Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 65

(fhirago (Tribune Business ft 1 i i I I ii Section 4 ''Monday, IftprS 27. 1981 BEST COPY AVAILABLE straigh victory 12th defeat in a row A 174 start Britt 'Burns jDitched the Sox' to their longest Mike Schmidt's homer helped send the Cubs to their 12th The Oakland A's stayed loose during the weekend. winnina streak since 1977, defeat in a row, one short of the club record Sunday, they beat Seattle 9-4. Story, page .3., Sport K7U If JJ able bodies to Sox have enough win Bob Verdi By Robert Markus CMcaoo Tribun Presa Strvict DETROIT The season is only two weeks ola and already Eddie Einhorn's nerves are shot. "This is insane," moaned the new White Sox president Sunday as his team's for- tunes rose and fell like the stock Eventually," the White Sox sent Einhorn home drained but happy after they steered a perilous course to a 5-4 victory and a sweep of their three-game series with the Tigers.

It was their sixth victory In a row, and they left for Baltimore the1 second leg of this four-city trip with a 10-3 record and a sense that greatness is -their destiny. How else explain what went on Sunday, a day when Manager Tony LaRussa used every able-bodied non-pitcher on his roster and at least one body that was more willing than able? LaRussa pushed buttons like some mad genius as he guided the White Sox from behind with a three-run seventh inning and kept them in front while the Tigers mounted threats in the last two- innings. HE ENDED UP with Carlton Fisk at third base for "about the third or fourth game of my career," and the catcher, who could not p'erform behind the plate because of his sore left shoulder, figured prominently in the ninth-inning dramatics. Fisk had made his appearance dur wobble through an agonizing eighth in which he gave up a hit and a walk and seemed anything but in control of the situation. "As' long as guy is throwing decent," explained LaRussa, "I want him to go as long and as far as he can.

I was trying to keep a left in there as long as I could. 1 respect the left handers the Tigers-have on their bench." LaRUSSA HAD SAID he would prefer, not' to pitch Ed Farmer against theJTigers because of a possi-t ble carry-over from last year's incident with kl Cowens. "As far as Farmer is concerned, I know that's over," he said, "but, still, there's going to be a reaction from the crowd when he comes in, and I don't want to give up any little edge. But today my starting pitcher was out of gas, and I didn't want to use Lamarr Hoyt at all today." So, Farmer it was, to start the ninth. The first batter, Rick Peters, got a single when Mike Squires dived to knock.

down his grounder but couldn't hold it. The Tigers' fourth sacrifice bunt of the game moved Peters to second. Farmer walked Steve Kemp, the second leading batter in the American League, and then Lance Parrish, who earlier had homered against Burns, hit a hot smash to Fisk at third base. Fisk was playing there because Continued on Page 7, col. 1, ing the game-winning rally when he for Jim Essian with the bases filled and hit a sacrifice fly to cut the Tiger lead to 4-3.

Bob Molinaro then hit a pinch triple that (a) drove in the tying and winning runs and raised batting average 1,000 points.iln six previous pinch-hit appearances; Molinaro had walked five times and hit a sacrifice fly. But once the. White Sox had the lead, their problem was to hold it. No small problem. Britt Burns was-struggling to control his; breaking-pitches, and he was losing the "Usually, he has good command of his pitches," said LaRussa, "but not today." he let the left hander r.

0 Payton relaxes at full gallop FOR WALTER PAYTON, having been given a heavenly body was not enough. He has to go out and fine tune it, for hours a day, every Exercise makes the common healthy, but torture makes Walter Payton an uncommon man. "There are times when I work out and feel like if I take one more step, I'm gonna die," he says. "But if I don't take that step, I don't stay sharp. I lose my( He sits there, this 205-pound Adonis, eating potato chips, 1,1 almost defying these junkiest of foods to contaminate his system.

Jt is break time at the Bears' spring mini-camp, and the National Football League's real estate king is relaxing. But only for a little while. Soon, those potato chips will be lost in a puddle of perspiration up on the practice, field. One would think, after six seasons of excellence, that Payton might be lulled by some sense of satisfaction-. He owns five consecutive NFC rushing titles and as many successive seasons.

Three more winters of averaging a mere 82 yards per game and he will surpass Jimmy Brown's career record of 12,312, a mark once deemed unreachable. Cubs stagger along on road to infamy i By Bob Logan HISTORY TELLS US the Cubs should go BUT PAYTON IS THE consummate pile driver, with or without the ball, with or without a game the next His 1 inseason work ethic is no secret. The dayafter he gained 275 yards against the Minnesota Vikings four years ago, he was out there working with the Bears' first and second teams. Payton's off-season self-induced suffering, though, may be the final equation between true grit and true greatness. Suffice it to say, when formal training begins in July, the man they call "Sweetness" does not report short of breath.

"What I do on my own to stay in shape is actually hartier than what we do when we're training during the season," he says. "I do a lot of working out at a high school only a couple rf Pit miles from my home. Sometimes, when I done, I have to lie out on the field for a while because I'm too tired to get into the car. If somebody came along usually work out by myself they'd think I was a '-ji: "Other times, I get in the car, I just point it toward home, and when I finally get there, I can barely walk in. I just sort i of drop on the floor.

My wife, Connie, sees that and tells me I'm crazy. But she knows that's me, and it's the only way." WHILE OTHER PLAYERS unwind from a winter of grunts. from rags to riches in just one season. The last time they lost this many games in a row was 1944, when they set the all-time club record of 13 straight setbacks. One year later, the Cubs won the National League pennant.

Reality tells us the Cubs will not win a pennant next season, and, in all probability, not next century, either. Chances their only, shot at immortality will come Tuesday, when they get a chance to equal that 1944 record of ineptitude by losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in Wrigley Field, The Cubs proved that defeats are cheaper by the dozen Sunday by tamely submitting 6-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies for wipeout No. 12 in a string stretching back to April 11. They did not lose on April 13 or April 23, possibly because no games were scheduled, and they were frozen out in Montreal-April 14.

IT HARDLY SEEMS FAIR to count half the losses in the dismal string, because the Cubs, were up against a team that plays major-league baseball. The Phillies have batters who can hit the ball out of the park, pitchers who keep it in the park, fielders who catch it and throw it, and runners who actually cross the plate. While losing to the World Champions for the sixth time in as many meetings, the Cubs could retaliate only with major-league fans. Long after the issue was decided, many of y'the 10,093 spectators were on their feet, cheer- ing, applauding, and calling (in vain, naturally) for a Cub rally. Since nothing his troops did called for more than a deep sigh, Cub Manager Joe Amalfitano gladly paid tribute to the real stars of a dreary "God love 'em," Amalfitano said tf those true believers.

"I've said this all along through the '60s and '70s and I say it again: the Cubs have the most patient, loyal, supportive fans' you'll find anywhere. "That makes it even more difficult, because we're trying so hard to win for them. The fans have to be We're their team." THE DIEHARDS WILL not have to suffer Monday, a brief respite in a season progressing like the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Amalfitano plans to give the players a day off, hoping it will ease the tension and frustration. "Whether we won or lost, I didn't want them but here tomorrow," the beleagured manager said.

"Yeah, they have to be thinking about it if thmi naiA an1 tliAtr all a ra groans, and groins, rare is the day when Payton doesn't punish In January, he makes his annual journey to' the Pro Bowl. In February, the regimen is interrupted slightly by such as the Auto Show. Even then, he spends evenings in his hotel room with a portable exercise machine. Come the program accelerates. The hotter the 1 weather, the better.

The routine begins about. 7 in the morning. Payton runs three miles, just to loosen up. Then it is on to that high school field, so he may die a few deaths. "I measure off distances that will test my quickness," he says.

"I've changed my routine as I've gained experience. I work more on things now that I'll use in games. I mean, if you just run for long distances, you still aren't irt shafle for quick bursts, like you 11 need carrying the ball. "So, I do a few 100-yard dashes, then 50s, 40s, and 10s. All against the clock.

I- carry a stopwatch in my hand. I hit it when I' start and again when I'm done. You have to run against time, or it isn't as effective." A 440-YARD JAUNT or three then comes stretching and weight-lifting. Payton stays away from the bench, though he can press 390 pounds. He prefers to work on his legs and chest.

By 11 a.m., it is time for a sandwich. By 1 p.m., it's round, two. Payton will run stairs or bleachers or hills or all of the above. Then another 440. Then more 100s, 50s, 40s, and 10s.

Stretching follows, by which time it is, 4 o'clock. "If I get itchy later at night, I go out and shoot baskets," he says. "That I do for fun, just like playing racquetball. If I 1 don't do something physical, I get lazy, restless, bored. How Tribune photo by Edward Wagner Jr.

LW'A many hours a day do I work out during the off-season? Six? 44 We talked in spring training about busting 't Art co iraHncf cnmo OYfitomonf- with crwaH nn Seven? Have to. "The most difficult part is getting yourself up mentally for it That's why I say, when I quit playing football, it won't be because the legs went first. It's true that there are only so many miles left in them, but it won't be the legs that go first. Cubs' pitcher Bill Caudill takes a dis- dainful view of the events that led to his. departure in the third inning Sunday.

seemingly endless procession of Cub ground-outs. "Now that we're leaving, I hope the Cubs go crazy and win 20 in a row," Schmidt said. "I like to come here and play in the daytime. The fences are shorter in this park, and I can afford to wait for my pitch and take a walk instead of jumping at the ball. "My' wife is with me on this trip, and we enjoy going out to dinner at the good restaurants in Chicago." PHILLIES MANAGER Dallas recalled that Philadelphia fans, not noted for either patience or restraint, were merciful when the 1961 Phils set the modern major league record of 23 consecutive losses.

"They understood we were busting our the same way the Cubs are doing now," Green said. "These are good fans here, and they know the'Cubs aren't trying to Even if the Cubs keep losing, with or without effort, their fans won't get to see them shatter the all-time record in the flesh. By dropping two games to St. Louis, three to Atlanta, and four to Houston the Cubs would end the home stand with the string at 21 setbacks, two shy of the Phils' mark. It'll be the mind." the bases, and it hasn't happened.

Things are gonna change, but we need the combination of hitting and pitching. Yesterday, we got some runs, and the pitching fell apart. Today. '-No need to finish the sentence, because the Sunday punch was. supplied by that-premier killer, Mike Schmidt.

Amalfitano dipped into his bullpen to give fireballer Bill Caudill a Start, but both he and the Cubs were finished when Schmidt slammed a two-run homer into Waveland' Avenue in the third inning. The homer was Schmidt's second of the weekend series and his.32d in Wrigley Field. J' 4 Tnbun photo Edwrd Wagner Jr. iHAi rui inc. rniiues on top i-i giving i Marty Bystom all the margin he needed but they knocked Caudill out with two more tuns in the inning, turning the rest of the day into a In the Cubs' present state, even -routine popups become First baseman Bill Buckner hung on to.

this'one Sunday, despite catcher Tim Blackwell. a i PAYTON SAYS, if it were up to him, this would be his last year in the NFL, But it isn't up to him. He has a family. Three more years will mean financial security forever. Whether the Bears are up to those finances is another question.

"No, I still don't have a contract," he VWill I sign? that's up to Jim Finks. I never said I wanted -a, million dollars. "I have no intention of leaving Chicago, but there are lots of "-places I haven't visited, lots of places I might go to and wind up liking as much ashere. If I leave, though, I won't go away mad. That takes up too much energy." And until he plays his last game, Payton will use -that energy toward playing the perfect game.

"I look at tape of myself," he admits; "Not to see what I did on a play, but what I could have done to make it better. There are too many has-beens who got that way by looking back and getting, satisfied. "The last touchdown you scored doesn't matter. It's the next touchdown. When I retire, then I can, reflect.

But not now. There's still that chance at having that one day; when every-; thing will go right. Everything." i Walter Payton plays that perfect we'll silt hear about it. But not from him. He still lists his hobbies as "the drums, and privacy." Not necessarily in: that order.1.: 1' if gesso.

tS NUpldyers believe in Dennis Green '(''' ''('' I VIS teammates for their initial look at the man hired to dick up the pieces of their football By Skip attitude rubs off on you. Last year is 10 years ago as far as I'm LAST NOVEMBER, Northwestern quarterback Mike Kerrigan was distressed. Behind him were a winless season and a month of controversy, and ahead of him, he knew, were painful adieus to those coaches who had guided him. It was difficult for him to believe the wreckage strewn about him, and as he dressed after the season-ending loss to Wisconsin, he desired nothing but escape from his depressing circumstances. His interest was not awakened until Rick program.

"Everyone was wondering how react to us," Kerrigan remembers. Green's first reaction was to tell a. joke which, helped relax his curious players, and then he began to talk of himself, his beliefs, and his plans for' the future. Throughout his speech, he ignored the past and the controversy and the school's depressing football history, i and when he finished, he had converted his quarterback. "Wow!" Kerrigan thought then.

"This guy's j. "IT WAS DEFINITELY a nice surprise," he Inside: Phil Leonard, an All-State center tot Oak Lawn High School, was not looking forward to his recruiting visit to Northwestern. He knew of its record and its problems, and as he rode toward the school on a Friday night in January, he anticipated meeting a group ol players who'd be benumbed and depressed. "1 thought," he says, "that they'd all be Kerrigan's reaction was shared by many 6f his teammdtes, and they began referring to their new staff as "optimistic" and "enthusiastic," as "nice guys" and "cool guys." Together, they had endured, a past littered only with disappointment and defeat; yet now their cynicism was checked, their doubts were quel- Continued on Page 7 col. 1 P.2 Tiibun Photo by Waltar Naal Venturi was fired and names of possible sue-, cessors began to surface.

Throughout that time of speculation, he hoped only for a new coach who liked to throw the ball. When Dennis Green hired two days before Christmas, he got--, his wish, and then, in January, he, joined his Sixers lead Celtics 3-1 P.4 ii. Tom Watson wins again P5 An imperfect marathon P. 3 NU quarterback Mike Kerrigan is enthusiastic about. Coach Dennis Green, says.

"I was eiatea. i -cowan i wan w.gei started. You take what he says, you really listen; he makes you believe'. 1 don't know how, but he makes you believe. His whole positive i..