DODGER-PHILLIE PLAYOFF IMMINENT The Michigan Doily-Wednesday, September 27, 1978-Page 9 II LA sprints while P hilly struggles --. - -KT -I- I - By VAV IV LEdVIAN While the Phillies struggle to hold off Pittsburgh in the East, out in Los Angeles the Dodgers have made a once-tight pennant race into a runaway. Af- ter being in third-place much of the year behind Cincinnati and San Francisco, Los Angeles surge past both clubs en route to the best record in baseball. "Earlier in the season, we lost a lot of games by scoring early and then blowing the lead late in the game," explained Dodgers' publicity director Bill Shumard. "But our pitching is great now and I believe that the turning point in the season has been the calling up of (former Eastern Michigan pitcher) Bob Welch." , The Dodgers were 41/2 games behind the Giants when Welch was brought up to pitch. He blanked the Giants 2-0 and started the Dodgers on a 26-10 tear that saw them jump six games up on San Francisco. But Welch is only one member of L.A.'s enor- mously potent pitching staff. They have the best combined E.R.A. of any team in the major leagues. The ace of the group is righthander Burt Hooten, who has won 10 of his last 12 games (18-9) overall with a sparkling 2.65 ERA. Rick Rhoden was in- jured earlier but has won both of his starts since returning. With Tommy John, Doug Rau, and Don Sutlton also in the rotation, it's little wonder why the Dodgers are leading their division. Unfortunately for the Phillies (or the Pirates), Los Angeles also leads the league in hitting with a .263 average. Although recently injured, Reggie Smith is the team hitting leader. He is their most consistent player and is the guy to whom the other players look in clutch situations. Smith's stats bear this out: 29 HR, 93 RBI's, and a .295 average. Steve Garvey's bat continues to explode during September. He leads the team with a .308 average and 105 RBI's. His move into the clean-up spot has also enabled Ron Cey to come alive. Cey has drop- ped from the fourth to the fifth position, and he's responded with 23 HR's and 83 RBI's. L.A.'s overall defense is solid. The infield com- bination of Bill Russell and Davey Lopes is among the steadiest in the league, and Reggie Smith has probably the best outfield arm anywhere. In Philadelphia, the Phillies are too concerned about winning their own division to worry about the Dodgers. And why not; the Phillies have a long history of late season collapses to their credit. This year seemed no different, as Philadelphia looked determined to let the Pirates come back from 111/2 games down to overtake them. Now that Philly is up again by 4, their season-ending series in Pittsburgh takes on less significance. Like Los Angeles, Philadelphia owes its second half surge to incredible pitching. Dick Ruth- ven has emerged as the ace of the staff, winning 9 of 11 games since his acquisition from Atlanta in June. A rejuvenated Steve Carlton has won 7 of his last 8 games. Randy Lerch is pitching his best ball of the season, and Larry Christenson has been unbeatable at home. Perhaps Philly's most pleasant surprise has been their bullpen. Ron Reed and Warren Brusstar own the best ERA's on the team. Their pitching has been so impressive that highly-regarded free-agent Rawly Eastwick is hardly ever called upon. Unlike Los Angeles, however, the Phillies have not had the hitting to back up their pitching. Their team batting average has dipped from a league- leading .279 in 1977 to an anemic .257 this year. When they have scored 4 or more runs in a game, they've won 68 of 78 times. Greg Luzinski is driving in a lot of runs, but his .263 hitting is 40 points below his lifetime average. Bake McBride's productivity has tailed off so much that Danny Ozark is platooning him in leftfield. Mike Schmidt, usually the mark of consistency, is hovering around .250 with only 19 RBI's. The one player who is most responsible for holding this team together has been Larry Bowa. Bowa is the batting, fielding and emotional leader of the club. His eight errors in the field so far this season makes him a good bet to break his own N.L. fielding record. "Well, Al," drawled George, "it's been a long season. But we've seen some fine baseball, some real fine baseball." "That's right, George. These kids really learned to play head's up ball. They impressed me, that's for sure. A little trouble on the basepaths, maybe, and some problems with defense. Oh yes, and there were a few injuries that were tough to cover for. And let's not forget the times they failed to9 get that clutch hit, but other than5 that..." 1 "'YOU KNOW I always hate to see the season come to an end, Al. But I'm going to try my hand at something new this fall." 1 "Like a job, George?" Al 1: asked. 1 "No, the Griddes," George 13 replied. "I just make my picsk, 1' hit 'em like a bullet over to 420 1 Maynard before midnight 16 Friday, and I could win a small 1 two item Pizza Bob's pizza." 1 "SOUNDS GOOD, George. I 19 hear the Libels are supposed to 24 f dPICKS dominate their league once again. I'd ike to try it myself, What is a football, anyway? I'm kind of used to one sport." "Never mind, Al. We have next year's baseball season to look forward to. Don't we Joe?. Joe?." 1. Duke at MICHIGAN (pick score) 2. Illinois at Syracuse 3. Nebraska at Indiana 4. Iowa at Arizona 5. Michigan State at USC 6. Minnesota at UCLA 7. Northwestern at Colorado 8. Baylor at Ohio State 9. Purdue at Notre Dame 0. Oregon at Wisconsin 1. Houston at Florida State 2. Kentucky at Maryland 3. Missouri at Oklahoma 4. North Carolina at Pittsburgh 5. Texas at Texas Tech 6. Tennessee at Auburn 7. Central Michigan at Ball State 8. Dartmouth at Holy Cross 9. Miami (Fla.) at Kansas 0. DAILY LIBELS at Wayne Duke _ ___ SPOR TS OF THE DAIL Y: Hill tries comeback with Browns CLEVELAND - Running back Calvin Hill, who said he was tired and didn't want to play any more when he retired from professional football in August, #signed a contract yesterday with the injury-plagued Cleveland Browns, the NFL team announced. Terms of the pact were not disclosed, nor was the duration of the contract with the 6-foot-4, 227-pound Hill, who left the Washington Redskins after the pre-season opener with Minnesota. Hill, 31, ranks 16th in the NFL's all-. time rushing list with 5,567 yards. He has 7,305 net yards rushing, receiving and returning kickoffs in nine years in professional football. HE WAS rookie of the year when he broke in with the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 and played in the Pro Bowl that year and in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He played college ball at Yale. Hill was in Cleveland Tuesday un- dergoing a physical examination and was scheduled to begin workouts with the Browns today, a team spokesman said. The Browns also said running back Tom Sullivan, who underwent surgery Monday for torn knee ligaments and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season, has been placed on the in- jured reserve list. -AP Clubbers crushed The talented sister combination of Mary and Alexandra Callam wasn't quite enough magic for the Michigan field hockey team as they were tram- pled 4-1 by defending state and regional champions Central Michigan Univer- sity yesterday at Ferry Field. THE WOLVERINES had upset on their minds as they came out running step-for-step with the Chippewas, put- ting on several bursts of offensive pressure and eventually scoring a goal to take a 1-0 lead at the end of the first half. Michigan's lone goal was only the fir- st they've scored against Central in the last four years, but it was a pretty one. Alexandra Callam went deep into the Chippewa corner and centered a per- fect pass to her sister Mary, who smacked a low shot past CMU netmin- der Sue Proctor from ten feet out. BUT THE persistent Central Michigan offense finally wore down the Wolverines. Four unanswered goals in the second period made it no contest. Marge Rausch paced the attack with two scores while Janice Zigman and Linda Strom notched the other tallies for Central. "Considering it was our first game, I thought they played well," commented head coach Phyllis Ocker. "There are a few places where we need im- provement and to check out a few other players, but other than that, I couldn't be displeased with our performance." The Wolverines' next home match is this Friday against Toledo at Ferry Field beginning at 4 p.m. -BOB EMORY * * * Harriers hustle Michigan's women's cross country team, the first ever, for women, engaged in its premiere meet last Saturday against Bowling Green and emerged victorious, 40-23. The harriers copped three of the first five finishes with Marianne Dickerson, Dawn Woodruff and Katy Benner placing first, fourth and fifth respec- tively. ALSO RUNNING for the Wolverines were Sherrie King (sixth), Blaise Supler (seventh), Darlynda Key (eighth), Janice Downer (ninth), Margie Wallace (tenth) and Sheila Mayberry (11th). Coach Red Simmons was pleased with his team's showing, especially in light of the fact that, officially, cross country is still a club sport for women and team members are paying for their own expenses. -DAILY SPORTS Golfers awash Alabama's women's golf team easily won the Michigan State Invitational golf tournament last weekend in East Lansing, defeating Minnesota by 11 strokes. Host Michigan State finished third, 33 strokes back while Michigan placed 11th, 76 shots behind the Crim- son Tide. FRESHPERSON Linda Drillock led Michigan with an 84 and a 79. Former tennis player Elaine Crosby followed with an 87-90, while freshperson Robin Sobota shot a pair of 90's. "I was very pleased with Linda's score," coach Tom Simon said. "I hope we can bring the other scores down this weekend at Purdue." -DAILY SPORTS .* * * Broncs bucked Special to the Daily Michigan's women's volleyball team, playing in a best of five match against Western Michigan, defeated the Bron- cos in three straight sets, 15-8, 15-8 and 15-11.. OUTSTANDING players for the spikers included Jackie Madison, Julie Stotesburg and Jeanne Sellman. The team next plays in the Spartan Invitational, held this weekend at East Lansing. -DAILY SPORTS IMAGES HAIQ'n'COM1DtANY Ann Arbor's Cornerstone of Beauty SPECIALISTS with EXPERTISE in " PRECISION CUTS " PERMS: Curly, Wavy, & Relaxers " COLOR " COLOR CORRECTION " SKIN & NAILS The Progressive, Full-Service Salon of Ann Arbor Just steps from Campus 311 E. Liberty 994-5057 (Tues-Fri 9-7 (last appointment) Mon & Sat by appointment only Meter measures up Michigan linebacker Jerry Meter (46) tackles Notre Dame halfback Vagas Ferguson (32) in last Saturday's Wolverine victory at South Bend. Due to out- standing defensive play, Meter, a junior, was named the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Game by ABC Television. Meter's invaluable services aided the 28-14 win for the Blue. METER ONE STEP AHEAD k , Blue captai~n honored By RICK MADDOCK People at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday heard an announcement near the end of the game concerning the offensive and defensive players of the game. The announcer said Rick Leach had been named the offensive star and Irish linebacker Bob Leopold the defensive star. People watching on television saw that Jerry Meter was selected as the defensive star. Clearing up any confusion, the Defensive Player of the Game as chosen by ABC and sponsored by Chevrolet was Michigan's linebacker Jerry Meter. The Most Valuable Player on defense, chosen by the Mutual Broadcasting Radio Network and sponsored by Lazy Boy Chairs was Notre Dame's linebacker Bob Leopold. What's the difference? The winners of the Chevrolet award get a $1000 scholarship sent in their name (but not for their use) to their school's scholarship fund. The winners of the Lazy Boy Award get a Lazy Boy chair sent to their school's athletic department. Charles Lacey of Chevrolet is in charge of processing the checks won by the players of the game. "The one reported to us by ABC was Rick Leach and Jerry Meter. I'm going to process the checks accordingly." The mix-up even confused the Michigan squad. "We heard on the field that Leopold won it. We didn't find out until later when someone told us that Meter had won it," defensive coordinator Bill McCartney said. The announcement made at Notre Dame Stadium revealed the winners of the Lazy Boy award (Leach won both offensive awards for the school). Whether the Notre Dame announcer, Frank Crosiar, said Lazy Boy, Chevrolet, or just defensive player of the game remains hazy. When asked if he announced Leopold and Leach as the Chevrolet players of the game, Crosiar said yes. He said the information came up from the ABC booth. But when he was informed that the television screen showed Meter as the defensive winner, and that Mutual also had an award, Crosiar claimed he said Mutual. Five minutes later, on a second phone conversation, Crosiar said, "I don't remember what announcement I made. At the beginning of the game I made an announcement about Chevrolet, but at the end of the game I remember specifically saying Lazy Boy Chairs." To the Freshmen: It wouldn't be the DEKE HOUSE If there weren't some rumors about it. Just for the record, s _ -: SON GWRITERS. Michigan Songwriters Guild Organizational Meeting 7:30 P.M. TONIGHT Conference Room 6, Michigan Union A FULL SERVICE MEXICAN RESTAURANT with DANCING NIGHTLY presents Cisco'sDisco. Ann Arbor's Premier Discoteque 611 CHURCH ST.-NEAR SOUTH UNIVERSITY 995-5955 s: GI You will have an opportunity to order from your Josten's College Ring Speclist: THE Conservatory Restaurant is now open for B REAKFAST specializing in Omelettes of our own creation 2250 possible combintions of cheeses, meats, veggies & sauces Served with Danish, Bagels, Muffins & Much More OPEN FOR BREAKFAST: MON.-FRI. 7 a.m.-1l a.m.