.. C. UNN Last of the. Ninth By RICK MADDOCK The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 30, 1978--Page 9 CINCY BANKS ON SEAVER'S ARM Potent Reds avored in NL Wes Tigers o today... ... may not be tomorrow A H, THE BEST TIME of the year is quickly approaching. The weather- man tells us it's spring, and that means along with the birds the baseball teams are heading north. One week from today, the Tigers play Toronto in their opener. The Bengals appear to be an exciting and quickly developing team, and with an easy early schedule dop't be surprised if they are right up there with the Yankees and Red Sox, at least up to the All-Star break. If the aforemen- tioned occurs, the young Tigers could acquire enough confidence to turn the race into a three team affair. ' Of course some questionable areas must be erased, and one has to won-* der what the Tigers would be like if they had a different philosophy regar- ding free agents and player salaries. Maybe there wouldn't be as many questionable areas, or then again maybe Jason Thompson would have never gotten the chance to develop if Jim Cam- pbell had bought a first baseman. Spender or miser Since the death of the reserve clause, which turned the market into a sellers (or players in this case) market, it has been interesting to watch the reactions of the teams. The Yankees and the Tigers are exact opposites on this issue, and both have valid reasons to a point. George Steinbrenner, the Yankee owner,' runs the ballclub as a businessman. He wheels and deals for players as though they were shares of stock. He has two primary goals - to assemble a winning baseball team and to make money. Steinbrenner does not believe free agents are good for baseball, but since that's the way things are, so be it. John Fetzer, the Tiger owner, who lets his GM Jim Campbell do the dealing believes that a baseball team should be built through some trading, but primarily through its own farm system. He refuses to pay one or two select ballplayers a few million dollars, when the rest of the roster receives considerably less. Fetzer's reasoning was proved sound by all the bickering among the Yankees, who had prima donna players clashing their egos all season. But one has to question whether his reasoning is entirely due to the philosophy mentioned above or if in fact he just doesn't want to spend the money. The Tiger owner appears to cut corners as much as possible with players' salaries, and if his ways do not change with the current market, players such as Thompson or Steve Kemp may not be around too much longer. That's the dilemma the Tigers may be facing in the near future, whether to pay their home-grown players what they are worth according to the current market or risk losing them to the free agent market. A fork in the road Already, the free spending teams have forced the more conservative teams to trade more. And sooner or later, the latter will have to spend their money, or just be pseudo-farm clubs for the money teams. Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that baseball will continue to be a millionaire's monopoly game, which in turn causes inflated player salaries. Right now the Tigers are at the crossroads. They have an enormous amount of young talent, and a successful year will mean trouble at the bargaining table. Already Kemp and Thompson have shown signs of unhap- piness with Campbell. This time they signed, but with a good season or two they may not the next time. The people who will lose the most will be the faithful and patient Tiger fans. They have watched some raw talent develop into fine major league ballplayers. It would be terrible if these loyal fans could not benefit from the devotion they've shown during the rebuilding years. How good a baseball town can Detroit be? By SCOTT M. LEWIS In each of the past four seasons the National League representative to the World Series has come from the Western Division, and there is no reason to believe that this trend will change in 1978. The Cin- cinnati Reds will see that it-won't. Last year the Reds fell way behind the Los An- geles Dodgers, as the Dodgers won 22 of their first 26 games. On May 7 they were 1012 games back and were never seriously challenged for the lead, THE DODGERS won't repeat as divisional champs this year. Why not? Reds' manager Sparky Anderson answers in two words-Tom Seaver. Seaver, whom the Reds acquired in June, posted wins in 14 of 17 decisions, and is expected to duplicate this performance for an entire year. Besides pitching the Reds to the championship, Seaver's knowledge and experience will undoub- tedly aid the other Cincinnati hurlers, most notably righthanders Paul Moskau (6-6) and Bill Bonham (10-13). Cincinnati's only question mark is their starting staff. If Moskau and Bonham succeed in starting roles, the Big Red Machine should roll, because they have nothing else resembling a weakness. THEIR BULLPEN, anchored by Pedro Borbon and Dale Murray, is dependable, as are the reserve players. Top rookie prospect Harry Spilman (.373 in Class AA last year) and fleet Dave Collins give An- derson more flexibility in late innings. But it is the Reds' starting lineup that causes op- ponents to shudder. Catch Johnny Bench, coming off another 100 RBI season, is back, as are Joe Morgan (second base), third baseman Pete Rose, and awesome George Foster. (Rose, incidentally, is only 34 safeties away from reaching the coveted 3000 hit plateau). Dan Driessen (.300), Dave Concepcion, Cesar Geronimo, and Ken Griffey (.318) round out the Cincy lineup. Los Angeles will be hard-pressed even to make a run at the Reds. Nine key performers who catapulted the Dodgers into the-Series were having- their finest season. It is questionable whether second baseman Davey Lopes can ever again hit .283 with 11 home runs. Can so-so relief pitcher Elias Sosa best last year's ERA of 1.97? I doubt it. ALTHOUGH THEY hardly compare with Cincin- nati on a man-to-man basis, the Dodgers are a for- midable bunch in their own right. Los Angeles led the league in home runs (191), the heavy artillery being provided by Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Reggie Smith, and Dusty Baker. Shortstop Bill Russell directs a solid infield and rifle-armed Steve Yeager is an outstanding backstop. However, the Dodgers' reserves are weak. Backup catcher Jerry Grote4aging pinch hitters Vic Davalillo and Manny Mota, and a few utility in- fielders comprise a less-than-powerful bench. A trademark of Los Angeles during the past decade has been its outstanding pitching staff. Second-year skipper Tom Lasorda hopes to con- tinue this tradition. Tommy John recovered from a severe arm injury to lead the Dodgers with 20 win- s, but at age 35 he can't get any better. Don Sutton, Burt Hooten, Rick Rhoden and Doug Rau complete a balanced starting rotation. THE OFF-SEASON acquisition of fastballing fireman Terry Forster bolsters the Dodger relief corps. He joins such established performers as knuckleball artist Charlie Hough, Mike Garman, and Sosa. The improving Houston Astros will both thrill and frustrate their faithful throughout the year. Its young but talented crew of pitchers led the league in complete games and had a fine 3.54 ERA. Looming large in manager Bill Virdon's plans is 5'8" righthander J.R. Richard. His mates are Joaquin Andujar, Joe Niekro, and Mark Lemongello. Ken Forsch keys a solid bullpen. The Astros have been experimenting with Enos Cabell at shortstop and reports from spring training indicate that the transplanted third baseman is not adapting well to his new role. If Cabell can't cut it, the anemic-hitting Roger Metzger will retain his job. HOUSTON'S LINEUP features fine hitting from Joe Ferguson, Bob Watson, Cesar Cedeno, and Jose Cruz. Team speed is also an asset, the Atros stealing 187 bases last year. On paper the San Diego Padres seem potent. Their roster is sprinkled with big names like Gaylord Perry, Randy Jones, 'Oscar Gamble and Rollie Fingers. Outfielders George Hendrick, Dave Winfield, and Gene Richards each batted over .290. last season. The key to San Diego's season is the health of Jones and Brent Strom. If Jones and Strom com- pletely recover from elbow surgery and revert to their 1976 form, the Padresmay be a surprise. San Francisco mentor Joe Altobelli must restore tranquility among his troops in order for the Giants to avert the cellar. Pitcher John (The Count) Mon- tefusco and third baseman Bill Madlock exchanged punches earlier this spring, and this ruckus has created strife among their teammates. THE TRADE for Vida Blue has raised some hopes out in the Bay Area. Along with Blue, Ed Halicki Randy Moffitt, and Gary Lavelle combine to form an impressive aggregate of pitchers. Opponents won't score many runs in San Francisco this season. Neither will the Giants. Veteran slugger Willie McCovey, a favorite at Candlestick Park, and Madlock are counted upon to, supply much-needed, long-ball clout. An off year from either spells Disaster for the Giants. When Bobby Cox agreed to manage the Atlanta Braves, he inherited a team which lost 101 games last season and finished with a team ERA of 4.85. -: The chances of improving upon these statistics are good, only because they can't get mdch worse. Promising Barry Bonnell and Jeff Burroughs (114 RBI) are standouts on a team with an average age of 24. My advice to Bobby Cox is: patience. WHALERS HONOR. GORDIE: Howe celebrates 50th HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)-A living and playing legend, Gordie Howe cele- brated his 50th birthday last night with teammates from 30 years ago. Then he played a game with the New England Whalers, only three of whom were born in 1946, Howe's first year in major league hockey. "I don't feel 50 years old," said How, who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 seasons. And he really isn't 50, since his actual birthday is Friday. "It scares me, I should hurt more af- ter a game these days than I do," said Howe. "The younger guys end up sorer the next day than I do." An incredible athlete, Howe leads the World Hockey Association team in scoring with 34 goals and 56 assists for 90 points. He is already talking about playing next season, when he is expec- ted to be a grandfather for the first time. His sons, Mark, 22, and Marty, 24, play on the Whalers, and Mark's wife Ginger is eight months pregnant, ex- pecting the couple's first child. Going into Wednesday night's game, Howe had played in 70 of the second- place Whalers' 74 games. Every time he skates on to the ice, he adds to his bucketful of records, including most seasons, 30; most games, 2,252; most goals, 1,028; most assists, 1,457; most points, 2,483; most penaly minutes, 2,297; most years in playoffs, 23; most All-Star team selections, 23, and most Most Valuable Player awards, 73. Howe scored his first goal in 1946, while playing his first game for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Howe's last NHL goal, number 786, was on April 3, 1971. Shortly afterwar- ds, he retired to an executive position with the Red Wings. He was lured out of retirement by the Houston Aeros and scored his first WHA goal on Nov. 3, 1973. He went on to become the first man to notch 1,800 goals, bagging the big one on Dec. 7, 1977 in Birmingham, Ala. The plans for Wednesday night's pre- game celebration included on-ice tributes from several of Howe's longtime friends. Some of his old Detroit teammates scheduled to be here were Sid Abel and Tommy Ivan. Also expected to be here were some Detroit-area cronies, including baseball great Al Kaline, tennis star Tony Trabert and track immortal Jesse Owens. There also was a 6-foot by 3 -foot cake shaped like a hockey rink and bearing Howe's facial likeness. It's A Birthday Sae-A -rtioSn at FIRST DOWN We're celebrating our first year in Ann Arbor with great savings for you. THURS.-FRI.-SAT. -4 M baseball schedule '78 Apr.4 Apr. 5 Apr. 7 Apr. 8 Apr. 11 Apr. 12 Apr. 15 Apr. 16 Apr. 19 Apr. 20 Apr.23 Apr. 29 Apr. 30 May 3 May 6 May 7 May 10 May 13 May 14 May17 May 20 WESTERN MICHIGAN (2) .................Ann Arbor TOLEDO (2) ........... .......... Ann Arbor Bowling Green (2) ..................... Bowling Green BOWLING GREEN (2) .................... Ann Arbor Toledo (2) .................................... Toledo DETROIT (2)........................... Ann Arbor 'Wisconsin (2) .............. ......... Madison Minnesota (2) ........................... Minneapolis Western Michigan (2) ..............Kalamazoo OAKLAND (2).............................. Ann Arbor Eastern Michigan (2) ....................... Ypsilanti ILLINOIS (2) ........................... Ann Arbor PURDUE (2) ............................ Ann Arbor Notre Dame (2) ........................... South Bend INDIANA (2) ............. . .................Ann Arbor OHIO STATE (2)........................Ann Arbor EASTERN MICHIGAN (2) ................. Ann Arbor Northwestern (2) .......................... Evanston Iowa (2) .................................... Iowa City WAYNE STATE (2)........................ Ann Arbor Michigan State (1) ...................... East Lansing All Interknit Wool Ski Sweaters. $14.95 reg. $28 to $38 All Wool Ski Caps reg. $9 " " 0 0 0 0 0 i 't " 1 Every Vest in stock .. reg. $35 to $45 Ski Style Down Jackets reg. $60 . $2.99 $24.95 $34.95 FREAKED AROUTF/NALS? 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