Bad Luck Hounds Christenson

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Remember when you were a child and you lost a tooth? You placed the tooth under your pillow and waited for the "tooth fairy" to leave y you a monetary reward.

Pitcher Larry Christenson of the Philadelphia Phillies at age 26 is a little old for that fantasy of youth, but he almost did something similar with a spur removed from his shoulder.

"It looks like a shark's tooth, about three quarters of inch long and about half an inch wide." said Christenson as he recalled this uncomfortable period of his life.

"I was thinking of having something made out of it." Christenson related at the Phillies' spring training camp.

It wasn't that the 6-foot-3 Christenson was a masochist. The spur reminded him of adversity. It "spurs" him to work harder for the success he has known and wants to know again.

"Someone told me to put it in a little plastic bag and lay it away somewhere," Christenson related. "I just have it at home. I'm not doing anything special with it."

Christenson, a 213-pound righthander, should be used to adversity. He has a chronic back condition that on occasion puts him out of business. Last year he joined a charity bicycle marathon, fell off his bike and broke his collarbone in six places. The spur developed from the collarbone injury.  He appeared in just 19 games, posted a 5-10 record with a 4.50 ERA.

Actually, Christenson didn't make his first start until May 12. He was back on the disabled list July 3, and underwent surgery on Aug. 17. It was a season best forgotten.

"Everybody knows now that it was a must operation… I was in pain when I was throwing all last year. I had a spur in my collarbone that went into my shoulder blade… It got worse and worse. That spur kept growing longer and longer.

"Maybe by this year if I let it go, it might have protruded through my shoulder right now. They just went in with a hammer and chisel and chiseled it out. It had to be done. I couldn't sleep on my right side. I couldn't do anything with that shoulder. I needed that movement," Christenson recalled, the memory of the pain returning to his face.

So much for the past. How has Christenson felt lately? He's being counted upon as a starter. The Phillies need 15 victories or more from the pitcher if they hope to regain the National League East title from Pittsburgh.

"I feel great," said Christenson.

Yeah, but everybody feels great in sunny Florida in March. Everybody is hitter, a 20-game winner, a champion. Rose (not Pete) colored glasses abound as much as oranges. 

Christenson insists his optimism has basis for fact, and is not based on hope or self-brainwashing.

"When I came down here and started throwing like the third of February, I had some stiffness in my shoulder and elbow which everybody goes through. But it just cleared right out and my arm is getting real strong. I don't think I'll have any problem."

But in a recent spring training contest, Christenson was struck by a line drive, bruising the inside of a knee. The club trainer said it was not serious.

Christenson, however, does admit he has had some problem with slight hamstring muscle pulls, because he has changed his physical conditioning program to include running for the first time in three years. The Phillies always have kept him from running because of his back problem.

New manager Dallas Green said he instituted the running program for Christenson.

"He and I have talked over where he (Christenson) is in his career, and I told him flat out that the program he was under the last few years in my opinion was not going to get it," Green said. "It was not successful. It was proven on the field. So we had to start thinking of something else that he could do that would keep him physically prepared."

Phillies Spill Orioles

Spring Training

CLEARWATER. Fla. (AP) — Pete Rose collected three hits, scoring twice and driving in three runs, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 Tuesday in a major league exhibition game.

Rose, who raised his spring average to .384, struck first in the first inning. He held up on second when Greg Luzinski sent a long fly over centerfielder Al Bumbry's head.

The ball hit the center field wall for a double but Rose got a late start and was almost thrown out at home. Catcher Floyd Rayford caught the relay throw but was run over by Rose. As the ball not rolled away, Bake McBride also scored and the Phillies overcame a deficit caused by Ken Singleton's two-run homer.

In the second, the Phillies took the lead when Rose singled in Larry Bowa from third with two outs. Philadelphia put the game away with two more runs in the seventh, one coming on a Rose single.

Rawly Eastwick gave up only three hits in three scoreless relief innings for the Phillies, who are 8-4 in exhibition play.

Lerrin LaGrow followed Eastwick and held the Orioles scoreless for two innings. The American League champs are now 7-7.

✔ The director of the major league baseball Players Association responded harshly Tuesday to an optimistic statement issued a day earlier by Ray Grebey, chief negotiator for major league club owners.

Grebey's statement Monday had said that "the process of collective bargaining is working," and urged that baseball players open the season on schedule whether or not a new basic agreement is reached by then.

"I cannot picture somebody who's been in the same room with me all those times coming out with a statement like that," said Marvin Miller, the players' union head.

"Since the Players Association finds that the owners' demands unacceptable, and the owners apparently are unwilling to change their position, how can he say something like that?" Miller asked.

✔ In other spring training games, veteran Tony run Perez drilled three straight hits, including a homer, and rookie Dave Stapleton raised his average to .552 with three more hits as the Boston Red Sox downed the Chicago White Sox 7-5 for their fifth consecutive victory…. A foul-ball sacrifice fly by Dave Collins gave the Cincinnati Reds a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The loss was the fifth straight for Dodgers.... Mickey Rivers had three hits and Buddy added two to lead the Texas Rangers to a 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

A bases-loaded home run by Rick Cerone led the New York Yankees to an 8-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals…. Jose Moreno's RBI single with two out inning enabled the New York Mets to score a come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over the Montreal Expos…. Rookie Joe Charboneau and Toby Harrah each hit home runs as the Cleveland Indians downed the California Angels 8-3.

Barry Bonnell drove in two runs with a solo homer and a sacrifice fly and Domingo Ramos rapped three hits to pace the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Expos — Just A Fluke?

By Larry Eldridge, The Christian Science Monitor

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Montreal was baseball's big surprise team of 1979, battling Pittsburgh down to the last day of the season before being nosed out in the National League East.

Was it a fluke – or have the once-hapless Expos finally arrived?

Manager Dick Williams, understandably enough, subscribes to the latter view. Williams points with pride to the way his players, many of whom. had no previous experience in tough pennant races, hung in there through the stretch drive against the veteran Pirates last September. He feels that the baptism of fire they received then can't do anything but help in what he expects to be another down-to-the wire battle against Pittsburgh, with Philadelphia and perhaps St. Louis and even Chicago also getting into the act. 

"Going through what we did last year has to make us that much stronger," Williams said. "It's a lot different situation down here this year than it was last spring. I think we're definitely listed as a strong contender."

Certainly the 1980 Expos figure to be an exciting team to watch. The offseason acquisition of outfielder Ron LeFlore (78 stolen bases from Detroit) combined with the speed of holdovers Rodney Scott (39) and Andre Dawson (35) will give opposing catchers plenty to think about all year.

“I plan to bat them 1-2-3," says Williams. "That's a lot of speed at the top of the lineup.” 

There's plenty of solid hitting, too, in the persons of LeFlore (.300); third baseman Larry Parrish (.307, 30 homers, 81 RBIs); catcher Gary Carter (.283, 22 HR, 75 RBIs); Dawson (.275, 25 HR, 92 RBIs); and outfielder Ellis Valentine (.276, 21 HR, 82 RBIs). A key element here, as those statistics show, is that the Expos possess a remarkably well-balanced array of dangerous hitters through the middle part of the lineup rather than having to depend on one or two sluggers whose slumps could prove disastrous.

The Expos, in fact, contrary to a public image that perhaps still lingers from an earlier time, were a strong offensive team last year – fifth in the league in batting and trailing only Pittsburgh and Los Angeles in home runs. Still in all, though, it was a pitching staff that combined the league's best earned run average with tremendous depth that really kept them up there.

By way of illustration, two of the club's top hurlers last season were lefthanders Dan Schatzeder (10-5, 2.83 ERA) and Rudy May (10-3 and 2.30). Any baseball fan knows that a good southpaw is hard to find, so perhaps all one has to know is that - both Schatzeder and May are gone this year the former in the LeFlore trade and the latter via the free agent route yet the Expos still appear to have one of the strongest staffs around.

The ace on the basis of ability and overall performance the last few years is Steve Rogers, whose 13-12 record last season is misleading when you consider he was sixth among the league's regular hurlers with a 3.00 ERA. The others are fellow right-handers Dave Palmer (10-2) and Scott Sanderson (9-8) along with left-handers Bill Lee (the club's top winner at 16-10) and Ross Grimsley (10-9).

The most talked about rookie in camp is Bob James, a fireballing 21-year-old right-hander who will get a long look in terms of bullpen duty. Williams is very high on the youngster, comparing him to Yankee relief Rich Gossage, but a minor league record of 123 walks in 132 innings does make one wonder if he's really ready.

If James can find the plate, he'll join veteran Elias Sosa on the right-handed side, while Woodie Fryman and newly ac- quired Fred Norman are the left-handers.

As far as regular lineup goes, the arrival of LeFlore more or less offsets the departure of first baseman Tony Perez via the free agent route, since Ron is slated to play left field while last year's regular at that position, Warren Cromartie, will move in and battle Rusty Staub for the first base job. Otherwise it's the same as last year with Scott at second base, ParrThe ish at third, Chris Speier (possibly battled by newly acquired Bill Almon) at shortstop, Dawson in center field, Valentine in left, and Carter behind the plate.

Williams intends to use his backup receivers this season after a year in Carter seemed to wind down at the end and also suffered a thumb injury which required off-season surgery.

If this system works, if the addition of LeFlore's speed offsets the loss of Perez' power, leaving the offense about the same, and if the pitching comes through as expected, Montreal could well be in the race again. A more realistic estimate, though, is that this team which had never before played even .500 ball caught people by surprise last season, and that it will find things a bit tougher starting out tabbed as a contender right from Opening Day this time.

Baseball Talks Resume

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Negotiations on a basic agreement between major league baseball owners and players were to reopen here today, with owners guardedly optimistic and players’ representatives flatly pessimistic about avoiding a strike at the start of the season.

Major league executives met Tuesday with their chief negotiator, Ray Grebey, who said no modifications were made in the owners’ latest offer.

“No votes were taken or policy-decisions made today,” Grebey said following a 90-minute meeting with the owners’ negotiating committee. The committee is compose of Grebey, the presidents of the American and National Leagues, and six team executives: Daniel Galbreath of Pittsburgh, Bob Howsam of Cincinnati, John McHale of Montreal, Joseph Burke of Kansas City, Ed Fitsgerald of Milwaukee and Clark Griffith II of Minnesota.

The executive director of the Players’ Association, Marvin Miller, was dismayed by the news that the owners made no policy moves Tuesday.

“Since the Players Association finds that the owners’ demands are unacceptable and the owners apparently are unwilling to change their position,” Miller said he could see no reason for any of the optimism expressed by the owners.

“As long as we have bargaining sessions left, there’s hope of avoiding a strike,” Grebey said.

Negotiating talks were planned daily through Friday, and Miller is also scheduled to meet whit players from sever more teams this week to discuss the negotiations and the possibility of a strike.

Players from 19 teams have already authorized a strike on or after April 1 if a new four-year basic agreement is not hammered out by then.

“We see no reason for the strike talk,” Grebey said. “Major league baseball’s objective is the same as it has been – to attempt a negotiated settlement.”

The success of the talks apparently hinges on several key issues left unresolved at the last session on March 18, including particularly an owners’ proposal to have a player, rather than an amateur draft choice, as compensation in certain cases when a team loses a player to free agency.

Players argue that such a rule would kill the free agent system, since few teams would be willing to part with a player on their roster in order to sign a free agent.

Other important issues yet to be settled include an owners’ proposal to restrict to one-year contracts any player with four years service or less, and another that would force an arbitrator to give extra weight to a players’ time in service, rather than performance, when ruling on a salary dispute.

Miller planned to meet in Phoenix with members of the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indians before this afternoon’s negotiations.

Stapleton at .552; Rose leads Phils

By The Associated Press

It was just another day’s work when veteran Tony Perez drilled three straight hits for Boston including a two-run homer Tuesday – but the performance of rookie Dave Stapleton was a “whopping surprise,” said Red Sox Manager Don Zimmer.

Stapleton raised his exhibition batting average to .552 with three hits as the Red Sox downed the Chicago White Sox 7-5 for their fifth consecutive victory. Perez, signed as a free agent last fall and getting ready to play for the first time in the American League, raised his spring average to .478.

“You know Perez is going to hit. That’s why we got him,” said Zimmer. “Stapleton, though, is a whopping surprise. We knew he had a good bat but didn’t realize it was this good. He makes contact consistently, just going with the pitch.”

The 26-year-old rookie from Alaska hit .396 for Pawtucket of the International League last year.

Pete Rose, whose hitting is never a surprise, raised his spring average to .384 after he collected three hits, scored twice and drove in three runs, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3. The American League champs are 7-7.

Cincinnati pitcher Frank Pastore said his palms were sweating when he took the mound to shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0. He was remembering last May 25 at Dodger Stadium, when he was shelled for five home runs and 10 runs in 2 1/3 innings. This time, he allowed only two hits in six innings.

A bases-loaded home run by Rick Cerone led the New York Yankees to an 8-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Cerone connected off Rich Gale in the fourth inning. Gale, who had not yielded a run in three previous pitching starts, was battered for five runs, four of them earned, on five hits.

Jack Clark hit a three-run homer and Darrell Evans and Jim Wohlford smacked two-run shots to lead the San Francisco Giants to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Larry Hisle, coming back from a shoulder injury that sidelined him nearly all last season, hit his first home run of the spring for the Brewers.

Barry Bonnell drove in two runs with a solo homer and a sacrifice fly and Domingo Ramos rapped three hits to pace the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chicago’s Mike Vail collected four hits, including a three-run homer, to lead the Cubs to a 10-5 win over the San Diego Padres.

Jose Moreno’s pinch-hit RBI single with two out in the ninth inning enabled the New York Mets to score a comeback 4-3 victory over the Montreal Expos. Rookie Joe Charboneau and Toby Harrah each hit home runs as the Cleveland Indians downed the California Angels 8-3.

Newcomer Mickey Rivers had three hits and Buddy Bell added two to lead the Texas Rangers to a 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Mike Cubbage got the first of three Minnesota homers as the Twins defeated the Houston Astros 8-3.

Detroit’s Jason Thompson and Lou Whitaker each had three hits as the Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Tuesday night in the second and final exhibition game played in Puerto Rico for the benefit of the Roberto Clemente City of Sports.