Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 264

irje Jtortfofti (Iimfant" QPHDTQ DA DT 9 cds vJ JL JL vJ J. L. Catching Yanks blow lead to A's. figure AthleticsG, Yankees 3 7 Shana Sureck The Hartford Courant It was hats off to Carl Yastrzemski and the '67 AL champs. Yaz got the loudest ovation Saturday.

He helped make it possible Lonborg struck a chord with fans in New England Boomer at his best By PAUL DOYLE Courant Staff Writer BOSTON As generations meshed in the Red Sox clubhouse Saturday, George Scott held court. Everyone was fair game. Scott told outfielder Bob Zupcic about Tony Conigliaro. He advised pitchers Joe Hesketh and Tom Bolton to enjoy the game and not be so uptight He told reporters and former teammates his girth he appears to weigh at least 300 pounds was the result of years of good eating. It was vintage Boomer even on the field.

Scott's scoop and sweep tag at first was the highlight of the Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Impossible Dream Old-Timers' Game. Old-Timers' Game notebook The 1967 Impossible Dream Team beat the Heroes of Baseball 3-0 in a four-inning game at Fenway Park. The game was merely a backdrop to a 25-year reunion of the Red Sox's pennant-winning team. And Scott was in the middle of it all. "There would be nothing in the world that would make me miss this today," said Scott, 48, who hit .303 with 19 homers and 82 RBI in '67.

"I could go home now, without even playing. Just to see these guys again And to take some ribbing. When Dan Osinski, a pitcher on the '67 team, rubbed Scott's bulging waist and asked when he was due to give birth, Boomer took it in stride. "I don't want to hear that, man," Scott said. "We're talking about many, many years many, many potatoes.

Steaks, everything. But I'm feeling great." Scott lives on Cape Cod and no longer is interested in coaching. After retiring in 1979, he spent the next few years looking for a minor or major league coaching job. "Now, I don't pick up a baseball bat unless I'm working with my son," Scott said. "I'm not as enthused about coaching as I once was.

The young men are hard to talk to. For the most part, they think they know more than the coaches. I think coaching ages you." Pitchers cut it at plate Most of the hitting was done by the pitchers. The '67 Red Sox scored two runs in the third, with pitchers Gary Waslewski (of Southington) and Dar-rell Brandon doubling and Jim Lon-borg reaching on a bunt single. The Heroes had one hit off nine Red Sox pitchers.

Simsbury's Dick McAulif singled in the fourth. The best defensive play came in the first, when shortstop Rico Petro-celli ranged into the hole, and Scott scooped his low throw and tagged Curt Flood. "Just like the old days," said Pe- trocelli, manager of the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox. "Rico to Boomer." Cheers for Yaz Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski received the biggest ovations when he walked to left field for the team photo, and in pregame introductions. Yaz, the Red Sox's Triple Crown-winning left fielder in '67, didn't play in the game.

play his only one of the season to give the California Angels an 8-5 victory, eliminating the Tigers. The Red Sox lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh game at Fenway Park, 7-2. Righthander Bob Gibson, working on three days' rest, gained the victory against Lonborg, who was pitching on only two days' rest. Despite the loss, Lonborg pitched well (2-1, 2.63 ERA) in the Series.

"Gentleman" Jim pitched a one-hitter in Game 2 to win 5-0 and allowed only three hits to earn the victory in Game 5 as the Red Sox won, 3-1. Javier got the only hit in the second game, a two-out double on a hanging slider in the eighth. The Cardinals overcame that loss and losses in Games 5 and 6 to defeat Lonborg in the seventh. Lonborg never matched his performance of that season. A postseason knee injury suffered in a skiing accident contributed to his 27-29 record over his final four years with the Red Sox.

He played one year with the Milwaukee Brewers and seven with the Philadelphia Phillies. He retired in 1979 with a 157-137 record and a 3.86 ERA in his career. Soon after his retirement, he enrolled at the University of Massachusetts-Boston to pursue another career. He is a dentist in Hanover, though he is involved in baseball. He is on the board of directors for the Baseball Assistance Team, which aids former baseball people.

He also coaches his son Jordan's Little League team. "Before this reunion, people would be in the dentist's chair and ask, 'How good was Then children, probably hearing these things passed down from their parents, would look up at me and say, 'You almost had a no-hitter in the Series. "What we did, all those memories will always be here in New By JACK O'CONNELL Courant Staff Writer NEW YORK For the most part, things have gone smoothly for Buck Showalter this season. The Yankees have a winning record after 35 games (18-17), which was not anticipated, and the rookie manager has not been overloaded with second-guessing, which his predecessor, Stump Merrill, faced on a daily basis. It isn't that Showalter's decisionmaking has not been open to question, but his moves have rarely cost the Yankees a game.

His strategy left something to be desired Saturday and contributed to the Yankees' 6-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Ask yourself the following questions: With two runs in, one out and runners on first and second in the fourth inning, would you hit-and-run when the batter is Charlie Hayes and the lead runner is a catcher, Matt Nokes? Nokes was thrown out as Hayes swung through the pitch, but the Yankees took a 3-1 lead because Hayes singled in a run. Leading 3-2 in the fifth, would you load the bases with two out to have righthander Tim Leary pitch to first baseman Mark McGwire, who leads the majors in home runs (16) and the American League in RBI (33)? McGwire defied that right-handed pitcher right-handed hitter strategy and doubled in two runs to give the A's a 4-3 lead. Would you let right-handed reliever Rich Monteleone, who relieved Leary after McGwire's double, pitch to Jose Canseco (22 RBI) with a base open and Jamie Quirk on deck? Of course not, you say. But not Showalter.

Canseco hit a two-run single and the A's held the Yankees for four more innings before righthander Dennis Eckersley (0.50 ERA) came on for his major league-leading 14th save. In fairness to Showalter, he does not have players such as Eckersley or McGwire or Canseco. His lack of respect for McGwire and Canseco was costly, however. On the hit-and-run: "It was a situation where you have the lead and you want to expand on it by creating some movement in their infield," Showalter said. It's sound reasoning, but since Nokes has seven stolen bases in 667 games and Hayes could scarcely be called Mr.

Contact, it was risky. On Leary walking Harold Baines after falling behind in the count 3-0 and pitching to McGwire: "Timmy was obviously uncomfortable pitching to Baines. He had a better chance with a fresh count on a new hitter, regardless of who the new hitter was." But Baines is batting only .196 with two home runs and eight RBI. "I like to give a guy a chance to win or lose his own game," Showalter said. Leary needed one more out to qualify for a decision on the winning side.

But whether his performance warranted his manager's confidence was questionable. Leary (3-3) had a 3-1 lead the previous inning. One out into the fifth, he gave up a double to Mike Bordick and a pair of four-pitch walks to Lance Blankenship and. Rickey Henderson. A fly ball by Jerry Browne made it 3-2 before Baines batted.

On Monteleone pitching to Can- season. Reardon has complained that MacPhail wouldn't sign him to a three-year deal after the 1989 season. "I think what happened worked out well for everybody," MacPhail said. "He got to go home Reardon is a native of Dalton, Mass. and make more money and we've got Aggie right-handed closer Rick Aguilera.

We should all be happy. I never said he wouldn't be pitching this year. That would be silly. We just wouldn't guarantee the money for the third year." Speaking of the Twins, Notable Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Sam Horn has faced Texas Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt 10 times in his career and has struck out seven times. In their own words Red Sox shortstop Luts Rfvtra to a reporter who was borrowing one of his gloves to shag in the outfield during early batting practice: "Here, use this one, but don't leave no bad habits in there." Series of the week Who: Mets at Giants.

Whom Friday, 10:35 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 4:05 p.m. TV: Ch. 9. Friday and Sunday; SportsChannel, in 1966, a half-game in front of the last-place Yankees. "Actually, the '67 baby was nurtured late in '66," Lonborg said.

"We had some good young kids come up in Andrews and outfielder Reggie Smith." "I think we really believed we could win after winning 10 straight games July 14-23 and coming home from Cleveland," he said. "There were 15,000 people at Logan Airport cheering us on." The celebration paled to that at Fenway Park Oct 1, the final day of the regular season, when Lonborg defeated the Twins, 5-3. The victory capped Lonborg's 22-9 season. He had a 3.16 ERA, tied for the major league lead in victories with Tigers righthander Earl Wilson and San Francisco Giants lefthander Mike McCormick and led the AL in strikeouts with 246. Lonborg also helped his team with his bat that last day.

His bunt single started a five-run sixth inning for the Red Sox, who were trailing, 2-0. "All year manager Dick Williams had said, 'If you guys pitchers can't hit some, you're going to be yanked out he said. When Rollins popped to Petrocelli for the final out, fans ran on to the field. They put Lonborg on their shoulders and carried him toward right field. "I lost my shirt, hat, belt and shoe laces," Lonborg said.

"Don't ask me how I lost my shoe laces. All I know was I held on to my glove like crazy." But the Red Sox did not clinch the Smnant until that evening, when cAuliffe grounded into a double like watching him in my uniform. He's a lot funnier at home." The Cincinnati Reds have faced all three of the baseball-football hybrids Deion Sanders (Atlanta Braves and Falcons), Brian Jordan (St. Louis Cardinals and Falcons) and DJ. DozJer (who plays for the Mets and was with the Minnesota Vikings) and the three are hitting a combined .524 (ll-for-21) against the Reds.

And that's with Dozier's 0-for-2 Kevin Mitchell really has a high opinion of his Seattle Mariners, teammates, doesn't he? "We come to the park expecting to lose," Mitchell said. 'This club is too soft, too gentle, too gentlemanly. Go to church on Sunday to pray to God, but go to the ballpark to fight" You don't think they stopped Oakland A's slugger Jose Canseco at the Canadian border Tuesday because of what he does against the Blue Jays at Sky-Dome instead of the fact he didn't have his ministry papers to explain that little 1989 gun thing, do you? Canseco, before the last series, was hitting .376 with nine homers and 26 RBI in 12 games at SkyDome. Power in his past Red Sox outfielder Tom Brun-ansky hit four homers in a minor league game in 1980. "I was playing, in Double in Midland, Texas.

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seco: "Monty pitched him well, but Canseco's strength was a factor," Showalter said. Canseco's strength is always a factor. "I made a great pitch, but he just muscled it," Monteleone said. And the Yankees never recovered. Ron Darling (3-2) lasted into the sixth, allowing five hits and three, walks with six strikeouts.

Then A's manager. Tony La Russa got one-third of an inning from Vince Horseman and two innings from Jeff Par-rett before putting the game into the hands of Eckersley, who made it 14-for-14 in save opportunities. Hillegas up, Johnson down Righthander Shawn whose contract was purchased from Triple A Columbus, pitched in the ninth and retired both batters he faced. Lefthander Jeff Johnson (1-2, 5.70 ERA) was optioned to Columbus. The Yankees had asked lefthander Lee Guetterman (0-1, 10.05) to consider a minor league assignment.

But as a veteran of five or more seasons, Guetterman has the right to veto demotion to the minors. Guetterman has allowed 22 hits and 10 walks in 15 innings and 12 earned runs in his past 7 innings. "We only talked in hypothetical terms," Guetterman said of the suggestion, "but they know how I feel." The Yankees know how Johnson feels, too. "It stinks," Johnson said. "I don't think I got enough of an opportunity to decide my fate." Johnson had a 6.52 ERA in four starts and was removed from the rotation two weeks ago.

Hillegas, 27, pitched in parts of five major league seasons with the Dodgers, White Sox and Indians and has a career record of 20-24 with a 4.08 ERA. He signed a minor league contract in March and was 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA in four starts at Columbus after winning his only start at Class A Fort Lauderdale, Fla. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees designated Double A Albany pitcher Mike Gardella for assignment. Andy Stankiewicz (stiffness, right hamstring) will be placed on the 15-day disabled list today, which may be a bad omen. The Yankees are 12-6 in games Stankiewicz has started.

The Yankees probably will activate inf ielder Mike Gallego, disabled since Opening Day because of an inflamed right Achilles' tendon and now on injury rehabilitation at Fort Lauderdale. they expect third baseman Miko Paglianilo back in about a month. Pagliarulo, who underwent surgery April 29 on his right wrist, had the stitches removed and is taking infield with a cast on. The cast will stay on two more weeks. How valuable is closer Dennis Eckeraley to the A's? Oakland starter Ron Darling was taken out of the May 9 game against the Yankees after seven innings on a day Eckersley was unavailable because he had pitched three consecutive days.

"The worst feeling as an Oakland A's starter is to have Dennis Eckersley sitting next to you on the bench, wearing sneakers and chewing sunflower seeds," Darling said. Righthander Rick Honeycutt got the save that day, his first since 1990. Eckersley has never pitched four consecutive days while a member of the A's. Geveland Indians outfielder Kenny Lofton, possibly the fastest man in the majors, already has 10 bunt singles The Angels signed outfielder Phil Bradley to a minor league contract Thursday and shipped him to Triple A Edmonton, where he will join former Orioles righthander Davo Johnson and former Rangers outfielder Oddibe McDowell. Angels manager Buck Rodgars wasn't exactly a big booster of the move.

Asked about his plans for Bradley, Rodgers said, "I don't have any. I didn't even know we signed him until I read it in the paper. I don't think we're talking about an impact play er here. One in an occasional series looking back at the American League champions. ByTOMYANTZ Courant Staff Writer BOSTON Red Sox fans saw no gray-haired 50-year-old on the mound in the Old-Timers' Game Saturday at Fenway Park, In their eyes, Jim Lonborg was as ageless as the Green Monster, his pitches turning bats of ash to splinters again.

Lonborg, a righthander and Cy Young Award winner for the 1967 "Impossible Dream" American League champions, will be forever young and forever a hero to fans. "The musical 'Man of La Mancha' and the song, 'To Dream the Impossible Dream' were big back then," Lonborg said. "That's how the 'Impossible Dream' name got started." Saturday, many members of that team were teammates again. Some of the more notable were Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski (the left fielder hit .326, with 44 home runs and 121 RBI), second baseman Mike Andrews, shortstop Rico Petrocelli and Lonborg, rocking back in his windup with that familiar high kick of his left leg. Lonborg started and retired the two batters he faced on a weak grounder and a shallow fly in the Red Sox's 3-0 victory over the Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball.

The opponents featuring two former Twins, Harmon Killebrew as the manager and Rich Rollins, Simsbury's Dick McAulif fe, who played for the Detroit Tigers, and former Cardinals Julian Javier and Lou Brock evoked memories of 1967. That year, the Red Sox (92-70) beat Minnesota in the final two games to win the pennant by one game over the Twins and Tigers. Most oddsmakers considered the team to be at least a 100-1 underdog to win the title after finishing 72-90 CLOSER LOOK By Sean Horgan Pma said. "With tip, it came to 200." The bus finally arrived at 6 a.ra and made it to Fenway Park about 8:45 a.m. The Philadelphia Phillies lost 8-2 Thursday night to their Double A team, Reading Not only did they lose, they got no-hit for five innings by pitcher Andy Carter, whose ERA was 7.89.

The loss also ran their losing streak against their minor league affiliates to two, since they also lost last year to Triple A Scranton (Pa.) The Pirates had a couple of late games last week. Their Wednesday night game ended at 12:41 a.m. and their Friday night game ended at prompting center fielder Andy Van Slyke to say, "I came in the clubhouse and turned on the television and David Lotternum was on. I mean, I like Letterman, but I don't Baseball By now, Angels' Blyleven an old hand but how's his arm? ing out a little bit. I hit the first one and didn't think much about it.

I thought I had a pretty good day going. I hit two, then I was concerned more with getting knocked down than I was about hitting a third. Sure enough, first pitch I hit a third. Everybody was telling me, "They're not going to hit you. Just settle in and stay locked in.

Sure enough, I got my fourth at-bat and hit my fourth home run of the day. I still had a couple of at-bats. The fifth at-bat, I flew to the wall. My sixth at-bat, I struck out and my seventh at-bat, I hit a double off the wall. It was just one of those days when you seem to be locked in and every pitch is the right one." Frank Thomas, who played outfield, third and first for the Pirates, Cubs, Reds, Braves, Phillies, Astros, and Mets between 1951 and 1966, had an interesting way of supplementing his playing salary.

"He used to bet anybody who would take the bet that he could catch a throw from them barehanded from the same distance as from the mound to the plate," Red Sox third base coach Don Zimmor said. "He bet me once, and this was in the days when I could throw pretty good. I wound up and fired that thing as hard as I could, and sure enough he caught it with those big hands of his. I guess he never lost one of those bets." Twins general manager Andy MacPhail got a Uttle tired last week of hearing how Red Sox closer Jrff Roar-don has bashed him since coming to the Red Sox as a free agent before the 1990 BOSTON Twenty-two years ago, the Minnesota Twins called up a young pitcher from Triple A while the team was in Boston, and a few days later righthander Bert Blyto von made his first major league start in Washington against the Senators. The California Angels brought Blyleven back again Friday, activating him from the disabled list while the team was in Boston in preparation for his start Tuesday night against the Yankees in New York I his first start since Aug.

10, 1990, also with the Angels. Since then, Blyleven, 41, has had two surgeries on his shoulder, the most recent about a year ago. "I probably have more to prove now than I did then," said Blyleven, who is 21 victories shy of 300 (279-238). "Then I was young and strong. Now I'm young and stu-pid.

I'm not going to say old." Red Sox: home and away The Red Sox had a lovely trip home from Minneapolis after their game Wednesday night Soon after taking off from Minneapolis in their MGM Grand charter, they learned they would not be able to land at their usual site, Hanscom Field in Bedford, because of weather conditions. They couldn't land in Providence or Boston because of fog, so they landed at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks at. 3:15 a.m. The bus was late, so many of the players traveled back to Boston in limousines or cabs. "We got a flat rate of $80" catcher Tony.