The Michigan Daily-Thursday, October 29, 1987- Page 9 'k Champion TwinAs... THE SPORTING VIEWS .hhf1III~mI000 By MICHAEL SALINSKY A team with an 85-77 record, a measly .525 winning percentage, during the regular season. A team whose third starting pitcher in the playoffs was named Les Straker. A team whose catchers couldn't bat over .200. A team that lost 52 of its 8 1 games played outside the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Champions? A lot of people are having a hard time accepting that the Minnesota Twins are the World Champions of baseball. THE ARGUMENTS are numerous. They would have finished in fourth place in the National League East, fifth in the American League East! Heck, they didn't even deserve to be in the playoffs. WRONG. The primary goal of every team when they begin spring training is to win their division. That, nothing more and nothing less, gets you in the playoffs. The Twins accomplished that goal. It is irrelevant that they played in a weak division. It is also likely that their record was influenced by the mediocrity of their division. I haven't seen any analysis of this in the statistical literature, but it seems logical that a team's play would be affected by the standings. In other words, you do what you have to do to keep up. And in the AL West this year that wasn't much. As Whitey Herzog said, "It's a shame that one team wins 98 games and the other wins 85 and the one with 85 wins (the pennant)." This sentiment was echoed all over campus after the Tigers' demise, -As unworthy of title? years as an injury-prone player. The fact that he played so much this year, as opposed to last year, is a major reason for the Cards' good fortune this season. The Cardinals, of all teams, should not be harping on their "bad luck." The injuries to St. Louis during the season were eclipsed by injuries to the Mets' pitching staff that enabled the Cards to win the . division. BEFORE ANYONE accuses me of sour grapes, let me acknowledge that the Cardinals were deserving division champs, just as the Twins are deserving World Champions. White Sox manager Jim Fregosi sociated Press spouted a Herzogism during the postseason when he said of the d Champion- Twins, "They are a hot ballclub right now...but this is the same team that was four games under .500 I don't know after the All-Star game." pid." They were not the same team. ly known as This is a team that went 17 games established over .500 after the All-Star break to st misquoted clinch the division before losing the the most last five meaningless games. This is -nth game of a team that made the Tigers, with rd him - so the best record in baseball, look bad misquote - with a capital 'B'. And this is the ns' accomp- team that made the pitching-rich ng on the Cardinals dizzy watching Twins round the bases. say that the Said Twins DH Don Baylor: "So won it all if many people will say this was not the best World Series, was not the maybe not best matchup, but we were the final njuries are a two, and after all is said and done, t like weak we're the World Champions." re part of the That's right Don, you are, and Clark has don't let anybody tell you that you r the past few didn't deserve it. Gary Gaetti helped the Twins extend their season into a World ship. with calls being issued for the abolishment of the playoff system. WRONG. If any series can be used as an argument for the playoffs it was the Twins' demolition of Detroit. Whatever the reasons, the Tigers just weren't there come crunch time, and did not show at all that they deserved to be in the World Series. Even the last week of the season impressed me not as the Tigers winning the division but as the Blue Jays losing it. Splitting a crucial series with the pathetic Orioles the last week of the season does not a champion make. Twins' third baseman Gary Gaetti responded to Herzog much as I would have. "I mean what does he want us to do," Gaetti said. "We did what he had to do to get here. He's grasping at something.] what. It's brutal. It's stu Herzog, affectionate the "white rat," has himself as either the mo man in baseball or arrogant. After the seve the World Series, I hea it couldn't have been a subtly demean the Twi lishment by dwellir Cardinals' injuries: A LOT OF people Cardinals would have not for injuries. WRONG. Well, wrong but irrelevant. I part of the game jus divisions are. Injuries a player also. Jack established himself over Associated Press Sidney Green and Patrick Ewing will both play for the Knicks this season. Green, a Brooklyn native, was traded from the Pistons to New York yester- .day. Pistons won't dish out goreen; send Sidney toNY PONTIAC (AP) - The Detroit Pistons traded Sidney Green to the New York Knicks yesterday for rookie forward Ron Moore and a second-round pick in the 1988 draft. The Knicks had signed Green to a $2.3 million offer sheet nearly a month ago, only to have the Pistons- match it. The Pistons cleared the path for the acquisition of Moore by trading forward Kurt Nimphius late Tuesday to the San Antonio Spurs for a second-round choice. Moore, the 25th pick in the draft, averaged 27.6 points and 10.1 rebounds at West Virginia State last year. He averaged 5.5 points in the Knicks' four exhibition games. Green, a 6-9 forward, came to Detroit from Chicago for Earl Cureton and a second-round draft choice in 1986. In four years in the NBA, Green has averaged 22.4 points per game. SPORTS OF THE DAILY: Auburn QB out of the AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Senior Auburn quarterback Jeff Burger, the leading passer in the Southeastern Conference, was declared ineligible Wednesday along with teammate Jim Thompson after the NCAA said they broke a rule by taking a free trip to go hunting with a Thompson family friend. Their eligibility could be restored by the NCAA on appeal in time for sixth-ranked Auburn's S E C showdown with No. 10 Florida on Saturday night, but it was uncertain when, or how, the NCAA might respond. David Housel, Auburn sports information director, said the school was notified yesterday morning that an Oct. 11 trip to south Alabama on a small, private plane was considered a violation of the "extra benefits" rule by the Nat-ional Collegiate Athletic Association. "Both players have been declared ineligible by Auburn University pending an appeal for restoration of their eligibility by Auburn," Housel said. "Auburn officials are in the process of making that appeal." The decision conies as Auburn, 6- 0-1, heads into the final four games against four top 20 teams, beginning with Florida at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium. Also ahead are No. 4 Florida State, 12th-ranked Georgia and No. 16 Alabama. Burger, who has had two other brushes with ineligibility this year, has made up for a weak Auburn running attack by completing 105 of 154 passes for 1,314 yards and 10 touchdowns, with only three * interceptions. Thompson, a junior offensive tackle, was a starter at the beginning of the season but has been out several weeks with a knee injury. Burger almost did not get to play at all this season when the Auburn Academic Honesty Committee suspended him for two quarters after he allegedly plagiarized parts of a term paper. But that suspension was lifted by Warren Brandt, the school's vice president for academic affairs, who said Burger had suffered enough because of intense media coverage. Lions' coach arraigned ROCHESTER HILLS (AP) - Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Wayne Fontes stood silently at his arraignment Wednesday in the 52nd District Court as a plea of innocent was entered on his behalf on a charge of cocaine possesion and t w o drunken driving charges. Judge Robert Shipper set preliminary examination for Nov. 5 at 8:45 a.m. before Judge James Sheahy. Fontes was released on $7,000 personal bond, $5,000 for the felony possession charge and $1,000 for each of the two misdemeanor drunken driving charges. The cases involving Fontes stemmed from an Oct. 21 incident, the Oakland County Sheriff's Department said. Fontes apparently drove his car into a ditch before his wife brought him a second car and he later was stopped by deputies, police said. Police said they found a small vial of cocaine in the first car. Fontes, in his third season as a coach with the Lions, denied that he had cocaine in his car. "No sir, I didn't have an y controlled substances," Fontes said Tuesday. "I didn't have any cocaine." hunt A breathalyzer test showed Fontes was legally drunk, sheriff's Sgt. Douglas Molinar said. Lions' officials and players were dismayed after learning of the charges. "He's my friend and he's more than just my coach. I would talk to my friend before I said anything about him," said William Gay, Lions' defensive end and co-captain. TANNING SALON 1 wk. tanning $15.00 Mon-sat 1 month tanning $39.00 Mon-Sat 995-8600 227 E. Liberty exp 11/20/87 one per day EMPLOYMEN OPPORTUNIT JAPAN Bi-lingual? Interested in learning about career opportunities in Japan? Shushoku Joho, the employment journal of Japan, provides intor- mation on opportunities with presti- gious Japanese and foreign capital companies operating in Japan. - I rI IT IES IN 1T To receive the latest news in career opportunities in Japan, free of charge, please dial (800) 42373387in California; (800) 325-9759 outside California. A service of Recruit U.S.A., Inc. "We Communicate Opportunity" Note: This publication is written in Japanese. HILL STREET FORUM PRESENTS JOHN IRVING WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 4 8PM HILL AUDITORIUM Indiv. tkts: $10, 8, 5 at Ticketmaster Michigan Union Ticket Office and at Hudson's. MasterCardNisa for telephone orders: 763-Tkts. I EVEN THE ANCIENT GREEKS CAME TO BALFOUR HOUSE YEARS AGO DON'T PASS BY THIS U OF M TRADITION Come home to Balfour House and capture your crazy college days with Greek and U of M gifts. "Party Photography Available _ -- NEW ENGLAND SEMESTER FALL TERM 1988 INFORMATION MEETING Frnrrimp ntal Pro-ram SWine skins " Custom Greek Sweats & Tank Tops * Custom Silk-screening and Embroidery l uh\ 9 ._ i -I ,; - * Party Favors " Paddles * Balfour Fraternity & Sorority Jewelry 7