The Macon Telegraph from Macon, Georgia • 36

Page 2 SportSaturday June 16 1990 Baseball Notebook Indians activate Hernandez The Associated Press The Cleveland Indians activated first baseman Keith Hernandez on riday and optioned infielder Jeff Manto to Class AAA Colorado Springs Hernandez was placed on the disabled list May 29 retroactive to May 27 because of a strained left calf muscle sustained while running the bases in Oakland on May 26 Manto was called up from Colorado Springs on June 5 He appeared in one game for the Indians ORIOLES WAIVE TIBBS: The Baltimore Orioles on riday put pitcher Jay Tibbs on waivers and recalled pitcher John Mitchell from their Roch ester farm club The Orioles also took outfielder Mike Devereaux off the disa bled list and optioned pitcher Jose Bautista to Rochester Mitchell obtained last year from the New York Mets organization pitched nine innings for the Orioles in April before being sent to Rochester when major league teams were required to cut their rosters down from 27 players Tibbs 2 7 with a 568 ERA failed to last through the fifth inning in three of his four last starts all of them losses CUBS RECALL NUNEZ: The Chi cago Cubs recalled pitcher Jose Nunez from Iowa the Triple A affiliate and optioned pitcher Dean Wilkins to the same club Nunez opened the season with the Cubs and was 1 4 with a 620 ERA in eight games including five starts Wilkins who appeared in seven games with the Cubs had no decisions and a 982 ERA in 73 innings DENT SAYS MANAGE AGAIN: ired New York Yankees manager Bucky Dent said riday he expects to get another chance with another team or maybe even with the Yankees again would never say as far as going back to New Dent said here at his baseball school for youngsters relationship with (owner) George (Steinbrenner) that bad We talked We had meetings I have no hard feelings toward Mr Dent dismissed 10 days ago with the Yankees off to a last place 18 31 start had his one year contract paid off in full leaving him free to talk to other clubs DIBBLE SURPRISED BY BOOS: Reliever Rob Dibble know why Cincinnati Reds fans would boo him for heading to the dugout while his ground ball was still in play fans boo guys left and right on really ridiculous stuff" Dibble said riday They got their message across Thursday night in the 4 3 victory over the Atlanta Braves Dibble came to bat with one out in the eighth inning and the Reds leading 3 2 He hit a grounder to second baseman Jeff Treadway took a few strides towards first then made a sharp turn to the dugout as Treadway was taking the ball out of his glove to throw Dibble said riday he was sick so he decided not to run to conserve energy Manager Lou Piniella didn't publicly fault Dibble He said he under stood because the pitcher was sick However Braves manager Russ Nixon tore into Dibble verbally after the game "Get Dibble out of there the way Nixon said does he think he is? He's a fine relief pitcher but baseball can go without him doing that" Said Dibble: Nixon didn't know I was sick If I was on his team appreciate the effort IN LIMBO Vertigo leaves Esasky wondering when or if hell play again By Larry Whiteside Boston Globe ATLANTA Ever see a comet? As it flashes across the sky it first appears as a large ball By the time your eyes react it's no longer a ball but a disappearing streak of light more imag ined than real If your vision of shooting stars you have a feel for the plight of Braves slugger Nick Esasky He is out of sync in a world in which athletes worship the routine Esasky could be playing next month He also could be through as a professional athlete Esasky has vertigo a disorder that causes dizziness vision problems and loss of balance Specifically Esasky contracted a virus that has produced an inner ear problem While playing in Boston in 1989 he had no trouble seeing baseballs come at him at 90 miles per hour and driving them over the wall in enway Park Things are different in 1990 Some days Esasky is his old self and seems ready to leave the disabled list But an illusion He knows that until the problem clears there is a chance he might react improperly to a thrown or batted baseball and his career could be over Glasses help Medicine renders him even more dizzy nothing that is going to kill me" says Esasky there is something there that is going to keep me from playing We know what going to take to get it out So just got to stay positive They all say it will clear up staying positive because if I don't be frustrated and Esasky deserves credit for maintaining that attitude in what has been an unusual return to his home area and the National League After a fine year with the Red Sox he opted for free agency and a return to Sweet Georgia where his family lives But this Brave New World has hardly been a paradise After tearing the cover off the ball in spring training Esasky hit just 171 in nine games and was shuffled off to the disabled list May 1 with a shoulder problem He has not played since April 21 It was while he was on the DL that doctors came to the conclusion early slump had more to do with the vertigo than fatigue and the sP ASSOCIATED PRESS Nick Esasky played since April 21 flu as had been thought Since then Esasky has been examined by a battery of 12 physicians including a group at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland who confirmed the diagnosis Doctors have recommended everything from medication to glasses to taking the whole season off Time is the fourth suggestion In many cases the condition improves in five or six weeks know that was the story with said Pat Corrales former Cleveland Indians manager and now a Braves scout came down with it in 1981 My problem was also caused by an inner ear infection' and I had it for six weeks Things were so bad get up in the morning and have to lean against the wall to stop from falling down It was finally cured by medication I know a lot of people who have had Such a view is no doubt comforting to Esasky but heard other stories He knows that vertigo is a short term problem for some a lifelong affliction for others Doctors talk about 21 25 strains of the virus but Esasky has gotten a ton of mail that indicates there could be twice that many And no certain cure just going to take time to go said Esasky is no medicine that is going to kill the virus We tried a couple of medications and it work So just a matter of time Nobody knows what that time will be will tell you they have it But you look at one strain and expect the same result different for each individual Hope fully be getting better shortly I know if wake up one day and it will be gone I just have to hope be getting better and better until totally More than six weeks have passed since Esasky first had problems and that is causing concern among doctors After hitting 277 with 30 home runs and 108 RBI for the Red Sox Esasky signed a three year $56 million contract with Atlanta The money helps ease the pain but he wants to play and soon frustrating because something you Esasky said you were in a slump or just not playing well it's something you can work on hard and get out of it If you break an arm or pull a muscle you know there is a specific time frame that you can heal in rehabilitate and go and play feel better But we still have a time frame where we can say 'OK we can do this and that and it will go the frustrating part I don't know when the thing is going to go away different times I can go out and hit the ball halfway decent But then I also have tough times picking up the ball all the way from the hand to the plate see it but then I might not if it breaks a little bit or is going away have after images I see something look away and then I still see part of the image just been looking at Sometimes on a bright day when the ball comes like a bright glow I see the glow but not the Slump leaves Sanders lamenting fate By Michael Kay New York Daily News NEW YORK Deion Sanders sat in the dark of the Yankee dugout and stared blankly onto the empty field The Yankee left fielder had just taken an 0 for 3 against Roger Clemens on Wednesday night and was lamenting his fate He had never endured such long term fail ure He had never been so over matched One hit in his last 33 at bats set Sanders to contemplating his base ball existence "Momma never said there would be days like said Sanders hitting an anemic 118 going into Thursday game with the Red Sox just believe going through Sanders' last hit was a double off the Kevin Appier in Kansas City on May 27 He is a stranger to such a long stretch of failure Sanders said body is saying come it'll Well it come yet I've done in my life and my career been a success overnight This is the first time I haven't and losing and not doing anything to help just trying to fight and hus tle I just wish I could have gotten off to a great start But it seems like I never got going" To his credit Sanders has re mained composed throughout this ordeal the expecta tions for him were high after he was handed the left field job when Dave Winfield was traded and he expected to do more than he has But he has continued to work take his batting practice and brooded in the clubhouse He has been cordial with the media and has even remarked how fairly been treated Early this week he told a teammate "If I was doing this badly in Atlanta have run me out of Sanders had a rocky relationship with the media and did nothing to help his cause In fact an Atlanta writer remarked how differ ent Sanders was in a Yankee uni form Maybe failure has hum bled him but he insisted it defeated him I was striking out on a continuous basis Sand ers said say not ready for this But I'm hitting the ball When I strike out on a good pitch keeping my confi Sanders added know I can play this game and play it well That keeps me in it Not being successful make me run and want to leave the Not even tough crowds have moved Sanders to relocate heard the fans but he admits not as tough on me as they could be "They yell you play Sanders said some times I think least I got that If I have football and I was hitting like this I might otherwise be deciding between McDonalds or Burger Sanders also has been buoyed by the support received from his teammates and the organization hanging with Sand ers said of them know I can be better It would be easy for them to say doesn't this guy play But they don't the way 1 look at it is at the bottom right now There has to be a way up I go down When asked if he would bolt for football if still mired under 200 when alcon training camp opens Sanders shook his head vigorously and said would make me stay because I have something to prove (The Yankees) would proba bly be ready for me to go but I have that on my baseball Sanders.