The Online Source for St. Louis Sports
ISSUE #79
Copyright © 1996 St. Louis Sports Online
Reproduction Prohibited Without Permission of Publisher [StLSports@aol.com]
Edited by Mark Bausch
St. Louis Sports Online is an online sports weekly that aims to provide
St. Louisans (and transplanted St. Louisans) with an additional source of
news, information, and humor about St. Louis-area sports events and St.
Louis-area sports teams.
Contributors to #79 include KMOX radio's Randy Karraker, Fowl Ball's Jim
Hunstein, V-100's Brian Stull, contributing writer Mike Rainey, Riverfront
Times hockey correspondent Randy Hu, StLSO Vipers correspondent Gary Griffaw,
and Scott Simon.
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St. Louis Sports Online JULY.96.1 CONTENTS
1.0 StLSO News and Notes by RANDY KARRAKER
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News by MIKE RAINEY
2.2 Blues News by BRIAN STULL and MIKE RAINEY
2.3 Rams Report by JIM HUNSTEIN
2.4 Vipers News by GARY GRIFFAW
2.5 StLSO Quotes of the Week
2.6 StLSO Headlines of the Week
2.7 StLSO Blasts From the Past
3.0 StLSO Features
3.1 Cardinals Quotes
3.2 Beating Around The Busch by JIM HUNSTEIN
3.3 Some Cardinals Numbers by JIM HUNSTEIN
3.4 The Great Escape by RANDY HU
3.5 Boxer Shorts by RANDY HU
4.0 StLSO Recaps
4.1 Cardinals Series-by-Series Summaries by JIM HUNSTEIN
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Cardinals Statistics (through 83 GAMES (July 3rd))
5.2 MLB Standings (as of 7.4.96)
6.0 StLSO Media Notes by SCOTT SIMON
7.0 StLSO Interactivity
8.0 StLSO Editorial: The More Things Change...
St. Louis Sports Online JULY.96.1
1.0 StLSO News and Notes by RANDY KARRAKER
The Cardinals have...for 1996 at least...a remarkable string of thirty-five
straight starts of five innings or more. What we anticipated here, that
Dave Duncan's teachings would sink in to athletes with great ability, appears
to have occurred. Don't discount the contributions of catcher Tom Pagnozzi
in the Cards' success. Pagnozzi and Duncan, a former catcher, think alike...and
are on the same page. Another advantage the Redbirds have is their talent
base. If a starting pitcher goes down, they reach to the bullpen for Mark
Petkovsek, the disabled list for Danny Jackson, or to Louisville for an
arm like John Frascatore or Mike Busby. Same with the relievers, with Cory
Bailey available along with several others. The versatility of John Mabry
and the availability of Dmitri Young put the Cards in good stead should
an injury to an outfielder or first baseman occur. At catcher...there's
a problem with only Danny Sheaffer backing up...but he helps out at third,
too. On the middle infield, there appears to be plenty of depth, especially
with Mike Gallego coming back, and the possibility of a trade. Rumors have
started in USA Today Baseball Weekly that the Cards and Twins have talked
about a Jordan, David Bell and Brian Barber for Chuck Knoblauch deal. With
as hot as Jordan is, that seems hard to imagine now...but it would be tempting.
The bottom line is that the Cardinals have plenty of depth to get through
the second half of the season...and that might be why they win the National
League Central.
The Blues signing of Joe Murphy adds speed and a certain Keenanistic scoring
touch. Every free agent forward Keenan has acquired is a 20-30 goal scorer
(Hawerchuk, Corson, Courtnall and Noonan last year) and Murphy fits the
bill. As of this writing Friday morning, it appears the Blues are also on
the verge of signing Ranger defenseman Jeff Beukeboom, whom they have coveted
for some time. He'll be a number five defenseman and help defray some of
the workload piled up by Al MacInnis, Murray Baron, Igor Kravchuk and Chris
Pronger. Another intriguing signing was that of former Islander goalie Jamie
McLennan. In fifty-six career games with the woeful Isles, the 25 year old
has a 3.22 GAA. He may be the young goalie the Blues have been looking for.
Jack Quinn was in touch this week with Michael Barnett, the agent for Wayne
Gretzky, and once again the Blues are in the hunt for the Great One. With
Phoenix' signings of Craig Janney and Cliff Ronning to go with Alexei Zhamnov,
they wouldn't appear to be a player in these sweepstakes. The suitors appear
to be the Rangers, Canucks, Blackhawks, Stars and Blues...with New York
and St. Louis leading the way.
With Lawrence Phillips pleading not guilty (yes, even after testing twice
the legal limit TWO TIMES), the Rams are back to negotiating and hope to
have him in camp on July 14. Because there is serious doubt as to whether
or not he'll be available for the season opener, don't be surprised if the
Rams sign former Bengal RB Harold Green at the start of camp. With Ernie
Conwell and Chuck Osborne the only rookies in the fold, expect a flurry
of signing activity the week before camp. I've heard that most negotiations
will get serious next week. Finally, talks with QB Mark Rypien have not
re-opened, and his next offer will be lower than his last. Because the Rams
treated their Rypien situation like they did the LB Joe Kelly situation
last season, we might expect a protracted holdout and then Ryp signing with
another team towards the end of camp. In that case, the Rams would start
the season with Steve Walsh, Jamie Martin and Tony Banks...none of whom
threw an NFL pass last season. In fact, Martin and Banks have no attempts
between them in the NFL. Lawrence Phillips better be ready, eh?
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News by MIKE RAINEY
*The Cardinals are as hot as the St. Louis summer, winning five of six on
their just-concluded home stand. Top performers at Busch included outfielders
Brian Jordan and Ron Gant, each of whom connected for the long ball in key
situations. GM Walt Jocketty has to be pleased with the June performance
of his regular outfielders, all of whom are finally healthy. Tony La Russa
inserted Jordan at first base late in a game vs. the Pirates...and the move
came as a total surprise to Jordan, who expected to be taken out of the
game. Before recent games, Jordan has been taking ground balls at 1B for
awhile and La Russa said that he believes Jordan has the athletic skills
to play there. A quick note: fourth outfielder and pinch-hitter extraordinaire
Willie McGee has also been taking ground balls at first.
*SS Ozzie Smith will represent the Cardinals at the All Star game. That
the NL Central is the weakest division in the league is dramatized by the
fact that only Houston, among the five NLC teams, has than one player on
the All Star roster (Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell). Lefthanded starter
Donovan Osborne was a particularly deserving Cardinal, posting first-half
stats equal to those of All Star nominee Pedro Martinez, the Expo righthander.
Tom Pagnozzi's numbers at catcher rated him as a nice All Star candidate
as well.
*After losing 8-5 Monday night, the Cards managed to win Tuesday and Wednesday
to take two of three from the surging Cincinnati Reds. Tuesday's game featured
a dramatic pinch-hit triple from fan favorite Willie McGee in the seventh
inning to tie the score at two, and jump start a rally. Ron Gant hit a solo
home run in the eighth as the Cards shook off a slow start offensively to
win 4-3.
*The current trend of using bats with extremely thin handles took perhaps
its first casualty on Monday when the broken head of the bat swung by Eric
Davis flew into the ondeck circle, striking Reds 1B Hal Morris. Morris suffered
a broken elbow, and will be out for up to eight weeks. The Reds are supposedly
blaming the injury on this year's renovation of Busch Stadium, which resulted
in the relocation of the ondeck circle TOWARD home plate...dangerously close,
the Reds say. We may not have heard the last of this one.
EDITOR'S NOTE: How close to home plate are the ondeck circles at Wrigley
Field?
*Donovan Osborne tossed the first shutout of his career on Wednesday and
improved to 8-4 on the season as the Redbirds went on to a 4-0 victory.
Osborne struck out 4, walked 1, and allowed 4 hits, in the complete game
gem.
*The Cards have now won 14 of their last 16 home games.
*The team heads into Pittsburgh for the first time this season for a four
game weekend series with the Pirates. The Cards swept the Pirates in three
straight last weekend at Busch. The Redbirds currently trail the Houston
Astros by a game in the N.L. Central.
2.2 Blues News by BRIAN STULL and MIKE
RAINEY
*The Blues announced the free-agent signing of right wing Joe Murphy at
the same time that they announced the signings of a whole gaggle of other
players, including centers Peter Zezel and Mike Hudson. The Blues 1996-97
roster of centermen thus includes Adam Creighton, Craig MacTavish, Zezel,
and Hudson. Of course, Shayne Corson also sees time at center.
*Murphy is yet another Blue with Stanley Cup-winning experience, having
played on the 1989-90 Edmonton Oiler Cup-winning squad. Murphy's last four
seasons were with the Blackhawks, who acquired him from Edmonton (while
C&GM Mike Keenan was the 'Hawks GM) in a deal that sent current Blue
Igor Kravchuk from Chicago to the Oilers. Murphy will add a dash of dash
to the Blues front line...and in 522 regular season games has tallied 166
goals.
*As the summer heats up, expect the Blues to continue with their signings
and deals. New York Ranger defenseman Jeff Beuckeboom is an ex-Keenan soldier
available on the free agent list and the rumors of a Brett Hull trade have
begun once again. Hockey talk in July????? Ahh yes, we're talkin' St.Louis.
*With Anaheim professing interest in free-agent Bernie Nicholls, and Phoenix
inking ex-Blues Cliff Ronning and Craig Janney to contracts, those two NHL
clubs rumored appear to be fortifying their rosters at the center ice position--without
Wayne Gretzky. The speedy Ronning had 67 points last season for Vancouver,
while Janney registered 82 points for San Jose and Winnipeg.
In addition, at the recent draft held at Kiel, Rangers GM Neil Smith said
that he "expects the Blues and Gretzky to make a deal". Taken
together, these items lend some credence to the rumors that The Great One
and the Blues may end up reconciling their differences.
*On the Joe Murphy signing--Murphy was the only 'Hawk to take a regular
shift in the entire 1995-96 season who wasn't a net plus in the year-end
plus-minus statistics (he was -3). But Murphy is a perfect fit for the Blues
in that he adds speed and much needed scoring ability to a team that needs
both. Murphy, 28, was a Group V free-agent meaning that the Blues do not
have to compensate the Blackhawks for signing him. Coach Mike Keenan said
Murphy will play right wing with the Blues. Last season for Chicago Murphy
scored 22 goals and 51 points in 70 games. His best season came with Edmonton
in 1991-92 when he tallied 35 goals, and had 47 assists, for 82 points in
80 games.
*The Blues also signed five minor-leaguers from other organizations Wednesday
to add depth, they are: LW Scott Pellerin, RW Jim Campbell, C Harry York,
D David Williams, and G Jamie McLennan.
*With Wayne Gretzky's status as a Blue uncertain, the Blues top priority
has to be a number one center. Since they traded next year's number one
draft pick to the Kings in the Gretzky deal, the Blues cannot even offer
a contract to a restricted free-agent. They must stick with unrestricted
free-agents only. Unfortunately the pickings are slim in this area. The
only true playmaking center that is an unrestricted free-agent is Chicago's
Bernie Nicholls and he would not seem to be a "Keenan player."
2.3 Rams Report by JIM HUNSTEIN
*On the Lawrence Phillips front: the 21 year old's pre-trial hearing on
drunk driving charges has been set for August 28. Between now and then,
the Rams will complete their summer camp (in Macomb, Illinois) and play
their entire pre-season schedule. The effect of all of these machinations
on Phillips' contract negotiations with the Rams are largely unknown, expect
to the principals involved.
Also in the news (and we are not making this up)--according to the Post-Dispatch,
Phillips was assaulted by two women in a Lake Havasu, Arizona resort. Philllips'
hotel room was torn up, and the hotel manager said that Phillips paid for
the damage. No charges resulted from the incident, which occurred two weeks
prior to his alleged drunk driving in Los Angeles.
One wonders how many times the word "incident" will appear in
the same sentence with the word Phillips.
*The Rams have signed two of their other draft picks, TE/FB Ernie Conwell
and DT Chuck Osborne.
Conwell (6-1, 253 pounds) was a second round pick, 59th overall, out of
Washington. He signed a four-year deal worth about $1.75 million including
a $575,000 signing bonus. Conwell was strictly a tight end in college but
the Rams plan to use his as a blocking fullback for Phillips or a reasonable
facsimile thereof. He may also be the deep snapper on kicks.
Osborne (6-2, 281 pounds) was taken in the seventh round, 222nd overall,
out of Arizona. He signed a two-year deal worth about $320,000. He has been
likened to D'Marco Farr in his playing style and will probably used in a
back-up role.
*In terms of returning players, the Bighorns re-signed LB Cedric Figaro
to a one-year, $275,000 deal. He played in all 16 games last season including
starting at middle linebacker the last two games for injured Shane Conlan,
who will not return.
*The Rams have dipped into the free agent market to re-sign RB Greg Robinson
for $361,000 and OL Leo Goeas for an undisclosed amount. They also signed
OL Gerald Perry (presumably not the former baseball Cardinal pich-hitting
specialist) for $475,000.
*In terms of those not signed, the big name from last year is QB Mark Rypien.
Negotiations have stalled with the two sides too far apart for now, even
though Rypien has agreed to a pay cut.
2.4 Vipers News by GARY GRIFFAW
The Vipers record moved to 6-7 with an 8-5 win at New Jersey on June 28th
and a 7-2 loss at Philadelphia on June 2nd. In the win against New Jersey,
Frank Cirone had four assists and Christian Skoryna had two goals and an
assist.
Minnesota pushed the Vipers into second place in the Central Division. The
Vipers will play two games in Minnesota on July 5th and 6th.
The Vipers added two defensemen and dropped one defenseman. Brian Casey
and former Viper Jeff Blum are in and Rob McCaig is out. It is likely that
Rik Wilson will be playing in the two Minnesota games.
Although named to the All-Star game, Kevin Plager (Barclay's son) may not
play, due to a slight ankle injury. If Kevin does not play, Christian Skoryna
will represent the Vipers.
2.5 StLSO Quotes of the Week
*During a recent Cardinals telecast: "Wonder if he was happy with that
haircut?" asked Joe Buck as the camera zoomed in on the back of John
Mabry's recently trimmed head of hair.
*Tony La Russa: "Two of the highlights of my career as a manager were
putting [Carlton] Fisk batting second (with the White Sox in the early '80s)
and Dave Henderson in the same slot with the A's in 1988.
2.6 StLSO Headlines of the Week
*From the 6.30.96 Post-Dispatch: "Gretzky Camp Takes Shots at Blues'
Goals"
*From the 7.4.96 Post-Dispatch: "Rams Expecting Phillips In Camp Right
On Schedule" and "Osborne's 4-Hitter Feels Perfect"
2.7 StLSO Blasts From the Past
*From ISSUE #60: March 5, 1996
RANDY HU: Trading in essence, five players for Gretzky without a contract
is suicide. To put all the leverage in Gretzky and agent Mike Barnett's
hands is ludicrous. They may want a longer deal, plus the lionshare of his
marketing rights. "We think we have enough knowledge, enough experience
and enough background to complete this before any danger of his leaving
would occur," said Blues president Jack Quinn said. "We don't
really think that's going to be a problem."
*From ISSUE #71: May 8, 1996
SCOTT SIMON: A Simon Says exclusive StLSO prediction: look for Joby Smith
and Mitch Roberts to leave Channel 30, as early as this summer.
3.0 StLSO Features
3.1 Cardinals Quotes
*Tony La Russa, after the three-game sweep of the Pirates:
--"The worst thing about managing against [Jim Leyland] is that one
of us has to lose."
--"[Ray Lankford] has all the ability you need. As far as batting second
is concerned, you don't want him doing anything different."
--on Todd Stottlemyre's three hits on 6.30.96: "Just after the trade
with the A's, he said that he immediately began to practice his hitting.
He's a good athlete."
3.2 Beating Around The Busch by JIM HUNSTEIN
*If fans ever get the chance to be at the stadium early, take in batting
practice. It's fun to watch all the players taking full cuts at grooved
balls. With that in mind, a great place to be is along the railing down
the lines. Many a "home run" is parked there and usually only
a few kids stake it out. All the players are swinging away and there are
line drives aplenty. Even Miguel Mejia can scorch a few...he remains the
only position player in the majors without a hit. Willie McGee easily lofted
back-to-back dingers to left and then right. Here's the schedule for BP
for 7:05 games: 4:30-4:45 pitchers; 4:45-5:10 extra players; 5:10-5:45 regulars
(aka, starters); 5:45-6:25 visitors. BP for 1:15 games: 10:40-10:55 pitchers;
10:55-11:20 extras; 11:20-11:55 regulars; 11:55-12:25 visitors.
*One problem with BP is that it's hard to tell who some of the players are
if you don't recognize faces. Many of the players wear their red practice
jerseys with name and number on the back, but some (Ron Gant, Ray Lankford,
Brian Jordan, Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith to name a few) wear those red nylon
undershirts over their red jerseys. But listen to the crack of the bats
and you might be able to tell. Also, as bulging as Gant's biceps are, Jordan's
calf muscles really stretch his pants.
*During batting practice, the infielders are taking grounders. Luis Alicea
is typically out there the longest working hard to improve his defense.
Manager Tony La Russa often takes his throws at first.
*It's also fun to watch the players get their arms in shape. Smith and McGee
were playing catch with a weighted ball (about the size of that used in
team handball) similar to a mini-medicine ball. John Mabry was playing long-toss
with a red shirt about 250 feet away. They were throwing rainbows to loosen
up. Rams punter Sean Landeta should have such hang-time.
*Watching all the hitting going on before the game, you realize how soft
the turf in in the outfield. Lots of divots just from soft liners. Eric
Davis of the Reds will be more than happy to leave this place: He was vexed
all series by the loose sod. He was slipping and sliding like Bambi on ice.
He fell once and slid to a stop another time like Michael Chang on the red
clay of Roland Garros. As the summer wears on, the outfield is getting splotchy.
And the infield dirt looks even worse at game time because the hose down
the fair area in front of home plate and he large fielding area in the field.
But the rest of the home plate cut-out area and the basepaths are left dry,
thus giving the effect of two-tone dirt. McGee's triple in G2 of the Reds
series might have only been a double last year since, on plastic, the ball
would have bounced off the wall instead of rolling to it as it did. On the
other hand, with the aggressive play of Jordan, he's probably stayed in
the line-up longer having a nice soft lawn to land on, instead of a plastic-coated
parking lot.
*On the subject of the new grass, one hope was that it would provide a cooler
playing surface than the plastic turf. Only slightly. Lankford says it's
just as hot but the players don't have to soak their burning feet any more.
But he says he still goes through six or seven t-shirts in a game.
*Awesome sight: At about 6:00, the sun moves far enough down in the west
so that it casts shadows of the arches around the top of the stadium on
to the field. That's a wonderful sight, all those arches of light. Is that
why they moved the night game starting time from 7:35 to 7:05? Sounds like
a winner.
*OK, you're the manager. You have an outfielder who is batting just over
his weight and well under his potential at around .240. He steps into the
righties' batters' box and you see that a line drawn across his toes parallels
the third base foul line. He's almost sideways in the box and it looks as
if he couldn't touch a ball over the middle of the plate much less on the
outside corner. He has almost as many strikeouts as hits. What do you do?
Nothing...if it's Ron Gant.
*Idiot Update: Remember the guy who, earlier in the season, took a dive
for a foul ball and hurt himself? Two months later, he still can't lift
his arm above his shoulder. Observation: the best fan catches are made in
the middle innings once the beer has taken away the fear of pain from a
screaming line drive but before it has rendered the fan sloppy.
*Every time Alicea comes up, Ernie Hays (yes, he's still here) plays a cut
from the classic tune "Louie, Louie". It's reminiscent of hearing
the "Star Wars" theme every time Ken Oberkfell came up. Following
are our suggestions for some theme songs for some other players: David Bell,
"Tubular Bells" from "The Exorcist"; Royce Clayton,
"Oh, Lord, Won't You Buy Me A Mercedes Benz" (get it? Mercedes-Royce,
as in Rolls); Mabry, theme from "The Andy Griffith Show"; Lankford,
"Centerfield" by John Fogerty; Gant, "Da Do Ron Ron";
Ozzie, "Off To See The Wizard", of course; Danny Sheaffer, "Oh
Danny Boy"; McGee, "Me & Bobby McGee"; Tom Pagnozzi,
"Tommy" from the rock opera by The Who; Mark Sweeney, anything
from the stage play/opera "Sweeney Todd, The Barber of Fleet Street".
(OK, that's a stretch.) And anytime Andy or Alan Benes come out, anything
by a brother act, preferably the Smothers Brothers doing "Mom always
liked you best."
*Is there anything that can be done about the annoying between innings shows
at the stadium? Whatever happened to, and what's wrong with, some nice quiet
time? We don't have to be entertained every single minute. And we're captive.
Let our attention stray, it'll come back with the first pitch. We don't
need to hear and see kareoki (and, no, I don't care how it's spelled) on
top of the dugouts. And keep Fredbird and his little entourage off the dugouts
as they fire T-shirts to the same areas game in and game out. On the other
hand, the "Mexican Helmet Dance" thing is pretty good although
it could lead to wide-spread gambling in the stands among fans of the old
three-card monte.
*Ozzie, going to his last All Star game next week, will be the lone Cardinal
representative. It's his 15th AS game. Now that the fan ballots have been
totaled, the Wizard ranks second on the all-time vote list. His 27,597,904
is second only to Rod Carew's 32,366,682. But this year's votes pushed him
past George Brett's career total of 27,254,775. Thus, Ozzie is the all-time
vote getter in the NL since fan-voting began in 1970.
*Some guys are just meant to wear a certain uniform. Just as McGee will
always be remembered for the Birds-on-the-Bat, Chris Sabo will always be
a Red.
3.3 Some Cardinals Numbers by JIM HUNSTEIN
Heading into Wednesday's game:
*The Cards as a team are batting .283 (265-for-936) in the late (7th inning
and beyond) innings. That's second in the league to the Rockies.
*The Cards also trail the Rockies in batting with runners in scoring position
at .290. Jordan leads the Redbirds with a .403 (25-for-62) average when
runners are on second and/or third. When the bases are loaded? Forget about
it; Jordan is .700 (7-for-10).
*The Cards have hit 28 of their 68 homers and have scored 144 of their 388
runs after the 6th inning.
*The Cards are no longer the worst fielding team in baseball! Their team
fielding percentage of .977 is tied with Houston (go figure; they're battling
for the NLC lead) but better than New York (.976) and Colorado (.975). The
Redbirds have a total of 71 errors, better than the Astros (75), Mets (75),
and Rockies (80). The best in the NL is Chicago at .984 with only 50 Es.
*Considering they are primary contenders in the NLC, the Cards are woefully
underrepresented among the league leaders in every category. Mabry is eighth
in batting at .324 but that's it for hitters. Period. Todd Stottlemyre is
the only Redbird starter on the board in pitching: He's tied for first (with
Kevin Brown of Florida and Steve Trachsel of Chicago) with 2 shutouts; he's
tied for first (with Brown, Jaime Navarro of Chicago, and John Smoltz of
Atlanta) with 3 complete games; he's 7th on strikeouts with 103; and he's
seventh in opponents' batting average with .241. Dennis Eckersley is tied
for 10th with 12 saves.
3.4 The Great Escape by RANDY HU
Last week, Wayne Gretzky decided to reject the incredible shrinking contract
offers made by the Blues, thus ending his 15 minutes of fame (actually 31
games) in St. Louis. "We were not able to arrive at mutually agreeable
terms, but the decision was not based on economic factors," said Gretzky's
agent, Mike Barnett. Gretzky is currently an unrestricted free agent after
spurning a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't hyperinflated $23 million, three-year
deal by the Blues--not exactly sweatshop wages. It's almost certain that
he won't get an offer from any team near that figure.
Blues president Jack Quinn and coach/GM Mike Keenan were confident they
could sign the un-Great-ful One since he arrived here with much overblown
hype from the LA Kings on February 27. "We felt our offer was fair
for both Wayne and the St. Louis Blues," said Quinn. "However,
at this time, the choice is Wayne's to make and we wish him all the best."
Whichever team he ends up on, it will be his fourth NHL team and his third
in less than a year. The speculation over where Gretzky will go has named
Phoenix the early front-runner, followed by Vancouver, Anaheim, Toronto
and Detroit. Gretzky has also hinted at finishing his career with former
teammate Mark Messier and the New York Rangers. Gretzky was sensitive about
the whiner tag and journeyman label that tarnished his image upon his demand
to leave LA, but he has left himself uncharacteristically vulnerable for
attack by his critics. Is Gretzky really Ozzie Smith on skates?
The inevitable clash of controlling egos festered between Gretzky and Keenan
during the playoffs as Keenan berated Gretzky in front of his teammates,
culminating in Gretzky blowing off a mandatory season-ending team meeting.
Brett Hull warned Gretzky about Keenan's dictatorial style of coaching,
but they thought they could overcome him by scoring early and often. At
times, Gretzky flashed his magic wand with Hull, but not nearly enough to
meet expectations. In the end, Gretzky was just another pampered menial
whose spirit and soul were broken by Keenan.
In reality, both parties are at fault, spitting out true lies. The Blues
should never have traded a big chunk of their future for Gretzky without
assurances of getting him under contract. Both Keenan and Quinn should ultimately
be held accountable for this blunder and the "quick-fix" company
philosophy that makes the organization the laughingstock of the league.
Keenan's reputation for his harsh treatment of players is spreading around
the league (he was denied involvement in the World Cup hockey tournament
this summer) and he has to offer more money than other teams to attract
the top free agents, e.g. former Blackhawk Joe Murphy, this year's Geoff
Courtnall. And now, Keenan has laid Hull's head on the trading block this
summer.
As for Gretzky himself, I said from the start that his skills had diminished
somewhat and he wasn't worth near the money he was demanding. He wanted
to coast to another Stanley Cup ring, but found out that without a supporting
cast, he had to work for it in St. Louis. Now the Gretzky sweaters will
rest in mothballs next to all of the Jerome Bettis jerseys.
In financial terms, Gretzky's earnings allocated to the 1995-96 season were
$6.5 million, but out of that only $2 million was in base salary. The rest
came in the form of a $4.5 million signing bonus, in which the Kings were
responsible for the entire amount. The Blues had Gretzky for 47 of the NHL's
191 regular season days this season and were on the hook for only $492,000.
Then there's the effect Gretzky had on Blues' attendance. Officially, the
Blues were averaging 18,902 through 32 home games before the Gretzky trade,
but paid attendance was closer to 16,500. When word of the trade came down,
the Blues sold out the remaining 9 games at the Kiel Center which represents
an average of about 3,000 more fans per game. At an average Blues ticket
price of $42, that added over an additional $1 million in revenue to the
Kiel Center books, which close on July 31. The decision to put more TV games
on Prime Sports, expand pay-per-view TV, and an increase in ticket prices
will upset fans further.
Gretzky continues to register 100-point seasons, but the assumption that
his presence automatically elevates the level of play of those around him
is no longer a given. He didn't do it with the Kings, nor with the Blues.
There's enough blame to go around for everyone.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Randy Hu is the hockey columnist for The Riverfront Times.
Check out 2.7 of this issue for Hu's comments about Gretzky prior to his
arrival in St. Louis.
3.5 Boxer Shorts by RANDY HU
Top Rank boxing returned to St. Louis amongst a flurry of fists at the Station
Casino St. Charles last Tuesday night. Bright lights, flashy clothes, and
leggy ring girls contributed to a Vegas-style atmosphere. A 2,500-seat outdoor
boxing arena was constructed on top of the casino's newly elevated porte
cochere entry area to witness the 8-fight card, which was also broadcast
live on the USA Network with commentators Al Albert and former champion
Sean O'Grady.
The main event featured World Boxing Union light-heavyweight champion James
"Lights Out" Toney (52-2-2, 34 KO's) of Ann Arbor, MI versus Charles
"The Barber" Oliver (16-5-1, 7 KO's) of St. Louis. Toney scored
one of boxing's biggest upsets of the 1990's when he stopped Michael "Second
to" Nunn to win the IBF middleweight championship.
Toney was the aggressor from the start and pounded Oliver relentlessly.
Oliver, 31, who is a barber by day in Berkeley, started to bleed from a
cut lip in the third round. Plenty of blood, sweat and adrenaline flowed
from Oliver as he battled valiantly in front of the partisan crowd chanting
"Charley, Charley, Charley." In the end, Toney, Toney, Toney was
too much for the punch-drunk Oliver as he scored a 10-round unanimous decision.
Boxing wouldn't be complete without a little pre-fight controversy. Toney
weighed in at 183 pounds, eight pounds over the limit. Oliver's manager,
local attorney Steve Frank, was able to squeeze out an additional $5,000
from the promoters, as he threatened to withdraw his fighter from the card
at the last minute. Also, only a fraction of the crowd paid, as the majority
of the tickets were given away to the casino's high rollers.
In other bouts, Marty Jakubowski (94-2) stopped Curtis Strong (16-9-2),
Augie "Schoolboy" Sanchez (2-0) knocked out Jesus Luna, Radford
"The Man" Beasley (4-0) defeated Dan Bostic (3-3), and Jonathan
Corn (4-0) decisioned John Long (4-1-1).
4.0 StLSO Game Recaps
4.1 Cardinals Series-by-Series Summaries by JIM HUNSTEIN
4.1.1 Cardinals vs. Pirates at Busch (June 28-30)
IN THE ARCHIVES: The Cards moved back into first place and 2 games over
.500 with a 3-game sweep of the Pirates in which they outscored Pittsburgh
22-9.
ON THE SCOREBOARD: G1: 6-1 Cards (4 runs in the 8th); G2: 6-5 Cards (won
it in the 9th); G3: 10-3 Cards (8 runs in the first 2 innings, 6 in the
2nd)
GOING IN: Cards were 38-39, in second place in the NLC, 1 game behind the
Astros.
COMING OUT: 41-39 and again in a virtual tie with Houston at 42-40, although
the edge in winning percentage now goes to the Cards (.513 to .512). This
is the first time they've been 2 games over .500 since April 24.
AT THE PLATE: Brian Jordan is making a bid to be the Cardinal representative
at the All Star game with a 6-for-12 series with 4 RBI and 3 stolen bases
(2 in G3). Ray Lankford stated his case with equal emphasis going 7-for-13
also with 4 RBI. Both were 3-for-5 in G2 but Lankford repeated it in G3.
Royce Clayton, batting lead-off in G1 and G2, was 7-for-9 in those two games.
Ron Gant had a relatively quiet series, going 3-for-11, but 2 of those hits
were homers. He had 5 RBI. But the single best game was had by none other
than Todd Stottlemyre in G3; he was 3-for-3 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored.
That's helping your own cause.
ON THE BASEPATHS: Clayton had two steals in the series to maintain his team
lead at 17. Those heavy footsteps are the same ones that once caused wide
receivers to rethink their desire to catch a football, belong to Jordan,
who now has 10 and is poised to pass up Lankford at 13. Seven of Jordan's
steals have come in the last 5 games. But in G1, he ran into an out. He
stole second and slid way wide. He safe only because the throw was bad and
ended up in center. Without looking, Jordan took off for third and was nailed.
It won't show up anywhere as a steal, but Lankford used pure hustle in G1
to stretch a double into a triple. A 2-RBI triple, no less. The hit was
huge because it turned a 2-1 nail-biter into a 4-1 game. Gant's follow-up
homer made it a 6-1...almost-a-laugher.
OFF THE BENCH: Another ofer series for pinch-hitters, this time 0-for-3.
Luis Alicea pinch-ran for Gary Gaetti in G3, stayed in the game, and got
a hit.
ON THE MOUND: Solid outing (1 run on 5 hits and a walk in 8 innings) in
G1 by Donovan Osborne as he improved to 7-4 and 3.42, the best of the starters.
Andy Benes pitched well in G2 but the Cards didn't take the lead until the
bottom of the 9th. His numbers weren't spectacular (6 innings, 4 runs, 7
hits, 2 walks), but pitchers have gotten Ws with worse. Stottlemyre pitched
nearly as well as he hit in G3. He went 6 innings and yielded only 1 run
on 4 hits as he went to 7-4 on the year with a 4.04 ERA.
FROM THE BULLPEN: Not as good as it has been lately. Dennis Eckersley had
warmed up in the 8th of G1 and the Cards scored enough to take away the
save situation, but the Eck did fine. After giving up his requisite hit,
he shut them down. Mark Petkovsek gave up the tying run in the 8th of G2
and Rick Honeycutt came in to record the out. He earned the win when his
teammates rallied for a run. That was his first win for the season, coming
on his 42nd birthday. (In case you're wondering, yes, he's the elder statesman
not only of the Cards, but in the entire league.) Jeff Parrett got touched
for 2 runs in his 2 innings of work in G3 but the Redbirds were already
up 10-1.
IN THE FIELD: Alicea committed the only error of the series in G2, his 17th.
That will explain why he is now in a platoon at second base with David Bell.
Bell will face the lefties.
CATCH-ALL: Jordan is 13-for-26 (.500) in his last 7 games. During that stretch,
he has 2 homers and 3 doubles. Gant has been keeping up; he has 4 dingers
of his own. The Cards have won 8 in a row at Busch and 12 of their last
13.
OVERALL: The Cards were 17-10 in the month of June, which was the best in
the NL. The pitching staff also has the lowest ERA in the NL for the month
at 3.20 (85 earned runs in 239 1/3 innings). It was also their best single
month since June 1993 when they were a killer 20-7. It was so hot at Busch
on Sunday in G3 that the umpire crew get a set of white shirts from the
Cardinal staff for a little relief.
IN THE HOUSE: G1: 34,490; G2: 34,426; G3: 38,901
ON THE CLOCK: G1: 2:23; G2:3:16; G3: 2:39
UP NEXT: 3-game set with the Reds at Busch, who come in 7-3 in their last
10 games and only 2 1/2 games back in the division.
4.1.2 Cardinals vs. Reds at Busch (July 1-3)
IN THE ARCHIVES: The Cardinals pulled off a remarkable 2-of-3 from Cincinnati
considering they spotted the Reds 6 runs in the first inning of G1 and were
no-hit for 6 innings of G2. And yet they dropped out of a tie for first
with Houston, who swept the Marlins. This was a pivotal inter-division series
for the Cards and the whole thing turned around on a Willie McGee pinch
hit.
ON THE SCOREBOARD: G1: 8-6 Reds; G2: 4-3 Cards; G3: 4-0 Cards
GOING IN: Cards were 41-39 tied with the Astros for first in the NLC, 2
1/2 ahead of Cincy
COMING OUT: Cards were 43-40, 1 game behind the Astros but 3 1/2 ahead of
the Reds.
AT THE PLATE: Brian Jordan continues to light it up like holiday fireworks.
He was 4-for-10 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 4 runs scored, and his eighth homer
of the season in G3. Tom Pagnozzi, the only Redbird with two multi-hit games
in the series, is adding to his lore with similar numbers; 5-for-12, 3 RBI,
3 runs scored, and his fifth dinger in G1. Ron Gant launched his 12th in
G2 off former Cardinal closer (now Red set-up man) Lee Smith. The slugger
also drew 5 walks over the 3-game set.
ON THE BASEPATHS: Jordan (who else?) got the only steal for the Cards in
the series in G1. He should have had another in G3, but Ozzie Smith, at
third, got caught leaning again and was nailed in a run-down. (or pickle,
or hot box, or whatever you called it)
OFF THE BENCH: As good as Jordan was, McGee (again, who else?) was even
better off the bench. He had a huge 2-RBI triple to tie up G2 off Smith.
He also singled in G1 to give the pinch-hitters a series record of 2-for-4.
ON THE MOUND: This series started out as catastrophically as any could possibly
start. Alan Benes got absolutely hammered for 6 runs in the first inning
of G1. To manager Tony LaRussa's credit, he left the rookie in the game
to turn into some kind of learning experience. (It also prevented a depletion
of the bullpen,but it was more important to let AlBenes figure out how to
deal with such adversity.) He lasted 5 innings and gave up just 2 more runs
on his way to a 7-5 record with a 5.26 ERA. Mike Morgan pitched well in
G2, giving up only 2 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings. But the team was no-hit
during those 6 innings and didn't rally until he was pulled so he didn't
get a decision. But Donovan Osborne was masterful in G3, pitching his first
career shutout enroute to an 8-4 record. He had a 2-hitter going into the
9th, and one of those was an infield hit to third that was a routine play
unless a burner like Reggie Sanders in running. Osborne ended up with a
4-hitter after yielding 2 singles in the last frame. Of his 128 total pitches,
89 were strikes.
FROM THE BULLPEN: Not so spectacular this time around. Tony Fossas gave
up a homer in relief of AlBenes in G1 before TJ Mathews threw 3 near-perfect
innings striking out 3 and giving up only one hit. It took a parade of 4
relievers to nail down G2 with Rick Honeycutt getting his second win of
the year on only 1/3 of an inning pitched. Denis Eckersley got his 12th
save but got tagged for a homer. Except for a little bit of loosening up
late in the game, the bullpen took the day off for G3.
IN THE FIELD: Again no errors by the Redbirds. Gary Gaetti continues to
amaze at third, making an incredible throw from the foul side of the line
to nail the runner. The ball was foul, but only the umps knew that. It's
sort of like in tennis that you always hit your best return on a let serve.
But Gaetti does it all the time. Ozzie still has to be the quickest shortstop
to get the ball on its way after catching it. Maybe that's one reason folks
say his arm strength has waned; he has such a smooth delivery it seems effortless.
David Bell is making a strong case for a more-than-platoon role. On a slow
roller to his left, he made the play with a quick flip to first.
CATCH-ALL: Possibly because of the emergence of Bell at second, the Cards
released injury-prone Geronimo Pena, who was picked up by the Indians.
IN THE HOUSE: G1: 27,221; G2: 29,074; G3 32,658 (not bad for a hot Wednesday
afternoon)
ON THE CLOCK: G1: 2:54; G2: 2:57; G3: 2:22
UP NEXT: 4-game series with the recently-swept Pirates in Pittsburgh and
then the All Star break
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Cardinals Statistics (through 83 GAMES (July 3rd))
5.1.1 Batting
BATTERS BA SLG OBA G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS E
Mabry .319 .465 .366 77 282 36 90 131 18 1 7 40 19 47 1 1 4
McGee .316 .428 .354 64 187 34 59 80 10 1 3 29 11 33 3 1 2
Pagnozzi .306 .456 .328 53 180 25 55 82 12 0 5 27 7 33 2 1 3
Jordan .299 .462 .328 67 251 42 75 116 17 0 8 44 12 49 11 3 2
Clayton .279 .385 .329 69 262 36 73 101 13 3 3 19 21 56 17 8 9
Lankford .276 .510 .356 78 286 48 79 146 17 4 14 49 38 65 13 3 0
Sheaffer .269 .361 .315 48 119 7 32 43 6 1 1 15 6 14 2 3 2
Smith .263 .316 .320 32 95 10 25 30 3 1 0 7 8 2 2 3 2
Sweeney .263 .398 .383 59 118 21 31 47 7 0 3 15 23 21 1 0 2
Gant .244 .538 .378 51 160 30 39 86 7 2 12 39 34 34 5 2 3
Gaetti .241 .382 .302 63 241 32 58 92 10 0 8 30 17 42 1 2 7
Alicea .233 .340 .317 77 253 31 59 86 15 0 4 27 30 51 5 2 17
Bell .220 .283 .275 54 127 10 28 36 5 0 1 8 9 19 0 0 5
Mejia .000 .000 .000 29 10 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 2 1
5.1.2 Pitching
PITCHERS W- L ERA G GS CG GF SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
Mathews 1- 2 2.45 32 0 0 12 0 3 44.0 27 16 12 4 19 39
Honeycutt 2- 0 2.81 32 0 0 8 0 2 25.2 20 8 8 1 6 21
Osborne 8- 4 3.13 15 15 2 0 1 0 103.2 95 43 36 11 19 60
Fossas 0- 4 3.46 35 0 0 6 0 1 26.0 26 13 10 6 11 17
Eckersley 0- 5 3.90 26 0 0 25 0 12 27.2 30 15 12 3 3 25
Morgan 2- 2 3.97 9 9 0 0 0 0 56.2 52 25 25 8 27 26
Parrett 2- 2 4.03 28 0 0 13 0 0 38.0 35 17 17 2 19 37
Stottlemyre 7- 6 4.04 17 17 3 0 2 0 113.2 102 53 51 16 51 103
Petkovsek 5- 0 4.43 17 4 0 3 0 0 40.2 45 21 20 7 15 15
Andy Benes 5- 8 4.53 18 17 2 1 1 1 111.1 111 61 56 14 31 78
Alan Benes 7- 5 5.26 17 17 2 0 1 0 101.0 101 70 59 14 43 71
5.2 MLB Standings (as of 7.4.96)
CUT AND PASTE INTO 9-PT COURIER FOR BEST VIEWING
American League National League
Eastern Division Eastern Division
Team Won Lost GB PCT Team Won Lost GB PCT
New York 50 32 - .610 Atlanta 52 32 - .619
Baltimore 45 37 5.0 .549 Montreal 48 36 4.0 .571
Toronto 37 47 14.0 .440 New York 39 45 13.0 .464
Boston 34 48 16.0 .415 Florida 39 45 13.0 .464
Detroit 25 60 26.5 .294 Philadelphia 35 48 16.5 .422
Central Division Central Division
Team Won Lost GB PCT Team Won Lost GB PCT
Cleveland 51 33 - .607 Houston 46 40 - .535
Chicago 48 36 3.0 .571 CARDINALS 44 40 1.0 .524
Milwaukee 42 41 8.5 .506 Cincinnati 38 41 4.5 .481
Minnesota 40 43 10.5 .482 Chicago 39 45 6.0 .464
Kansas City 36 49 15.5 .424 Pittsburgh 38 46 7.0 .452
Western Division Western Division
Team Won Lost GB PCT Team Won Lost GB PCT
Texas 50 34 - .595 Los Angeles 45 41 - .523
Seattle 44 38 5.0 .537 San Diego 45 41 - .523
California 42 43 8.5 .494 Colorado 41 42 2.5 .494
Oakland 41 44 9.5 .482 San Francisco 38 45 5.5 .458