Wilmington Morning News - October 1, 1980

Phillies ‘laugh’ their way past Cubs 14-2

By Ray Finocchiaro, Staff Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies finally got Manager Dallas Green his laugher last night, embarrassing the last-place Chicago Cubs 14-2 at Veterans Stadium.

Last weekend, watching the Phillies flail away while mired in a team-wide batting slump, Green said a "13 or 14-runner" was what the club needed to break loose and go after the Montreal Expos with both barrels.

Last night's 15-hit barrage was just what the manager ordered.

"It felt good," he said. "I'm glad we could get the kids in. They had some fun and that's good."

Boy, did Dallas get the kids in! There was no resemblance to the team that finished last night's game and the Phils' starting eight of '80. The same might not be true for '81, however, but that story's still up the road.

The beneficiary of last night's largesse was rookie right-hander Marty Bystrom, who ran his record to 5-0 with seven innings of four-hit pitching.

"I knew the kid could pitch," said Green, "but we didn't anticipate him being 5-0. He has the stuff to be an above-.500 major-league pitcher. He can have a heckuva career if he takes care of himself."

Bystrom sure plans to try.

"This is still the same game I've been playing all my life," Bystrom said. "It's just a lot better than pitching in the minors."

Green had his Oklahoma City lineup in there at the end, with Bob Dernier and Orlando Isales in the outfield with Lonnie Smith; an infield of John Vukovich, Ramon Aviles, Luis Aguayo and Tim McCarver.

Keith Moreland caught the first eight innings and Don McCormack finished up.

Missing the action altogether were Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox and Bob Boone, who rode the bench for the second straight game as Green went with "the guys I think can win for me."

There were no skeptics last night.

"It's time to tuck our petty problems to bed and do what we have to do as a team," said Green, alluding to his remarks about "players who didn't want to win."

"Let's go for the one thing we all say we want to do – win," he added. "But that's easy to say."

Everything was easy last night. Bystrom, who benefitted from the Phils' last plus-three inning on Sept. 14 when the Phils scored six runs against St. Louis, got a four-run pad in the first inning last night.

Pete Rose started it with a one-out walk and raced to third on Bake McBride's Single. Mike Schmidt picked up his 115th RBI on a sacrifice fly to right.

Unser, starting in center field in place of Maddox, waited out a walk from loser Lynn McGlothen. More-land doubled home two runs with a shot off the wall in left center for a 3-0 lead.

Larry Bowa, who was heartily booed in pregame introductions and when he came to the plate for rapping the Phillies' fans after Monday night's 15-inning win, shook off the boos and drilled a single to left, scoring Moreland.

Bowa also figured in the Phils' fifth run. The shortstop legged out an infield hit to first baseman Bill Buckner and raced to third on Manny Trillo's hit-and-run single to lame-armed Dave Kingman in left.

McGlothen obliged with a wild pitch that skipped away from catcher Mike O'Berry as Bowa scored.

Green, the object of Bowa's radio wrath the night before, was told he would be spared today, when Bowa attacked his real enemy – the media.

"I'd rather have him get on me if we score all these runs," said Green, with a smile.

McBride made it 6-0 in the fourth when he drove home Lonnie Smith with a sacrifice fly. Smith had singled and stolen second, trying Richie Ashburn's record of 32 steals by a Phillies' rookie. Ashburn, incidentally, was a rookie way back in 1948.

Bystrom, who hadn't allowed a hit through four innings, lost his no-hitter – and shutout – in the fifth.

Steve Dillard ended the rookie's no-hit bid with a clean single to left with one out and O'Berry followed with a single to right. Pinch-hitter Jesus Figueroa walked to load the bases.

Ivan DeJesus punched a single to center, scoring Dillard, but Bystrom bore down to strike out Mike Tyson and retire .322-hitter Buckner on a weak foul pop to Moreland.

"Even when they get a couple hits, I don't let it bother me," said the poised Bystrom. "I was facing the best hitter in the league in Buckner, but I went after him with my best stuff and got out of it with one run. I just said he wasn't gonna hit me – and he didn't."

DeJesus drove home the Cubs' other run with a grounder in the seventh.

If there was any doubt with a 6-1 lead, the Phillies quickly upped it to 10-1 in the sixth against George Riley and Lee Smith.

McBride singled home a pair with the bases loaded, Schmidt's single produced the ninth run and Unser's sacrifice fly the 10th.

Maligned fans turn on Bowa

By Hal Bodley, Sports Editor

PHILADELPHIA – Larry Bowa can pick fights with reporters and take verbal shots at his manager, but when he turned on the blokes who pay the bills, he was in trouble.

They booed Larry Bowa at Veterans Stadium last night, all 24,349 of the paying customers. They booed the gutsy little shortstop because the night before he flashed an obscene gesture at them as the Phillies pulled out a 6-5, 15-inning victory over Chicago. And moments later in the dressing room, he shouted that the bleeping fans were the worst in the world.

So, they booed their one-time hero last night. They booed him each time he was introduced and they booed him when he twice singled in the Phillies' easy 14-2 victory over the Cubs.

If you believe everything Dallas Green has been saying the last few days, the Phillies have a clubhouse that is disgustingly eating away at itself because some of the players have refused to accept the skipper's philosophies on how to become a championship baseball team.

Larry Bowa apparently is one of those players.

Years ago, when Bowa was struggling to become a legitimate major-league hitter, he would sulk if he went hitless even though the Phillies won. It used to drive his teammates crazy. Bowa, however, matured and even though his anger was eating away at him inside, he celebrated victories regardless of his personal contribution.

Larry Bowa has changed this year. His problems started last December when he was briefly separated from his wife. They patched up their differences, but no sooner did spring training open than Bowa aired his unhappiness over what he called the lowest salary ($325,000 a year) among baseball's premier shortstops. After a conference with owner Ruly Carpenter, he publicly apologized for his remarks.

Then, as the team's player representative, he became deeply involved in negotiations with owners and people close to him feel the thought of a strike caused him deep concern.

The day of the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Bowa's name was connected with the highly publicized drug story involving Phillies' players and since then he has cut off just about all contact with the media.

"I have always made myself available; I have given everything I have to Philadelphia," said Bowa. "They never tried to get my side of the story, so from now on I am not going to talk to reporters."

Bowa, who has a five-minute commentary on a Philadelphia radio station, has done a lot of talking lately. On Monday night he blasted Green for benching veterans Garry Maddox, Greg Luzinski and Bob Boone, saying: "Dallas said he's gonna let the veterans go to the hilt. To me, this (benching them) is not letting them go to the hilt... He can't sit Boone and Luzinski down for four days, then when we go to Montreal say, 'OK, got get them again.'

"In order for them to find their batting strokes, their batting eyes, they have to play every day. If they're not gonna play every day, then don't just throw them in against the Expos next weekend.

"Dallas is trying to shake things up, which is very understandable. But, on the other hand, he's talking out of the side of his mouth when he says he wants to stay with the veterans."

Last night, as Bowa taped his show for Wednesday, he tore into the media, saying that only 40 percent of what the reporters write is true, the remainder comes from their imagination. He indicated most of the internal problems with the Phillies are caused by the reporters covering the team.

What's wrong with Larry Bowa?

Is there something wrong with him that we do not know about? Green has said that the shortstop has personal problems, but has never elaborated. I have spent quite a lot of time with him this season and the biggest difference in him is the fact he is quiet and withdrawn. But last week in St. Louis we had a late-night snack and he was fine, jabbering about the pennant race, his own hitting and the season's home stretch.

His problems with Green started years ago when Dallas supported a minor-league shortstop in the system, Craig Robinson. Bowa never forgot that and when Green announced during the off-season he was dropping Bowa from the second spot to seventh or eighth in the batting order, the shortstop sounded off. And he has been muttering about it ever since.

But Larry Bowa has no business going on the radio at this crucial time of the year and blasting his manager. He has no right to criticize the fans. The Phillies will draw about 2.6 million this year, the second highest total in the majors. And these fans make it possible for the huge salaries Bowa and all the others earn.

Hopefully, Larry Bowa will wake up and put aside all the anger that is swelling inside of him. This can still be a great year for the Phillies and it is difficult to picture the team celebrating any kind of championship without Larry Bowa in the middle of it.