The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 32

D2 THE PHILADELPmA INQUIRER Wednesday, March 16, 1994 Baseball Parrish and Tigers: Reunited and it feels so good have to make some sacrifices," Parrish said. There's nothing as clear as 1 20-20 hindsight. If he had remained in Detroit with Anderson and Tram-mell and Whitaker, it's a cinch he wouldn't have been sub. be 38 in June, but you wouldn't know it to look at him sitting in front of his locker, putting on the baseball uniform he never should have taken off. The body is still solid and strong, the face still youthful, the desire to play this kids' game still burn ing inside him.

It must be a four-alarm blaze. Why else would Lance Parrish still be playing this game after all he's been through? Here's a man who starred on a world championship Tigers team in '84, a slugger who knocked in 114 runs for Anderson's team in '83 and had 33 homers to go with 98 RBIs a year later, a three-time Gold Glover, a major-league all-star in had deteriorated and I ought to just retire," the non-roster invitee at the Detroit camp said. "I don't see how he could come to that conclusion after just playing me 10 games. I didn't think I deserved to have that kind of label put on me." As a last resort, Parrish put in a call to the manager he left more than seven years before. "He told me, 'We've called everybody.

Nobody wants even to look at Anderson said. "I asked him his advice," Parrish said. "I said, 'You saw me play. In your honest opinion, do you think I should retire? Do you think I still have the Anderson went to bat for him. He spoke to Joe Klein, the Detroit general manager, then phoned Parrish with the news he'd been waiting to hear.

"I told him, 'We're going to look at you, bring you to spring Anderson said, adding that he would be the one to tell Parrish whether he could or couldn't play. 'But if I tell you no, I want you to Fair enough. Yet here he is, motivated by the same thing that drove Roberts to keep going a deep feeling for the game. "I love the game," Parrish said. "I don't always love the things that go on surrounding the game, but they can't take away my appreciation for the game itself.

"I played this long, and there are. some things I'd really like to accom-" plish before my career is over. I have 297 home runs as a catcher. There have only been three other guys in history to hit 300 as a catcher" Carlton Fisk, Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. "I think that's something worth doing." So far, Anderson said, Parrish has done nothing to eliminate himself.

But he's battling a longtime Tigers farm product named Rich Rowland for the backup job, and Rowland is out of options. So it's touch and go. If Parrish wins, it will be on merit, not friendship with the manager. And if he doesn't? "I know enough to know he trusts me if I have to tell him," Anderson said. "But it won't be no fun." "I was really excited," Parrish said.

No doubt many Tigers fans were excited, too. The return of Lance Parrish, even on a long-shot, look-see basis, is roughly comparable to, say, Greg Luzinski making a comeback with the Phillies. Parrish was that popular. "They loved him," Anderson said, "and I loved him. Honest, he's like a son to me.

I don't make any bones about it. But that won't have nothing to do with me making a decision. He knows that." Parrish also knows what a lot of folks are thinking: Here's another athlete refusing to bow out gracefully. Nothing in sports is harder to do than retire. Robin Roberts went to double-A Reading at the end of his career rather than give up the ghost.

Look how Steve Carlton stayed around well past his prime. And Mickey Mantle. And Willie Mays. "The thing that probably concerns me the most," Parrish said, is that "there's been a lot of things written and a lot of things said about guys that just continue to hang on." LAKELAND, Fla. Lance Parrish is trying to prove you can go home again.

The big guy is back where he began, back in the Detroit Tigers' clubhouse, back with his old manager, Sparky Anderson, and his old teammates, Alan Traramell and Lou Whit-aker. "He never should've left," Anderson said. But he did. Taking advantage of free agency, Parrish left Detroit, where he was a hero, and took up summer residence in Philadelphia in 1987, where he and the Phillies of that era never lived up to expectations. Anderson, baseball's resident philosopher, summed it up simply and accurately.

"You know," he said, "everybody has a certain place, and there are some ballplayers that can't go other places. He's one." Parrish arrived at the Vet carrying the burden of great expectations, and was traded to the Angels after two disappointing seasons. The eight-time all-star catcher will Frank Dolson Sports Editor Fregosi impressed as Rivera shuts out Royals for 4 innings 1 By Frank Fitzpatrick INQUIRER STAFF WRITER HAINES CITY, Fla. Jim Fregosi did not leave the blue waters and soft gulf breezes of Clearwater for a lMi-nour, traffic-clogged trip to this dusty, desolate baseball outpost because he enjoys bus rides. The Phillies manager let almost all of his starters and a couple of coaches stay home.

And he might have; stayed there, too, if he hadn't had' some lingering doubts about Ben Rivera. In his initial spring start, Rivera was pelted with line drives, and his second outing didn't do much to alleviate concerns. So, with the rotation's fifth spot still a large question, regosi needed to know if his fourth starter was OK. "I guess that answered a lot of questions," Fregosi said after Rivera threw four shutout innings against Kansas City yesterday. "He had great command of all of his pitches.

I was very happy. It's like T'. it i i ve ueeu saying an aiuug iun.es a little time. I think that sometimes in spring training, we expect too much out of people too early." Rivera was consistently ahead of Kansas City batters, permitting two hits and two walks and striking out ill' I VMf, f( K- x7'W JVlil lr. I 1 I ij jected to the indignities of recent seasons not only the trip to triple but also being released by the Angels, the Mariners, the Dodgers and the Indians.

And then, to top it off, there were all those phone calls that went unanswered as he looked for an invitation to a big-league camp any big-league camp this spring. There was no demand for a man his age who had been released four times in two years, especially when the manager of the last club to release him was quoted as saying Parrish was washed up. Cleveland's Mike Hargrove "made a comment in the press that my skills 5 victory. Philadelphia led, 1-0, with two outs in the sixth. But when Morandini lost a popup in the sun the inning's second error Kansas City responded with five unearned runs off Heathcliff Slocumb.

Darren Daulton is expected to catch his first game today when the Phils again meet the Blue Jays, in Dunedin. PHILLIES OOO 100 122 6 Kansas City 000 005 000 5 PHILLIES Thompson If Morandini 2b Jordan 1b ab bi KAN. CITY 5 110 Coleman If 4 3 2 0 Goodwin If 4 12 2 McRae cf 10 11 Burton cf ab bi 402 1 1000 302 1 1000 5 100 2000 2020 0000 5 1 20 50 10 4 100 4 12 1 0000 2000 2 12 1 40 13 4 Pratt 1b Chamberlain dh5 0 2 1 Joyner 1b Longmire rf 4 111 Macfarlane Batiste ss Marsh cf Lieberthal Marzano Quinlan 3b 5 0 10 Santovenia 3 0 0 0 Hiatt pr 2 0 11 Brooks rf 10 0 0 Gaetti 3b 40 10 Hamelin dh Gagne ss Halter pr-ss Wilkerson 2b Howard 2b 38 6 12 6 Totals Totals Marsh, Morandini. DP: LIES 9, Kansas City 10. 3B: Jordan.

SBr McRae PHILLIES Rivera Slocumb Bottalico Jones W.2-0 KANSAS CITY Gordon Milacki Granger Ruskin Meacham L.0-1 TIME: 2:38. 5,969. PHILLIES 1. LOB: PHIL-2B: Batiste, Longmire. (2), Morandini 2).

IP ER BB SO 4 2 0 0 2 2 2 6 5 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 1113 0 0 0 0 1111 2 2 2 0 2 2 0 1 to get back healthy so he can do what he does best hit .300," Jordan said. "But while he's not here, I'm going to play hard and do whatever I can to help us win." Kruk was hit in the groin by a Mitch Williams pick-off throw on July 19. He waited a month before reporting the injury, and the pain increased. Finally, after taking himself out of a game on March 6, Kruk returned to Philadelphia for surgery. His testicle was removed, and pathology tests showed it to be cancerous.

Doctors saw no connection between the groin injury and the cancer. Toronto (ss) vs. Chicago White Sox (ss) 1:05 Cleveland vs. Kansas City, 1:05 Detroit vs. New York Yankees, 1:05 Colorado vs.

San Diego, 3:05 Seattle vs. Chicago Cubs, 3:05 Baltimore vs. Cincinnati (ss), 7:05 Milwaukee vs. California, 9:05 (ss) split squad. THURSDAY'S GAMES Cleveland vs.

Florida at Melbourne, 1:05 p.m. St. Louis vs. Kansas City at Haines City, 1:05 p.m. Minnesota vs.

Boston at Fort Myers, 1:05 p.m. Texas vs. Detroit at Lakeland, 1:05 p.m. Montreal vs. Atlanta at West Palm Beach, 1:06 p.m.

Cincinnati vs. Houston at Kissimmee, 1:05 p.m. New York Mets vs. Los Angeles at Vero Beach, 1:05 p.m. San Francisco vs.

San Diego at Peoria, 3:05 p.m. Oakland (ss) vs. Colorado (ss) at Tucson, 3:05 p.m. Colorado (ss) vs. Oakland (ss) at Phoenix, 3:05 p.m.

Seattle vs. Milwaukee at Chandler, 3:05 p.m. Philadelphia vs. Baltimore at St. Petersburg, 7:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh vs. Chicago White Sox at Sarasota, 7:05 p.m. Toronto vs. New York Yankees at Fort Lauder-r dale, 7:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs vs.

California at Tempe, 9:05 p.m. Baseball calendar March 29: Last day to request waivers to release player without having to pay his 1994 salary. April 3: Opening day. Active rosters reduced to 25 players. May 1: Clubs may resume negotiations with their former players who became free agents.

May 1 5: Clubs may re-sign players whom they released after the end of the 1993 season, July 12: All-Star Game, Pittsburgh. July 31: Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Cooperstown, N.Y.; last day to make an inter-league trade without waivers, Aug. 1: Hall of Fame game, PHILLIES vs. Seattle, Cooperstown, N.Y. Aug.

31: Deadline for postseason fosters. Kruk to start radiation Monday both leagues, for crying out loud. And do you know where he spent part of last season? In Albuquerque. As a backup catcher. "There comes a point in time when you want something bad enough, you two.

But, despite his reassuring showing, he still didn't want to discuss it afterward. "Not yet. There's nothing wrong. Just let me get into the game first," Rivera said, pointing to his head. His manager thought that perhaps Rivera was reacting to criticism of his first two starts.

"He was just a little upset because of a lot of things that were said after his first few outings," Fregosi said. Charlton to throw BP. Another indication that Norm Charlton's recuperation from elbow surgery is moving quicker than expected came when Fregosi said the lefthander would pitch batting practice sometime in the next few days. "He threw on the side again today and he looked good," the manager said. "We'll see how he comes back and then we'll probably throw him in batting practice." That is very likely a clue that Charlton is on schedule to pitch in a game before the Phils leave Florida.

Phils win, 6-5. Consecutive ninth-inning singles by Milt Thompson, Mickey Morandini, Todd Pratt and Wes Chamberlain the last two driving in runs gave the Phils a 6- "First of all, the most important thing is Johnny and his health," Fregosi said when asked how he planned to cope without his regular No. 3 hitter. "Of course we'll miss him. He's a great guy to be around, a great guy in the clubhouse, and he's a hell of a player," the manager said.

"But right now Ricky Jordan is going to play first base and Dune Mariano Duncan will play some, too." Fregosi ruled out moving anyone else there, although Kim Batiste has played first briefly this spring and Jim Eisenreich appeared there once in 1993. "Everyone in here wants Johnny Schourek, Linton (4), M.Maddux (7), Castillo (8) and Hundley, Fordyce (7); G.Maddux, Telford (5), Hill (7), Borbon (8), Wohlers (9) and O'Brien, Lopez (5). 2-0. L- Schourek, 1-1. Montreal (ss) Loa Angeles 000 100 000 1 001 052 30x 11 5 3 13 1 G.White, Eischen (4), Risley (5), Looney (6), Perez (7), Haynes (8) and Spehr, Fitzpatrick (6); Hershiser, Seanez (6), McDowell I8I, Ki.

Gross (9) and Piazza. W-Hershiser, 1-1. L- Eischen, 0-1. Pittsburgh Toronto 014 000 32010 102 112 OOx 7 Wakefield, White (5), Zimmerman (8), Corbin (9) and Goff, Sutko (71; Leiter, Castillo (6), Williams (7), Hall (9) and Borders, Delgado (6). W-White, 2-0.

L- Williams, 0-2. Sv- Corbin (1). HRs- Pittsburgh, Womack (1), Cummings (1). Toronto, Borders (1). Colorado 000 030 3006 9 1 001 000 0023 10 2 Chicago Cubs Reynoso, Ruffin (5), Holmes (8) and Girardi, Owens (7); Morgan, Veres (5), Boskie (7), Bautista (9) and Wilkins, Parent (7), Pedre (8).

W-Reynoso, 2-1. Veres, 0-2. California San Diego 020 004 04313 11 0 000 000 312 6 11 3 Leftwich, Springer (5), Patterson (8), Grahe (9) and Fabregas, Turner (5); Benes, Elliott (5), J.Martinez (7), P.Martinez (9) and Petralli. W-Leftwich, 1-0. L- Benes, 0-3.

HRs San Diego, Gutierrez (1), Lockhart (1). Seattle 100 200 1206 11 3 San Francisco 400 210 OOx 7 8 1 R.Johnson, DeLucia (3), Suzuki (5), T.Phillips (6), Ayala (81 and D.Wilson, Haselman (6); Portugal, Rogers (6), Jackson (7), Fray (8), Beck (9) and Manwaring, Reed (6), Lampkin (9). W-Portugal, 1-2. L- R.Johnson, 0-1. Sv- Beck (2).

HRs- Seattle, Griffey (3), Pirkl (1). Milwaukee 000 000 330 6 9 1 Oakland 000 000 0112 10 1 Higuera, Lloyd (6), Orosco (8) and Harper, Nilsson (6); Witt, Eckersley (6), Taylor (7), Vosberg (8), Horsman (9 and Steinbach, Mercedes (9). W- Lloyd, 1-0. Taylor, 0-1 TODAY'S GAMES PHILLIES vs. Toronto (ss), 1:35 Atlanta vs.

Us Angeles, 1:05 Cincinnati In vs. Houston (ss), 105 New York fets vs. Montreal, 1:05 Houston (ss) vs. St. Louis, 1:05 Texas vs.

Pittsburgh, 1:05 Florida vs. Minnesota, 1:05 Chicago White Sox (ss) vs. Boston, :05 Associated Press JOEY IVANSCO Before suffering his broken leg, Gant signed the largest one-year contract in baseball history. Now he may see little of the money. Gant's fate is tough for ex-mates to take Pro Football Panel OKs two-point conversion TWO-POINT CONVERSION from D1 field goals.

Placekickers accounted iur io.i percent oi an scoring an all-time high and critics picked up the old cry of No Fun League. By the second half of the season, and especially in the playoffs, a num- hpr nf rliffhnnoprs nnH nvprtimp rramac haA vnnda thinac mnro intor- -o esting. But early-season criticism lingered, and the league's Competition PnmTnittoo ont iinnciinl nrnHHino from commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who endorsed the two-point conversion in his annual state-of-the-league address during Super Bowl week. Many coaches remain opposed to -the two-point conversion. It's one mute uppur tunny iur inem iu uc sec-ond-euessed: Should thev have run the ball instead of trying a pass? That Qnrt nf thino ball League, the two-point conver-, sion often made games more excit ing, dui ii was usea sparingly.

In API. spasnns thp twn-nnint conversion was attempted only 159 timp! That's nhnnt nnm fl wpplr Rv the way, it was successful 85 of the lay nines, or oj.o percent. Hand visits Vet. Veteran defensive end Jon Hand of the Indianapolis Colts visited Veterans Stadium yesterday, although it's not clear why the Eagles would be interested in talking to him. Hand IP.

hari nnlv fivp sarkc last year. He has never made the Pro Bowl, and the Eagles are projecting him to be a run-stopper at left defensive end the position that Tim Harris is supposed to occupy next season. Moreover, Colts general manager Jim Irsay told reporters in Indianapolis yesterday that the Colts have agreed to a four-year, $4 million contract with Hand, who was the leading tackier on Indianapolis' injury-riddled defensive front in 1993. Hand acknowledged that "in the last few days" the Colts have made a much more aggressive attempt to keep him. He started 14 games at rioht Hpfpncivp pnd lnct vpnr lpaHtna the Colts in sacks.

The 6-7, 301-pound veteran was drafted in the first round in 1986, but never lived up to first-round billing. Last year, he was nearly cut in training camp, but rebounded nicely to become the fulcrum of the Colts' front four. By the time he gets to Jim Solano, agent for Clyde Simmons and Seth Joyner, is leaving today for Phoenix for unexpected and unusual face-to-face negotiations with the Cardinals. Since taking over as head coach of the Cardinals, Buddy Ryan has watched three free agents defensive lineman Rueben Davis, linebacker Ken Harvey and cornerback Robert Massey walk out the door. He needs defensive players and would love to land both Simmons and Joyner, whom he drafted in 1986 and watched become superstars.

But there is the problem of Solano's asking price $3.4 million per season for Joyner and $3.7 million for Simmons. Solano is believed to be willing to agree to less money for both players if they can play in Phoenix together and have a good portion of a contract guaranteed. "I've had several offers from teams," Solano said. "A lot of teams are interested, maybe not at my numbers. But they keep coming back and inching up and inching up their numbers." Not the Eagles.

Solano met with the Eagles chief negotiator Robert Wallace yesterday, but Philadelphia mnHp Tin npur nffpr fnr Jlmmno anA Joyner. PHILLIES from D1 pends on how well he responds." That was the same answer the doctor; gave to the next question: How soon after the treatments can Kruk resume full workouts? in other words, this is new territory for baseball medicine. Because no one yet knows how debilitating the radiation will be to his system, nd. one can accurately predict when Kruk might get his first 1994 at-bat. If he regains his strength quickly, it is possible Kruk could play again by the Phillies said.

The team added that if there are complications, Kruk's absence might drag on Jintil the season's midway point. Exhibition Linescores Yesterday's results Montreal (ss) 000 330 010 7 11 3 N.Y: Mets (ss) 001 402 0018 8 3 One out when winning run scored. Fasseto, Holnian (4), Shaw 17), Wetteland (8), Hoeme (9) and Fletcher, Siddall (7); Saberhagen, Remlinger (8) and Olson, Stinnett (71. W-Gozzo, 1-0. L- Hoeme, 0-1.

HRs Montreal, Walker (2). New York, Manto (1). Detroit Cincinnati 000 003 0003 8 1 000 000 0022 7 1 Doherty. Knudsen (6), Groom (9) and Parrish, Rowland (6); Smiley, Spradlin (5), Patterson (7), Powell (8) and Oliver, Lyons (9). W- Doherty, 2-0.

L-Spradlin, 0-1. Save-Groom (1). St. Louis Baltimore 010 210 002 0 6 000 001 104 17 11 15 Tawksbury, Batchelor (6), Cimorelli (7), Urbani (8), Frascatore (10) and Pagnozzi, McGnff (8); Mussina, Fernandez (5), Benitez (El, Poole (7), Eichhorn (8), Manuel (10) and Tackett, Devarez (8). W- Manuel, 2-2.

L- Frascatore, 0-1. HR-St. Louis, Whiten (1. Florida 010 101 003 6 8 Boston 403 000 OOx 7 12 2 Hammond, Lewis (3), Mathews (6), Perez (7), Drahman (8) and O'Halloran, Tingley (6); Clemens; Fossas (4), Bankhead (61, Ryan (7), Caruso (91 and Flaherty. W- Clemens, 2-0.

L- Hammond, 0-2. Sv- Caruso (2). HRs Boston, Blosser (1), Dawson (3). Houston Cleveland 020 000 0103 11 1 001 020 01 4 12 1 Drabek, Minutelli (6), Osuna (8) and Taubensee, Tucker (7); Nabholz, Ogea (6), Lynch (8), Farr (9) and Alomar, Pena (8). W- Lynch, 2-0.

L-Osuna, 0-1. Sv- Farr (2). HRs- Cleveland, Lofton (1), Kirby (2), Perry (1. N.Y. Yankees 000 102 020 6 10 Chi.

White Sox 040 020 OOx 6 9 Kamieniecki, Gibson (51, Hernandez (7) and Nokes, Stanley (6); McDowell, Baldwin (6), Ritchie (8), Ellis (9) and Karkovice, Merullo (7). W- McDowell, 1-0. L- Kamieniecki, 0-1. Sv-Ellis (1). HR- Chicago, Pasqua (1).

Texas Minnesota 000 000 000 0 000 110 01 3 Helling, Dreyer (5), Carpenter (7), Henke (8) and McNemara, Davis (7); Trombley, Garagozzo (5), Aquilera (7), Willis (81, Casian (9) and Parks, Durant (8). W- Trombley, 1-1. L- Helling, 0-2. Sv-i Casian (2). HR-Minnesota, Winfield (1).

The Braves did sign Gant to the largest one-year contract in baseball history. But now they are taking the position on the legal advice of the Player Relations Comittee (PRC) that the way Gant got hurt voided his contract. Sources say the Braves will cite two clauses in the basic agreement between the players and owners as grounds for voiding Gant's deal. One clause allows a team to terminate a contract should a player "fail to render his services." The other clause specifically guarantees contracts for players who are injured on the field. And that clause in the apparent interpretation of the PRC implies that there is no obligation to players injured off the field.

There could be a huge legal battle over that stance. But in the meantime, life must go on. Any team can claim Gant off waivers until 2 p.m. Friday, but that team would have to pay him his full salary. If Gant is not claimed, he is free to work out a deal with any club at any price.

And for the Braves, life will go on with three of the most spectacular rookies in baseball Tony Tarasco, Chipper Jones and Ryan Klesko continuing their battle for Gant's job. All three have played so well this spring that it's possible that they all could make the team and split the playing time somehow. "There's no doubt about the fact that the young guys have talent," Pendleton said. "None whatsoever. But the bottom line is that Ronny Gant has proven it over the years and these guys have to step in and do it.

And believe me, they'll be hounded by guys talking about Ronny Gant all year long whether they're doing it or not." GANT from D1 ling if you're the one paying the bills. But what Gant's former teammates see is a team that sells out for every home game, has its own national cable-TV deal and has become one of the richest clubs in baseball. So understanding this situation and digesting it are two different things. "I'm not saying they don't spend money here," said Pendleton, whose own future as a Brave could be endangered a year from now by third-base prospect Jose Oliva. "But once you start worrying about cutting costs, you have to decide what your priorities are.

If you're cutting costs and you feel like you've got a better product, I understand it. But I don't know if that's the case here." Pendleton was one of four Braves players who were called aside yesterday morning and informed of the decision before it was announced. The others were Jeff Blauser, Tom Glavine and David Justice essentially the guts of the National League's dominant team of the '90s. But everyone else knew this was coming. All that was needed was the announcement to make it official.

"I think it was obvious they'd already decided to make Justice their franchise player," said Fred McGriff, who only became a Brave last summer because his old team, the San Diego Padres, was on a cost-cutting rampage of its own. "They'd already made up their mind they were going to let Ronny go, anyway. That was the bottom line." Gant had career highs of 36 homers and 117 RBIs last season. He and his agent, Eric Goldschmidt, spent the winter trying to get the Braves to sign Gant who could have been a free agent after this season to a long-term contract. But the Braves balked at that, then signed Justice who was still two years away from free agency to a five-year, $27.5 million contract.

020 000 020 4 6 200 600 OOx 8 10 N.Y. Mets (ss) Atlanta.