4 Hockey vs. Miami-Ohio Friday and Saturday, 7:30 Yost Ice Arena The Michigan Daily SPORTS Wednesday, October 12, 1988 Football vs. Iowa Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Channel 7, ABC-TV I THE SPORTING VIEWS BY JEFF SHERAN Oh, how easily they forget. Yankee fans are quick to criticize Mets fans now that the Mets have become perennial contenders. What they fail to realize is that Mets fans were in the same position a mere decade ago. It was just twelve years ago that the New York Yankees had ascended to the top of the baseball ladder, competing for three straight World Series titles, and winning two of them. At that same moment in sports history, the lowly Mets were wallowing in the ineptitude of the M. Donald Grant regime. Yankee fans often refer to their cross-town counterparts with fair- weather-fan undertones. For Yankee fans, admitting a preference for the Mets is like succumbing to peer pressure. What the followers of the Yankees don't understand is that Mets fans deserve this good fortune. It is not easy to be a fan of a team that was consistently the worst team in baseball. And while Yankee fans must suffer through their team's current woes, compared to the Mets of old, today's Bronx Bombers are like the 1949 Yankees. PITTING the Yankees of recent years against the Mets of the late seventies and early eighties shows no comparison between the two. No matter how many championship opportunities the Yankees have squandered, they are still the winningest team in the eighties. The pre- Davey Johnson Mets could not even contend with their hapless cellarmates, the Chicago Cubs. Second, regardless of the Yankees pathetic pitching staffs of late, they have at least boasted fearsome batting lineups to almost compensate. Premier hitters, such as Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Don Baylor, and Rickey Henderson, have notched more than a few key hits to bail out Yankee pitching. In contrast, not only did the Mets have no pitching whatsoever, but they fielded a batting order where Dave.Kingman was the offensive savior of the team. Now that's pitiful. The team featured such lead arms as Mark Bomback, Ed Glynn, and Pat Zachary. And if (when) the Mets fell behind the burden fell on an aging Amos Otis, or perhaps Ron Hodges, Len Randle, or Ellis Valentine. IN ADDITION, the Yankees have at least put together teams that look good on paper. Mike Pagliarulo and Rafael Santana on the left side of the infield seems effective enough. But how do you start a third base-shortstop tandem of Elliot Maddox and Frank Taveras? Furthermore, it is important to note the ownership of each club. A mere mentioning of the name George Steinbrenner should be enough. But let us examine Mr. Steinbrcnner's actions a bit closer. His "'win now-who cares about later" attitude has no doubt hindered It's time for Mets fans to enjoy the good life the success of his team. Recent trades, such as the exchange of the blossoming young star Jay Buhner, for the aging, unnecessary hitter Ken Phelps, have been ridiculous moves. The manager shuffle, especially when done with the intent to upstage the playoffs, always tends to receive top billing in the headlines. S T EINB R E NN E R' S threats to trade superstars such as Mattingly and Winfield also continues to draw the public's interest. But M. Donald Grant was worse. Grant headed a team that never had a shot at contending, much less playing .500 ball. He never put any money into the team, virtually placing his team in last place. While Steinbrenner tightens the purse strings when it comes to signing free agents like Jack Morris, he does spend the money, willingly or unwillingly, when it counts, a la Don Mattingly. The Yankees owner has also always claimed to be one player away from a pennant. His blunder is acquiring the wrong player. Passing up Morris was a huge mistake, but the Yankees still had a chance to contend without him. Grant assembled teams that were often nine players away, and no matter who he acquired couldn't help. Perhaps a summary of the Steinbrenner/Grant comparison is this: Steinbrenner is notorious, even disliked for his actions. Grant was hated, and was much more difficult to endure. Entertaining trade rumors concerning Winfield and Mattingly is a less severe crime than actually trading Tom Seaver. LOYAL METS fans are being justly rewarded for their sustenance through lean times of awful baseball. And Yankee fans want to take the glory away from them. Note that throughout the history of baseball, the New York Yankees have always prospered. Always. They have won more pennants, more playoffs, more championships than any other major league team. And now they are not winning it all. The Mets are. What goes around, comes around, and Yankee fans must learn that. Met fans do not like the Mets because they are winning. They like them because they are the Mets, because they brought National League baseball back to New York, because they gave us Casey Stengel, Terrific Tom, and "Ya Gotta Believe." And, yes, because they gave us Darryl Strawberry, curtain calls, and low-fives. Mets fans are no longer the bastard offspring of frustrated Yankee fans, distraught Dodger fans, and estranged Giant fans. They have their own team to root for now, and if their team is winning then sobeit. So don't worry, Yankee fans. Your glory days are not through, but for now, they belong to the other New York fans. Met fans. THE SPORTING VIEV Page 10 VS Decision on designated hitter rule needed now.' BY DAVID FELDMAN The 1988 World Series is going to be a real World Series, right? This October, a great baseball team will be champion. Last year, Minnesota's Metrodome beat the St. Louis Cardinals. This year, the players, not the ballpark, will make the difference. No domes this time. No balls being lost in the roof. No garbage bags for outfield walls. Everything will be determined on the diamond. Baseball, pure and simple. No unfair advantages for the home team, right? Wrong. UNTIL the designated hitter is either accepted or rejected by both the American and National Leagues, the visiting team will always be at an unfair disadvantage. The visitors in World Series games must play according to the home team's rules, making fair competition impossible. It no longer matters if the DH is good for baseball or not. The disparity in league policies is making the World Series into a farce. The American League A's will have some tremendous advantages when they play at home. The.A's are built for the DH. Dave Parker and Don Baylor form an awesome lefty- righty DH combination. NL teams don't have the luxury of carrying such non-fielding fence busters on their rosters. Which pinch hitters could the Dodgers trot out as DH? Rick Dempsey? Tracy Woodson? Then there's the matter of one Dennis Eckerslcy. With the DH, no pinch hitting is necessary, no middle relief necessary. The A's can go directly from their starter to the Eck Man. The great NL lefty-righty reliever combinations, likLe LA's(Orosco-Howell) and New York's(Myers-McDowell), lose much of their impact when one bullpen stopper is sufficient. When they're on the road, AL World Series teams are forced to swallow some bitter NL medicine. PICTURE THIS: Top of the fifth. A's trail the Dodgers, 1-0. One out, man on third. Pitcher Storm Davis at the plate. Storm Davisat the plate? It just doesn't sound right. Wht could Manager Tony LaRussa possibly call? A squeeze? While-at~ AL pitcher attemptingzto execute;a squeeze bunt can be entertaining t is rarely a pretty sight. Maybe LaRussa could pinch hit? Sorry, it's too early for Eckerslcy, and Rilcle Honeycutt just is not a top-notch bullpen ace. The A's, like a host of Americdaj League squads, would simply not be the same team if they were deprive"' of the DH. Lame duck Commissioner Peter Ueberroth formally introduced -the concept of unifying the DH rule. 11. will now be up to his successor, A. Bartlett Giamatti,, to make this concept materialize. The questions of whether to DH or not to DH is now obsolete. The fact is that major league baseball desperately needs a decision. Now. 1 Study in Britain Michigan Daily SPORTS 763-0376 I ;I The Fall Classic. Tradition. Champions. America. And grossly bloated advantages for the home team. SENIORS: Get in the Picture! Spend a term or year at a British university through Beaver College. If you are interested in learning more about our programs in Britain, Ireland, and Austria, come meet our program representative. Date: Time: Place: Thursday, October 13 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. International Center 603 E. Madison We will also have a table in the Michigan Union MUG from 11:00 to 2:00. We hope to see you there! Senior portrait photography for the 1989 Ensian yearbook ends Friday! Don't miss out on a lifetime of memories. Get your picture taken today between 8:30 and 4:30 on the second floor of the UGLi. 4aIg ENSIAN ALL CAMPUS YEARBOOK Beaver College Center for Education Abroad Glenside, PA 19038 (215) 572-2901 AT LAST! A job that really does some- %hing FOR YOU! - $5.00-$6.50/hour plus bonuses X plug into the University's alumni network I A- C.. -l t*%- r,.+-,i+-Affi,-^+iro Anfinn Gmnlnwor I