Philadelphia Daily News - May 15, 1980
Both Sides Mum on Talks
NEW YORK (UPI) – Representatives of the Major League Baseball Players' Association and league owners met for four hours yesterday, but neither side would comment on the state of the talks.
A spokesman for the Players" Association said negotiations, which recessed at 2 p.m. yesterday, would resume today at 10 a.m. and continue as long as necessary in the continued effort to avert a May 23 strike by players. Free agentry and the pension plan continue to be the prime obstacles in reaching a basic agreement between the two parties.
"There was further discussion of the issues but, frankly, the negotiations are at a delicate point and I don't think anyone wants to comment on either side's position right now," the spokesman said.
The major league owners Tuesday had presented a new proposal covering key issues in the labor dispute. Marvin Miller, executive director of the Players Association, requested time to study the new offer at that time.
Miller, management negotiator Ray Grebey, federal mediator Kenneth Moffitt and other members of the two negotiating committees participated in the talks yesterday.
Renko Says TV Main Obstacle
BOSTON (UPI) – Steve Renko has this vision of the near future, maybe just four years hence, where baseball fans relax in their living rooms and, for a small fee, watch any game of their choice. Every night for six months.
And it is the potential easy access of the national pastime, with cable television beaming several games into millions of homes, that Renko feels is the main obstacle in the baseball negotiations.
Television and the money to be realized from its revenues – not compensation for free agency – is the real issue, says the Boston Red Sox' player representative.
"Free agency and compensation is just a smokescreen – the major issue is television," Renko said.
"Free agency is just a screen for the money from TV revenues, and the owners know it. They've known for the last couple of years what they're going to be getting in four years or so from TV revenue."
IN THE MOST recent proposal to move the stalled talks, the owners offered a 70 percent increase – from $8.3 million to $14.4 million – in the clubs' annual contribution to the pension and insurance plans for active and retired players. That money would come from about a 100 percent increase in revenues to clubs from television.
Renko feels what's important is the percentage of the television revenues which go to the pension and insurance funds. The players, he feels, should not be left behind when television revenues go out of sight in the next few years.
"It's going to be staggering," Renko said of the possible money involved. "I don't think anyone can put a finger on how much. When you think about cable TV. it could be a billion dollars a year."
With the May 22 strike deadline just one week ago, Renko said the players are firm in their commitment to walk out if no agreement is signed. Not reached, signed.
"After Saturday's meeting, well know one way or the other as to whether there will be any disruption in play," he said.
Rose, McBride Pound Braves
By Bill Conlin
ATLANTA – Put Pete Rose and Bake McBride on base seven times in five innings, add the Braves' wretched defense, blend them with a typical Steve Carlton performance and you have the ingredients of a gourmet laugher.
Ha. ha. it's great to be back at .500 again.
Rose slashed two doubles and a single, was hit by a pitch and drove in four runs. McBride hung out three singles, drove in two runs to raise his efficient RBI total to 23 and the Phillies pounded the Braves. 9-1. for one of their few authoritative, take-charge victories of the season.
Carlton no-hit the Braves until Dale Murphy's two-out single in the fourth, shut them out until Bob Horner led off the sixth with his first homer of the season and took the rest of the night off, giving the bullpen three innings of needed work. He is 6-2 and with any support at all in losses to the Mets and Reds could be 8-0. Carlton has allowed just 40 hits in 62 innings pitched 0.64 hits an inning.
GREG LUZINSKI IS mired in an 0-for-19 slump and Mike Schmidt didn't get the ball out of the infield last night. But when Rose and McBride get on base like they did in each of the first three innings, they can make a lot of things happen.
The Phillies scored two in the first, two in the second and four in the third, seven of the eight runs coming off lefthander Larry McWilliams. the pitcher who helped stop Rose's 44-game hitting streak in 1978.
"I hit two balls harder the night he stopped me than the two hits I got off him tonight." said Rose, who raised his average 23 points to.245. "I know I've hit 20 balls harder than the base hit with two guys on in the second. That's why you don't get depressed when you're not getting hits. It's a game of luck. I keep the bail in play and if I get a little bit of luck I'll get a lot of base hits."
McBride has been the Phillies' most consistent hitter with men on base. Rose says he figures Bake sees the ball better when a pitcher is working from a stretch.
HE"S HITTING THE ball too hard; that's twice this year I got thrown out at home on his hits." said Rose, out at the plate in the second on a strike by rightfielder Gary Matthews. The score was 3-0, that's why I went ahead. He made a great throw."
Bake had 44 cc of fluid drawn off his swollen left knee three weeks ago.
“The needle was about a foot long," he said. "I don’t want them sticking that in me again. It's swollen right now, but it doesn't bother me when I run all out. It only hurts when I jog or walk.
"I really never thought about what Pete said about me hitting better when the pitcher's in his stretch. I just think I bear down a lot more with runners on base. I think I've always been better hitter when there's guys out there to drive in."
It's difficult to drive guys in or get them out when there's no game. The Phillies have had three open dates in the past week, including tonight's annual pilgrimage to Oklahoma City. It's not the kind of schedule conducive to momentum.
“That's one reason why I go to the ballpark every off-day," Rose said. "It beats laying around in bed all day, getting lazy. We've only played 26 games and a lot of teams have played 30."
DALLAS GREEN HAD the luxury of playing it like a spring-training game. By the ninth inning the only regulars left in the lineup were Bob Boone, Larry Bowa and Manny Trillo.
“I wanted to get Kevin Saucier and Tug McGraw some work," Green said. "Lefty didn’t have as good a stuff as he had against the Braves in Philly. He was pitching with three days rest and he's pitching Monday in Philly. Better to get him out of there than to stretch him out in that kind of game.
"It seems like you play two games and the next thing you know, you're off. We really don’t need the off-days right now. By any stretch of the imagination, we need to play."
There will be no rainouts or off-days in Houston this weekend. And J R. Richard, Joe Niekro and Nolan Ryan will see to it that the game the Phillies play is hardball.
PHILUPS: Larry Bowa had a double and two singles, raising his average to.27S. The shortstop is batting.473 right-handed and was 2-for-2 against Larry McWilliams... Most outrageous of three Braves errors was a one-handed muff of John Vukovich's fly to the warning track in left in the ninth. The outfielder played the ball like he couldn't care less... Bob Horner turns every ball at third into an adventure... Manny Trillo went from first to third on a Steve Carlton sacrifice to Horner in the fifth when nobody bothered to cover third. That was the fault of shortstop Luis Gomez. The Braves have 48 errors in 28 games. The Phils, who haven't dazzled anybody in the field, have 25... Nino Espinosa will get his first game-condition outing since mid-March against the Okie City 89ers tonight. Dick Ruthven vs. J.R. Richard tomorrow night, Larry Christenson vs. Joe Niekro Saturday night and Randy Lerch vs. Nolan Ryan Sunday.
3 Win Tickets
There were three winners last night in the Daily News Home Run Payoff contest. In the eighth inning of the Phillies-Braves game, winners of four tickets each to a Phillies game were, Joseph Sarracino of Holland, Pa., Ray Riale of Malvern and Thelma Demo of Philadelphia.
So far the Daily News has paid out $3,495.
Today's entry coupon appears on this page.