Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 19

SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2000 GUM I Tigers win, remain a mystery ercker tested for bleeding' in brain rh'jlit and coi.i'i be out long as three vtf iiwf a 'Vd rajMK-iyer had an VHi e'bo tins hii'1 ail seam Philadelphia: civ-wan Rico Brogna hi! by a i.ii-!. Aejrn iC.iy underwent surgery on tMken Ml toeaim ana is oat 10 12 weeks St. Louis: Centeifieidur Jim tdmonds. ac-qiau'd in March from Anaheim, agreed to a rJ-nulla six year contract extension. The deal includes a club option for 200.

Edmonds is making $4 5 million and would have been eligible tor fre agency after the season Edmonds 20, was leading the majors in batting 1 40G) entering Friday. The red 19X2 Corvette th at the club gave to Mark McGwire following his record 62nd homer in 1998 went on display at the Cardinals' museum, McGwire had the car restored to give it to St. Louis as long as lie played there Center this Weekend for tests. John Kusske, the head of neurologic surgery, said the bleeding's cause was undetermined. Asked whether Mereker's career was threatened, Yocuin said that was a possibility as with any serious injury, "but 1 see no real ominous signs at this point." Cleveland: Manager Charlie Manuul is released from the Cie.eiand CJmc one MtA atter undergoing surgury to have his colon reattached.

The Indians don't expect Manuel tn manage again for another week Colorado: Two-time defending National League batting champion Larry Walker 34) will go on the disabled list because of an injuied IHH I'M US I ANAHEIM, Ciilif. Annuls pitcher Kent Morcker was in intensive care Friday because of bleeding in his brain. He had left his start a nifjlit curlier, complaining of headaches and dizziness. Team physician Lewis Yocuin, who visited Mercker on Friday evening, said he sounded fine and that the bleeding had stopped. Mercker, 32, will stay in intensive care at UC-Irvine Medical From Puge IB April, und New York went on to win another World Series while the Tigers finished CJ9-92.

Friday's result doesn't alter the bigger question: Have the Tigers been in a slump, as Garner suggests, or is this just a bad baseball team? The answer probably lies somewhere in between. When a team like the Tigers goes into a collective swoon for six weeks, the suspicion is that it's more than a slump. Especially when that team was the dregs of the American League in the 1990s. The manager can be excused for identifying the Tigers' crummy start as a slump because this is his first year here. But for the rest of us who have watched the Tigers make the same mistakes over and over again, season after season, it's hard to buy into the slump theory.

It took a win over the Yankees on Friday night to bring the Tigers back to 13 games under .500. Just think how hard it is to dig a hole like that before Mother's li Mi JH -i H.J i fr u.s. dollar's worth up to $1 .45 SUITS FOiPtJU SUITS FO Day. It was an unlikely win at that, with Yankees right-hander Roger Clemens maybe the last pitcher we'll see with a chance to win games going against C. J.

Nitkowski, who is still trying to establish, himself as a major league starting pitcher. To say the Tigers have been stai'ved for runs is an understatement. When they came to bat leading, 5-2, in the bottom of the fifth inning Friday, it was the first time in almost four weeks that they've started their half-inning leading by more than one run. If the Tigers do use Friday's win as a jumping-off point, if they start playing smarter, more resourceful baseball in the coming Weeks and months, then it can still be a fun summer here. But if this is just another case of catching a team like the Yankees at the right time, then the win is nothing more than a statistic.

The pall that at times hangs over the clubhouse seems worse than'l'JiK), when the franchise just about hit rock bottom. The play Slugger Dean Palmer, batting .235 before the game, drilled a home run into the rightfield bullpen. Shortstop Deivi Cruz, batting .248 before the game, singled three times and hit a triple into the distant gap in right-centerfiold. The Yankees nearly came back from a 6-2 deficit. They scored three runs in the eighth, and in final at-bat, Paul OtNeill's two-run homer cut the margin to 9-7.

Closer Todd Jones came in, but he promptly gave up a triple to Bernie Williams. Jorge Posada then hit a monster shot to left. It would have been out of many parks. But at Comorica, it settled into the glove of Rich Becker, who ended his first game as a Tiger by making the final putout. The Tigers haven't been happy about losing potential homers in TIGERS I Hitters come alive Extra Shorts LJLJLJLJL Shorts LJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJ Regular XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Tails Extra Tails XX XJ Regular Portly Short Portly LJLJLJLJLJLA.JL Tall Portly 1 I I be paid $760,000 for gear ers keep waiting keep expecting a shake-up.

They anticipate that the front office will seize the problem by the throat and make changes. But the days go by and nothing happens. Publicly at least, Tigers management hangs onto the idea that this team is just slumbering and eventually will meld and put together a winning season. Just exactly when Tigers fans can expect this to happen remains a mystery. Tigers general manager Randy Smith was asked if it might make sense to make a trade on the premise that things can't get any worse.

His response was: "If you approach it that way, you're apt to make pretty big mistakes." That would be admirable restraint under normal circumstances. But in the situation the Tigers find themselves, maintaining the status quo much longer seems like it would be an even bigger mistake. Cwitact GENE GUIDI at 313-222-2378. in 9-7 win their spacious new park. But they didn't mind this one.

Nitkowski said the win was for Moriarty, but he knew Moriarty would never have asked for it. "He was just one of those guys who didn't care how I did," Nitkowski said. "He drove 15 hours to see me when I made my first start when I first got called up." Warnings that tornadoes might hit in the middle of the game proved incorrect. But moments after the game ended, with the crowd filing out, a thunderstorm drenched the park. When they arrive at Comerica today, the Tigers will be 10-23.

Nitkowski will be 2-6. He'll still be coping with the death of his friend. But for one night, they avoided the storm, shook their slumps and beat the World Series champions. Nike will pay U-M a 7 percent royalty from September through November, then pay a 10 percent royalty from December through August 2001. DflDOIGOL mm 608! fill HB mm Slatting at ALLSTATE DARTS BILLIARDS Redford 313-531-1035 14349 Telegraph Rd.

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"4t "1 WWF'S "MANKIND" i SAT, MAY 20TH liPM 2tM $15 00 ANY ITEM '1 WCW WRESTLING STAR S6.00ANY ITbM FOHMhH BASFBAt I STAR kl FRIDAY, MAY 19TH 5PM $15 00 FLATBALL 00 ALL OTHt" ITFMS tf-i 1 FORMER FOOTBALL STAR MAY 20TH 12PM 2PM $10 00 ANY ITF.M 1 HOCKEY HALL OF FAMER SAT, MAY 20TH 2PM 4PM $12 00 ANY ITLM HOCKEY HALL OF FAMER LUr.nYL SITTLEIl SAT MAY 20TH 2PM itPM $12 00 ANY ITEM DETROIT TIGER ALUMNI cihtcia, uxm kfp, prul rem CK, C'IE, till EEfSIVl FKED SUN MAY tPM 00 EACH AUTO OTHER SIGNERS TO BE AN.MUUNC53 To Jn-'V U.S. From Page IB the Tigers it was a welcome victory in a lousy year. In the middle of a season in which nothing has gone right, the Tigers walked into a glorious aberration Friday night. They beat the two-time defending World Series champions. They tagged five-lime Cy Young Award winner, Roger Clemens for six runs in less than five innings, Clemens' worst start; of the year.

The Tigers, last in the American League in runs scored, sent nine men to the plate in a four-run fourth. They finished with 16 hits and nine runs, after scoring two runs in their previous 38 innings. Slugger Juan Gonzalez, batting .214 with eight runs batted in before the game, hit an RBI double and reached base three times. U-MI Nike to From Page IB Without an apparel-and-equip-ment contract, U-M was racing against time to outfit its teams, Martin said. The lack of a contract will cost Michigan millions, but school president Lee Bollinger has transferred $3 million to the athletic department to help defray the shortfall.

"We did the most expeditious thing we could do to focus on ensuring that we have the appropriate equipment," Martin said. "The most important thing here was to get the equipment." Several issues have scuttled the Nike deal, including U-M's demands on working conditions in Nike plants overseas and Nike's financial obligations to Michigan. Martin said he hopes to have an apparel contract completed within the next four months, with Nike or another manufacturer. "We've said all along that I never thought it was over with Nike," Martin said. "I still don't think it's over." Nike representative Cheryl McCants said the company "wanted to make sure everybody got uniforms and shoes." But she added that plans to resume negotiations on a new contract with U-M weren't in the works.

Martin said the sticking points can be worked out in negotiations. "Every one of them," he said. (U-M counsel) "Marvin Krislov and I can negotiate those out in an hour. We can negotiate every one of those things to everybody's satisfaction." lit I V. -vj In ending the earlier negotiations, Nike said Michigan wanted the right to dictate changes in working conditions at Nike plants after the sides had agreed to terms in the contract.

"One thing we've been shoulder to shoulder with Nike on we believe that for any meaningful work to take place in the labor-conditions arena, the apparel manufacturers have to have a seat at the table," Martin said. "We're all willing to talk about it." Under the new deal, U-M will pay Nike $760,000 by Aug. 1. That total would drop if Nike provides the apparel and equipment at a lower cost. 38.50 Per Full Roll Less Than Full Rolls $1.00 Per Foot Galvanized Posts $5.40 $3.40 We Rent You Tools Compare Our Qualityl 4 1X1 JttI 1 1 Clnun.T 20 off'' irx Lionel Am.

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