Softball
vs. Detroit
April10, 3:3; p.m.
'M' Varsity Diamond
SPORTS
Baseball
vs. Indiana
Sat. & Sun., 1:00 p.m.
Ray Fischer Stadium
The Michigan Daily
Friday, April 5, 1985
Page 9
. . . ..... . ......
Cubs will repeat; Bucs to follow
Blue Jays cut Leach
By DAVE ARETHA
Assuming there will be no major drug busts in
the Wrigley Field clubhouse any time soon, here's
how the National League East will stack up in
1985:
1. Chicago Cubs. Look for the Cuba to become
the first N.L. East team since* the 1977-1978
Philadelphia Phillies to win back-to-back division
titles. Chicago's lineup is the most explosive in the
league and its pitching is rock-solid. Six Cubs
knocked in 80 or more runs last year and another,
Bob Dernier, scored 94. Chicago has so many
quality pitchers that the starting rotation and the
bullpen overlap each other. From Ryne Sandberg
to Rick Sutcliffe to Lee Smith, the Cubs are the
class of the East.
One thing manager Jim Frey should watch out
for, however, is that he retains control of his
troops. In his first year at Kansas City in 1980, the
laissez-faire manager let his team play carefree
baseball and the Royals responded by storming to
the World Series. But the reigns were too loose the
next year. The Royals were a chaotic mess in 1981
and Frey was fired.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates. Sure; Pittsburgh finished
in the cellar last year. And granted the Pirates lost
Lee Lacy, a .321 hitter and John Tudor, a 12-game
winner. But the Pirates were far from dismal in
1984 (75-87), and they have so many new additions
that they should jump several positions in this
mediocre division. New outfielders George Hen-
drick, Steve Kemp, and Sixto Lezcano, plus the
return of previously injured Bill Madlock, will suf-
ficiently, bolster an offense that was tenth in runs
scored last year.
Even Pittsburgh's pitching, which led the
league in ERA in 1984, should improve. Mike
Bielecki, 19-3 at Hawaii, can capably replace
Tudor, and fireballing reliever Don Robinson (110
strikeouts in 122 innings) is now healthy enough to
pitch a full season.
3. New York Mets. There is a line for playoff
tickets stretching from Queens to Schenectady.
Seemingly everyone in New York thinks the Mets
have the East locked up now that they've landed
catcher Gary Carter. However, the Mets better
realize that a cocky attitude can prove deadly in
basebalk They also need to see that they're not as
almighty as they think. The core of a baseball
team is wits starting pitching, and the Mets'
rotation, although talented, appears far from
reliable. New York seems to be putting too much
faith in a rotation that features the erratic Bruce
Berenyi and four guys born in the 1960s.
4. Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies are pretty
talented but they're missing a spiritual leader now
that Pete Rose and Joe Morgan are gone. The
Phillies are so worried about their own job
security that they have no time to concern them-
selves with team goals. Pitchers like Steve
Carton , Jerry Koosman, and Bill Campbell are
fighting to hang on for another year or two. Veter-
ans Ivan DeJesus, Bo Diaz and Garry Maddox are,
struggling to regain the starting jobs they've lost.
And youngsters Jeff Stone, Glenn Wilson and
Steve Jeltz are trying to prove they're everyday
players.
Stone, though, should be fun to watch. The out-
fielder hit .362 in 51 games for Philadelphia last
year and is said to be one of the fastest players in
baseball.
5. Montreal Expos. The Phillies may be low on
team spirit, but they look like pom pom girls on
amphetamines when compared to the Excpos.
Montreal has about the enthusiasm of a dead cor-
pse. The Expos do their individual jobs efficiently
(batters will hit .280 and pitchers will keep their
ERAs down around 3.00), but they just don't play
together as a team. It often takes them three hits
to score one run.
Montreal is filling the Keystone Combination
with third basemen Hubie Brooks and Vance Law,
but this wilt only make an inflexible team more
rigid. And Bob Rodgers, their new generic
manager, isn't like to give them the spark they
need.
6. St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis has been oddly
streaky the last two years. They would win six
straight games and then drop four, win four in a
row and then drop six. By the end of each season
they ended up at about .500 (79-83 and 84-78). But
now that Bruce Sutter and his 45 saves have
departed to Atlanta, the Cardinals are doomed.
Look for them to tumble to the basement in 1985.
Tomorrow: The American League West
From staff and wire reports
DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Toronto Blue
Jays cut their roster to 26 players
yesterday when former U-M football
and baseball standout Rick Leach was
returned to Syracuse of the Inter-
national League and infielder Fred
Manrique designated for reassignment.
Leach, a left-handed hitting non-
roster player at spring training had
been competing for a backup job in the
outfield. The 25-year-old Leach, quar-
terback and centerfielder at Michigan
from 1975-78, appeared in 88 games for
,Toronto last season and batted .261 with
no home runs and seven runs batted in.
He was assigned outright to Syracuse
during the offseason.
WHILE AT Michigan, the Ann Arbor
native set several gridiron records, in-
cluding a Michigan ca'reer mark with
1,024 points, a Big Ten record of 6460
total yards and set an NCAA record
with 82 touchdowns. In baseball, Leach
averaged .349 over four seasons, in-
cluding a career high of .404.
In 1979, Leach spurned offers from
the Denver Broncos and Montreal
Allouettes to become the number one
draft choice of the Detroit Tigers. He
joined the team in 1981.
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Blue Jay
bats rattle
Petry as
*Detroit
falls, 6-2
DUNEDIN, Fla (AP)-Lloyd Moseby
drove in two runs with a first inning
triple and Jessie Barfield contributed a
two-run homer to Toronto's 10-hit attack
as the Blue Jays defeated the Detroit
Tigers 6-2 yesterday in exhibition
baseball action.
The victory boosted the Blue Jays
spring record to 18-7.
TORONTO STARTER Dennis Lamp,
touched for a two-run home by Mike
Laga in the first inning, was the winner.
He gave up six hits in seven innings. A
solo shot in the eighth by Nelson Sim-
mons off reliever Tom Filer accounted
for Detroit's other run.
After delivering two runs with his
triple in the first, Moseby scored on a
groundout by Willie Upshaw.
Toronto went ahead 4-2 in the fourth
with an unearned run off Dan Petry, the
Tiger starter and loser. Tony Fernan-
dez struck out, but the ball eluded
Detroit catcher Marty Castillo, whose
subsequent throw to first attempting to
retire the Toronto shortstop was wild.
Len Matusek, who had doubled, scored
from second base on the play.
Bucks 130, Pistons 121
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Terry Cum-I
- mings scored 29 points and Paul
Pressey added 20 to lead the Milwaukee
Bucks to a 130-121 National Basketball
Association victory over the Detroit
Pistons last night.
The Bucks took control of the game at
the beginning of the fourth quarter, as
they outscored the Pistons 8-2 to take a
98-89 lead with 9:52 remaining.
CUMMINGS LATER took over, as he
scored 10 of the Bucks next 12 points to
give them a 116-111 lead with 3:32
remaining.
Kelly Tripucka hit a jumper with 2:55
left to keep Detroit within 118-113.
But Pressey then hit a lean-in jump
shot to make it 120-113 with 2:34 to play,
and the Bucks held off a late Pistons'
rally to win.
SIDNEY MONCRIEF and Craig
Hodges added 17 points apiece for
Milwaukee.
Tripucka led Detroit with 32 points,
while John Long added 23.
Good friends will give you a break
when you're broke.
SPEND THIS SUMMER
IN MAINE!
Be a counselor at Kippewa for girls.
Located on scenic Twelve Mile Lake
in Winthrop, Maine.
OPENINGS IN THE FOLLOWING
The dinner was sensational. So was the check.
The problem is, the theater tickets that you insisted
on buying broke your whole budget. Enough to
declare bankruptcy by the time the coffee arrived.
9; A nudge under the table and a certain destitute
look in the eye were enough to produce the
spontaneous loan only a good friend is
~W T ~U
- I