Page 14-Saturday, May30; 191-The Michigan Daily
MAJOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
4
D etroit
BALTIMORE (AP)-Rich Dauer
drove in three runs with a pair of
doubles and Doug DeCinces hit his
seventh home run in his last seven
games to lead the Baltimore Orioles to
a 6-victory-over the Detroit Tigers last
night.
Dauer, who also walked and scored
two runs, doubled one run home in the
first inning off Detroit' starter Dan
Schatzeder, 2-3, and hit a two-run
double inthe fourth off Dave Rozema as
the red-hot Orioles won their fourth
game in a row and the 14th of their last
17.
DECINCES, WHO did not have a
homer until last Saturday, blasted his
solo shot off Rozema high over the left
field fence in the seventh inning.
Detroit, in losing its fourth straight,
reached Baltimore starter Dennis Mar-
tinez, 6-2, and reliever Tippy Martinez
for 11 hits but the Baltimore pitchers.
were helped by two double plays and
catcher Rick Dempsey, who picked a
loses to Baltimore,6-5
runner off first base. Tippy Martinez to; a 2-0 lead in the second inning and Toronto added two runs in the fourth,
recorded his eighth save. Griffin singled home two runs in the which also featured the first ejection of
Baltimore chased Schatzeder in the fourth as Toronto defeated Oakland for the season for A's Manager Billy Mar-
first inning. Al Bumbry and Dauer hit the first time in 10 games dating back to tin.
consecutive doubles for one run and last season. The victory also gave the Brewers 5, Red Sox
Jose Morales singled for another. Blue Jays a three-game winning streak
DeCinces and Gary Roenicke walked to for the first time this season. The A's BOSTON (AP) - Ted Simmons
load the bases but Rozema came.in and have lost three in a row and 11 of 16. belted a two-run homer in the ninth in-
got Dempsey ona grounder for the final Bonnell's solo homer in the third in- ning off reliever Tom Burgmeier last
out. ning, his fourth of the year, boosted the night, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to
The Orioles added another run in the lead to 3-0. a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
second when Dauer walked, moved to
third on Ken Singleton's single and
scored on a wild pitch by Rozema.
Detroit scored single runs in the four-
th and fifth innings.
Blue Jays 6, A's 3
-TORONTO (AP)-Ernie Whitt and
Alfredo Griffin drove in two runs
apiece and Barry Bonnell crashed a
solo homer to lead the Toronto Blue .
Jays to a 6-3 victory over the Oakland
A's last night.
Whitt's double staked the Blue Jays
I
BAILEY TO MINORS:
Tigers recall Cappuzello
DETROIT (AP)-The Detroit Tigers announced yesterday they have optioned
pitcher Howard Bailey to Evansville of the American Association and have
recalled pitcher George Cappuzzello.
Bailey was 1-4 so far this season with a 7.36 earned run average. Cappuzzello is 4-
O pitching against AAA clubs with a 1.77 ERA. He has pitched in eight games so far
this year.
Cappuzzello was signed by the Tigers in the June 1972 free agent draft. In spring
training in 1978, he was traded to Cincinnati, but he was re-acquired by the Tigers.
as a free agent in April 1980. This is his first trip up to the major leagues.
Bailey made the Tigers' roster this spring after pitching last season for the
club's AA minor league Rebels at Montgomery, Ala. Bailey was signed by Detroit
in August 1978 out of Grand Valley State College and spent one year at Lakeland,
Fla.
DETROIT TIGERS LOU Whitaker seems like he returned to first base
safely but he was tagged out on the foot by Baltimore first baseman Eddie
Murray during last night's game in Baltimore.
(THE SPORTING VIEWS Strike or no strike .. .
...Tigers are s
till in sixth
By JIM DWORMAN
W ITH THE THREAT of a strike looming
overhead, the spotlight on major league
baseball has shifted from the playing field to the
negotiating table and the courtroom.
Obscured by the talks between the Players
Association and the owners is the fact that the
Detroit Tigers are sitting in sixth place, seven and
one-half games behind division leading Baltimore,
with a mediocre 21-23 record..
Although the Tiger front office is obviously
preoccupied with the activities taking place in
New York, it shoudld turn its head for the moment
back to the ball park. The Tigers are falling lower
and lower in the standings, and team president
Jim Campbell and his cronies have done little to
stop the descent.
If Campbell, Bill Lajoie and Co. would take the
time to look at their team, this is what they would
see.
The hitting attack, which scored more runs than
any other team in the majors last year, has been
outscored by its opponents 186-170. It has produced
a meager .264 batting average.
The pitching staff, whose ERA hovered around
the 3.50 mark for much of the early going, has
collapsed. Its ERA has ballooned to 4.10.
While both the team's offense and defense have
been floundering, the Tiger brass has remained
inactive. Rookie pitcher Dave Ruckey has come
and gone. Reserve catcher Bill Fahey, a .200 hit-
ter, has been taken off the disabled list to replace
Duffy Dyer, another journeyman catcher. Rick
Leach has been called up from Evansville, and
Stan Papi and George Cappuzello replaced Darrel
Brown and Howard Bailey on the end of the Tiger
bench.
None of these moves have significantly im-
proved the Detroit nine, and with the exception of
summoning Leach,,none were even designed with
the hope of moving a perennial bridesmaid closer
to the pennant.
The Tigers need to make a major trade, one
which will shake the team out of the doldrums.
Although there is plenty of room for, im-
provement in both the Tiger hitting attack and pit-
ching staff, the place where a trade would be most
beneficial to the team is on the mound. While
Tiger hitters have the potential to produce, as
evidenced by their 1980 performance, the mound
corps shows little sign of life.
Jack Morris is the only legitimate star pitcher
on the Detroit staff. With a 6-3 record and a 3.06
ERA, the fastballing righthander is the team's
stopper, and should remain in that position for the
years to come.
Number two man Milt Wilcox is a respectable
starter, but he is only a seven inning pitcher at
best. Dan Petry shows promise, but he, like
Wilcox, is not a finisher and has a tendency to give
up the long ball. Dave Rozema and Dan Schat-
zeder are both tooinconsistent. Neither can con-
sistently go the distance.
With the exception of Morris, the Tiger starting
rotation boils down to a group of pitchers who can
last only six or seven innings. As a whole, the star-
ters have registered only fourteen complete
games, half of them belonging to Morris.
If the Tigers hope to be in the pennant race with
a rotation of non-finishers, then they must develop
a strong bullpen.
Aurelio Lopez, the team's top fireman for the
past two seasons, is struggling along with an ERA
of 4.33, and if there were a statistic for runs given
up by a relief pitcher immediately after entering
the game, Lopez would surely lead the league. He
too often enters the game with runners in scoring
position and allows them to cross the plate. A top-
notch relief pitcher can pitch his way out of a jam
created by the starter. Lopez seems to have lost
that ability.
The Tigers appear to have acquired a good relief
specialist in Kevin Saucier. In 12 appearances, the
southpaw has recorded four saves and has com-
piled an ERA of only 2.12. But Saucier isn't
enough.
Detroit needs a Goose Gossage or a Bruce Sut-
ter, someone who can be depended upon to pitch
two innings of shutout relief day in and day out.
With a reliable bullpen, Sparky Anderson could
once again play Captain Hook, and the Tigers
could survive with their present starting rotation.
Seven innings of Milt Wilcox and two innings of
Joe Sambito would prove to be a very winning
combination.
Even if it costs them a Rick Peters or a Kirk
Gibson, the Tigers must obtain a quality relief pit-
cher. After all, Mr. Campbell, a title contender
now will fill more seats than the hope of one in the
future.
t