The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 68

thelbrkObserver Thursday June 14 1990 Page 8Y 0' SPORTSBEAT1 Best Bet Knights To Dixie Ball Fields Are Busy 4 4'''-' i 4 4 '4 -1 :::::1 TN'i 1 i '-'1'' r-- ''N i ss :0::10 i --''4e: ft-------------': 1 i-' --s: -'17-- I Gor 10 0-- j'-: 1-44''''': I ----t-'--r-- liii4 'i: 4 4 444: i "I- -11 iw :44 rP4 4 4" 4 The boys and girls men and women of summer will be playing all over the area today The Charlotte Knights host the Memphis Chicks at 7:30 pm at Knights Castle Two American Legion baseball games are scheduled for 7:30 pm: York vs Lancaster at Eggleston Field and Rock Hill vs Union at Union Memorial Stadium The Dixie League has a full schedule of games two today at Hargett Park Bank plays Workman Oil at 5:15 pm followed by the Morgan Co-Hoechst Celanese game at 7:30 pm And of course there is softball at Cherry Park Seventeen games are being played between 6:30 and 10:30 pm The agony and the three-point shot may finally be put to rest tonight if the Detroit Pistons can defeat the Portland Trail Blazers and win the NBA Championship The seemingly endless season didn't it start before the Bush Administration? has reached the fifth game in the best-of-seven NBA finals Detroit leads 3-1 Game time is 9 pm on CBS (WBTV Channel 3 in Charlotte WSPA Channel 7 in Spartanburg) Louis Glaser LAYNE BAILEYStaff Knights third baseman Ty Griffin concentrates on his swing during batting practice Wednesday before the game against the Memphis Chicks The Knights III Results of the Charlotte Knights vs Memphis Chicks see Page 40 I ran Tries To Smile Out Of Slump Ty Calendar I Today "You're definitely not seeing that picture perfect swing I'm up there thinking about a bad throw I made or how I'm not playing smooth at third base I'm just not 100" PRO BASEBALL Memphis at Charlotte 7:30 pm By JOE POSNANSKI Staff Wrfter FORT MILL Ty Griffin hears the cracks He hears the boos Sometimes he runs to the dugout and someone screams "You field with your bat Griffin" And Griffin hears them "It hurts sometimes" Griffin said "Sometimes when you get down it might get to you But people don't understand" Ty Griffin AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL York at Lancaster (Eggleston Field) 7:30 pm Rock Hill at Union (Union Mem Stadium) 7:30 pm DIXIE BOYS BASEBALL Bank vs Workman Oil 5:15 pm Morgan Co vs Hoescht Celanese 7:30 pm (all games at Hargett Park) hears them all the time and not just from baseball officials Now Griffin said he's just trying to make baseball fun again He studies third basemen on television trying to figure out how to improve He tries to shake errors out of his mind whenever he's hitting He smiles a lot That was always a big thing with Griffin "Sometimes when he was at GeorOa Tech I would sit in the dugout and just get furious with him because he was out there smiling" said Morris who is managing Team USA this year "He just was out there happy to be alive That's Ty He won't let things bother him" The people around him have confidence that Griffin will overcome Helms: "Ty has what it takes I think he'll make those adjustments He was an All-American a No I pick The Cubs saw something great in him I think he'll make the adjustments" Morris: "Offensively he can make all the things happen Defensively he needs a little more work but I think the potential is there I think he'll be an outstanding player" Lavelle: "All he needs is a four-forfive game and his average will go up 20 points All he needs is that big game" Griffin himself says he doesn't worry "I gotta go out and play tough every day" Griffin said "I've had to make adjustments before This isn't the worst I've faced I'll make it through" He smiles and then walks into the clubhouse knowing he'll walk on the field tonight and hear plenty more advice draft and immediately talk began that Griffin would skip the minor leagues entirely and just start in Chicago Things never worked out that way The Cubs trying to get Griffin up to Chicago as quickly as possible moved him from second base his natural position to third base The Cubs already have Ryne Sandberg considered to be the best second baseman in baseball Third base has been nightmarish for Griffin So far this season he's made 15 errors in 37 games many of those on routine ground balls "It's a difficult adjustment" Griffin said "I think the biggest thing is I flinch a little every time the ball is hit and that stops me in my tracks" Worse though is those errors are hurting Griffin's offense Griffin said he can't get his mind off the errors even when he's hitting At Georgia Tech he set an ACC record with 127 stolen bases With the Olympic team Griffin hit 16 home runs in 185 at bats With Charlotte Griffin is hitting 225 with five homers nine RBIs and four stolen bases "You're definitely not seeing that picture perfect swing" Griffin said "I'm up there thinking about a bad throw I made or how I'm not playing smooth at third base I'm just not 100" How could this have happened to a 6-0 187 pound player with great speed great power who just seems to ooze with talent? Everyone has a thought Knights manager Tommy Helms said sometimes the adjustment for star college players is tougher than non-stars "It's tough sometimes for players who had good success in college" Helms said "You're going to run into some slumps in pro ball and you have to overcome them "Ty has to fight through this thing He has to try and put it out of his mind when he makes a bad fielding play It's not easy but he has to do it" Meanwhile Knights general manager Bill Lavelle says Griffin is just responding the way most young players do The only difference is expectations have been too high "We expect Ty Griffin to be great right away" Lavelle said "But he's playing a new position and he has to make adjustments there We expect him to hit a double with the bases loaded every time up But he's just a young player and it's going to take time" Theories are easy to find Griffin Days were once much easier for Ty Griffin the Char' lotte Knights third baseman Days were once filled with rious home runs and fans who couldn't 1 say enough good things Prep Griffin 22 was Notebook an All-American second baseman at Joe Georgia Tech a star Posnanski with the 1988 US monimmon Olympic baseball team Griffin hit 416 for the Olympic team He hit a home run to lift the United States over Cuba at the 1987 Pan-American Games He hit two gargantuan home runs one left-handed one right-handed against NC State at the ACC tournament "He was along with Jim Abbott probably the most visible amateur baseball player in America" said Jim Morris Griffin's manager at Georgia Tech "He couldn't do anything wrong He hit dramatic home runs He was just getting better and better" Pro baseball was to be an easy step The Cubs selected Griffin in the first round ninth pick in the 1988 amateur CHERRY PARK SOFTBALL Mon's Church A Calvary vs Sylvia Circle 7:30 pm West End Blue vs First Baptist Orange 7:30 pm Lakewood vs Raw Orison Road 8:30 pm PAen's Church II Catawba Green vs Park 8:30 pm Northside vs St Anne's 7:30 pm Mon's Church Eastview vs Pleasant Ridge 6:30 pm Liberty vs Aldersgate 7:30 pm Catawba Red vs COGO Prophecy 8:30 pm Catawba Friendship vs West Main Nazarene 9:30 pm Mon's Church First Presbyterian vs Woodvale 6:30 pm Tega Cay vs Mount Gallant 6:30 pm India Hook vs Woodland 8:30 pm Oakdale vs Epworth 8:30 pm Ebenezer ARP vs First Baptist Green 9:30 pm Wormm's Church First Saints vs Oakdale Baptist 7:30 pm Woodhaven vs West End 8:30 pm First Baptist vs Mount Holly 9:30 pm LANCASTER REC SOFTBALL Interdivision Cauthen's Body Shop vs Warbirds 6:30 pm Springs River long vs Jesse's Paint and Body 7 pm Duracell vs Snack BarTime Outs 7:30 pm Duke Power vs Chandler's Body Shop 8 pm Springs Corp vs Cauthen's Auto Machines 8:30 pm 1 ne El 11 del wil Ro tio reg 1 4 in sta als1 at' di giv RI Mingo Studies List Of Possible Opponents TVRadio Television SPORTSTALK By Joe Posnanski And Louis Glaser teams like Syracuse and Connecticut are playing fewer and fewer games on the road So if teams like Winthrop or James Madison want to play the top competition they need to travel "It's really not fair to your fans" Driesell said "They want to see the good teams too The NCAA should really do something about it" ASEBALL Chicago Cuba at Philadelphia (WGN) 7:30 pm ASKETBALL Detroit at Portland Cr GO (CBS) 9 pm future Winthrop is playing Seton Hall Virginia Xavier Wake Forest and South Carolina on the road this season None of them will return the visit to Winthrop Driesell former basketball coach at Davidson and Maryland says that isn't fair "If those teams are willing to play Winthrop at home they should be willing to go to Winthrop and play a game" Driesell said "It's not fair and it's not right" Both Driesell and UNC Charlotte basketball coach Jeff Mullins said they see a trend where the top teams Cedric Mingo will fight again We're not sure against whom or where but he will fight again according to promoter Bill Reynolds Mingo 28 won the International Boxing Federation Intercontinental Featherweight Championship Jan 19 at the 521 Bingo in his hometown of Lancaster knocking out Ed Pollard in the lith round After stopping El "Jaguar" Toney in the second round of a nonsanctioned bout May 23 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Mingo will defend his title in late July again in Lancaster Reynolds has drawn up a list of three possible opponents: Georgie Navarro the No 1 111F Intercontinental con GOLF US Open (ESPN) 11 am US Open (ESPN) 5 pm US Open (ESPN taped) 7:30 pm US Open Preview (I) (ABC) 11:30 pm WORLD CUP SOCCER Italy vs UnIted States (TNT) 3 pm tender Harold Rhodes the No 5 113F World contender and Flip Johnson the No 5 Intercontinental contender Mingo ranked ninth in the 1BF world ratings is 17-3 with 13 knockouts 'No Fair' Says Lefty Lefty Driesell basketball coach at James Madison says Winthrop's tough road basketball schedule is a sign of the Juniors Putt For Future You know it you love it you putt it The Junior Putters of America weekly competition 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