I

SPORTS

Pitching Change

Jeff Dorfrnan's move to the
bullpen gave him a new respect
for relief pitchers

MIKE ROSENBAUM

A

Sports Writer

starting pitcher knows
on any given game day
whether or not he will
play. When his turn
arrives, he has all day to
set his mind on the game, the oppo-
nent, even specific hitters. While he
does face pressure, he knows that
there is time to overcome early
mistakes or an early-inning deficit.
He throws as well as he can for as long
as he can then, if necessary, he can
leave the game to a relief pitcher.
Relievers have different perspec-
tives, particularly the short relief ace.
When the game begins, he does not
know if he will pitch. The starter can
be breezing along when, suddenly, he
runs into trouble. The short man
must be ready at a moment's notice
to begin warming up, to get his mind
and body ready for action. And when
he enters the game, it's usually in a
tight spot, late in a close game. He
has no margin for error. He must be
sharp, immediately.
The position is simply labeled
"pitcher," but mentally and physical-

ly, starters and short relievers play
completely different roles.
For the previous three seasons,
right hander Jeff Dorfman was a var-
sity starting pitcher at Southfield-
Lathrup. He was good enough to earn
a baseball scholarship to Oakland
University. He was set to start this
season, until another reliever was in-
jured. Like the relief pitcher he now
is, Dorfman had to instantly adjust to
a tough, new situation.
"It was a very difficult transition,"
he admits. "Because once you're a
starter in a high school, you're not
really used to the transition of reliev-
ing and coming in when the game is
on the line."
Pioneers first-year coach Paul
Chapoton tabbed Dorfman for relief
duty because he was the team's
hardest thrower. The freshman is a
fastball-curve ball pitcher who struck
out 20 hitters in 271/2 innings this
season. Dorfman was 3-2, with a 4.61
ERA and one save in 14 games, all
but one game as a reliever.
"He was probably our most effec-
tive reliever the whole year," says
Chapoton, "although I think it pro-
bably was not to his benefit to use

him that way. But _ it was to the
team'sbenefit. Because he's never
done anything like that before?'
While Dorfman prefers to start,
he says, "I wanted to do what was best
for the team .. .
"It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. It
was a new experience. It was very dif-
ferent, very difficult to handle. I can
tell you one thing — the best pitchers

around are the relievers. Because
they've got to handle everything. If
you become a successful reliever,
you're a dynamic pitcher."
For the -hard-throwing Dorfman,
the mental adjustment was more dif-
ficult than the physical one. "You
have to be mentally ready at all
times," he says. "One minute you're
just sitting on the bench and talking

Ann Arbor Sets Chicago Maccabiah Lineup

MIKE ROSENBAUM

Sports Writer

T

welve Ann Arbor athletes are
currently training for the
North American Youth Mac-
cabiah Games in Chicago this
August. Although the delegation
seems small by Detroit standards,
Ann Arbor's team coordinator, Erin
Ashare, hopes "they'll be competitive
with the other kids" in Chicago.
Ashare is a senior at the Univer-
sity of Michigan. She is working with
the Maccabi team as an internship in
her field, sports management. She is
also coaching the team's tennis player
and co-coaching the basketball team,
along with Larry Margolis. Lorne
Zalesin is the wrestling coach. There
is no team swim coach. The team's
two swimmers are working with their
individual coaches.
The Ann Arbor teams practice at
the year-and-a-half old Washtenaw
County Jewish Community Center
once a week. They will soon increase

48 FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1988

the sessions, but Ashare says they
will not go beyond three practices per
week. The athletes also work out
away from the Center. "The kids are
running on their own," says Ashare.
"We do a few sprints (at practice) but
the long-distance running they're do-
ing on their own."

Ashare reports the athletes are
"very excited" about the games, both
as a competition and as a cultural ex-
perience. They are also eager to see
one of Chicago's most famous
athletes. "Michael Jordan is suppos-
ed to be there; they're looking forward
to that," says Ashare. The Chicago
Bulls' basketball star is a sponsor of
the games.

In order to fill out the basketball
team, several athletes are playing
basketball as well as another sport.
"Since we need so many kids for
basketball — you've got to have at
least seven — that shouldn't be a pro-
blem."
Ashare says that she looks for-

ward to some of the pre-Maccabiah ac-
tivities planned for the team. "We've
got a lot of fun things planned for
them. A lot of different activities as
a group . . . We're gonna take the kids
to Cedar Pointe, and we're gonna have
a few cookouts and a swimming par-
ty." This, says Ashare, adds a family-
type of spirit to the delegation.
This is the third Ann Arbor Mac-
cabi squad. They sent eight-to-ten
athletes to both the Toronto North
American Games in 1986 and the
regional games in Cleveland last year.
Now that the Jewish Community
Center is set in their new facility,
their Maccabi program will expand,
according to the JCC's Nancy
Margolis. "We're going to start Mac-
cabi right away for the next couple
years. What we're going to do is start
much younger." Their goal is a junior
Maccabi program which will give
their athletes better skills when they
reach age 13, the minimum age for
participation in the Maccabiah
Games.

Ann Arbor Maccabi
Basketball:
Avi Adiv
Gabriel Adiv
Brett Appelman
Kobi Bergman
Amir Kahana
David Lisker
Simon Mahler
Michael Newman
Sam Schwartz
Vaughn Schwartz

Wrestling:
Avi Adiv
Gabriel Adiv
Kobi Bergman
Sam Schwartz

Thnnis:
Randy Cohen

Swimming:
Abby Fanta
David Lisker

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