Phillies won’t bargain future away

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

PHILADELPHIA – The midnight bell tolled about the time Paul Owens, the general manager of the pitching-starved Phillies, was arriving with his club in Los Angeles. And the deadline for trading within the National League passed without Owens making a deal that everyone thought he had to make.

The Pope, as Owens is known within the organization, in the past has taken trade negotiations to the 11th hour and come away with valuable acquisitions. There was, for instance, his 1977 deal that pried Bake McBride from the St. Louis Cardinals. McBride hit .339 in a Phillie uniform and was the key figure in the club winning its second East Division championship.

A year later, Owens swapped Gene Garber for Dick Ruthven with Atlanta, and Ruthven promptly won 13 games for the Phillies in their third divisional title season.

This time, however, there was no dramatic, last-second trade to be made.

Primarily, there are three reasons why the June 1 5 trade deadline came and went without Owens making a deal: There were painfully few quality pitchers available; the asking price was too steep for those who were available, and Manager Dallas Green strongly resisted the temptation to offer one or two of his younger players for a pitcher.

All three factors are, of course, related. Owens talked to fully 20 teams, and might have discussed a deal with the Bad News Bears had Amanda been available. Indeed, the Phillies could've had Houston righthander Joaquin Andujar. A persistent rumor circulated that Owens was willing to trade youngsters Keith Moreland and Lonnie Smith for Andujar. Actually, the Astros wanted a front-line player, not a future prospect, for the pitcher. Owens told them no thanks.

They might have gotten either Ed Halicki or John Montefusco from the Giants. But Halicki, it was discovered, has a sore elbow, And, despite the fact that Montefusco has verbally expressed dissatisfaction witlf the Giants, San Francisco did not want to part with him.

Green made it generally known that he would rather struggle with the pitchers he already had than deal away a More-land, or a Smith, or a minor-league prospect, for someone who might – or might not – help the Phillies. It was Green's opinion that such a trade would be tantamount to mortgaging the club's future for a one-season need. It was a risk the former minor-league director thought not worth taking, not with a farm system as rich in pitching as the Phillies'.

"I'm confident this team can win and confident the people we have here now can produce that winning," Green said yesterday, after the Phillies concluded a sweep of the San Diego Padres with an 8-5 victory. "It doesn't look real good right now because the pitching is patchwork. But, with patience and a little luck, we'll get it done."

The Phillies will need generous portions of both if they hope to win with their present pitching staff. They will need patience with pitchers like rookie Bob Walk, who painfully lacks experience, and Randy Lerch, who is 2-8 and lacks even a small measure of confidence. And, they'll require luck with Steve Carlton, who cannot be expected to continue pitching at his present dominating pace. Dick Ruthven, whose bruised right shoulder is the latest of injuries to attack the staff, and Nino Espinosa, who is being counted on to return from Spartansburg in workable form.

"You hate to keep harping on it," said first baseman Pete Rose, "but Randy's the key. I don't want to put any more pressure on him, but if he's in the rotation, he has got to win. That don't mean you got to win 20, or 18. But if he's five games over .500, we win this thing easy."

That neatly summarizes the position of the Phillies. They can win if the pitchers they already have pitch to their potential. They refused to allow other clubs, mindful of the Phillies' need, to burglarize their starting lineup. And they correctly held on to their future, knowing that 1980 is this present team's final opportunity to win.

Standing pat may not have been the best road to take. But it was the only sensible path open to Owens. Only time will tell whether the tolling of the midnight bell was for the Phillies.

Walk Shows Potential, Leads Philadelphia Past San Diego

Philadelphia 8, San Diego 5

By Harry Hoffman, Press Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Bob Walk on the wild side continued his growth pattern toward becoming at least a partial filler of the great void in the starting pitching rotation as the Phillies completed a sweep of the woebegone San Diego Padres 8-5 at Veterans Stadium Sunday.

Young Walk avoided his usual pattern of wildness for five innings and that gave his hitters time to construct a 7-1 lead against former Phillie Rick Wise and two Padre relievers. When the first three Padres in the sixth inning stroked singles, manager Dallas Green gave his rookie bright hander the rest of the day off.

“I liked what I saw today," the manager said. “He had better control of his stuff and made most of the right pitches in the first five innings. Listen, he has to do it. We’re in obvious trouble on the pitching staff and to tell you the truth I do not anticipate any help in a last-minute deal. We'll have to go with what we have and Walk is part of the package.” 

The trade deadline is midnight tonight. But at last report general manager Paul Owens was not working any magic in his efforts to pull a powerful pitcher out of the hat of another National league team.

Walk allowed only four singles in the first five innings and walked only one while improving his record to 2-0. Three of the hits came in the third inning with the third by Gene Richards driving home a run. 

However, by then the Phils had started Wise toward his fourth defeat to go with three triumphs by scoring twice in each of the first two innings. 

In the first Bake McBride, returning to the lineup after sitting out five games with a severe summer cold, singled and stole second while Mike Schmidt was walking. Greg Luzinski singled home McBride and Schmidt scored on a sacrifice fly by Keith Moreland, who started in place of struggling catcher Bob Boone. 

Larry Bowa singled to start the second inning, stole second and went to third as Manny Trillo grounded out to second. Walk earned an additional gold star by singling home Bowa. Wise eventually forced home the second run of the inning by walking Luzinski with the bases loaded. 

The Phils added two runs olf southpaw reliever Dennis Kinney in the fifth. Moreland doubled. He went to third as Garry Maddox topped a single toward third base. When third baseman Tim Flannery threw wildly by first base, Moreland scored Maddox went to second and eventually scored on a throwing error. 

When Flannery, Jerry Turner and Willie Montanez lashed singles off Walk for one run to start the top of the sixth Green quickly shifted to Kevin Saucier. 

“Walk had done the job we wanted. He was calmer out there today. He was acting more like a big league pitcher,” Green said. “Let’s face it, he should still be at Oklahoma City learning his trade. But when you have an emergency situation you have to resort to emergency measures.” 

Saucier retired the next two hitters while allowing a run on a fielder’s choice. When Dave Winfield came up to hit for catcher Bill Fahey, Green shifted to right hander Lerrin La Grow. Winfield singled but then La Grow got pinch-hitter Kurt Bevacqua to hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning with the Phils still comfortably in front 7-3. 

A double off the tip of left fielder Richards’ glove by Pete Rose and a sacrifice fly by Schmidt made it 8-3 in the bottom of the sixth. La Grow moved through the seventh and eighth innings smoothly. Then the Padres, who ended their road trip 1-8 with seven straight defeats, made a threatening move in the ninth. Singles by Fred Kendall, Richards and Flannery accounted for two runs. But then La Grow retired the next two hitters to record his first save in a Philadelphia uniform. 

“La Grow has improved his last few times out of the pen," Green said. "I’ll probably be looking to use him even more in the future since I’m about to be forced to do what I don't want to do. That is bring Dickie Noles out of the bullpen to start Tuesday night’s game in Los Angeles. 

“I definitely see Noles as a bullpen stopper. But with Dick Ruthven going to miss at least one turn with his injured shoulder we need another starter right now and Noles is number one on the available list.” 

Green is convinced, or at least he says he is convinced, he has the personnel to make a strong run at Pittsburgh and Montreal iti National League East even if Owens fails to produce another starting pitcher. 

"They have to do it within the white lines but I still think we have as good a lineup as any team in the league,” Green emphasized. “However our pitching situation right now is shaky at best. But help could be on the way from Nino Espinosa and Warren Brusstar. They both threw the ball well the other day and had no pain after airing their arms out. Now they’ll be down in the minor league for a week or two to get a chance to face some live competition. Maybe by July they’ll both be ready to come back up and help us.’' 

Tonight when the Phils begin a seven-game swing with the first of two outings in Los Angeles Green will be depending on his major problem child, Randy Lerch. The southpaw starts the night against Jerry Reuss with a 2-8 record which is not a confidence builder. 

However the Phils did pick up another game from first place Montreal and are 2½ behind the Expos and two games behind the Pirates as they test the West for the first time this season.