Baseball Diary Vol 1, #11

Los Angeles
August 22, 1982

"If I were a religious man, I might have prayed, but I don't think so. It seems to me that this brings into the fray an isolated morality factor that has no place in a baseball conflict...Who is there to say that the Giants deserve divine aid more than do the Indians? Of course I want them to win. But I do not feel in any way they DESERVE to win...The Giants, so far as I know, are no more decent, no more law abiding, no more honest, no more kind to their wives and mothers and puppy dogs than any other team, including the Dodgers."
Arnold Hano, 1954 World Series

The diagram above illustrates how a baseball bat can be stuffed with cork. Some say this enables the batter to hit a baseball further. It is illegal. George Steinbrenner accused the Angels of corking their bats last week. His comments came a week or so after Reggie Jackson broke his self-imposed silence regarding Mr. Steinbrenner. Reggie's comments were not complimentary. Two weeks ago, George appeared on network television with Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek just before a Yankees game. He is an endlessly entertaining man, an owner who is so much the fan that he cannot stop himself from meddling and taking part in the game the only way he's capable. It's just too bad that his actions make so many of his own employees so unhappy. But enough of George. Our feature article this issue is from The Fearless Forecaster. Baseball Diary first became aware of FF last season when his vicious observations and cruel accusations during the World Series became almost unbearable. FF is an indefatigable Yankee fan, and for the record, here's how he sized up this season in early April:

Winners:
NL East Montreal Expos
NL West Los Angeles Dodgers
AL East New York Yankees
AL West: Chicago White Sox

Pennant Race at a Glance
by The Fearless Forecaster

Okay. So it's mid-August and I'm a Dodger fan (no, no, NO. I'm not REALLY a Dodger fan; I'm just pretending, like when we were kids and we pretended lots of silly things.) Two weeks ago we were dead in the water, 10 games out, and now we've got our noses right up against some Brave backsides. We are, my friends, in a Pennant Race, no doubt about it, and it's time to quickly review some of the in's and out's of this uniquely American phenomenon.

First of all, it's very important to stay CALM. After all, it's only a game, right? (I speak here from personal experience: some of you may remember the PR in the American League East in 1978, when the Yankers came from 14 back in August and beat the Red-in-the-face Sox in a playoff. I almost lost it there near the end, what with the booze and the pills I needed to keep my guts from exploding. And I won't even TELL you what happened during the '76 World Series.) It's a good idea to start preparing yourself now for September, which is when things really start, as they say in the papers, to "heat up". Try and keep your personal life running smoothly. Cut back on the hard stuff. Get plenty of sleep and don't forget to exercise. PR's have a way of getting nasty, although, from where I sit, the Dodgers have a better than even chance of turning the whole damn thing into a cake walk. I mean, consider the competition: the NL West is a weak division, especially with the Asstros and Chintzy-nati on the skids. And the Dodgers do have a solid team, even with the sub-par years they're getting from some of their players.

It's also time to begin seriously considering the NL East. If the Smogtowners do take the division, who do we want to face in the playoffs? Naturally, we'd like it if the Cubs or Mets could somehow squeak in, but unless we can figure out a way to make the Phils, Card, Expos, and Bucs all disappear, this is not likely to happen. Okay. We can't have everything. One thing is for sure: we don't want to go up against Steve Carlton. Come to think of it, we'd just as soon avoid Steve Rogers too. So take your pick, the Cards of the Bucs. I'd root for Crudinals; they've got good hitters and decent Dee, but no power and Bruce Sutter is not having his best year. And besides, it's not for certain that Dave Parker is out for the year, and we DON'T want to play with the Cobra if possible.

Now, the daily standings: forget everything except the loss column. As I write this (10 Aug) the Dodgers are 1/2 game behind the Peach Staters, but they have lost two more games (50 to 48). This is an advantage for the Peachers, because as you'll hear over and over again, "once you've lost a game, you can't make it up." Within a few weeks, we'll begin to see little sections in the sports pages titled something like "Pennant Races at a Glance". They'll list the usual W, L, GB, Pct, but also games left, home and away games, and opponents. These, of course, are valuable pieces of information. The Dodgers have about 50 games left: how many at home and how many away? (I assume that our boys do well at the Ravine and split on the road.) Who do they play? And just as importantly, who does the opposition play? Schedules are often lopsided, and some teams end up playing a majority of their final games at home (or on the road). In fact, do the Dodgies finish at home? This could be very significant if the mother comes down to the wire.

Well, what if we keep winning? No sweat, man, just remember to thank the Big Slugger in the sky in our prayers. What if we (gulp) start to lose? Hey, remember what the Yog says: "It's never over till it's over." Take 1964, for instance: the Phillies were up by 6 1/2 with two weeks to go and they were selling tickets to the World Series. Boom. They lost 10 straight and the Cards took home the bacon by one. Remember, stay calm, it's only a *@!!*# game. And oh, go Cards.


This is your Editor again. Congrats to Fernando Valenzuela for realizing a lifelong dream and being allowed to play another position besides pitcher. After Ron Cey and Tommy Lasorda were thrown out of the game in the 21st inning marathon in Chicago, the Dodgers had to be juggled around and because everyone else had been used, Fernando went out to right field. Too bad none of the Cubs were able to hit anything to him. And Congrats to Jerry Reuss for winning two games in one day (the conclusion to the aforementioned marathon and the game right after it).

Baseball Diary Circulation: 10
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Baseball Diary Editor and Publisher: William Fuller