The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 18

BASEBALL TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1994 C-4 mm Sim COMMENTARY Money wasn't everything for ex-Yankee Richardson gary. Mantei leads the Midwest League with 24 saves. MIDWEST UAOUI ALL-STAR TEAM IB Kevin Millar. Kane County: 2B Bobby Morris, Peoria: 3B Lino Diaz. Rockford: SS Alex Rodriguez.

Appleton: Of Richard Htdalgo, Quad City; Joe McEwing, Madison: Billy McMiKon. Kane County: Sal Fasano. Rockford; DM Alex Cabrera. Peoria; LHP Mike Sirotha. South Jay Witasick.

Madison; LN iwllevw -Hank Tagie. South Bend; RH raltaver Matt Mantei, Appleton. MVP Sal Fasano. Rockford: Prospect at the year Alex Rodriguez. Appleton; Manager ot the year John Mizerock.

Rockford. tt: 4, yl drive in Cuellar. After Manny Patel walked, Marcus Sturdivant drove in both runners with a triple to center. The Cougars scored again in the eighth, highlighted by Dave Berg's double. Appleton begins a key two-game series at Rockford tonight.

Appleton 32-27 in the Northern Division trails league-leading Rockford (37-23) by 4V4 games in the second-half standings and is tied with Beloit for second place. If Rockford, which won the first-half title, also wins the second half, the second-place team in the second half advances to the playoffs. ALL-STARS: Midwest League managers have named ex-Foxes shortstop Alex Rodriquez and current Foxes closer Matt Mantei to its all-star team and also cited him as the prospect of the year. In 65 games, Rodriguez hit .319 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI. He was promoted to the Seattle Mariners' Double-A team in Jacksonville, last June.

He was called up to the Mariners a few weeks later and in early August was sent down to Triple-A Cal- Kane County jumps on Montane and scores seven first-inning runs GENEVA 111. The Appleton Foxes' Midwest League baseball game against Kane County on Monday featured an early letdown by the Foxes. The Cougars exploded for seven runs in the first inning and weren't threatened after that in posting a 9-3 win over the Foxes. In the decisive inning, Kane County used four singles, a double by Scott Southard, two errors, four walks and a sacrifice fly to score the seven runs. Kevin Millar, Brendan Kingman, Ron Brown, Willie Brown and Southard drove in runs.

Starting pitcher Ivan Montane was relieved by Matt Aminoff with only one out in the first. The Cougars made it 8-0 in the sixth. Ralph Milliard singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Billy McMillon's run-scoring double. The Foxes came back with three in the seventh off Felix Heredia, the MIDWEST LEAGUE SECOND HALF Northern Division Pet. CB 23 .617 Appleton 32 27 .542 4V4 Beloit 32 27 .542 4V4 W.

Mich 32 28 .533 5 Kane Co 31 29 .517 6 S.Bend 31 29 .517 6 Fort Wayne .29 31 .483 8 Southern Division Cedar Rap. .36 23 .610 Peoria 30 28 .517 5V4 33 .450 Clinton 26 33 .441 10 x-Spring 25 34 .424 11 Quad City ...24 35 .407 12 Madison 23 35 .397 12V4 x-won first-half title Monday's games Kane County 9, Appleton 3 Fort Wayne 4, Rockford 2 West Michigan 7, South Bend 6 Burlington 5, Beloit 4 Madison 7, Springfield 3 Clinton 20, Peoria 4 Quad City 6, Cedar Rapids 5, 17 innings Today's games Appleton at Rockford Beloit at Burlington Springfield at Madison Clinton at Peoria Cedar Rapids at Quad City i- i- MATT MANTEI, the Appleton Foxes' closer, was named to the Midwest League's all-star team. third pitcher used by Kane County. Jose Cuellar singled to right and moved to second on an error by Cougars center fielder Brown. Mike Barger followed with a single to A bit of a serious forms.

"Using the analogy of a dandelion, it then became a question of how deep the roots were," Greenbaum said. "And in this case, they were not very deep. While the cancer can be deadly if it remains untreated, Greenbaum said Daulton's mole was removed in the earliest stages of the cancer and shouldn't require further treatment. "If caught early enough, as in this case, the cure rate is almost 100," Greenbaum said. hs Daulton "Well, I lir" APPLETON Sturdvntlf Deknee12b Marquez rf McNairdh Clifford 1b Gvara 3b Siandc Cuellar Barger cf Patel 3b Totals KANE COUNTY abrhM brhbl 5 0 11 Milliard 2b 5 0 0 0 Berg 3b 3 0 1 OMcMillon If 4 0 0 0 Millar dh 4 0 01 0 Kingman 1b 4 0 2 0 Brawn cf 2 0 0 0W Brown rf 2 1 1 OPraterc 4 12 1 Southard ss 3 110 36 1 9 3 Totals 5 3 2 0 4 12 1 3 112 4 0 11 3 111 4 12 1 4 111 2 100 4 0 11 33 11 Appleton wmwJKH 003 0O0-3 Kane County 700 001 01X-8 SDB A2, KC1.SF Millar.

-Cuellar. Barger. W. Brown. 38 Sturdivant, Marquez.

2B Southard, Berg. LOB- A 7, KC 8. IP ER BB SO Appleton Montane L.7-9 1-3 6 Aminoff 6 4 Krueger 1 2-3 2 Kane County Alfonseca W.6-3 5 5 Anderson 1 0 Heredia 1 3 0 7 1 2 1 2 0 0 Farmer 2 1 PB Cuellar. 2:25. A 7,022.

said Daulton had asked that his condition not be disclosed. But the team decided to release the information after a local television reporter learned of the surgery and called the team for comment. Daulton, at home in the Philadelphia area, is the second Phillies player to undergo a cancer operation this year. First baseman John Kruk had a cancerous testicle removed March 8 and underwent several weeks of low-dose radiation treatment. Daulton also underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last week, an operation that could sideline him for the rest of the season.

cturing I Vanessa oiinrver Up talent August 22-27 4 By Don Wade Scripps Howard News Service Like the baseball players who went on strike in the midst of this great season, Bobby Richardson once up and quit the game, too. Blame money for both. Richardson was just 31 years old when he played his last game for the New York Yankees in 1966. A second baseman, Richardson had enjoyed a good baseball life as the Yankees won the pennant nine times in his first 10 seasons. But with two young sons back home in Sumter, S.C., he believed it was time to leave the road.

Baseball didn't manufacture millionaire infielders then, but it did offer a nice living. Bobby Richardson had simply had enough. "To a man, my teammates aid I was crazy," Richardson said. Richardson, 58, is credited with founding the Baseball Chapel -informal clubhouse prayer and Bible study meetings and today his sons, Robby and Ron, are pastors in Sumter. Unfortunately, the power of prayer might not even be enough to save this baseball season, which has not stopped on a dime, but been run over by a Brinks truck.

Richardson, though able to understand the players' side, is amazed at how insulated today's stick-and-ball millionaires are. He accepts that baseball is a business, and that there are business issues with long-term consequences to be resolved. But he also realizes every action brings a reaction: When the players walked, they toppled a huge domino. The dominoes are still falling, and innocent bystanders are being crushed emotionally, if not financially. "I don't think the players, have even thought about (the ethics) of this yet," Richardson said.

Perfect example: New York Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto recalling a ride from hotel to ballpark on the team bus last season. "Rizzuto said, 'Would you believe it? Of the 25 players, 12 of them had cellular phones and were buying and selling stock on the way to the ballpark. No wonder they can't play their best In fairness, there has been some good baseball this year. But the wonders of the game are fading like a tiring pitcher. Naturally, Richardson says he can't imagine a players' strike in his day.

And if he had hung on and played till he was of little or no use on the field, his opinion would not be especially valid. But Richardson still was an everyday player when he retired. He played in seven World Series, and caught the famous Willie McCovey line drive to preserve the Yankees' win over the San Francisco Giants in 1 962. So he's entitled to his opinion, and his opinion is that gains won during Marvin Miller's tenure as the players' union leader have now "gone overboard." The same might be said of the layer-owner relationship, which as been drowning in acrimony for decades. "It was not that way when I played," Richardson said.

"When I retired, Dan Topping, one of the Yankees' owners, asked me to come down and spend three days with him." The relationship endured. This year, Richardson went quail hunting with the late Topping's sons. At last word, Mets owners Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon had not inquired about spending quality time with Bobby Bonilla. "We didn't have free agency," Richardson said. "We did have team loyalty.

"You ask the average baseball fan, and he could probably name the starting lineup of the '61 Yankees, except maybe for left field, which was our swing position. "He probably can't name the starting lineup for any team of today." Like the rest of us, Bobby Richardson doesn't know when this strike will end, how it will end, or what will ultimately come of it. But he does know why baseball is in this position: "Serious negotiations never took place. Both sides stood firm from the start." When this bunch goes hunting, it shoots itself in the foot. Don Wade is a columnist for The Evansville (Ind.) Courier.

BASEBALL NOTES Bonds' feud continues in court A lawyer defends the judge's request for the Giants star's autograph By The Associated Press Barry Bonds' lawyer terms "no big deal" an autograph request from a judge who reduced the star outfielder's spousal and child support payments. The lawyer for Bonds' wife sees it differently. Robert Nachshin, Bonds' lawyer, defended the strike-related reduction and said the decision actually grew out of Sun Bonds' demand for more money. "This was not something Barry or myself initiated," Nachshin said Monday. He said Bonds, who signed a six-year, $43.75 million contract with the San Francisco Giants before the 1993 season, complied with the request that followed the Aug.

15 decision by San Mateo County Superior Court Commissioner George Taylor. Lawyer Lawrence Stotter, who represents Sun Bonds in the divorce proceeding, has complained the autograph request was inappro-riate and left his client feeling "she was not playing on a level playing field." But Nachshin said: "I think the business with the autograph is really a ruse. I mean, everyone asks Barry Bonds for his autograph. That doesn't mean he gets preferential treatment. It just means he's a celebrity." According to Nachshin, the hearing involved a filing by Stotter on behalf of Sun Bonds, who was seeking to boost monthly support payments to about $130,000 from $15,000.

The couple has two children, Nikolai, 4, and Shikari, 3. Divorce proceedings began in May. Taylor's decision cut Bonds' support payments to $7,500 a month. PIRATES TALKS: Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin, whose team was once promoted as the boys of winter, is again interested in buying Pittsburgh's boys of summer. He initially approached the Pirates board of directors in February about buying the financially strapped team, but the board unanimously rejected his offer, reportedly worth $85 million.

Plus 4 More Girls ft- -v AP photo by Rusty Kennedy MATT ANDREWS, a Springfield, left fielder, can't reach this fly ball Monday during the first day of the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa. Springfield beat Middleboro, 2-1 In other games, Brooklyn Center, topped Northridge, 4-2; Taiwan defeated Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, 4-1 and Venezuela stopped Saudi Arabia 5-1 Daulton has cancerous mole removed stretch over 98." Greenbaum added that malignant moles are common among those, like Daulton, who are often exposed to the sun. Team doctor Phillip Marone sent Daulton to Philadelphia for a biopsy earlier this month because the mole had become darker and larger over the course of the season. The decision to remove the mole was made after the biopsy revealed it to be ma- lignant. Phillies spokesman Larry Shenk through the end of what would've been the regular season.

Umpires' salaries range from $60,000 to $175,000 after 25 years. But if there is no settlement of the strike that began Aug. 12 and no playoffs and World Series, the umpires will lose out, too. Umps with at least five full years of service stood to get $20,000 from a postseason pool and all others were to get $10,000. In addition, umpires who work the World Series and league championship series were to get an extra There is no agreement yet on how much money umpires would get for working the first round of the expanded playoffs; also, the NL still must find a way to get enough umpires for that opening round because not enough are eligible under the existing rotation system.

Doctors expect the Phillies catcher will need no more treatment and will recover fully PHILADELPHIA (AP) Doctors believe they removed a cancerous mole from Darren Daulton's stomach early enough for the Philadelphia Phillies catcher to make a complete recovery. Steven Greenbaum, chief of der-matological surgery at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, where Daulton underwent surgery last Tuesday, said the cancer was malignant melanoma, one of the disease's three most 'A Even an ump went to Woodstock would, never say 100, but well a lot of umpires are turning up in unusual spots this summer. Dave Phillips got to be part of his daughter's wedding shower and got to go to golf school. Joe Brinkman also got to hit the golf course sooner than expected. "I think our wives are getting tired of us being around so much," Brinkman said from his home in Cocoa, Fla.

"It was quite nice for a couple of days," said Brinkman, an AL umpire since 1973. "But your body is used to you going to the ballpark at 6 o'clock. It's like it's 6 o'clock and time to go, but there are no games to go to." Fortunately for the umpires, there still are paychecks to collect. The umpires' contract covers them for 75 days of a work stoppage, meaning they'll be paid The baseball strike has sent umpires in search of other summer activities By The Associated Press A mud pit at Woodstock might be the last place anyone would expect to find a major-league umpire. Yet a day after the baseball strike started, there was Tom Hallion.

"I've been on the NL staff for nine years, and I probably wouldn't have been able to do this in the past," Hallion said this week. "It was great. Peter Gabriel put on a great concert. Traffic was good and so was Crosby, Stills and Nash. I'm so glad we got to do it." Because of the players' walkout,.