week will receive an Inquirer T-shirt.

Send answers to Allen Lewis, Box 2431, Clearwater, Fla. 34617. Include shirt size. Sundiata Rush on 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. enn tops Cornell, 14-13, as Steele ponders held this thing together and kept what was a very long and very frustrating year from becoming a nightmare.

"Each week they practiced hard, and each Saturday they played hard. We just kept getting our heart broken week after week. It's a little bit of satisfaction to have them go out on a winning note, because the last one is the one you do remember." The senior contributors included wide receiver Damon Young, who caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from McGeehan in the first quarter; free safety Tom Oko, who stopped a Cornell threat late in the second quarter with an end-zone interception, and linebacker Joe Kopcha, who was in on 26 tackles and stopped the Big Red's last fourth-down gasp with 1:33 to play. "I think we had every excuse to give up this season," said Kopcha, who ended up Penn's No. 2 all-time tackier.

"But we never did. Coach Steele told us, while it was hard to quit on ourselves, it was even harder to quit on the people around us." Added Young: "I don't know what kept us going, whether it was our dedication or our respect for each other, but it amazed me how hard we played. We didn't give up." They could have yesterday. In the first half, the Quakers began five of their first six possessions in Cornell territory, four after turnovers (two fumble recoveries by Andy Berlin, and interceptions by Tom Gibbs and Dave Betten). But the Quakers managed just seven points, on the McGeehan-to-Young connection that ended a 33-yard drive.

Penn twice misfired on fourth down, including a fourth and 1 from the Cornell 26, where Steele, mindful of his team's woeful 5-for-12 showing on field-goal tries, chose not to kick. Amid its rash of turnovers, the Big Red managed to go in at halftime tied at 7-7, on an 8-yard touchdown run by John McNiff, who finished with 124 yards on 35 carries. For the half, the Quakers managed just four first By Joe Juliano Inquirer Sfaf Wriler As he exchanged a warm postgame hug with assistant coach Dan Stouf-feri and a heartfelt handshake with Cornell coach Jim Hofher, Gary Steele didn't know whether he was walking off Franklin Field yesterday for the last time as Penn's football coach. The Quakers' surprising 14-13 victory over the Big Red in the season finale didn't epitomize their stumbling, bumbling season, but it did indicate the dogged spirit shown by Steele and his players, particularly his seniors, in the closing weeks. The Quakers blew chance after chance yesterday.

Their offense had all the flow of molasses. Their kicking game was such that Steele passed up two field-goal attempts to go on fourth down, with Penn failing each time. However, the Quakers (2-8 overall, 2-5 league) managed to find a way. Fitz McKinnon, filling in at quarterback when Jim McGeehan suffered a knee injury late in the first half, directed the Quakers to the deciding touchdown a 1-yard run by Sundiata Rush to tie the Ivy League game at 13-13 with 10 minutes, 57 seconds remaining. Then Mark Horowitz, a sophomore who kicked in his first varsity game only last week, boomed the extra point through the uprights.

The Quakers' defense took over from there, holding Cornell (5-5, 4-3) to just one first down and 22 yards the rest of the way. Afterward, Steele said he wasn't thinking about his future. "I haven't thought about that all year," he said. The game was the final one in Steele's three-year contract. In those three seasons, the Quakers went 9-21.

Steele instead chose to praise his seniors. "I've coached 19 years, and I don't know if I've ever been around a group that taught me a lot of different things about the human spirit, how to persevere," he said. "I can't say enough about the seniors. They Winners on losing teams Baltimore's Cal Ripken last week became the first American League player to win the MVP award as a member of a losing team. Two players have done it in the NL Ernie Banks in 1958 and 1959 with the Chicago Cubs and Andre Dawson in 1987, also with the Cubs.

No MVP has played on a team that had a worse record than Ripken's aides. Here is a look at the performances of Banks, Dawson and Ripken and their teams during their MVP seasons: 1 Year Avg. HR RBI Record 1958 Ernie Banks .313 47 129 72-82 1959 Ernie Banks .304 45 143 74-80 1987 Andre Dawson .287 49 137 76-85 it 1991 Cal Ripken .323 34 114 67-95 Cal Ripken.