Phillies Belt Braves Behind Carlton’s Arm

ATLANTA (AP) — Pete Rose had batted in four runs with a pair of doubles and a single, but the veteran National League infielder refused to take a major share of the credit for the Philadelphia Phillies’ 9-1 rout of the Atlanta Braves Wednesday.

"You just saw the best lefthander in the league," Rose said, referring to the performance Steve Carlton had turned in as the Phillies gained a split of their two-game series with the Braves.

Carlton indeed was masterful. The only hits he gave up in six innings of work were a out single by Dale Murphy in the fourth and Bob Horner's first home run of the season leading off the sixth.

It was the sixth victory of the season for Carlton, who has lost twice. He has given up only five hits in 15 innings against the Braves this season.

“Carlton has great strength, not just in his arms, but in his whole body." said Phillie Manager Dallas Green. "He was still going strong, but Sauce (Kevin Saucier) hadn't pitched in 10 days and Tug (McGraw) needed to sharpened up. So I took Steve out to give them needed work."

Rose, Bake McBride and Larry Bowa, with three hits apiece, led a 14-hit assault against Braves starter Larry McWilliams, 2-3, and three other Atlanta pitchers.

After scoring two runs in the first on a Mike Schmidt grounder and an Atlanta error, the Phillies got two more in the second on Rose's first double and McBride's single.

Players, Management Still Apart In Talks

NEW YORK (AP) — After another round of negotiations in the baseball contract talks Wednesday, wide gaps apparently still remain between management and the major league players association.

“The clock is running down." said Marvin Miller, executive director of the union. "There's a long way to go and a short time to get there."

Miller has said he will not be available for negotiations after Sunday night. The players have set a strike deadline of midnight, May 22 and the union chief said he would need time after Sunday to contingency plans for the work stoppage.

Ray Grebey, who heads the bargaining team for management, views the deadline question as somewhat artificial.

"As far as the 26 clubs are concerned, there's no deadline." he said. “Our parks will be open on May 23 and we can play ball and negotiate at the same time."

Miller and his bargaining team met with Grebey and management's negotiators for more than three hours Wednesday and then talks were adjourned to give both sides time to study new proposals which have been presented this week.

Kenneth Moffett, deputy director of the federal mediation service, seemed happier with the pace of the talks than he had been recently.

"Proposals have been exchanged and that's good," Moffett said. "This is the first time comprehensive proposals have been made in some time. Whether anything will come of them, well, that's something else again.”

Off Days Irk Rose

ATLANTA (AP) – Most people look forward to a day off.  But not Pete Rose.

“I’ve always been a momentum-type player.  Once you get your act together, you don’t want to stop,” the Philadelphia first baseman said after driving in four runs with two doubles and a single in the Phillies 9-1 beating of the Atlanta Braves Wednesday night.

“I don’t like off days,” said Rose, who started the season in a slump.  “I always go to the ballpark every day anyway.  If you lie in bed, you get sluggish.”

There are advantages to one-sided games, he said.

“When the score is out of reach, that’s when you should bear down and get the hits if you hope to be a good-average hitter,” Rose said.

Steve Carlton, 6-2, pitched the first six innings, giving up only two hits, one of them Bob Horner’s first home run of the season.

“It was a very typical Steve Carlton game,” said Phillies Manager Dallas Green.  “His stuff wasn’t as good as when he almost had a no-hitter against the Braves in Philadelphia, but it was better than it was last Saturday night.”

Carlton has given up only five hits in 15 innings against the Braves this season.

“Carlton has great strength, not just in his arms, but in his whole body,” Green said. “He was still going strong, but Sauce (Kevin Saucier) hadn’t pitched in 10 days and Tug (McGraw) needed to be sharpened up.  So I took Steve out to give them needed work.”

Rose, Bake McBride and Larry Bowa, with three hits apiece, led the 14-hit assault against Braves starter Larry McWilliams, 2-3, and three other Atlanta pitchers.

“Bake’s on a pretty good tear.  Peter and Bowa had a good day for us, too,” Green said.

After scoring two first-inning runs on Mike Schmidt’s grounder and an Atlanta error, the Phillies got two more in the second on Rose’s first double and McBride’s single.

Rose got a two-run single in the four-run third and doubled home another run in the fifth.

Horner, the Braves’ slumping third baseman who got his first RBI against the Phillies in the Braves’ victory Tuesday, said the homer didn’t cut the fans’ constant booing, the result of his poor start and refusal to report to the minors.

“They were worse” after the homer, Horner said.

Talks Now Critical

NEW YORK (AP) – Baseball contract talks swing into a critical stage today as two deadline dates face negotiators.

The players association is threatening to strike if a new basic agreement is not in place by May 22, one week from today.  And Marvin Miller, executive director of the union, has said preparations for such a work stoppage will prevent him from negotiating past Sunday.

“The clock is running down,” Miller said.  “There’s a long way to go and a short time to get there.”

But management negotiator Ray Grebey views the deadlines as artificial.

“As far as the 26 clubs are concerned, there’s no deadline,” he said.  “Our parks will be open on May 23 and we can play ball and negotiate at the same time.”

For the second time this week, the two sides met for only a half day Wednesday, using their afternoons to study counter proposals presented on Tuesday.

The union responded to some of management’s new proposals Wednesday, with more reactions expected today.  The representatives of the owners also were expected to answer new player offers today.

“There’s not taking any time off,” said Kenneth Moffett, deputy director of the Federal Mediation Service, who has been sitting in on the talks since March 31.  “They’re working on the proposals.  These are the first comprehensive proposals in some time.  Whether anything will come of them, well, that’s something else again.”

Today’s agenda also called for a discussion of a new compensation proposal made by management.  Miller said the offer did not contain substantial changes from the original position of the owners, who are demanding a replacement player from the organization of a team signing a prime free agent.