The Bellingham Herald from Bellingham, Washington • 17

17 Bellingham Wash Herald Mon Aug 8 1 977 How good should the Bellingham Mariners be? this league's pitching when that same swing will get him absolutely nowhere in the big leagues? We work on a swing with the big leagues in mind and so while learning to do it right he might be hitting 240 and have everybody wondering what doing wrong He's not doing anything wrong he's just taking the time to get it right because what doing There have been injuries that haven't helped the any Calvin King's shoulder Larry broken arm Mike hamstring Kyle knee but injuries are part of the game The aggressive baserunning the Mariners promised never really materialized of the top two speedsters King and Hobbs one is hurt and the other hasn't been getting on base too frequently of late and few of the others get the sign from Floyd once they get on base The Mariners have without a doubt the best starting rotation in the league with Greg Bier-cevicz easily the best hurier in the NWL Bud Anderson a late addition who is rolling and Paul Givens who has three straight wins under his belt And the overall team talent has to be better than anybody else in the league After all folks this is the cream of the Seattle young talent no hand-me-downs here would feel disappointed if we win the division because I think we've got the better ball Floyd admitted concerned more with the progress of the players than the scores of the So it It's all a matter of priorities The Bellingham Mariners have every reason in the world to make a laughing stock of the race for the Northwest League marbles but apparently Floyd and the Seattle biggies over him concerned with who takes home all the puries and steelies The NWL is a game What matters I guess is what happens when the babies grow up one rung above Walla Walla in the San Diego ladder Two of the top six picks did not sign The pitching staff has spent much of the season on the top of the NWL pitching statistics chart but that is misleading The early season ace Joe Carroll from Tulsa University was called up to Reno a while back and that left the Padres with a less than overpowering starting rotation Though the staff leads the league in earned run average the two leading pitchers have been relievers all year and no Padre starter has completed more than four games So where does Bellingham rate with these guys? Well the Mariners have in the lineup eight of first nine draft picks presumably the best conglomeration of pure young talent in the league And while the Mariners are doing a good job of leading the Northern Division against the Emeralds and the Padres not exactly setting fire to the bridges behind them Should they be? What the Mariners are trying to do is kill two birds with one stone They want to win sure but concerned with other things a bit more this level a job is mainly said Bobby Floyd the young manager in his first year at the helm of a ball club going to do a lot of things here that aren't necessarily going to help the ball club win games but that will help these ballplayers become better prospects and better players trying to do is develop a guy so he can play in the big he added not going to teach a guy here to throw a rinky dink curve ball get him by here we want him to take the time to learn to get it right to throw a curve that will get by in the majors ball And why let a guy perfect a swing let him hit 350 off Depending upon who yot) listen to the Bellingham Mariners should: (a) be running away with a Northwest League chdck full of rejects has-beens and or (b) be having a hard time keeping up with the Eugene Emeralds because that team has a lineup full of guys with a year's experience in rookie league ball or (c) not be concerned with gauche goals such as winning games when they could be occupying themselves with the simple joys of personal and professional involvement or (d) become a professional stickball team The Bellingham Mariners are the future pride and joy of the Seattle organization the boys' camp for budding baseballers the day school for toddlers with potential It is where all of the favorite young talent in the organization is weaned The mamas are so proud of their baby M's that given them brand spankin' new uniforms to face teams wearing hand-me-downs from generations back The young heroes of the Mariner organization do battle with whoever faces them That means going head to head against the virtual pick-up teams of the Southern Division and the rookies and second-season men of the Eugene and Walla Walla squads rivals in the Northern Division But though Eugene and Walla Walla also have the big brother clubs watching them in this case Cincinnati and San Diego respectively the similarities don't go miich further While Bellingham has the cream of the draft crop the Emeralds must to a certain degree make due with the dregs Walla Walla has most of the top draft picks of the Padres but an asterisk or two thrown in to sweeten the pot Cincinnati has six farm clubs'- of which two are short-season rookie clubs and two are full season Class A clubs Eugene is one of the short-season teams but the Emeralds do not get the top draft choices the ones the Reds are necessarily grooming for the high road The prime cuts go to Billings in the Pioneer League for that short season and a year later the ones who look ready to move on go to the full-season A clubs in either Shelby NC in the Western Carolina League or Tampa in the Florida State League The ones who necessarily ready or iray never be ready go to Eugene Eugene has no draft choices Indeed the only real bonus baby ever had was Paul Moscow a No 3 choice out of Arizona two years ago who burned up the league with a 10-1 pitching slate and 92 strikeouts in 84 innings Needless to say gone And while Eugene sometimes has several players with considerable Class A experience this year the Emeralds have their youngest team in years Walla Walla on the other hand does list in its roster most of San top draft choices for what worth The No 1 pick Brian Greer was leading the league in strikeouts at last glance One of the top five picks went straight to Reno the other Class A ball club and considered Allison wins despite eariy exif CHUCK HURLBUT SAYS: You can lav SS an any an of our 42 New Buicfct Pontiac Opal or Mazda A a- 1 iy a r- I- l- 7 v- 1 1 chance at taxing the checkered flag Allison who picked up $26375 for the win pitted under a caution flag and gulped down a soft drink in the 96-degree weather He returned for one lap nearly passed out and pitted again while the yellow flag was still out Ricky Rudd was fourth followed by Lennie Pond both in Chevrolets Buddy Baker finished sixth in a Ford while Bobby Allison in a Matador JD McDuffie and James Hylton both in Chevrolets and Frank Warren in a Dodge rounded out the top 10 BELLINGHAM MOTORS JERRY BANGS BUICKPONT1AC-OPEL-MAZDA NEW CARS 1 205 Commercial 733-2880 PRE-OWNED CARS 1114 Cornwall 733-2882 TALLADEGA Ala (UPI) It was shades hotter than and Donnie Allison knew he -had enough Darrell Waltrip took over for the exhausted Allison with 60 miles remaining and captured Sunday's $205000 Talladega 500 stock car race at Alabama International Motor Speedway Waltrip in a Chevrolet fought off challenges by Skip Manning the 1976 Grand National rookie of the year He cruised to an easy win under a caution flag when Chevrolet blew an engine with six laps to go Waltrip's own Chevy was retired with mechanical problems midway through the race He was summoned to pit after the veteran NASCAR driver said he nearly fainted while looping the track Cale Yarborough finished second in a Chevrolet by virtue of blown engine while Manning had to settle for third Allison who described the heat as shades hotter than said he could have stayed in the car the rest of the race But he said he decided to call it quits while the field was slowed by a caution flag to give the car a better Jerry Bangs seen at left in a practice run day when his boat went out of control and for the Seafair Trophy unlimited hydroplane cartwheeled on a turn Bangs was 42 (AP races on Lake Washington was killed Sun- Wirephoto) Death of driver mars annual Seafair races CONSULTANTS IN INTERNAL MEDICINE John Arnold MD Karl Kutnerian MD Grant Deger MD David Hughes MD will be moving their offices to the Chestnut Medical Crater 800 East Chestnut St (acrou from St Lukes Hospital) The move is anticipated Sept 1 1977 Confirm appointments by phone What Amenta wants Amenta gets at Lynnwood Equipment sixth Although finishing second in the race the Budweiser and its driver Mickey Remund padded their lead in the national point standings with one race remaining this year Entering the race with an over-400 point lead in the standings Budweiser added 1100 points during the race while the Atlas Van Lines added 969 to its total death was the first in unlimited racing since 1974 when Skip Walther was killed in Miami testing his boat prior to a race and the first in actual competition since 1968 when Warner Gardner was killed in Detroit in the Gold Cup Bangs had -won three consecutive national titles in limited hydroplane racing before turning 'to the unlimiteds in 1974 He is survived by a wife and four SEATTLE (UPI) Just minutes after he guided the Atlas Van Lines to victory in the $30000 Seafair Unlimited Hydroplane Trophy Race Sunday Bill Mun-cey broke down with grief and cried a victory but not worth he said in a voice choked with emotion over the death of fellow driver Jerry Bangs in the first heat not very happy It's hard to lose a face then twisted with pain and the fatigue of a long race as he quickly turned away from an interviewer and sought privacy to mourn Bangs 42 a prominent Seattle trial lawyer and former national limited hydroplane champion in his fourth year of driving unlimited hydroplanes was thrown from his boat on the south turn of the o-m i 1 Lake Washington course When he was lifted from the water minutes later by a Coast Guard helicopter Bangs showed no respiration or pulse and revival attempts were unsuccessful said a Coast Guard physician Death was attributed to severe head injuries and possible cervical spine injury according to the medical report Race officials said that Bangs apparently spun his boat in the fourth lap of the race but some observers in the pit area thought Bangs hit a buoy Muncey owner and driver of the winning Atlas Van Lines took the lead for good on the first turn of the winner-take-all third heat His first lap of the final heat was run "at over 114 miles per hour the fastest lap of the day The final heat was confused when one boat jumped gun and three others failed to finish Miss Budweiser was second 96 KYYX third Pak fourth Natural Light fifth and Miss New CarRadials For Most American Cars Double Betted Metric Sizes For Sports A Imports 155SR-13 blackball plus $167 FiT and old fir Tread' BR 78 13 ehiteail plus 82 06 I and old tiro Ptu I FIT and) old lire 1 Kratzert claims Hartford crown Sizt 36 I 40 I 46 ItSSR-ll I 1S3SR-1S I 1ISSR-1S tR78-I I7TIL1 M47 WHITEWALL with two wide aleel cord belts J7 GR 78-15 HD 12 9(7 Blackwall plus 8181 8182 i 8203 FET and old lira HR7S -is K71IT1 ti IR78-I5 II POLYESTER PRICE LEADER 'P0LYGLAS' PAIRS 'Custom Power Cushion Folyglas' 2 FOR Six rib 78 bias-ply construction As Low As under at the turn Kratzert the third-round leader was behind one stroke when he scored a birdie on the par-five 14th hole to tie him with Strange at 18-under But Strange bogeyed the 15th to lose the lead for good He paired the 16th while Kratzert birdied and both parred the 17th Then came the double bogey on the final hole to put him 15-under Grier Jones and Larry Nelson who each had scored 65 to give them 16-under-268 totals split second place Nelson and Jones who would have split $14910 for third place instead each got $19425 Smple interest loan? Simply phone service BELLINGHAM NATIONAL BANK Member FDiC 5 60-15 blackmail plus $1 70 ET and old lire 78-13 Blackwall piui $173 and tire A7I-13 whitewall plus $173 FET per tiro and old tires Other ue lew priced too! Additional Suet Low Priced virfj 5 WAYS TO BUY CASH OUR OWN CUSTOMER CREDIT PLAN MASTIRCHARGE RANK AMERKARD MOBIL CARD PLUMBING HEATING INC WETHERSFIELD Conn (UPI) For Billy Kratzert the thrill of victory was subdued For his playing partner rookie Curtis Strange it was a loss in silence Strange a 22-year-old Virginian only six weeks on the tour and Kratzert who came back 14 months ago after quitting golf in disgust over his game found themselves both fighting Sunday in the Greater Hartford Open for their first outright championship Kratzert a fork lift driver two years ago won it and $42000 Strange battled until the end and then lost hard He double bogeyed when he missed a five-foot put on the final hole It cost him $16700 and sole possession of second place The veterans' Lee Elder Lee Trevino Hubie Green and last winner Rik Massengale had all gone into the clubhouse with impressive below par totals that cotild have won on most courses but not here Kratzert finished with a 3-under-par 69 for the day and a 19-under total 265 to win the eighth richest prize by three strokes The hard fight over the par-71 Wethersfield Country Club course saw him tied with Strange at 16- Sounders win season finale LOS ANGELES (AP) The Seattle Sounders rallied in the last five minutes Sunday to score a 4-2 North American Soccer League victory over the Los Angeles Aztecs in the regular-season finale for both teams The Aztecs who face the San Jose Earthquakes in the first round of the NASL playoffs Wednesday night finished the season with a 15-11 record The Sounders wound up WE WOULD LIKE TO STRESS THE POINT AGAIN THAT WE DO NOT CHARGE FOR MOUNTING OR BALANCING ANY PASSENGER COMMERCIAL OR RETREADS PURCHASED FROM OUR COMPANY MOUNTING BALANCING NO CHARGE for healthier happier pools (hJ HTH is al the sanitizer you need for sparkling pool water all season long Economical too One drum can last a whole season In tablet or granular form America's first brand choice for healthier pools ask for afft and make it clear Available In 25 35 lbs-50 lb-100 lbs INVITE US JOiYOUR NEXTiBLOWOUT AUTOCENTER nTstateVchestnut 336230 733-7810 2201 Humboldt St.