Injured writer learns how other half lives

By Ray W. Kelly of the Courier-Post

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Why do I feel like apologizing?

I'm the one sitting here in agony with a left ankle that looks like it came off an elephant. I'm the one who endured an hour of torture during what is so erroneously termed "therapy treatment" in the Phillies' trainer's room.

Yet, here I am doing the death scene from Swann Lake and feeling guilty about not fully understanding how much the Phillies suffered last season and not appreciating what they put up with sometimes just to get back onto the field.

It's Tug McGraw's fault. Grinning like some half-crazed assistant to Dr. Frankenstein as trainer Don Seger and his assistant, Jeff Cooper, keel-hauled me into one of those infernal creations of modern medical technology.

"Now you know," crooned Tug.

"Welcome to the club," said Bob Boone.

"No players allowed in the trainer's room while the press is getting treatment!" ordered outfielder Mike Anderson.

I never realized that they always give you the treatment before giving you the treatment. But, it almost became worth in when Steve Carlton actually spoke to me. His lips moved and everything.

But, let us start this book of revelations at the beginning. Which in this case was an early-morning lob shot in desperate need of being chased. Tennis anyone?

There is something to be said for the sensation of expecting to come down upon one's left foot and landing instead on an ankle. Most of it unprintable. Suffice to say it hurts like hell.

"Severe sprain," said Seger as he probed the fleshy tennis ball that had somehow gotten inside my ankle. "We'd better do something about that swelling."

Cooper, a slim young man with a mustache to match, nodded in agreement and declared that a vacancy would occur at one of the machines in 15 minutes.

Carlton entered for his pregame rub, took one look at the limp I was attempting to perfect on the way to the waiting room and said, "Hey, I can wait. You go ahead."

It was truly a day for the unexpected. I could see the headlines – Carlton Breaks Silence, Expresses Concern for Media. Heck, I liked the guy before he spoke to me.

The wait seemed long. But only because players who had spent hours, days and weeks with similar problems kept pointing to the ever-expanding lump and asking, "what did you do, swallow your chewing tobacco?"

Looking back, I can honestly say I deserved this outpouring of concern. For, in the course of my duties as a journalist, it had always been my practice to report "undergoing treatment" in an almost casual and unconcerned manner. Now, I know better.

They put your entire leg in this rubber boot, secure it tightly and then flip the switch to a contraption that whines sporadically like a miniature trash truck as it's in the process of compacting.

Only, in this case, it's compacting my leg by filling up with ice water, the idea being that it reverses the flow of blood away from the injured area through pressure and low temperatures.

Heroically, I lay back in the beach type lounge chair and followed Cooper's instructions to wiggle my toes during the 15-second intervals when the water pressure abated.

Less than a half-hour later, I was a total wreck and offering to confess to any crime in order to gain freedom.

Give me aspirin. Give me something to read besides the ceiling. Give me a minute without pressure from the boot Give me a cigarette. Gimme a break. Get me outta here!

"You can't keep me in this thing for another half-hour," I told Cooper.

"Do you know how to get out?" he asked with a smile. "That's what I thought."

Players go through this twice a day for weeks on end. Boone read a novel with the machine pumping out water that was 30 degrees colder. I mean, you gotta really be into pain.

And, as Seger shaved the ankle and taped it with a mastery that is worth spraining an ankle just to witness, I thought of what it must be like to be an injured athlete and having to put up with this every day.

"We'll do it again tomorrow," said Seger.

I'm sorry guys. I just didn't know. Until now.

Phillies continue to hit

By Ray W. Kelly of the Courier-Post

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Mike Schmidt's three-run homer and a two-run round-tnp-per.of f the bat of Garry Maddox highlighted a nine-run rally yesterday as the Phillies topped the Chicago White Sox, 12-5, at Jack Russell Stadium.

The latest in a series of high-offense afternoons enabled the Phils to claim a 10-4 record, best of any National League team in the Grapefruit League.

Lefthander Steve Carlton picked up his second win of the spring despite being roughed up for the first time since arriving here.

It wasn't a good day for Lefty," said Manager Dallas Green. "He knows it. He was just a little lazy (with his pitches) and a little loggy. He'll have those days once in a while."

Although happy with the big rally, Green continued to stress the need for consistency in the offense. "If the big inning comes, I'll take it," he said. "But, I'm not the kind to wait around for it to happen. The two homers were nice, but they weren't the only things that got us all those runs."

Maybe not, but having Schmidt sizzling at the plate with a .464 batting average and five homers certainly adds to the possibility of an explosion.

Chicago jumped on Carlton for a pair of runs in the first inning as Kevin Bell and Greg Pryor wrapped doubles around Mike Colbern's single. Pryor's hit-run grounder off the glove of Schmidt at third added a third Chicago run in the fourth.

Then it all came undone for southpaw Rich Wortham, who just got a piece of Pete Rose's infield hit and watched Maddox reach base on an error.

Schmidt, who belted two homers against the Mets the preceding day, uncorked a rocket that was still high, wide and screaming when it cleared the wall in left-center field at the 380 mark.

A walk to Bob Boone and singles by Greg Gross and Lonnie Smith loaded the bases for Larry Bowa, who answered a fan's taunt, "what are you doing batting eighth?" by lashing a single to right.

Three runs crossed when Rose singled to center and the throw from the outfield went wild. Maddox put a 9-3 label on it with a two-run bolt over the wall in left.

Continuing to act like this is his year, Smith singled home a Philly run in the fifth to make Lamar Johnson's two-run homer off Rawly Eastwick in the seventh seem even less significant.

Green keeps waiting for the inevitable "down period" for his team, but it may never arrive. Especially not after he told a gathering of 36 players the other day, "there are only 11 guys here who won't make the club. So, show me right now who wants to be with us."

NOTES: Green is considering taking a gamble on Bob Boone's durability. He may take just Keith Moreland as backup catcher and take another hot bat north with the club... Bud Harrelson has a pulled groin muscle... Reliever Warren Brusstar's shoulder has taken a torn for the worse. "I'm disappointed for him," said Green. It's crying time.... The No. 2 spot behind Pete Rose in the batting order remains up for grabs. Manny Trillo got fouled op concentrating too much on the hit-run and now Bake McBride and Larry Bowa may get the call... Toronto is in town today. Randy Lerch will play host... The first television game of the year is scheduled for tomorrow when the Phillies host the New York Yankees at Jack Russell Stadium. Air time on Channel 17 is 1:30. Sunday's game with the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, from Bradenton, is also scheduled oq Channel 17 at 1:30 p.m.

Baseball talks are broken off

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – A scheduled three-day negotiating session between representatives of major league baseball owners and players turned out to be a two-day waste of time, says the bead of the players' union.

The talks, aimed at formulating a new four-year basic agreement between owners and players, broke off abruptly yesterday, and today's session was canceled.

The meetings will resume Sunday in Palm Springs, Calif., with the help of a federal mediator requested by the owners.

Two days later, the Players Association's executive board plans to meet in Dallas to determine if and when a strike will be called.

"I regret they saw fit to waste yesterday, today and tomorrow," Players Association executive director Marvin Miller said yesterday. "There was no bargaining Wednesday or today."

Miller had met for about two hours Wednesday with Ray Grebey, the chief negotiator for the owners. He said it was Grebey's decision to recess the talks until Sunday.

Grebey said the owners asked the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to participate in the negotiations, and reiterated their contention that the season should open on schedule April 9 whether or not an agreement has been reached.

Miller, who worked for the Mediation Service in 1946-47, said he had no objection to its participation, but he questioned the timing of the owners' request.

"I think this may well be a kind of stalling mechanism on the part of (the owners)," he said.

Miller hinted that the owners may have asked for the mediator shortly before the players' strike decision is due so that players might delay any action until they can reassess the situation.

Grebey has continually refused to comment on the specifics of the negotiations, but insists they have been productive.

Players who ha ve attended the sessions say otherwise.

Mark Belanger, player representative for the Baltimore Orioles, was visibly disgusted with the situation following yesterday's brief session.

"I've been at all but two or three of these meetings, and nothing's been accomplished," Belanger said.

The talks – about 30 in all – have been hung up on several owners' proposals, some of which Miller contends don't belong on the table.

"They came in with a demand that no player can be offered more than a one-year contract if he has less than five years of service," Miller said. "They don't have to offer more than (a one-year contract) now. They want us to take over management's responsibility."

The major issue to be resolved is an owners' proposal to adjust the amount of compensation a team receives after losing a free agent.

Under the owners' plan, a team signing a highly-sought free agent would be required to give up a player, rather than an amateur draft choice, in return. The agent's new team could protect only 15 of its players from that selection process.

Such a change would "break the back of the free agency system," Miller said, since few teams would be willing to give up a regular in return for a free agent.

Other major issues yet to be resolved include whether players should continue to be entitled to a piece of baseball's television revenues, and whether a player's time in service or his performance should be considered more important when an arbitrator rules on a salary dispute.

More than 800 players from 22 of the 26 major league teams have voted to authorize a strike on or after April 1, with only one dissenting vote so far. Miller planned to meet with the remaining teams by the end of this week.

Only Time Can Tell How Phillies Will Fare

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Take a look at the Philadelphia Phillies’ roster and you  almost have to conclude that nobody can beat this team over a 162-game haul. 

The Phillies however are a perfect example of that old bromide that you can’t tell a book by its cover.

Manager Dallas Green has more ifs than a guy reading a racing form.

The Phillies’ first eight look solid. Barring injury the starting infield of catcher Bob Boone, first baseman Pete Rose, second baseman Manny Trillo, shortstop Larry Bowa and third baseman Mike Schmidt, and an outfield of Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox and Bake McBride appear as good as any in baseball.

Boone is the only suspect in the group He’s coming off knee surgery, didn't play in the first half of the spring training schedule, and although he claims he can do everything, he's still not 100 percent. Boone is even more important in that his backup is rookie Keith Moreland, a great prospect, but nonetheless a rookie.

And Green insists he plans to carry only two catchers. Tim McCarver was forced into retirement and Dave Rader will be dropped in one way or another.

The Phillies, after winning three consecutive National League East titles, slumped to fourth last year, prompting the firing of manager Danny Ozark with 30 games remaining. Green took over, and was reappointed for 1980. 

It really wasn't Ozark’s fault. The team was decimated by injuries.

Bowa broke a thumb, Trillo a bone in his throwing forearm, Luzinski pulled a thigh muscle, McBride played 40 games on a game knee, Schmidt played hurt. Most devastating was the breakup of the pitching staff. 

It all started with righthander Larry Christenson breaking a collarbone during a charity bike marathon in February 1979. Righthander Dick Ruthven came out of spring training with an aching elbow and lasted until May. Lefthander Randy Lerch broke his right wrist. Righthander Nino Espinosa developed tendonitis in his pitching shoulder. Reliever Warren Brusstar was lost the entire season. 

All teams, of course, have injuries, but the Phils would have good reason to doubt any team was this crippled. 

Rose, who was signed as a free agent after playing out his option at Cincinnati and handed a figure estimated at $800,000 and up over four years, did everything that was expected of him despite his 38 years. He was the league’s second best batter at .331, had a 23-game hitting streak, struck 200 hits for the 10th time, a major league record. He drew fans like a magnet. 

If Rose failed in any of the Phillies’ expectations, it was an ability to excite a team that generally is considered lethargic. He says he didn’t come to Philadelphia to lead, bit to perform.  If his performance provided leadership that would have been a plus.

Although Rose is a unique athlete, the manager has to wonder what he’ll get from this future Hall of Fame player at age 39. Trillo still is bothered by the forearm. Can a Luzinski, who lost 25 pounds and has pounded the ball in spring training, regain his powerful game? 

Most important, what can Green expect from his pitchers? 

Ruthven had 10 chips removed from his pitching elbow and appears over a back ailment, but he hasn’t looked exciting in spring training. Espinosa still is bothered with tendonitis and hasn’t been able to throw through a pane of glass.

Espinosa’s Shoulder Worries Phils

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) – The Philadelphia Phillies are concerned, but not alarmed, about the continuing pain in the shoulder of Nino Espinosa, their second winningest pitcher last year. 

It’s not as if the 26-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic injured the shoulder yesterday. It happened at the end of last season, and Espinosa still has that twinge that every pitcher fears. 

Manager Dallas Green has this to say about Espinosa: “We had him in Philadelphia in December… the doctor looked at him. We just are concerned that this could be a very serious problem if we let it.” 

Green said he was determined not to rush Espinosa in spring training to the point where it would permanently damage his arm. “I am satisfied with his progress… he’s on a program that we think will get him ready by opening day and that's all I'm concerned about." 

Espinosa, meanwhile, hadn't thrown a ball in anger halfway through spring training. 

Green finally trotted him out March 25 in a B game to see what Espinosa could do. It wasn't much. He threw lollipops.

Espinosa still insisted he would be ready by the time the season opened. He didn’t, however, convince Green or team physician Dr. Phillip Marone, who admitted he didn’t have a diagnosis on Espinosa’s problem. 

“Right now we're trying to work my shoulder real slow,” Espinosa said. “I’m trying to get to the point where I can throw the ball hard and free and don’t feel anything in mv shoulder.” 

Espinosa said he developed the pain after former Phils Manager Danny Ozark was forced to use him every third instead of fourth day because of injuries to the rest of the staff.