Phils face tough decisions on pitchers

By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post

CHICAGO – An off-day in a pennant race comes almost as an intrusion. After splitting their final two games with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies cooled their heels here yesterday before beginning a three-game scries against the Cubs.

This, however, will be the last interruption of the season. The Phils will go straight through the next 16 days, when the National League East will be decided. And, most likely, a winner will not emerge until the season's final weekend, when the Phils play at Montreal, which currently leads the East by 1½ games.

Days off do have their benefits though, and one of them is the opportunity to consider what the future may hold. Everyone knows there is a good chance the Phillies will make several trades when this season is finished. But few have stopped to consider the fascinating situation of the club's pitching staff.

YOUNGSTERS SUCH as Bob Walk, who was to start this afternoon's game in Wrigley Field, Marty Bystrom and 19-year-old Mark Davis have given the Phillies a glut of sound arms where none had been before.

Their presence will force the front office to make some hard decisions concerning injured righthander Larry Christenson and ineffective lefthander Randy Lerch. The case of Christenson, who has spent the better part of the last two seasons on the disabled list, is much more complex than that of Lerch, whose arm is sound.

As a six-year man Christenson will be eligible for the free-agent reentry draft when his present contract expires at the end of the season. Management must decide whether to sign Christenson and hope his injured days are behind him, or let another team gamble on his health and sign him as a free agent.

General manager Paul Owens says he would hold no "animosity" toward Christenson if he were to test his value on the open market. At the same time, the front office would be reluctant to get into a bidding war with any club that might draft Christenson.

THAT'S WHY Owens met with Christen-son's agent earlier this month to talk contract. The Phillies would rather sign Christenson, a product of their farm system and a fine pitcher when he is healthy, than lose him to free agency.

The two parties agreed that Christenson, who had elbow surgery earlier this year, should pitch a few more times before serious negotiations would begin. Ironically, that was just prior to a Sept. 2 game in which Christenson pulled a groin muscle. The injury bothered him in his next start on Sept. 6, a game he left in the second inning. He hasn't pitched since and probably will not be available for the rest of the season.

Interestingly, if Christenson should not be healed in time for the playoffs, the Phillies will likely put him on the disabled list, making room for Bystrom to be eligible for postseason play.

They will have to get permission from the Commissioner's office to do that, because Bystrom is a September call-up. But the permission probably will be granted. On the other hand, reliever Sparky Lyle, whom the Phillies acquired in a trade with Texas last Saturday, will not be eligible to pitch in the playoffs.

WITH CHRISTENSON'S future as a Phillie in limbo because of injury, Owens probably will let Christenson go through the draft, then make an offer. The Phillies handled the signing of outfielder Greg Gross in similar fashion a year ago, Gross turning down at least one better offer from another club to stay in Philadelphia.

Lerch is another whose contract expires at the end of the season. He, however, has not been in the big leagues long enough to qualify for the free-agent draft. Lerch, who has been relegated to the bullpen for much of the second half of the season, will probably be traded, a move that could well benefit both the club and the player.

Righthander Nino Espinosa's contract expires at the end of this season. Some would say his arm expired at the beginning of the year. Espinosa has show more guts than stuff in his starts this season because of tendinitis he developed last September. As a show of good faith, Espinosa has offered to sign a one-year contract with the Phillies, a deal the club feels is more than fair.

Tug McGraw, also unsigned, will sit down with Owens at the end of the year. The Phillies, who would lack valuable experience in the bullpen if McGraw left as a free agent, would like to keep both him and Lyle next season.

PHIL UPS – Manager Dallas Green will go with a four-man rotation of Steve Carlton, Dick Ruthven, Walk and Bystrom the rest of the way... "I don't see L. C. (Christenson) being ready," said Green. "It's not a matter of him being able to pitch. It's a matter of him being able to walk on and off the mound."... Records of the East contenders since Sept. 3, Phillies 8-6; Expos 10-3; Pirates 4-8... Despite a base hit in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Pirates, second baseman Manny Trillo's slump reached 3-for-51.

Phillies Rest Before Final Countdown

Tales of Hoffman by Harry Hoffman

CHICAGO — Countdown to National League East title... Or on the road with the Phillies...

Tug McGraw liked the idea of being characterized as the Phils' 'New York' connection along with former Yankee reliever Sparky Lyle, who recently joined the club for the stretch drive.

"I hope that my ego never goes beyond the needs of the team to win a pennant," McGraw said Thursday while sipping an Irish whiskey a at Tiff's Cafe in the Sheraton Plaza.

"I'm just glad we were able to grab Sparky, since he gives us another strong arm in the bullpen at time when some of the guys may be getting a bit tired," McGraw said. "The main aim of all of us is to win the National League East crown, then finally take the playoffs and get into the World Series. I think Sparky can help us achieve that goal, and that is all that counts.”

Tug doesn't think the fact the Phils have been there several times, while the Montreal Expos are groping for their first NL East crown will mean anything special to his team down the torrid stretch.

"Hell, in 1969 the Mets had never won anything," said McGraw, a member of the Miracle Mets. "But we picked up momentum as the season went along. Then the final we just put it all together and won the damn thing. So I don't believe in any of those myths which say we have an edge over the Expos. We have to make our edge by playing the hell out of baseball the next couple weeks. If we do that, we'll win it. If we don't, then they'll win it. It's as simple as that."

Shortstop Larry Bowa indicated early Thursday the hamstring pull he aggravated while being part of a rundown play in Pittsburgh Wednesday night was still bothering him.

"It will take some treatment today and early tomorrow," Phils' trainer Don Seger said. "But I think there is a good chance Larry will be able to go against the Cubs when the series starts Friday (today)."

Young pitcher Bob Walk, who suffered severe contusions on his leg when he was hit by a line drive during his last start also will be ready to return to the starting rotation today, Seger indicated.

"There's still a lot of black and blue around the injury, and there is some stiffness, but most of the pain is gone," Seger said. "Bobby is a young guy and he bounces back fast. He has been able to work out on the pitching mound without any real pain the past couple of days, and I think he will have no real problem going against the Cubs in the series opener (set for 2:30 p.m.).”

Pinch hitter deluxe Del Unser and his main buddy on the spare parts team, Greg Gross, enjoyed their day off by seeing "Middle Age Crazy" at a local cinema Thursday afternoon.

"I think I'm starting to feel a little middle aged, so the picture had something special to say to me,” the 36-year-old Unser said.

Unser came through with the game-winning pinch hit in the 11th inning Wednesday night in Pittsburgh which gave the Phils a very important 5- 4 victory over the Pirates and kept them in close touch with the Expos.

Thirty-six may not be middle aged for the ordinary citizen, but for a major league player it is a little on the other side of middle age, so Del is hoping desperately that this will be the year he'll get to play in the World Series.

"That is the ultimate goal of any ballplayer — to get to play in the World Series," Unser said. "Right now we have a real shot, and I think we are primed for the big move. But we have to reach out and grab it. We can't expect the Expos to suddenly keel over and let us win without a real battle every game the rest of the way."

Manager Dallas Green figures the 5-4 win over the Pirates has really set up his team for the final assault on the crown.

"I admit I little doubt when we lost that 4- 1 lead with Steve Carlton pitching. But when we bounced right back to win in extra innings in a ball park that has murdered us all season, then I got the feeling back we are on our way. But we have to keep it going rest of this trip so we can go back home right in the middle of this scrap," Green said.

The Phils play the Cubs the next three days, then have night games in St. Louis Monday and Tuesday before heading home.

"This is what we've been playing for all season, to be close the final couple weeks of the season," Green said. "Now it's up to us to prove we're equal to the challenge.”