Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 44

Baseball Section Page 4 I Fort Worth Star-Telegram I Wednesday October 11 1995 Spet ion a Pacrp 4 Fort Worth Star-Telearam Wednesday October 11 1995 wyk Rangers change TV outlets move to channels 5 39 pressed interest including KTXACh 21 KDAFCh-33 KIWWCh 4 and KIM Ch 27 and Prime LIN Television had the most attractive offer Schieffer said LIN Television is required to air 90 games on or IOCTX Adams said at least 25 games will be sold to a cable outlet possibly Prime which televised 58 games in the strike-shortened 1995 season and 53 in 1993 One hitch in the expired agreement with KTVI which became a CBS-affiliate station this year was the conflicts between Rangers games and the network's regular programming IOCAS is an NBC affiliate but Adams said that will not be a problem since most of the games will be aired on to sit down and decide to put the team together The important thing is the same team will do it on each station" Steve Busby and Jim Sundberg did the games for KIVT this season while Mark Holtz Norm Hitzges and Tom Grieve were the announcers on Prime Sports Schieffer said the Rangers will hire the announcers Talks between UN Television and the Rangers did not start until KTVI balked at the possibility of televising games with replacement players if the strike that delayed this season had continued Schieffer said LIN made an offer to do the replacement games and kept in contact Once negotiations broke down with KTVT Schieffer said several groups ex "Because of the relationship between Channel 5 and Channel 39 we will be able to maximize the schedules between NBC 5 and 39" Adams said "It provides us tremendous flexibility That is the key to the deal and the strength of the deal on both sides" In addition to being responsible for the production of the games the Rangers Report possible pregame and postgame shows and specials throughout the season UN Television will also assemble the stations in the Rangers' five-state television network of Texas Arkansas Oklahoma New Mexico and Louisiana Schleifer said the arrangement includes a "state-of-the-art" television production facility that LIN Television plans to build at The Ballpark in Arlington baseball over the air We know that we will be able to give our fans the best television broadcasts in the major leagues" KMChannel 11 aired Rangers broadcasts the past 11 years but its latest three-year deal expired after the 1995 season "We could not be more thrilled" said Doug Adams president and general manager of KXAS "1 can't describe the feeling we have for the Rangers organization We are already looking forward to the beginning of the season" A highlight of the deal Schieffer said is that the Rangers will employ only one announcing crew no matter which station handles the broadcasts "We have some great broadcasters on our outlets" Schieffer said "We just have BY CLARENCE HILL JR Fort Worth Star-Telegram ARLINGTON Range's took a step forward by going backward yesterday when they signed a five-year broadcasting agreement with KXASCh Sand UN Television The deal gives UN Television the rights to televise all non-national network games on KXAS which handled the Rangers' broadcasts from 1975-1984 and its affiliate KXTXChannel 39 Financial terms were not announced "We are very excited about having LIN Television as our broadcast partner for the next five years" Rangers president Tom Schleifer said "They will split the broadcasts between Channel 5 and Channel 39 It is the best showcase for Rangers National League Notes Networks baseball start talks 1 Phil's hands Braves vs Reds Vest: at Cincinnati Today: at Cincinnati 7:07 pm Friday: at Atlanta 7:07 pm Saturday at Atlanta Sunday: at Atlanta Tuesday: atOncimati 707 pm Oct 18: atCincinnati 7:07 pm necessary After the demise of The Baseball Network several TV organizations are expected to make bids for the sport's broadcast rights for next season Between the lines with Phil Record Fort Worth StarTelegram special assistant to the publisherlombudsman Swings a mean racquet Reads the Bible Hates mackerel Loves Tchaikovsky He's taught his cat to shake hands and his dog to purr undoubtedly easy feats compared to being the paper's ombudsman "I try to promote understanding" Phil Record says As ombudsman he does it by explaining the newspaper's side to readers and relating readers' feelings to the paper A lot of people who call him are furious Some are just plain peeved Phil tries to take it all in stride Being equal '9 parts answer-man Dear Abby and Henry Kissinger helps Read Phil's column in your Star Telegram 1 iji 1 BY SIMON GONZALEZ Fort Worth Star-Telegram Johnson not bitter: The scene was not exactly heartwarming but at least it was cordial Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was on the field during batting practice with her beloved pet and team mascot Schottzie 02 before Game 1 of the National League Championship Series last night at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium As she was leaving she walked up to manager Davey Johnson and wished him good luck Johnson smiled and said thank you The smile was not forced It was a bit ironic perhaps but not forced Johnson has every reason not to smile Because of Schott's curious way of doing business Johnson is a lame duck Sweep the Atlanta Braves win the World Series it does not matter Johnson is gone after this season and third-base coach Ray Knight will take his job But Johnson said he is not bitter "I know I work for an owner" he said "I want to put a competitive ballclub on the field and make them proud of me If they want to fire me that's their business It doesn't have to be an unhappy ending Why can't we still be friends? I think we're going to have that here" Postseason success: John Smoltz the Braves' scheduled starter for Game 2 tonight has been deadly in the postseason He is 4-1 with a bday's Staralegram Our news hits home 193 earned-run average in six starts in League Championship Series games and 1-0 with a 1 95 ERA in two World Series starts "That's a different time for me" Smoltz said "The way I approach the playoffs is the biggest reason I've been successful in the past I don't look at it as pressure Pressure to me is the organization telling me it's my last game" Smoltz did have a rough outing in his only start of the division playoffs allowing five runs in 523 innings against the Colorado Rockies But Reds shortstop Barry Larkin said his team isn't counting on similar success "I think the Rockies have an exceptional offensive attack" Larkin said "Everybody in their lineup can hit home runs Pitchers tend to be more cautious I don't think that's the same case here" Justice plays: Braves right fielder David Justice played despite a sore right knee an injury that occurred when he fouled a ball off it in the division series His status was in doubt until he took early batting practice and fielded grounders during regular batting practice 4'1' '011 1 ki 1 4 i 4 1 -or 'i Ao 70 r- iv 40-Aler -c 116sodup i 4 4 I 11rook lk --Ar -0-- Oa 5i IrgrIpto 14 til f'' 444 ''''i '41Of dii I It 4 '44 4 444001 dr :10 cr S8 tr 44-4 mog 41'11-Otr i National From Page 1 BY JOHN NE1SON The Associated Press NEW YORK Major-league baseball became fair game to the highest TV bidder yesterday touching off what is expected to be an intense but brief period of talks to replace the short-lived Baseball Network Fox and CBS are among those interested in stepping into baseball's TV void which could be filled NFL-style with several networks carving up the major leagues "We're meeting with them this afternoon" CBS Sports president David Kenin said yesterday "I don't think it will be very complicated I think they'll come in with a highly structured plan" ABC and NBC dissolved The Baseball Network in disgust June 23 leaving baseball without a national broadcast contract for next season Monday was the final day of a 45-day period during which ABC and NBC had exclusive rights to negotiate with baseball Now Barry Frank of IMG baseball's TV negotiator is free to conduct talks with any network interested "I'm excited about the possibility if the right deal can be made" CBS Sports vice president Rick Gentile said "We're not going to go crazy but I'm hoping a deal can be made and hoping CBS can get back into baseball" Several factors point toward a quick end to negotiations the most urgent of which is network TV's immediate need to begin selling ads for next year's games Network ad units already are being sold for the spring television season Indications are that an announcement could come by the end of the World Series scheduled to go no later than Oct 29 As soon as World Series ratings are calculated baseball's new network partners would like to begin selling postseason ads as well "The sooner the better" Kenin said "We are interested in resolving this thing" At the same time there also are strong indicators pointing to a multinetwork deal Yes that's the direction baseball seems to be desirous of" Gentile said "Whether someone will jump in and do it like we did in 1989 or '90 I don't know Nobody knows that" CBS had major-league baseball by itself from 1990-93 incurring losses of as much as $500 million on its I 1 billion contract With Fox now a player in TV sports such a pre-emptive bid is not outside the realm of possibility again Fox paid more than $15 billion to get NFL games for four years Although Fox said yesterday that it would have no comment Chase Carey the network's chief executive officer said recently that Fox intends "to remain aggressive and opportunistic" in its efforts to get baseball "Whether we can or not remains to be seen" he said Indury insiders say they would be shocked if Fox gets shut out of baseball American League Notes Braves moved ahead of Philadelphia on July 6 and pulled away to the NL East title while the Reds overcame a 1-8 start and led the NL Central after June 5 Under the old division alignment the Reds would have finished second to the Braves in the NL West missing out on the playoffs The expanded playoff format allowed the two best teams to meet for the league championship "It's exciting that they have the best record in our league and the two best teams in the league are facing each other for the league championship" Reds manager Davey Johnson said "That's the way it should be We felt this is what it would come down to We can't wait for it to begin" "This is about two of the best teams in the world playing against each other trying to get to the World Series" Reds general manager Jim Bowden said "They're evenly matched teams and anyone predicting anything less than a seven-game series is crazy" Not to mention unpopular with Schott When Bowden was asked about club finances he said "Winning helps A World Series that goes six or seven games helps" Footnote: The last two games of the World Series are scheduled for the National League city this year more concerned about her dog and her dollars in the playoffs Schott has not gotten over her disappointment at the Reds' 1990 World Series sweep of Oakland she had to refund money for the last two games that would have been played in Cincinnati When the Reds swept the Dodgers Friday Schott again lost out on two home gates That was at the forefront of her thoughts as she dabbed champagne from her face in the clubhouse "1 told them 'Why do we always have to she said Dollars aside the teams figure a go-the-distance series would be a fitting finish for the two clubs that are undeniably the league's best The Reds and Braves spent much of the season leapfrogging for the league's best record Since July 2 either Cincinnati or Atlanta had the NL's best mark Atlanta pulled away at the end finishing 90-54 to the Reds' 85-59 Both teams were picked to win their divisions easily and both overcame slow starts to do so The Indians vs Mariners Test: at Seattle Today: at Seattle 7:07 pm Friday: at Cleveland 7:07 pm Saturday: ataeveland 6:07 pm Sunday: at Cleveland 6:07 pm Tuesday: at Seattie 7:07 pm Oct 18: at Seattle 7:07 pm --if necessary He said it "The Indians have been phenomenal They've dominated they're the measuring stick for this league and all of baseball But we didn't come here to compete against them We came to beat them If we pitch well play well defensively and hit the ball well we have a good chance of beating them" Seattle manager Lou Piniella BY TR SULLIVAN Fort Worth Star-Telegram No problems: Cleveland Indians officials did not complain about the Seattle Mariners roster manipulation that allowed them to activate rookie pitcher Bob Wolcott even though he wasn't on the original playoff roster The Mariners did it by activating injured pitcher Greg Hibbard off the disabled list to replace reserve outfielder Warren New-son The Mariners then declared Hibbard unable to pitch and replaced him with Wolcott "Well it's within the rules" Cleveland general manager John Hart said "I'm not crazy about being the road team twice in two playoff series A lot of things don't make sense We're just glad to be here" The Mariners' last-minute move left the Indians scrambling to get videotape and scouting reports on Wolcott whom they did not face during the season "We got the tapes on a flight last night or this morning out of Cleveland and picked them up at 1 1 this morning" dleveland manager Mike Hargrove said Today's pitchers Away Scheduled 1995 '95 vs Opt Last 3 starts Home Prtetaw Tine tine W-L ERA W-I IP ERA WI 1P ERA At Smo St(R) 12-7 3 31 3-0 24 0 188 1-0 15 2 345 Ctn Even-6 12-5 345 1-1 290 2 17 0-1 190 379 "We've been watching them and we got what we needed out of them" Johnson factor: The Indians aren't expecting Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson to be less effective during this series just because of his heavy workload down the stretch "So Randy is going to throw 97 mph instead of 98" Hargrove said "I think if you talk to any baseball player who is a hitter in either league and ask who they would least like to face Randy Johnson would head the list Nobody relishes the idea of facing a guy who is 6-foot-10 throws 98 miles per hour and throws as good a breaking pitch as you'd want to see" Briefly: Hargrove is undecided on his Game 4 pitcher He'll either bring back Dennis Martinez on three days' rest or go with Ken Hill Hershiser on the offenses in the series: "The key is to get the guy out at the plate you can't worry about the next guy They have a fantastic lineup just like us You just have to get people out there's nobody to pitch around and get the next guy You can lose a game on one pitch because there are so many guys who can hit the ball out of the yard" Indians outfielder Manny Ramirez's third-inning single last night snapped an 0-for-i 3 postseason streak Legend: W-1 Won-Lost IP: Innings pitched ERA: Earned-run average Vs Opp Pitcher's record vs this opponent 1995 MUSICS European PGA golfers set sights on earnings title VIRGINIA WATER England Ryder Cup teammates Sam Torrance Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer all have a shot at the PGA European Tout money-winning title with one event to play Langer has won $900875 The final event of the season for this yeir's money list is thp Volvo Masters in Spain scheduled Oct 26-29 I AMElialk-AMM-AE An a-.