SPOR TS OF THE DAIL Y The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 27, 1979--Page 9 Zimmer under fire By the Associated Press BOSTON-The Boston Red Sox spiked persistent rumors that manager Don Zimmer would be fired with a ringing endorsement yesterday for his retention by General Manager Hayward Sullivan. The support for Zimmer came as the Red Sox were announcing two coaching changes for the 1980 season. "I don't have to make any announ- cehents about Zimmer," said Sullivan. "He's under contract for next year. "I understand that when things go bad, people want a change. But as far as we're concerned, there never was a need for one. The man respects the players, and the players respect the man. It's an old saying, but he didn't do any pitching or hitting. Everyone has to take responsibility for what happened." Neither Sullivan nor Zimmer would say outright that the manager will be retained at the announcement of the new coaches, but both were smiling af- ter a long huddle in the clubhouse of- fice. "Everything's fine," said Zimmer, who has been the target of criticism and boos by fans as the Red Sox faltered to third place in the second half of the season. players to get 200 hits three years in a row. Holmes, Shavers tangle LAS VEGAS, Nev.-Larry Holmes will not see the same Earnie Shavers he. easily beat last year when he defends the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship Friday night, says the 35- year-old Shavers. "When the horse gets so old, you can't teach that horse new tricks," the 29- year-old Holmes said Wednesday. In their first fight, Holmes won a one- sided 12-round decision that earned him his title-winning shot against Ken Nor-, ton. "I hurt him in the second round with one punch," said Shavers, who conten- ds he was bothered by managerial problems and was not in top condition for the first fight., "If I had thrown combinations, it would have been over. This time I will. I will knock him out in five rounds." "I don't really believe Shavers has the punching power he says he has," said Holmes, who also feels he will win inside the 15-round limit. Nixon: Guardian Angel for AL West champs ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)-"Maybe I ought to go to Baltimore, that-might help," said former President Richard M. Nixon after the Angel team he calls "the Comeback Kids from California" won the American League West pen- nant and a playoff spot against an Oriole team with baseball's best record. The Angels, winners of their first title of any kind in 19 years of existen- ce, did so Tuesday night with a guardian angel of sorts watching from team owner Gene Autry's box. For the games when season ticket holder Nixon was in attendance this year at Anaheim Stadium, the Angels had a 14-6 record. "Why, that's better than the Orioles' winning percentage," said Nixon, who joined the happy Angels in their clubhouse after the game in which the Angels beat three-time AL West Champion Kansas City 4-3. le even had some champagne and beer poured on him by Angel shortstop Jim Anderson and second baseman Bobby Grich. California was a slight favorite to finally win this year with the crowning addition to their lineup of Ron Carew, seven times the AmericanLeague bat- ting champion at Minnesota. But Carew suffered a serious thumb injury and was among several key players who spent large parts of the season on the disabled list. They probably have more comebacks than any team in baseball. They came back from injuries," said the former president. "Guys contributed you wouldn't have expected it from. It was fun to watch them." Richard Nixon L YNN HAS SLIGHT EDGE ON FIELD MYP race wide open; 5 players bidding "I've said right along that Don Zim- By ALAN GOLDSTEIN mer is our manager and I'm saying the A Daily Sports Analysis same thing now," Sullivan said, with a In the American League there is not one player grin, who stands head and shoulders above the rest. * * * Under these circumstances, choosing the Most Valuable Player is an unenviable task. What Rice tops 200 makes a player worthy of receiving this coveted award? The criteria is diverse. Last year's race is a perfect example of how BOSTON-Slugger Jim Rice of thle difficult the decision can be. The tqp two players Boston Red Sox became the 17th player were New York pitcher Ron Guidry and Boston in major league history to get 200 hits outfielder Jim Rice. Guidry had an outstanding three years in a row last night when he season, the best season a pitcher has enjoyed in lined a run-scoring single in the first in- the past decade. He was the most instrumental ning against the Toronto Blue Jays. player in the Yankees' comeback, which saw them wipe out a 14 -game margin between Only nine other American League them and the first-place Red Sox. players and seven National League players have accomplished the feat. WHEN SPORTSWRITERS cast their votes for Rice joined Steve Garvey of the Los the award, baseball partisans around the coun- Angeles Dodgers and Pete Rose of the try were worried that. Guidry would win the Philadelphia Phillies as the only active award. They said that after the year Rice had, he could not be denied the award, regardless of what Guidry's statistics dictated. They reasoned that Rice played every day, but Guidry pitched only every fourth day. The pleaded that if Guidry won the award, it would be a great injustice because he could win the Cy Young, but Rice could not. The voting was tabulated and Rice emerged the victor. Guidry's chances were obviously hurt by his being a pit- cher. Now that you are so well versed on the headaches involved in choosing the MVP, a rigorous analysis of this year's race is in order. The top five candidates, not arbitrarily chosen are Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Ken Singleton, Don Baylor, and George Brett. LYNN IS enjoying his finest season since he was voted the MVP his rookie season in 1975. Scouts who watched every team perform in both leagues during the first half of the season claimed Lynn was the best player in either league. Through August, Lynn was leading the league in home runs, RBI's, and hitting. Lynn is also the only candidate for MVP honors in the A.L. who consistently backs his team with stellar defensive play. One day he could become the fir- st player to win the Triple Crown and a Gold Glove in the same year. From day one, Baltimore's Singleton has been the steadiest player in the league. His fielding doesn't parallel Lynn's, nor is he as awesome as Rice or Baylor, but without him a pennant would be out of reach for the Orioles. Singleton chances to win the award, however, do not look good because the Orioles' outstanding pitching staff has taken most of the credit for their East Division title. BRETT HAD an amazing year for the Kansas. City Royals. The first six weeks of the season he was mired in a dismal slump. He was suffering from a hand injury which had yet to heal. He made no excuses and stayed in the lineup. After overcoming the effects of the injury, he went on a torrid hitting spree. By the end of the season, Brett accomplished a feat only matched by two other players - Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb. All three have led the league in doubles, triples, hits, runs, and batting. He can hit leadoff or cleanup and still get the job done. The only rap against him lies in his fielding ability. RICE AND Baylor, the other two candidates bear a sharp resemblance in baseball. Both are primarily designated-hitters, but they insist they can more than hold their own in the outfield. They are volatile when not handled with proper care. "Awesome" would be more appropriate. Each can control a team's destiny. Of the two, Baylor has been more devastating this year. Baylor may win the award, but Lynn rates the favorite because of his all-around ex- pertise. Reds nip Padres as Astros lose; Pirates crush Expos to lead xRB the Associated Press ay ane rissuc laceu rress wa lkpd thrPP ' CINCINNATI-Dave Collins' RBI single capped a two-run rally in the eighth inning to boost the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres last night. Collins' single came after doubles by Ray Knight and Heity Cruz had tied the game off loser Randy Jones, 11-12. Tom Seaver, 16-6, pitched eight in- nings for the victory, before leaving the game for a pinch-hitter. Tom Hume finished for Cincinnati to earn his 17th save. DAVE WINFIELD and Gene Richar- ds Fhad hit solo homers to power the Padres into a 3-2 lead going into the eighth. Winfield's homer, his 33rd, led off the second inning, then Richards slammed his fourth homer to lead off the eighth. In between, the Padres collected an unearned run in the fourth when Win- f ii1d singled and later scored on Jay Johnstone's smash to first base. Joe Morgan singled in the Cincinnati first and later scored on a single by Johnny Bench. The Reds got an unear- ned run in the seventh on a pair of Padre errors. * * * Yankees 6, Indians 3 NEW YORK-Oscar Gamble drove in four runs with a double and a homer, backing the seven-hit pitching of Ron Guidry as the New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-3 last night. Guidry, 8-8, won for the 12th time in his last 13 decisions despite allowing a two-run homer to Ron Pruitt in the eighth inning. Guidry struck out 11 and GAMBLE DOUBLED home two runs in New York's three-run third as the Yankees erased a 1-0 deficit. Cleveland had scored an unearned run in the second inning aided by the first of Fred Stanley's three errors at third base.. After the Yankees scored in the four- th on Brad Gulden's RBI single, Gam- ble slammed a two-run homer in the fif- th, knocking out Mike Paxton, 8-8. The homer was Gamble's fourth in his last four games and his 18th of the season. * * * Mets 8, Cubs 3 CHICAGO-Richie Hebner drove in four runs with a home run and double to lead a 13-hit assault which carried the New York Mets and right-hander Tom Hausman to an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs yesterday. Hebner, who extended his hitting streak to nine games, smacked his 10th homer of the season in the first inning after loser Donnie Moore, 1-4, walked Lee Mazzilli. The Mets made it 3-0 in the fourth when John Stearns walked, moved to second on an error and scored on Bruce Boisclair's double. NEW YORK CHASED Moore in the fifth with four runs, two of them on Hebner's double. Stearns and Doug Flynn also drove in runs in the inning with singles. Hausman scattered 10 hits and im- proved his record to 12-6 before being replaced by Neil Allen with one out in the ninth. In the sixth, the Cubs scored on Larry Biittner's walk and Steve Ontiveras' double. Jerry Martin's two-run double in the eighth accounted for the other Chicago runs. Braves 9, Astros,4 ATLANTA-Knuckleballer Phil Niekro drove in four runs and earned his 20th victory as the Atlanta Braves dealt another blow to the Houston Astros' pennant hopes, with a 9-4 vic- tory last night. THE ASTROS THUS dropped 2/2 games behind Cincinnati in the, National League West. The Reds defeated San Diego 4-3 Wednesday night and reduced their "magic num- ber" for clinching the title to two. Niekro belted a two-run double off his brother, Joe, 20-11, to open the scoring in the second inning as he and Joe became the first brothers in National League history to record 20 victories in the same season. * * * Pirates 10, Expos 1 PITTSBURGH-Phil Garner and Tim Foli drove in three run each and Bruce Kison scattered seven hits to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-1 romp over the Montreal Expos last night, increasing the Pirates' lead to 1% games in the National League East. It was the last regular season meeting b Pirates w won't me division ra KISON, cher in h raised his 22-6 befo by1 between the two teams. The on 11 of 18 games, and they et the Expos again unless the ace ends in a tie. A CLUTCH stretch-run pit- his nine-year Pirate career, lifetime September record to re a near sellout crowd. Id I SA The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Second Distinguished Senior Faculty Lecture Series Professor Angus Campbell in a three-part series, will diiscuss Psychological Well-Being The Pirates, who cut their "magic number" for clinching the division title to four, took a 1-0 lead in the first on Tim Foli's RBI single off Steve Rogers, 13-11, and Pittsburgh was never headed. Garner hit a two-run homer in the fourth after a single by Bill Madlock. Then Ed Ott rapped a two-run double and Garner added a run-scoring double off reliever Bill Atkinson in a four-run sixth inning that gave the Pirates a 7-0 lead. October 4 October 1 October 1 A reccption in F Rackham Am, All lectures ar t, 1979 1, 1979 8, 1979 Psychological Well-Being Well-Being Through the Life Cycle Well-Being and Ill-Being Rackham Assembly Hall will follow the final lecture ANNOUNCING MSA Is now Accepting Applications for Positions Avail- able on internal and External Committees: Economic Affairs, Faculty Affairs, Special Projects, Budget Priorities, U-Cellar Board, Personnel Interviewing. Applications Available at MSA Office 3909 Mich. Union Deadline for Applications Fri., Sept. 28-4:00 p.m. YOUR STUDENT GOVERNMENT £-TA-A---L phitheatre - 8:00p.m. rc penl to the public S~'lOFop Z / SCORES NATIONAL LEAGUE Philadelphia 11, St. Louis 5 New York 8, Chicago 3 Atlanta 9, Houston 4 Pittsburgh 10, Montreal 1 Cincinnati 4,San Diego 3 B AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 13, Detroit 2 Boston 6, Toronto 4 Texas5, Oakland 2 i -. _-- '- - - - --- - -r - te - - - - - 1COLUMBUS DAY SALEI