Allentown Morning Call - September 28, 1980
Expos’ Fryman cuts Phillies’ rally short
By Dan Shope, Call Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA – Woodie Fryman sipped a soda and held court in the Montreal Expos locker room. It was his day. Once again, the 40-year-old Kentucky tobacco farmer had stopped Father Time.
It wasn't easy.
Youth, by the name of Philadelphia Phillies' rookie Lonnie Smith, was out to beat him. But the cagy 16-year veteran reached back. He surprised the wide-eyed youngster with his patented slider to save the Expos' 4-3 victory yesterday over the Phils at Veterans Stadium.
It all made Woodie feel "Middle Age Crazy. " His 17th save had moved the Expos within a half game of National League East-leading Phillies and five games in front of faltering Pittsburgh.
''I'm the oldest player on this ballclub," Fryman said. "It means a lot. I know they have to depend on me. I'm just glad to help out where ever I can.
"We needed this game. These are two good teams. This game right here could be the World Series.”
Certainly, the 53,058 screaming Phillies fans were thinking about the World Series when Fryman walked to the mound with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Another Phils' rookie, Keith Moreland, had just singled in a run and KO'ed reliever Elias Sosa. That put the tying run at third and the winning run at first with two out.
Phils Manager Dallas Green sent lefty Del Unser to the plate to pinch hit for Sparky Lyle. But the Expos countered with their old lefty. So Green played it by the book. He brought in the top righty on the bench, the 24-year-old rookie.
Lo and behold, the old man set Smith down in four pitches.
"When I walked out there, (Larry) Bowa yelled something to me," said Fryman, who pitched for the Phils when Bowa was a rookie. "We're good friends."
What he said we'll never know. Fryman wasn't about to repeat Bowa's message. And Bowa wasn't around to talk about it. But it did make Woodie mad.
"I said to myself, 'I've gotta try and get this one for the team,'" Fryman said.
Smith stepped into the batter's box and studied the old man. He was ready. At least his manager said he was ready.
"No, I didn't have to tell Lonnie anything," Green said. "Everybody in the whole world knows Woodie's a slider pitcher."
Fryman grinned as he recounted the four pitches in his old country boy accent.
"The first was a slider outside," he said. "The next was a fastball for a strike. Then I threw a slider (which Smith ripped foul into the stands) . And I got him looking with a slider away.
It was a tough pitch for a kid like that. I threw it hard. If he had hit it, he would have had a tough time getting it . up in the air."
Green was cool about Smith taking the final pitch of the game.
"I don't think Lonnie is used to pinch hitting," Green said. "That's a tough situation for a seasoned veteran, let ' alone a kid up for his first shot (in the majors)."
For Smith, better days are ahead. But Fryman's days, and even hours, are numbered. The man who has already retired once and returned, would love to spend this October in his first World Series.
"The closest I've ever come to the series was in the (1972) playoffs, when I pitched for Detroit and lost the last game 2-1," he said."T6 get there again would be great. We just need a win tomorrow, then they'd (the Phillies) would be in trouble."
And he could be the steady reliever the young Expos need to get there. He certainly has the experience, being traded six times and having played with five teams.
Ironically, one of the players the Expos gave up to Chicago to get him in 1978, was credited with the game-winning RBI yesterday.
Jerry White doubled off loser Steve Carlton (23-9) to score Chris Spier and put the Expos into the lead for good in the seventh.
Earlier, the teams played long ball as the Phils jumped into a 1-0 lead on Mike Schmidt's 44th home run. Gary Carter tied it on a home run in the second. And Manny Trillo hit another one in the bottom of the inning.
The Expos tied it in the fourth on Speier's RBI single and then went ahead on his and White's back-to-back doubles in the seventh.
Larry Parrish gave the Expos a well-needed pad with an RBI single in the eighth as winner Scott Sanderson moved to 16-10.
But this one belonged to the old man.
McCarver knows how to cope with ‘race’
By Ted Meixell, Call Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA – Tim Mc-Carver's been playing major league baseball since 1959. He's been on pennant winners, pennant pretenders and a World Series winner – the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals. His home run in the 10th inning off the New York Yankees' Pete Mikkelson won the fourth game of that classic.
It's not surprising, then, that of all the current Phillies, he's got some of the better ideas on how to cope with the pennant dogfight his club is involved in.
"By admitting to fear," he said before Thursday night's game with the Mets, "you dilute it. It helps to ease the pressure. Sure, you have fears and anxieties. So admit them and get on with what's got to be done. "
A huge novel, "The Sphinx," was spread out on his lap. He'd been absorbed in it until approached – so he waxed literary to illustrate his point. "It's just like in 'The Eiger Sanction,'" he said, "when Jemimiah, Jonathan's black girl friend, asked him, 'Aren't you afraid of climbing that 1,000-foot wall?' He said, 'Yes, I'm afraid,' but then he went and climbed the wall."
McCarver was asked if the Phils were thinking about opening enough ground on the Expos during the current nine-game home stand to clinch the divisional crown before going to Montreal for the final three games of the season.
"No, not at all. We just have to play the games one at a time, just try to do the job each day," he said.
"This is the time of year for cliches more than at any other time. We can dole 'em out by the hundreds. I detest cliches myself, but the funny thing about them is, most of them are true.
"It's just like today (last Thursday). We can't worry about what the Expos do in Chicago we've got to do our own thing against the Mets.
"But take the Cubs, for example. It's only human to look at the scoreboard and pull for them to beat the other guys. We have four games left with the Cubs next week, and we're sittin' here hopin' they play great against the Expos, then come in here and play lousy. It's incongruous, really.
“What it points up is this – you've got to keep in mind what you're doin', not worry about the other team. And, when you approach all the probing questions from the media, you've got to be careful. Seriously, if you approach that realistically, that too helps take the edge of f the pressure.”
Wednesday night, in only his third plate appearance since being activated Sept. 1, McCarver's perfectly-executed sacrifice bunt in the 10th inning played an important part in the Phils' 1-0 win.
When he left the broadcast booth to become the first four-decade catcher ever, he was quite serious. "Sure, it's an accommodation on their (Phils) part," he said then, "but I don't think it's a tasteless accommodation. I've worked hard to prepare myself for this, and I hope to be able to contribute when called upon."
He contributed Wednesday in a big way and the media granted him attention accordingly. He was asked if he'd ever before had such a fuss made over him because of a bunt.
A twinkle came to his eye, and the not-so-serious side of Tim McCarver emerged. "Now, let's see," he mused, his chin cupped in his hand, a somber expression on his face. "Let's compare that to some of the greatest sacrifices in the history of the game…”
Serious again, he admitted he hopes to be able to contribute again in a bit more dramatic fashion before time runs out on him – a game-winning pinch hit home run, perhaps?
"Hey," he said, "I'd hate to have to say years from now my career came to a close on a bunt.
"Even if the Phils do make it to the National League playoffs – or the Series – McCarver won 't be eligible to compete. But it's safe to say having him around the last 10 days won't hurt their chances of getting there.
If all the Phils took the McCarver approach, they'd be shoo-ins.