Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 46

vrrr i DETROIT FREE PRESS Saturday, June 25, '77 1-C NHL Eight Is Great But Nine Is Fine BY JIM BENAGH Free Press Sports Writer "Eight is great, but nine is fine," the Cleveland Indians' new manager Jeff Torborg was saying with a smile as he bounced around the clubhouse at Tiger Stadium just before Friday's game. He was making a lighthearted reference to the longest winning streak in the American League this year, which reached eight Thursday when revitalized pitcher Wavne To Add 6 WHA Teams Garland, one of Torborg's first projects, four-hit the Toronto Blue Jays. The rhyme was said within an earshot of the olavers still getting ready for the game against the Tigers, but the look on Torborg's face indicated it was said by design, too. Torborg walked about the clubhouse, and later on the field, like a man under control of what less than a week aeo was one of the most hectic situations in basebnall the firing of manager Frank Robinson. AP Photo New manager Jeff Torborg, who has the Cleveland Indians back in gear Robinson, who brought Torborg back into big league ball in late 1 974, was fired amidst long-standing controversy with the front office and the media in Cleveland.

TORBORG'S NAME, much to his surprise, had come out CHICAGO (AP) The National Hockey League proposed Friday a merger with the World Hockey Association with no less than six teams from the WHA forming a separate division under an NHL umbrella. The proposal will be put forth to the surviving WHA teams and is expected to be accepted. The WHA cities most likely to join the NHL are Quebec, New England, Cincinnati, Edmonton, Houston and Winnipeg, with Birmingham also under consideration. The new division, whatever the number of teams, would play a 1977-78 schedule within itself. The four top teams then would join the top 12 finishers of the remainder of the NHL in an interlocking Stanley Cup playoff format.

Announcement of the action was made jointly by NHL president-elect John Ziegler and Alan Eagleson, executive director of the Players Association. With a mountain of problems still to be resolved between NHL owners and the players' union, the two groups have scheduled more meetings for Toronto starting July 13. in a Cleveland paper one morning over a month ago as a possible successor. "It was a jarring thing," he said of having been considered team on a two-game winning streak, and he has guided the club to six more wins. But he talks of an eight-game streak, in respect to Robinson.

"We like to look at this as though we're 8-0." As a manager, one of the first changes Torborg made was to get the team out to an exercise session before the game. Again, that's a strategic move. "I want our guys to loosen up and be together," Torborg said. A Rutgers University graduate who once had the chore (and honor) of catching Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Nolan Ryan and Bill Singer at their best, Torborg knows how to control a situation. He caught three no-hitters.

a candidate, particularly because of his loyalty to Robinson. Then, before last Sunday when he got the job, Torborg THE INDIANS' star pitcher Garland hasn't been visited on the mound once in two games. Garland appreciates that fact and has pitched his best in his 4-7 season. "He (Torborg) is going to leave me in until I lose it," Garland said. took me out of some ball games that we had a chance to win.

"But Torborg was a catcher and it was hard for an everyday ball player (former outfielder Robinson) to handle pitchers. Jeff is in on every pitch. Garland, who described Torborg as "much like a cheerleader," said the main change on the team, however, is simply the morale is much better and the team is much looser." said he turned it down, "two or three times." But he admitted, "It made me look at the ball game from a different view." Torborg finally got the job last Sunday morning, with the Rodri guez iffiiiiiia fed Biding Time On Bench Baseball Is Glamorous? Just Ask Frank Lucchesi THE "MERGER" as the players want to call it, or "expansion" in the owners' terms, would be worked in gradually. Following the 1977-78 season, the schedules would be slowly integrated with each additional season, culminated by a thorough realignment of the league within four years. Ziegler said "not less than six teams" from the WHA would be involved.

But he refused to divulge what the incoming teams will have to pay for joining the NHL. "A figure of dollars, $3.2 million, has been reported," he said, "but it is less than that." Once the new teams have tendered their applications to join the NHL, the WHA will be a thing of the past. "I don't know what they will call their division," said Eagle-son. "Why not the Eagleson-Ziegler Division?" Ziegler interrupted and said: "Why not the Ziegler-Eagleson Division?" Such matters as what to do Just so you will know Managing a baseball team is not quite the same as leading a charge from the trenches. But it is close enough, if you consider 1 tne casualties.

A late case is Frank Lucchesi, who was bumped from his job witn tne exas Kangers tne other day, and found before he had sobered up that his successor, too, had gone. Eddie Stanky always had been known as a touch, bone- cracking kind of guy. But after only one game a winner, at that ne opted tor and and disappeared. So it is not all fun and games and glamor and big money for me uugum manipulators oi oaseoan, as you see. This is the same Frank Lucchesi, if you recall, who incurred a BY JIM HAWKINS Free Press Sports Writer For the first time in his career, Aurelio Rodriguez now feels compelled to check the newspaper each morning to see who happens to be pitching that day for the other side.

If he finds the Tigers will be facing a lefthander, Rodriguez is happy for the rest of the day because he knows he'll be in the lineup. But, if the Tigers' opponent that evening throws with his right hand, as was the case Friday when Jim Bibby took the mound on behalf of the Cleveland Indians, Rodriguez knows he can count on spending the night on the bench. And since the Tigers see more righthanded pitchers than lefties, checking the paper each morning is not a particularly pleasant task. "It's hard to play this way," admitted Rodriguez, who lost his job as the Tigers' regular third baseman while he was sidelined for five weeks with a sprained ankle and now is forced to share the position with lefthanded-hitting rookie Phil Mankowski. "I'm not used to it.

It feels funny. I never played like this in my life. "I'm used to playing every day," continued Rodriguez, who has started just nine games since he was restored to active duty May 31. "I'm used to coming to the park every day knowing I'd be in the lineup. I'm used to playing 150 or more eames everv ousted jaw last spring when Lenny Randle, having tired of sitting astride the bench, laid a big one and several more on his manager.

to with one collective bargain AP Photo ing agreement, players' pen At the time, sentiment seemed to favor Lucchesi. There's a notion among us all and I do not object, necessarily that The Worst Was Yet to Come sion rights, rights held to var ious players by teams in the leaders should be free from such challenge, although it may be true the idea is perpetuated by leaders and those who hope to WHA and NHL and the fate of Decome one. those WHA players whose teams are not included form a Fourteen-year-old Tracy Austin (left) looked apprehensive even as she walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon Friday with her third-round opponent, top-seeded Chris Evert. Tracy's fears were well-placed it took Miss Evert just 40 minutes to eliminate her, 6-1, 6-1. The story is on Page 3C The Lucchesi saga, though, is an especially sad one, if you trace it.

Five years back, he was manager of the Philadelphia Please turn to Page 4C, Col. 7 rnuiies, whose ownership genuinely loved him and his ways. He's a dandy telia, actually. Unfortunately, he did not have ballplayers then to keep the love burning, and so after 2V2 years, the affair ended. Gone was year.

I never missed too many. his first and only major league job after 16 years of sweat and when you're playing every dav. if vou bo 0-f or-4. vou know when you come to the park the next dav. vou're eoine to Dlav and have a chance to do good, so it's easier to foreet.

It's toueh when The fit discomfort in the minor leagues. A Short Love Affair you don't get a chance to do good again for a few days. Tm not used to sitting on Swallowing pride and disappointment, Lucceshi went back a step to manage Oklahoma City in 1973. As he recalled recently, he then received a call from Billy Martin, who was managing the Kangers. clearance "Martin said, 'Hey, Dago, you want to coach for I told him I needed time to think about it.

But he said, 'You don't have time. Either come meet with Bob Short and me right now, or forget it. Lucchesi took the job. But then, caught in a baseball up heaval, he found Bob Short was out as owner, Martin was out as manager, and tne oencn, watching ail nine innings. I finally got the Golden Glove last year, and now I'm not playing.

I feel bad about it. "I'm ready to play," said Rodriguez. "My ankle feels good. It's close to 100 percent right now. I feel comfortable at third base.

I think I can make all the plays I could make last year, before I got hurt." HOWEVER, manager Ralph Houk has indicated he will continue to platoon Rodriguez and Mankowski, unless one of them slips into a severe slump. Mankowski, of course, is happy just to be in the lineup at all, and Rodriguez seems resigned to his role at least for the remainder of this year. lo and behold, there he was being asked to manage again. He demurred, briefly, until the new owners assured him of their respect and admiration of his talent. "They loved me in Philly, too," said tranK.

As it happened, the Ranger's love of Aurelio Rodriguez weir manager lasted just long enough for Frank to have his jaw unwired from the pounding applied by Randle, and U.S. Juniors tnen tne other day, he was gone. Again. i lose count is it five or six managers who already have gone over the top and out in the baseball war this Finish 2d Frank Lucchesi a huge assortment of Levi's9 jeans in top styles; also European-style gabardine slacks, $17 to $19 season no matter. It is typical and no record.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Eddie Stanky, though, is my kind of man. There is nothing wrong at all in liking the past, the challenges it presented then, The Canadian team won the "I know this is probably the way it will be all year," he sighed. "So I'll just have to wait and see what happens. "I know the situation. And I haven't said anything to Ralph about it.

He knows I like to play every day. He knows what I can do. "I can take it right now, this year. But I wouldn't want to be a parttime player forever. Next year I don't want to play part-time." It's hard to envision the Tigers permanently platooning me winning, tne losing, the great fun of it all.

The memories second Pan American junior Greco-Roman wrestling championships with 41 points brought him back to the major leaeue dugout for a dav. He was wise enough, at 59, to recognize that what was so against 36 for the United States. Mexico was third with 26.5 points. important to him for most of his life did not matter all that much anymore, and so I admire what he did. He thanked 'em, and he went home.

Canada won in the 136.7- Tennis Stars, Sort Of pound class with Douglas Yeats, at 114.6 pounds with tne tinest fielding third baseman in the league. That would, indeed, be a deplorable waste Norman Kobayashi, at 149.9 pounds with John Dywer and at 198.4 pounds with Wayne Brightwell. of talent, and something a team struggling to regain respecta The United States winners bility can scarely afford. But, at the same time, it cer a 99 were Daniel M. Pfautz at 180.8 pounds, Anthony Pudwill at tainly wouldn't be fair to yank Mankowksi out of the lineup, 125.7 pounds, Marck Tuura at 163.1 pounds and Michael E.

so long as he continues to hit. Rodriguez may not like it, Ruff at 220.5 pounds. but it's dilemma such as this, that plague contending clubs Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala and Ecuador also participated. all the time. GRATUITOUS PLUGS: Originally, we were to begin this one with an exciting interviewing with Moses, Ben Hur and Lord knows who else, but evidently Charleton Heston is hung up somewhere on a mountainside, or in a chariot, perhaps.

That's okay. He is the largest name among the Hollywood types who will be showing in the first tennis competition arranged for Pontiac's Silverdome. He just might be the one best player among the movie tennis types, although from what I have seen of them, they would rate out no better than middle- to upper-B class players in most local houses. The Lauder King of the Hill competition featuring the stars winds up a 14-month cycle here, and chances are Heston and his pro partner will meet Bill Cosby and his accompanist for roughly $75,000 in the doubles final. The other semif inalists are Lloyd Bridges and Chad Everett, a local boy (Fordson High, as I recall) who took a strange route through med school.

Anyway, it could be good fun, especially since you can see these characters live and in person for $2, cheaper than the movies. It all begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday, proceeds to the Muscular Dystrophy people. To finish the weekend, we give you this moment of embarrassment for a local barrister.

Having coaxed and threatened his wife to learn golf, Daniel Goldsmith dared take her to Wabeek the other day in company of friends. Judy never had touched a golf club until two months ago. She whirled a 5-wood around her head at the third tee, produced a hole-in-one, and carded a 51 Imagine that. Is it any wonder Judd Arnett would hang a lawyer every day? Gar Wood Trophy Race Levi's Zipper Jeans, Clean Jeans, Repleat Jeans in brushed denims, cotton corded twills, and pre-washed denims, at a pocketful of savings. Also, a big group of trim, European-cut slacks in solid color gabardine, with double belt loops and wide bottoms.

Waist sizes 29 to 38, you lucky guys. Sunday's Schedule 12 noon: Heat 1-A for Unlimiteds. 12:30 p.m.: Heat 1-B for Unlimiteds. 12:45 p.m.: Heat 1-A for Grand Prix. 1 p.m.: Heat 1-B for Grand Prix.

1:30 p.m.: Heat 2-A for Unlimiteds. 2 p.m.: Heat 2-B for Unlimiteds. 2:30 p.m.: Governor's Cup Grand Prix final. 3:10 p.m.: Gar Wood Trophy Race final. 3:30 p.m.: Gar Wood Trophy Race consolations.

HUGHES HATCHER Story on Page 4C MOST HUGHES HATCHER STORES OPEN EVENINGS MOST HUGHES HATCHER STORES OPEN SUNDAYS..