Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 48

CCDGCDED (1)171(11? 2D DETROIT FREE PRESSWEDNESDAY. OCT. 3. 1984 chatter field Sparky 's genius: The 9 on Iffy the Dopester began covering the Tigers for the Free Press in 1934. For the next 20 years, the Great Prognosticator scribbled about politics, city life and business, but his first love remained Detroit's baseball team.

Iffy's back for post-season play; watch for his reports each day. fe Iffy the Qg Dopester KANSAS CITY, Mo. The steaming heap of national media pounced on Sparky Tuesday, hoping to gain his spiritual in- r.inV A intA tit. 1n t1 sf tkrt nftnn Sparky says golf buddy will wind up in Series No hurt feelings: Sparky Anderson's prediction on the National League playoffs: San Diego manager "Dick Williams comes to my golf tournament. Better ride with Dick.

He won't come if I don't pick him." Anderson said he picked the White Sox in the American league last season. "That's how smart I was." Oh, that wind: What do two of baseball's top relief pitchers Willie Hernandez and Dan Quisenberry talk about while posing together for pictures? "What's it like in Wrigley Field when the wind is blowing out and you're pitching in one of those 22-20 games?" Quiz asked Hernandez, a former Cub. "It's really bad," said Hernandez. "Even Bruce Sutter gets beat on those kind of days." Bigger checks: If the Tigers get to the World Series, Hernandez says he would like to face the Padres, not the Cubs. "San Diego has a bigger stadium than Chicago, which means bigger paychecks for us," Hernandez said.

i I aiguu iiiiu uic uaiuc vi ure ages so they could overstate it in to- Sparky is mortal. He cannot make bricks out of straw, extract sunbeams from cucumbers or set the ocean on fire. He just has better players than he did in 1982. As Napoleon, who managed many pennant winners In the old French league, used to say: "God is on the side which has the heaviest guns." The heaviest guns prevailed Tuesday. Sparky had little to do with it.

But don't tell that to the boys in the press box. Wasn't it just last spring they were talking about "new-style" managers like Oakland's Steve Boros and Milwaukee's Rene Lachemann? Those guys knew how to "communis cate" with players. In the modern thinking, a manager has to have a Harvard degree just to get through to these smart young free agents. Well, Iffy's no modern thinker. His idea of rock music is listening to 78 r.p.m.

records of men in zoot suits playing saxophones in unison. But he's no dummy, either. If Lachemann and Boros are prototype managers for the '80s, why are they out printing resumes while tobacco- chewing baseball lifers like Sparky, Dick Howser, Dick Williams and Jimmy Frey are managing in October? Answer: Because in baseball, it matters not where or whether you went to school or how well you communicate. It doesn't matter whether you've got the personality of Lizzie Borden or- Mary Lou Retton. It doesn't matter whether your hobby is bowling or break dancing.

All that matters is whether you've got the good players. Then you hope they play well for you so you can sit back and be called a "miracle manager." Sparky knows that. And that's why he's a genius. uay uunuug euiuuiis. "Is your team nervous about the playoffs?" wondered the fellow from USA Today.

"No," Sparky assured him, "they're nice and relaxed. Ain't nobody losing no sleep." "Will you manage any differently than normal?" asked a radio reporter. "I can't. The players' actions While the assembled armies of pseudo-serious sports writers search for mystical answers of universal importance, Sparky knows the truth about baseball. As Yogi Berra says, "Nobody knows There is nothing esoteric or occult about baseball.

You hear about Tony LaRussa's style of play or Billyball absurdum. Back before Iffy was collecting Social Security, we heard the same about John McGraw's style of play or Connieball. But a manager, as Sparky will tell you, can't do much more than run his nine best guys onto the field and hope they're not too busy computing after-tax profits to turn the double play. Two years ago, when Gibson was striking out and the Tigers' bullpen was what they call in the real estate business a handyman's delight, Detroiters responded to a Soundoff question in Iffy's favorite newspaper by calling for Sparky's ivory scalp. How long ago it seems.

THIS SEASON GIBSON is hitting and Hernandez is saving and Sparky, once compared intellectually to a dartboard, is suddenly the Einstein of his era. The Kansas City Star referred to him Tuesday as Detroit's "miracle manager." Baas i Sparky Anderson tell me what to do. I'm not gonna make no difference. It's the players." "Can your team rise to the occasion?" pondered a Kansas City newspaper man. "The post-season ain't nothing but luck.

We might stink up the joint. It's just a crapshoot." THAT'S WHY OLD IFFY loves the Tigers' skipper. Ghost writer? Anderson says he doesn't believe Pete Rose wrote the USA Today column in which Rose predicted Kansas City would beat the Tigers in the American League playoffs. "Pete never wrote a note in his life," Anderson says of his former captain of the Reds. "That stuff was written by someone else and they're using Pete's name." Game has to be on line: Why has Lou Whitaker played so infrequently since Stats guru likes Tigers now Pete Rose By GENE GUIDI Free Press Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Care for a little salt and pepper with that crow, Mr. James? When last heard from, Bill James the statistics guru who analyzes baseball with a slide rule had some unkind sM -LZilsJ things to say about the Tigers in general and Sparky Anderson in particular. James ripped Chet Lemon, Aurelio Lopez and former Tiger Enos Cabell in his 1984 edition of "Baseball Abstract," a 273-page book that looks at baseball by the numbers. James also said on WJR radio's "Sportswrap" show that Anderson's lack of expertise in the dugout cost the Tigers 100 wins in the last five years. the Tigers clinched the pennant two weeks ago? Anderson says it's because Whitaker "don't get enthused" for games that don't mean anything.

When the game is on the line, Anderson has full confidence in Whitaker, who beat the Yankees with a two-run homer in the 12th inning last week. "I knew he could win it. He's one guy who can turn it on and off. He'll play very well in the playoffs." What about a Whitaker-Ryne Sandberg match-up in the World Series? "I would say Sandberg's going to have some problems if they go head-to-head," Anderson said. Nervous parents: Tigers reserve outfielder Rusty Kuntz flew his parents to Kansas City from their home in Paso Robles, Calif.

"First time old Chet and Willie (Wilma) have ever been on a plane," Kuntz said. "You know, my dad's just an auto parts dealer and my mom works in a factory. There are lots of things they've never experienced." Kuntz said his parents were most impressed by his $45-a-day meal money and the dozens of free shoes he gets from the club. "My mother keeps accusing me of stealing the shoes." Kuntz's parents saw him play when the Tigers went to Oakland and Anaheim this year. They will follow him to Tiger Stadium Thursday.

"My mother just cries when she sees me play," he said. "She gets so nervous." Monge takes another blow: Sid Monge, trimmed from the active roster so the Tigers could reach the 25-man limit, was pitching batting practice Tuesday night, but the players were griping because Monge couldn't find the strike zone. "He's a pitcher and he can't throw strikes," said Kirk Gibson. James writes that the Tigers were "a) led to the pinnacle by the patient and adroit management of their wily skipper or b) finally began playing the way that they should have been playing three years ago, depending upon your view-, point." SOUNDS A LITTLE bit like sour grapes, doesn't it? The Tigers are so good this year, James wrote, because they have added to an already solid roster: a) an effective; bullpen and b) a collection of role players who are contributing. General manager Bill Lajoie "and Sparky both deserve credit for working together to develop a 25-man roster," James wrote.

He has become enough of a believer in Sparky and the Tigers to write that they would "annihilate" whoever wins the AL West (Kansas City, as it turns out). He also likes Detroit's chances in the World Series. OF A POSSIBLE Series against San Diego, James wrote: "The Tigers are slowed down some by left-handed pitching, but if you look at the match-ups, you've got the Tigers' right-handed starting pitching against the Padres' right-handed power; Parrish to go to work on the Padres' running game; and the Padres up the middle are no match for the Ti-1 gers. The Tigers should be able to beat them." If it's Detroit and Chicago in the Series, James again; gives the edge to the Tigers, but barely. He thinks the Tigers defense has some holes the Cubs can exploit.

"With Trammell hurting," James wrote, "the left side of the infield was poor; Gibson does not have a right-fielder's arm, and Herndon has not played well defensively in left. The Cubs are the one team'. best suited to try to adapt to those things, and take advantage of any mistakes the Tigers might make. "Still, the odds probably rest slightly in the Tigers'; favor." IT WASN'T the first time James had attacked Anderson. "He wrote the same kind of Bill James Enos Cabell Aurelio Lopez Ofat Iscd to csfr i Here are a few of Bill James' comments in, the 1 984 edition of "Baseball Abstract," published be fore the season began, -D ENOS CABELL: "Everybody tells me that Enos is a very good guy, and you know, you can tell he 3 His abilities being what they are, would he be in the major leagues if he CHET LEMON: "Such an odd player; talented arid prdductive, plays hard.

And he's the captain of baseball's airhead team. Although he's fast, he's an awfuj base runner. He tried to steal seven bases last; year and was out all seven' times; in the last two years he Is one-for-12. Besides the stealing, he has made 20 base-running errors a AURELIO LOPEZ: "This guy must have one of the-greatest arms that God ever made. He's 35, threw about nine million pitches In the Mexican League before he came Estados Unidos, where he's been working 60 games a year since 1979, and he trains.

k' ion beans and beer with three side orders and he: can still blow his fastball by good major league hitters." things when I was with Cincinnati," Anderson said. James all but handed the Eastern Division to the a team he projected as baseball's next dynasty. Naturally, James' opinions riled the Tigers. "He's a jerk," said Lance Parrish. Said Anderson: "He's a fat little guy with a beard who has no knowledge of anything." So what is James saying now that Anderson and the Tigers are the biggest winners in baseball this year? In a recent edition of his Baseball Abstract newsletter, James concedes that, next to the Cubs, the season's biggest story has been the emergence of the Tigers.

Does that mean James is finally giving Sparky his due for pulling the right strings? Not exactly. tigeis question line Cosell goes easy on Detroit, tough on umpires In terms of public relations, Detroit and the Tigers had to applaud ABC's commentary in Tuesday night's playoff pr joe Lapointc sports en the air Who gets home-Held advantage? For many Tigers fans, the playoffs and World Series are a new experience full of questions. To help you get them answered, the Free Press is operating a question line. If you have a question about the Tigers, baseball or post-season games, call us any time at 222-8838 and leave your question. We'll try to provide the answers in the next day's paper.

Here are some questions we've been asked: Q. The Tigers have a better record than Kansas City, but the Royals have the advantage of opening the playoffs at home. How Is home-field advantage determined for the playoffs? A. It rotates each year. Q.

Is there a curfew In championship series games? A. No. Q. What constitutes a save situation? A. A pitcher is credited with a save when the following three conditions are met: 1.

He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club. 2. He is not the winning pitcher; and 3. He qualified under one of the following conditions: a. He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning.

b. He enters the game with the potential tying run either on base, at bat or on deck. c. He pitches effectively for at least three innings. Q.

I have tickets for Game of the Series. When will It be played? Game will be played in Detroit only if the Cubs are In the World Series and it goes seven games. Game is scheduled; for Wednesday, Oct. 17. I Have a question? Call 222-8838 game.

In terms of the day's most controversial story the umpires' strike ABC's evening reporting helped compensate for a sloppy afternoon performance, In both cases, Howard Co-sell ruled. First, the goodies. When we saw Al Kaline sitting in the stands, Cosell called him "one of the most significant people" in Detroit. His statement implied that Kaline's role transcends baseball, but Cosell never explained how. and break the union.

"No," Ueberroth said. "I put on the Olympic games by working with labor I would never do that." The afternoon Cubs-Padres telecast could have used Cosell's skills. When roving announcer Tim McCarver asked National League president Chub Feeney why only four amateurs were used instead of the six normally used in post-season games, Feeney said "We do use four all season. You know that, don't you, Tim?" Although Don Drysdale, Earl Weaver and Reggie Jackson criticized the amateur umpires' mistakes, it wasn't until late In the game that they presented the strikers' side, when Drysdale read a statement from their association. Did two one-sided games keep the issue of sub umps from becoming crucial to the final scores? Jim Palmer said that subtle things such as erratic or unfamiliar strike zones can ruin a game early for a pitcher.

Cosell recognized that and presented a balanced, honest, informative and entertaining report. TV NOTES: When the Cubs' Gary Matthews hit his three-run homer, ABC was airing a taped interview with him. In the corner of the screen, was the interview. Rather than cut to the live audio, ABC let the larger picture tell the story while Matthews circled the bases to the sound of his recorded voice. AS FOR THE umpire strike, Cosell aired tough interviews with umpire union leader Richie Phillips, American League president Bobby Brown and new commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

Devoting the first seven minutes of the show to this news story, Cosell first asked Phillips if the strike wasn't "economic blackmail" and if Phillips was worried that his strike arid union would be broken as the air traffic controllers were in 1981. Phillips replied that the strike was legal, saying "now, we need somebody who can hit" on management's side of the negotiations. WHEN COSELL baited Brown by citing umpiring mistakes in the Wrigley Field game, Brown shot back that he "didn't see anything that happened bad." Later, Cosell asked Ueberroth if he intended to intervene Earl Weaver Later, Cosell said: "That's a great thing about what this team has meant to the Detroit community and the inner-city renaissance." Certainly that's a comforting Detroit myth. Any con-, crete proof? 'OUR SILENT CONTRIBUTOR' ROYALS BOMBED, 8-1 Teammates talk up Herndon Tigers swing away AL PLAYOFFS, from Page 1D said. "It was definitely a big play, I have to say that.

Bases loaded with George Brett up that's a big situation. "That ball gets by me and we're in big trouble. I went past the point of no-return. I just attacked the ball. It wasn't a bad catch.

I always said I wanted to be the guy who comes up with the bases loaded and two outs. "I never said I wanted to be the guy who makes the big catch." ON THE OTHER HAND, Tram-mell's first-inning triple might have been an out if Darryl Motley had been able to make a Gibson-like catch. Instead, the bait bounced off the wall. gled a little, but over the whole season he's been there when we needed him. He's worked hard.

He's a big part of this team. And what counts is how you finish, not how you start." Chet Lemon: "I'll tell you the truth, I was just telling my wife that I had a feeling Herndon and Gibby were going to do some big things for us in this series. To tell you the whole truth, I said the whole outfield. "The thing about those guys is, they play hard, man. It's fun playing with them.

We cover a lot of ground out there and we attack absolutely everything. And Larry, that's all he does. He works hard and goes about "his business. He didn't get down because he wasn't in the lineup every day." "That's the toughest play an outfielder has," Howser said. "Directly at him.

Directly over his head." After Gibson's catch, Morris retired the next 10 hitters before Jorge Orta tripled and later scored in the seventh. Parrish, who has a personal-high of 33 home runs this season, hit his first in post-season play in the ninth to complete the scoring. Willie Hernandez took over in the eighth after Morris' finger blistered, and he completed the game as many of the 41,973 fans walked out. Anderson thought Morris was angry for being taken out. No way, said Morris, pointing to Hernandez.

"Not with this guy here. Not at all." "Larry's one of those guys who does his job and leaves it at that, and he's always been that way. He doesn't make himself so obvious as others do, so maybe he isn't as appreciated. But he's had some big games for the Tigers, and I've got a feeling he's going to have a few more." Kirk Gibson said, "Larry, well, he's our silent contributor, that's what he is. But he means a lot to us.

He had a tough start this year, and I know a little bit about that sort of thing. "I'll tell you something. When things are going bad on some teams, you might say to the other guys, 'Maybe that guy shouldn't be playing. He hasn't done anything for We know that's not true with Larry. He strug By MIKE DOWNEY Free Press Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo.

As usual, Larry Herndon let his teammates do the talking. So they did. They talked about his fourth-inning home run in Tuesday's 8-1 victory over Kansas City and talked about what he has meant and could continue to mean to the Tigers in their postseason quest. "You bet I'll talk about Larry," said teammate (in San Francisco as well as Detroit) Darrell Evans. "He's had prob'-ably as good a second half as anybody on the club.

His average was around .230, and he wound up over .280. I wonder how many people realize that. va ft i jM A hi AP. Photo Larry Herndon (left) gets a 'high-five from Chet Lemon after his fourth-inning homer..