Middle-inning pitchers battle for recognition

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

PHILADELPHIA – As a group, middle-inning relievers are a lot like trash-men they perform a valuable service and people just turn up their noses.

Middlemen go largely ignored by fans and media alike simply because they're rarely around when baseball games are decided. Starters get recognition because they're often in a position to win or lose. Late-inning relievers are known because they can save or blow a game with one pitch. Besides, the late-inning guys are traditionally half crazy, with such fascinating habits as chewing paper or sitting on birthday cakes.

Really, the identification problem can be at least partially attributed to the middle-inning relievers themselves since they are, well, about as colorful has half a glass of water. When, for instance, was the last time you heard of Stan Bahnsen eating a book for lunch?

The job of the middleman is to neither win nor lose. It is his function to hold the fort until the cavalry arrives, keep the team afloat until the lifeboats are safely in sight.

That kind of work does not lend itself to the limelight In fact, the actors who do Spic and Span commercials are better known than baseball's middlemen. Not since the pyramids were built have so many toiled so hard so anonymously.

"It takes," says the Phillies' Pete Rose, "a different kind of personality for a pitcher to be a middle relief man. You don't get the wins, you don't get the saves...

"There's not much glory in being a middle relief man. You usually pitch the sixth, seventh and eighth and your top man comes in and pitches the ninth and gets the save. Or the guy who started the game gets the win."

Such was the lot of a couple of young Phillies pitchers who worked the middle innings of yesterday's 5-4 loss to the Montreal Expos in Veterans Stadium.

Scott Munninghoff, a 21-year-old righthander and one of spring training's best kept secrets, made his major league debut in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing just one hit. Dickie Noles, a name more familiar to Phillies fans because he was used as a starter last season, made his first appearance of 1980 with two shutout innings.

"I was pleased with the way Dickie and Scott handled themselves," said Manager Dallas Green. "They kept us in tight and that's all we asked of them."

Noles, who may eventually inherit the fifth starting spot from ailing Nino Espinosa, was presented with a 4-1 deficit when be relieved starter Larry Christenson in the sixth. Noles gave up two singles and two walks in a worrisome sixth before retiring the Expos in order in the seventh.

Munninghoff was not expected to be. among the Phillies 10 pitchers when the club broke camp. After all, this is just his fourth professional season and last year he was with Reading, the Phils' Double-A farm team.

But Munninghoff had the kind of spring that raised more than one eyebrow among the Pbilly brass. The righthander allowed only one run in nine exhibition innings. And, in the club's final intra-squad game, Munninghoff faced the Phillies regular lineup, getting seven ground balls and a strikeout.

That apparently, was enough to convince Green to promote Munninghoff right from Double-A ball to the big leagues – a move considered a quantum leap in baseball.

"I started throwing with when we had runners on in the sixth," Munninghoff said. "If we scored, Lerrin (LaGrow) was going in. If we didn't I was going in."

As it turned out, Noles went in, giving Munninghoff that much more time to to think about what he would have to do to I get the Expos out.

"I was ready to pitch," he said, "but I was a little too anxious in the first inning. I was rushing a little bit. But then I settled down and got my pitches where I wanted them."

It might have been a storybook beginning for Munninghoff, who was the pitcher of record when the Phillies rallied for three runs and were within a hit of pulling the game out in the bottom of the ninth.

But it wasn't to be. The game went into a 10th inning and LaGrow immediately served up a game-winning home run to Ellis Valentine which, in turn, served to take the spotlight away from the performances of Noles and Munninghoff.

So it goes for a middle-inning reliever. If you do your job, nobody knows your name.

Almon’s Big Bat Bruises Philadelphia, Brings Joy to Montreal

Montreal 5, Philadelphia 4

By Howard Gottlieb, Press Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA —  Out of the faded reality of nitrous oxide, Chris Speier must have heard details of the game he missed Sunday afternoon. A painful abscess made it necessary for the Montreal Expos to call in a dentist for their shortstop. 

The Philadelphia Phillies learned to hate the men in white after Bill Almon, the Expos’ backup, turned in a four-hit performance to lead Montreal to a 5-4 10-inning win in the third game of the Phils’ season-opening series. 

“They officially changed the lineup around 12:30,” said Almon, who said a tearless farewell to a non-communicating San Diego ballclub when it traded him to Montreal this season. 

“In San Diego I asked to be traded. When they told me I was going to Montreal I was ecstatic. I knew Montreal was a winning ballclub and that it was a good opportunity. Even sitting on a winning bench would have been better than staying in San Diego. There was always a communication problem there. Here, I know what they expect of me.” 

The Phillies called in a dentist to look after Speier. “They told me there was a good possibility that I would start,” said Almon. “I was ready.” 

While Speier was being examined, Almon was tearing apart the questionable Philadelphia pitching staff. 

He blasted a Larry Christenson fast ball for a lead-off triple in the fifth inning to start a three-run Montreal rally. 

Phillie manager Dallas Green, who said he was pleased with his mound corps, used three other pitchers down the stretch, but none could stop Almon. He hit three consecutive singles after the triple. 

“Once you get the first hit of the season, it helps you relax a little,” said Almon. “You relax and that helps you build confidence. A couple of the hits today were just well placed balls. People will be in the right spot on other days, so I’ll take those two hits. I won’t be so lucky another day.” 

The Expos had grabbed the lead in the first inning. Christenson walked Ron LeFlore, and he moved to second on a balk. LeFlore went to third on a Rodney Scott sacrifice and scored on Andre Dawson’s fielders choice deep in the infield. 

Philadelphia tied the game in the fourth, starting when Mike Schmidt singled and stole second. He went to third on a Bob Boone single and scored when Larry Bowa outraced a throw to first on a fielder’s choice. 

The tie didn't last long. Almon opened the top of the fifth with his triple, and scored as pinch hitter Rowland Office hit a sacrifice fly. LeFlore walked again, and scored when Dawson blasted a 2-2 pitch over the left centerfield fence. 

“I didn't like the outcome, but it was a good game,” said Green. “We didn't die at 4-1. We showed we could come back.” 

After failing to bring any runs across the plate in a two-hit seventh inning, the Phillies struck quickly in the bottom of the ninth. 

Greg Luzinski and Bob Boone started the wheels rolling with a pair of singles. Bowa smashed a hard grounder up the middle, but Almon took it and tagged Boone. A wild pitch moved Bowa to second. Pinch hitter Greg Gross’ line drive was bobbled by Montreal third baseman Larry Parrish. It scored both Luzinski, who surprised the 28,132 fans at the Vet when he stole second after singling in the second inning, and Bowa. 

Green brought in Lonnie Smith to run for Gross, and Montreal manager Dick Williams countered with reliever Woodie Fryman. 

Pete Rose hit a clutch single and Smith committed himself and was forced to make a desperation beeline to third. He barely made it. 

McBride, having trouble getting the ball out of the infield, then forced the game into extra innings with a single over second. 

"Lonnie going to third was not a mistake,” said Green. “He made it. It’s only a mistake if you’re out. And he damn well better get there if he tries it." 

Smith’s running prolonged the game, but didn't take away Almon's joy. 

Ellis Valentine blasted a lead-off homer over the left-centerfield wall in the top of the 10th to end the game. 

“I like to see the killer instinct that we played with today,” said Rose, whose batting average is well under .200 thus far this season. “We lost, but played aggressively. 

“There are so many one-run games in this league. The one who handles the fundamentals in the middle of the game is the team that’s going to win. There’ll be more games like this, I'm sure. A lot of them.”