New Jersey Newspapers - March 11, 1980
Camden Courier-Post
Phillies might trade Maddox
By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post
CLEARWATER, Fla. – There is a strong possibility that, sometime prior to the June 15 deadline, the Phillies will trade centerfielder Garry Maddox.
The concept of the Phillies trading Maddox, all but unthinkable as recently as nine days ago, has been strengthened by the suspension of contract negotiations between the Phillies and Jerry Kapstein, Maddox' agent.
"We're just too far apart," said Phillies General Manager Paul Owens, "It's to the point where I have to begin looking around. I'm not going to let him go at the end of the year and get nothing in return. (Owner) Ruly (Carpenter) feels the same way.”
IT HAS BEEN a long-standing policy qf Owens to trade players he cannot sign. He feels, with some justification, that he would rather acquire someone in a trade than lose a player eventually without compensation on the free-agent market. Maddox, whose present contract expires at the end of the season, will become a free agent in the fall if he does not sign.
And, Maddox does not plan to sign with the Phillies during the season.
"Negotiations have reached an impasse," Kapstein said by telephone from his office in San Diego. "We began negotiations in January of 1979 and they went to March 2. 1980. We are going to talk to the Phillies again, but not until after the 1980 free-agent draft.
"There's no bitterness at all because Paul Owens and Ruly Carpenter have bargained in good faith. It's just an honest difference of opinion. I just felt, after 13 months' time, we knew where the parties stood."
THE PARTIES stand diametrically opposed on the issue of salary. Maddox is reportedly seeking a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract that would make him financially secure for the rest of his life. The Phillies are quite willing to sign Maddox to a long-term pact but not at the price he is asking.
"I guess it was a communications problem," said Maddox, who has not taken part in the club's spring training drills the last two days because of a strained muscle in his lower back. "I thought that the figures they (the Phillies) were thinking about were the one I was also thinking about under the current market standard. But really the figures they were talking about were something different."
There seems to be few avenues remaining for either side. The Phillies want to keep Maddox because of the defensive dimension he adds to center field. Indeed, few teams would part willingly with a player who has won five consecutive Gold Glove awards and is a lifetime .293 hitter. But they will not keep Maddox if he plans -to go through the season unsigned.
Maddox would like to remain with the-Phillies. He has become a member of the nucleus of players around which the front office built three straight National League Division champions. Maddox also has become a part of the Philadelphia community, donating countless hours to raising funds for the city's Child Guidance Center. But he is committed to testing his value in the free-agent waters if the Phillies do not meet his terms.
"I HAVE to be concerned about what the current market is paying and the Phillies have to be concerned about the direction of salaries overall," said Maddox. "Everyone knows I don't want to be traded or go to another team. The team and the city are perfect for me.
"I'm really the first guy on the team to have my contract come up again under the new market standards. I've dealt with them (the Phillies) pretty closely m the past, but I guess the Phillies feel they have to draw the line somewhere and they've drawn it.
"Ruly has said what I'm asking for is not unreasonable in terms of the entire market. He knows I have to look after my responsibilities, but I guess he's concerned about the way the game is going."
Owens readily admits replacing Maddox will not be an easy task. Under the circumstances, acquiring a player with even remotely the same value would seem, at best, difficult. That, however, will not prevent Owens from making the best deal he can.
MORE THAN a few teams would be interested in Maddox. San Diego tried to pry him loose from the Phillies during the Winter Meetings, but Owens didn't like their offer. Cincinnati would be willing to make a deal. The Reds reportedly would like to trade outfielder Ken Griffey, but his knee problems and his unsigned status make him an unlikely candidate for a Phillies uniform.
The Phillies may even try to get pitcher Craig Swan from the Mets, move rightfielder Bake McBride to center and platoon Lonnie Smith and Greg Gross in right.
Whatever the logistics may be, it seems inevitable the Phillies will trade Maddox.
Phils troubled over Espinosa
By Rusty Pray of the Courier-Post
CLEARWATER, Fla. – It is far from a panic situation, but right now the Phillies are concerned over the slow progress being made by pitcher Nino Espinosa.
Espinosa. while not one of the many Phillies pitchers to undergo off-season surgery, nevertheless came up with arm troubles toward the end of last year. The righthander, unaccustomed to pitching every fourth day, experienced soreness in his pitching shoulder and returned to his Dominican Republic home prior to the end of the season.
The Phillies were hoping a full winter of rest would cure whatever ill afflicted Espinosa's shoulder, but the results of his work through the first week of camp have not been encouraging.
Espinosa is well behind the rest of the Phillies pitchers, having thrown off a mound only three times and he has not pitched batting practice at all. Yesterday, he threw woodenly for 10 minutes, then pronounced himself "feeling better."
"I don't have that much on the ball, but I'm only throwing half speed," he said. There's no pain, but I don't want to rush since there's plenty of time."
Espinosa began last season in style, winning five of his first six starts and not allowing an earned run between April 15 and May 10. "Last year I got off to a real good start because I was pitching super – not good – super. I was winning, 2-0, 2-1 games. Then things started to going bad for me."
Most likely, the things that went wrong for Espinosa were the injuries to other pitchers and an evaporation of offensive support. With Larry Christenson, Dick Ruthven and most of the other pitchers missing time, former Manager Danny Ozark pressed Espinosa into a four-man rotation. Espinosa had been used to working with the five-man rotation of the Mets.
"Last year I was forced to pitch more because of the injuries,” Espinosa said. "There's not too much you can do when you lose three starters in one day (Christenson, Ruthven and Randy Lerch).
"Before last year this ballclub scored five runs a game. But last year in nine of my losses we only scored three runs (six of his losses were shutouts). The run never did show up."
The Phillies advised Espinosa not to pitch winter ball this year. He attempted it anyway, pitching a total of nine innings in two Dominican games before realizing his "arm was tired. I was better off resting it."
In January, the Phillies brought Espinosa to Philadelphia to be examined by club physician Dr. Phillip Marone. It was decided then that Espinosa needed more rest and should not report to camp a week early with the other players coming off injuries.
"I've talked to different doctors and they say it's nothing serious," Espinosa said. "It's just my arm is weak because of so many innings (pitched) over the last three years."
PHIL UPS – Christenson was unable to throw Sunday because of muscle spasms in his lower back... Christenson is scheduled to resume throwing today... Don Newcombe is scheduled to speak to the players on alcohol abuse today... Phillies hold their first intra-squad game tomorrow at Carpenter Complex... Louis Arroyo, Jose Martinez, Ruthven and Jim Wright are scheduled to pitch... Another intra-squad game is scheduled for Thursday, when the camp is moved to Jack Russell Stadium... Rawly Eastwick, Kevin Saucier, Lerrin LaGrow and Dan Larsen are to pitch... Pitchers scheduled to work Friday's Grapefruit League opener against Detroit are Steve Carlton, Scott Munninghoff, Doug Bird, Burke Suter and Ron Reed... Reds may be interested in catcher Dave Rader... General Manager Paul Owens says, he would accommodate Rader in a trade... Centerfielder Garry Maddox is among the nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is given annually by Major League Baseball to the player who does the most for the game on and off the field. The winner will be announced Thursday at the Governor's banquet in St. Petersburg.
Major League umpires are given the safe sign
By the Associated Press
Now that he has the clout of the National Labor Relations Board behind him, Richie Phillips, attorney for the Major League Umpires Association, expects to see the so-far secret umpire evaluations of the National League.
And, for that matter, the American League's, too.
"I think they'll comply, given the politics of the situation," Phillips said after the NLRB notified the league that it should supply the union with the requested information.
The umpire evaluations were one of five issues over which Phillips filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB last September. The other four have either been remedied or found to be without support and will be dismissed by the NLRB if not withdrawn by the union, according to Peter Hirsch, director Of the board's Philadelphia office, which handled the complaint.
Hirsch said the National League would have about two weeks to comply with the preliminary administrative determination. If no action is taken in that time, a formal complaint could be issued.
Phillips was elated with the NLRB position.
"This is a big, big win for us," he said. "I think it's sensational."
Both leagues routinely evaluate umpires with supervisors and clubs forwarding their assessments. Phillips said American League President Lee MacPhail had agreed to turn the ratings over to the union last year but then changed his mind when the National League balked.
"Now I'll go after the American League evaluations, too," Phillips said.
"I don't know what course we'll take yet," said NL President Chub Feeney. "In cases where umpires have been discharged, we've given the information to the union, but we haven't discharged any since Phillips took over. When he asked for the evaluations, I said, 'I don't see that you have any need for them.'"
Phillips feels that replacement umpires who worked during the 1979 strike were rewarded for that by being retained after the work stoppage ended and that the evaluations will show that other umpires promoted for brief periods and then returned to the minors had higher ratings.
"According to the contract we signed May 18, they were to remain on merit and merit alone," Phillips, said. "Others who refused employment as strike-breakers were not to be discriminated against in any way."
The Press of Atlantic City
Despite Trade Rumors, McBride Awaits Season
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) – Bake McBride spent the kind of winter during which reading a good book was his only peace of mind.
The 31-year-old McBride gave up on reading newspaper sports pages, watching television or listening to the radio. It seemed every time he indulged in one of these activities, he read or heard the Philadelphia Phillies were about to trade him.
It upset the outfielder, who has a lifetime batting average of .298, and was one of only three players in the National League in 1979 to finish in double figures in doubles, triples and home runs (16 12 12).
McBride said he intended to talk with Phillies’ personnel director Paul Owens to try to find out why every time the club talks trade, the outfielder's name is mentioned.
“It bothers me,” McBride explained. “I start thinking ‘if the team is trying to trade me all the time then why are they keeping me.’ If they want to trade me, go ahead and get it over with.”
McBride observed, “This whole winter, every time the telephone would ring, I would think it was Owens calling to tell me I’d been traded. It got to the point where I wouldn't even answer.”
McBride, however, said his feelings wouldn't affect his performance. He’s still a Phillies’ outfielder and winning is the name of his game.
“As long as I’m with the team, I'm going to give my all,” McBride said. "I don't think it affects me once I get on the field. I just forget it.”
McBride, a low key, soft speaking, six-year major league veteran, also admits he's tired of being platooned in right field, although the lefthand hitter averaged .343 against lefthand pitchers and .245 vs righties.
“There is nothing I can do about it (platooning),” McBride noted, sort of sadly. “It's left to the manager. And if I want to play, I have to do what he tells me to. It does bother me, but there is nothing I can do about it.”
McBride has a reputation of missing a lot of action because of injuries some consider not serious enough to keep him on the bench.
“I played everyday last year that they called me.” said McBride. who was in 153 games and had career high totals in at bats (582), runs (82) and walks (41). “I even played when I messed my knee up, some 40 games. That’s just the way it is. There isn’t anything I can do about it.”
McBride claims that he has yet to reach his potential as a player. He feels the lack of a chance to play has curtailed his performance.
"I think the first time I played everyday was when I won rookie of the year (with St Louis) and that’s the last time I really played everyday.”
McBride moves about almost as slow as he drops words. He makes a snail look like an Olympic sprinter, except when he's running the bases. He gives people the impression he’s disinterested.
"That’s just my natural way something I've always done,” McBride observed. “I know that the first impression of me is that ‘he doesn’t want to play, he's lazy.’ But that’s not true. When I go on the field I give 100 percent. If that’s not enough, then there is nothing I can do about it.”
McBride says that if fans think he’s lackadaisical they ought to see him around the house.
"Around the house my wife is always telling me, ‘I think I’m going to get you a cane the way you walk around.' I just lay low, watch my soap operas and take it easy.”
McBride may talk slow and walk slow, but he thinks big. He says 1980 will be a good season for him only if he gets 200 hits and wins the National League batting title.
"I know that I can, if I’m given a chance to play everyday."
Phillies Decide To Trade Maddox
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) – The Phillies are offering center fielder Garry Maddox for trade because of a salary negotiation impasse, the National League team’s personnel director Paul Owens disclosed.
Maddox, who was acquired by the Phillies from San Francisco for first baseman Willie Montanez in 1975, generally is recognized as one of the best defensive center fielders in major league baseball.
Owens said he hasn’t started offering Maddox around the league because the salary impasse just developed.
"I don't negotiate contracts openly," said Owens, “but the point we’re at, we’re so far apart I really have to be Concerned with him walking away.”
Maddox is in the option year of a contract renegotiated two years ago at a reported $425,000 a year and could become a free agent at the end of the 1980 season. In this event, the Phillies would lose him to some club for an amateur draft pick.
Owens said money and not the length of contract was the sole holdup. "We’re quite a ways apart. He’s eligible for the re-entry draft next fall,” Owens said.
Maddox, a .293 lifetime hitter who last year earned his fifth consecutive Gold Glove for defense, confirmed his contract problems with the Phillies.
“I'm not going to let this interfere with my season,” said Maddox, 30, who hit .281 last season in 148 games.
"I’m not going to let the uncertainty of this bother me. I want no distractions. I don't want to worry until I become a free agent," said Maddox, the first Phillies outfielder ever to win a Gold Glove.
He led National League outfielders in total chances in 1978 and was third in 1977. Twice he finished third in the National League in hitting, with the San Francisco Giants in 1973 and the Phillies in 1976.
Bowa’s One of the Best
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) – One of Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa’s teammates remarked in jest, "Bowa is a legend in his own mind.”
In retrospect, the statement may not be far off the mark. If there ever was a self-made star it has to be Bowa.
Despite discouragement from every knowledgably baseball man, Bowa made up his mind he was going to be not only a professional player, but one of the best.
“I don’t think I’m a legend,” Bowa said. “What really has me in awe of what I've done is checking the statistics defensively. I mean the greatest of all-time.
“I get chills when I use those words, ‘all time,’” Bowa said, nodding his head in disbelief of his fielding accomplishments. “You go back to when baseball was first invented…
“I mean, I sit back and think-of all the hard work I put in and it hasn't gone for naught,” beamed Bowa. “Of course, 1 get calls on my radio show and they say (Cincinnati's Dave) Concepcion is eight times better than you. You can't compare with Davey."
Bowa then referred to a column written recently by a Philadelphia baseball writer which showed that Bowa had a better record than Concepcion in every offensive and ’defensive category excepting RBI and home runs.
"And, let's face it, he (Concepcion) is stronger than I am,” said Bowa, an admitted singles and doubles hitter. I didn’t realize this (the overall edge) until I read the article.”
Carlton Will Start Exhibition Opener
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Left-hander Steve Carlton will start the Philadelphia Phillies’ first spring training game Friday against the Detroit Tigers, Phillies Manager Dallas Green said Monday.
Carlton will be followed by Scott Munninghoff, Doug Bird, Burke Suter and Ron Reed.
Green said the Phillies will play intrasquad games both Wednesday and Thursday as final tune-ups for the Grapefruit League.
Meanwhile, both centerfielder Garry Maddox and pitcher Larry Christenson missed their second consecutive day of workouts with lower back problems.
Maddox has been bothered by a strained lower back muscle, while Christenson experienced muscle spasms for the second straight day Christenson is expected to take his turn pitching for batting practice Tuesday.
Paul Owens, Phillies personnel director, said Monday he is continuing to search for more pitching depth and a right-handed hitter for the bench
“I've talked with a lot of clubs recently” said Owens "and we are in the ball parks with some Saturday night is the deadline for the interleague trading period with the American League and I'm concentrating on those clubs right now.”