Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 21

Santa Cruz Sentinel Sunday, March 22, 1992 B-5 pain forces Welch to sit out McClatchy News Service all of which were uncomfortable. "He described it as a knife-like pain every time he tried to throw," Weinberg said. For all of his health woes, Welch, 35, never had back problems. So this development was the last thing he or the A's needed as they head toward Opening Night. Manager Tony La Russa already is confronting a shortage of left-handed relievers, thanks to Joe Klink's elbow injury.

Now the starting rotation is showing its age. "He wasn't looking for any more setbacks," La Russa said of Welch. "To the extent this sets him back, it concerns me." Some of outfielder Willie Wilson's mail carries an interesting twist he occasionally receives letters from soon-to-be-released prisoners. Earlier in his career, Wilson served time for cocaine involvement. That evidently does not go unnoticed among today's inmate population.

"I get letters from prisoners saying, 'Hey, I get out on the ninth, can I get five Wilson said. "I don't really answer those guys." The A's lost 8-4 to the Indians in a game delayed for 1 hour and 45 minutes. It rained for only about 10 minutes but it was a fierce hailstorm, drenching the field at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. As the grounds crew scrambled into action, general manager Sandy Alderson helped. So did hitting coach Doug Rader, who emerged with a shirt caked in mud.

"He'll sleep well tonight," La Russa said. La Russa erupted in a high-pitched laugh at 9:40 a.m. Saturday, when pitcher Dave Stewart belatedly joined stretching exercises. La Russa, apparently enjoying the thought, said Stewart's 10-min-ute tardiness would cost him a contribution to the team party fund. In other words, Stewart will be fined.

Mark McGwire took the day off to attend a family wedding. Kevin Campbell became the emergency starter after Welch scratched. Campbell allowed eight hits and four runs in two innings. Scott Brosius helped his quest for a roster spot with a double and a two-run homer. Brosius is hitting .321 this spring.

PHOENIX Another painful piece of injury news struck the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, when pitcher Bob Welch did not make his scheduled start because of a sharp pain in his back. The A's are clearly worried about Welch, who's already nursing knee and shoulder injuries. He is to leave Arizona and visit team orthopedist Rick Bost in San Francisco on Monday. Bost may need plenty of time to check Welch's various ailments. First there was a sore left knee, followed by bursitis in his right shoulder.

And now the back. "Especially with a guy whose arm isn't right, it's very dangerous to throw with a back problem," trainer Barry Weinberg said. "It's A's notebook too dangerous to try to work through. He could put a lot of strain on his arm. "Bob is concerned.

He knows and we know how close we are to the season starting." With the opener 15 days away, Welch has made only two Cactus League appearances. He was set to start Saturday's game against the Cleveland Indians, but that plan changed shortly after Welch began warming up. Weinberg said Welch felt a sharp pain in the mid-left side of his back, below the shoulder blade. Weinberg was then summoned to watch Welch throw some pitches, Bob Welch To see team doctor Monday Back Clayton Leyland feels left out of Pirates' dealings Baseball notebook 3F 4. Continued from Page Bl see why.

Every day, he does some-, thing to open your eyes. Laterally, he's got great range. He's coming in on the ball better and he's got a great arm. "At the plate, he's a real threat. I'm not ready to say he's going to start over Uribe, but we're certainly having a chance to see the potential and ability we've heard about." Clayton is not that spindly 160-pound kid who came up at the end of last year and hit .115 over the final two weeks of the season.

He's now a sturdy 175-pound prospect, who has raised eyebrows this spring with slashing line drives up the gaps and a strong arm from the hole. His winning double against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night raised his batting average to .324. He has three triples and is third on the club in RBI. At 22, he thinks he's ready for Candlestick Park. But he also knows it's not his decision.

"Is this my year?" Clayton said, repeating the question he's asked every day. "It's something I can't answer. I've just come in and tried to be as consistent as possible. I've come with my ears open and my mouth shut. Now, I'm ready for the season to start.

If it's in San Francisco, I'm ready. "I've heard the horror stories about Candlestick, but it can't be worse than Clinton, Iowa." Clayton is trying to make the jump from Double-A ball, where he hit .280 last year at Shreveport. He had eight triples, stole 36 bases and was named the top prospect in all of minor-league baseball by The Sporting News. "I worked hard in the offseason," Clayton said. "I put on about The Associated Press PITTSBURGH PIRATES Manager Jim Leyland who watched John Smiley get traded and Bill Landrum get released confronted the front office because he felt they were making moves without his input.

It especially hurt when Smiley a popular 20-game winner was dealt Tuesday to the Minnesota Twins. "It hurt me that I wasn't involved, but that's the way it is," said Leyland, who met Friday with general manager Ted Simmons and Mark Sauer, the team president. Simmons wouldn't comment on the meeting, saying it was a private matter. Leyland said he felt better after the discussion. "I felt a little bit hurt but I'm also aware that when a general manager has an opportunity, you can't always get the particulars and discuss things," he said.

Tom Drees, who once pitched two no-hitters in one season at Triple-A Vancouver, was re-assinged Saturday by the Texas Rangers. Dress was 8-8 with a 3.52 ERA last season for Vancouver, the Chicago White Sox' affiliate. When the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves showed up for Friday's exhibition game at Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium, they found the park didn't have any bullpens. Stadium workers had made a mound by building a raised wooden platform with dirt on it. But both teams declined to use Giants shortstop Royce Clayton has made only one error The Associated PressSentinel tile in 11 games this spring.

nore me; I'm the competition, I guess. But he's been very helpful from Day One. I've got a lot of respect for him. Even more now." Growing up in Southern California, where he was a big fan of Dav-ey Lopes and Steve Garvey as a kid, Clayton wasn't so sure what it would be like to be a Giant. "I tell you what, as soon as you put this uniform on, you learn to hate everything blue," Clayton said.

"It's automatic. It's an understood thing." It's all in the uniform. Now, Clayton just hopes he's still wearing it on Opening Day. th Annual Monterey Bay SF rookie's bubble bursts Red hot pitching prospect hits skids against Chicago EasterSeals wesi marine the bullpen mounds and placed a 3Va-hour limit on the game because relievers needed extra time to warm up on the field mound. Milwaukee right-hander Ron Robinson has a pulled muscle on the left side of his rib cage.

Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk will be sidelined at least until Monday because of a sore right foot. ana Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox says second baseman Jeff Tread-way may miss the entire season following hand surgery. It was first thought Treadway would return after the All-Star break. The New York Mets expect Dwight Gooden's next start will be against Houston on Wednesday. The Cardinals said coach Gaylen Pitts will undergo back surgery in St.

Louis next week. He is expected to be sidelined three weeks. Mets left-hander Steve Rosenberg will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder next week. Rosenberg, 1-1 with a 6.94 ERA in 10 games with San Diego last year, has a labral tear and a rotator cuff tear on his left shoulder. Retired Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Chuck Noll will throw out the first pitch at Three Rivers Stadium on April 6.

Noll guided the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles. own GO 9 To order tickets, or for further information, call 4086842166 or 4086493731 Aimrtcan Jr 7 AnwricanAlrllrws' dim Smtinrl 12 pounds of muscle and I can tell it's paying off. I'm hitting balls up the gap without any effort. Tell the truth, I've even surprised myself a couple times." Clayton is out-hitting Uribe (.250) and is out-fielding him as well. Clayton has made only one error in 11 games.

Uribe has made three in six games. "The longer I'm here, the more and more comfortable I get," Clayton said. "When I came up last year, I was totally surprised. My season had been over for two weeks. I was back home and had totally shut everything down.

Giants notebook perfect innings. Released by Texas last season, McMurtry has worked six scoreless innings this spring, allowing one hit. He also scored the Giants' first run Saturday, beating out a bunt in the fifth inning and scoring on Willie McGee's double. "I heard some good things about him," Craig said. "But I wanted to see for myself.

He's got a major-league arm." With Trevor Wilson out for at least three weeks after rib surgery, Craig said he might give McMurtry a starting assignment soon. "Right now, he's throwing better than any of the other guys going for the No. 5 spot," said Craig, comparing McMurtry to Masters, Kelly Downs and Dave Burba. Craig continued to praise righthander Bill Swift, who he named Friday night to pitch the season opener April 6 against the Dodgers. "When Swift is on, he throws a lot of ground balls," Craig said.

"He's always around the plate and keeps his defense alive all the time. He's going to throw some complete games this year in less than 90 pitches." Swift, who posted a 1.99 ERA last year, hasn't started a game since suffering through a six-game losing streak in August 1988. "That don't matter," Craig said. "He's going to be a good one." Catcher Craig Colbert, who is hitting .588 (10 for 17) this spring, left the game in the eighth inning HI "When I got the call, I was happy don't get me wrong but to go from doing nothing for two weeks to trying to hit big-league pitching. Let's put it this way, it was a learning experience." Clayton has been most surprised by the reception he has received this spring.

Not from the fans, but in the clubhouse. "Maybe it's because I've always tried to be a receptive guy," Clayton said. "But everybody has treated me great. Everybody's been supportive and helpful. Even Jose.

He's a great guy. "It would be easy for him to ig after taking a foul tip off the bat of Gary Scott. It struck him on the right collarbone near the spot he broke last year. X-rays were negative, and his status is day-to-day, though he probably will miss this week's trip to Yuma and Palm Springs to remain in Scottsdale for treatment. Bud Black, suffering from a strain in his lower back, threw in the bullpen Saturday morning.

"I felt fine except I got tired after about 30 pitches," Black said. If it's any indication of Black's luck, he drew Campbell in the team's NCAA Tournament pool. To hear Craig tell it, there are countless possibilities in the Giants' outfield this season because six players ostensibly are contending for three positions. Craig has declared McGee the center fielder unless Darren Lewis makes the team; mentioned Mike Felder at all three positions; hinted of Kevin Bass as the right fielder, and suggested a platoon of Chris James and Mark Leonard in left field. That doesn't take into account the remote possibility of newcomer Cory Snyder sneaking into the picture with a hot spring, although his odds appear stronger as a utility player.

None seem uptight about the competition. All feel comfortable about being in the starting lineup Opening Day and insist the situation isn't unsettling. This is subject to change, of course, when expectations aren't met and three are on the bench. $19.90 Lube Chassis Check belts hoses I I With Coupon Expires 4-17-92 Call for appt. McClatchy News Service SCOTTSDALE Heading into the weekend, 6-foot-9 Dave Masters had raised eyebrows this spring with his 1.04 earned-run average.

In 8 innings, he had allowed only three hits. "I Saturday, however, he reverted to the form that cost him a 1-11 season at Winston-Salem in 1985. TTHis first seven pitches against the Chicago Cubs were balls as he walked Ced Landrum and Jose Vizcaino to open the game. After a 78-minute rain delay, he started throwing strikes. Unfortunately, Swift Mark Grace and Ryne Sandberg hit two of them for back-to-back homers.

In three innings of work, Masters walked six. The Cubs mustered just two more hits, but it was enough for a 4-3 Cactus League victory at Scotts-dale Stadium. rI'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt," Manager Roger Craig said after watching Masters' ERA climb to 3.86. "It was raining and the ball was slippery. I'm not going to base anything on one bad Obting." Masters' stock may have fatten, Craig McMurtry continues to make a pitch for a spot on Craig's roster.

Working in relief of Masters, McMurtry pitched three Lube i ft I- i y. Bill 0 26 1st cash! 2nd through 5th place includes a combined value of over $5000 in cash, round trip air fare, and prizes! Three Day Ticket-Adult $20 Child (8 to 15years)S12 One Day Ticket-AdultChild $10 1 win- Special guest Smog Check $19.90 Special Certificate $7.00 appearance by the Dudweiser National Fishing Teem Calimari Dinner and Award Ceremony 5 p.m., Sunday, April 26th, West Marine Headquarters A1 dinner one beverage lj Free Seminar April 23rd, Change oil up to 5 qts. of Valvoline Change Oil Filter 0 Check all fluid levels at West Marine Oil Special 1014 Water Street Santa Cruz 423-9502 Headquarters 500 Westrldge Watsonville, CA 7p.m. Couch I LOU'S iIMt ATo CiTeH Special thanks to our Sponsors and Supporters 8 West Marine Santa Distributing Co id lORIGINAL DEFECTIVE.