Treadmill frustrations

When Phillies manager Charlie Manuel complained that his yo-yoing team "can't get something going" shortly after the Phils' 4-1 loss to Atlanta Thursday, six other managers dying to see their teams launch a wholehearted run at the wild-card could relate.

As the seven wild-card contender/pretenders headed into play Friday night, only two - San Diego and San Francisco - could claim to have won more games then they had lost in their previous 10 games. SD and SF won seven of their previous 10. The Phillies, Marlins, Astros and Braves had slogged into action at 5-5 in their previous 10. The Reds had faltered along at 4-6.

Friday, the Reds, Phillies and Fish won while the Astros and Braves lost.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team leading the NL West, but definitely feeling the hot breath of the torrid Giants and relentless Padres, had also lost 6 of their previous 10, not great momentum heading into this weekend's showdown with the Pods. Continue playing like that, the Dodgers had to know, would likely dump them from the top of the NL West and into the ranks of the Seven Dwarf minions, suspect company, indeed.

Here is a look at the teams limping into crucial weekend series:

Los Angeles: 77-69, following 6-5 loss at Chicago Thursday.
Games left: 16 - 10 home, six road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)

San Diego: 76-69, following 4-2 win at Cincinnati Thursday.
Games left: 17 - Six home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)

San Francisco: 74-73, following 14-4 loss at St. Louis Friday.
Games left: 15 - Seven home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (two at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)

Florida: 74-73, following 6-4 victory at Atlanta Friday.
Games left: 15 - Six home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (at Mets)

Philadelphia: 75-72, following a 4-3 victory at Houston Friday.
Games left: 15 - Seven home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero

Cincinnati: 73-74 following 4-0 victory at Chicago Friday.
Games left: 15 - Four home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero

Houston: 71-75. following a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia Friday.
Games left: 16 - Nine home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. St. Louis)

Atlanta: 70-77, following 6-4 loss to Florida Friday.
Games left: 15 - eight home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)

Wild-card mania, continued...

The Bums are bumming.

L.A. dropped two of three in Wrigley Field, a continuation of a road trip in which the Dodgers lost two of three in Milwaukee and split four in New York. L.A.'s life on the treadmill has allowed San Diego to pull with a half-game of the flagging NL West leaders. It has allowed the Giants to crawl back to within reach of the division lead. And it has muddled the league wild-card race.

Streaking the other way - the Phillies, who held a clubhouse meeting on Tuesday after a game in Atlanta was washed out. The Phillies then held sway over the all-but-dead Braves Wednesday, sweeping a pair to pull within 1 1/2 games of the wild-card leading Padres.

Got all that?

Here is another wild-card update, made necessary by decreased seperation of the contenders/pretenders:

Los Angeles: 77-69, following 6-5 loss at Chicago Thursday.
Games left: 16 - 10 home, six road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)

San Diego: 76-69, following 4-2 win at Cincinnati Thursday.
Games left: 17 - Six home, 11 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)

San Francisco: 73-72 (33-39, road)
Games left: 17 Eight home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)

Florida: 73-73 (33-38, road)
Games left: 16 Six home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (four at Mets)

Philadelphia: 74-71 (38-33, road)
Games left: 17 Seven home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero

Cincinnati: 72-74 following 4-2 loss to San Diego Thursday.
Games left: 16 Four home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero

Houston: 71-74
Games left: 17 Ten home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. St. Louis)

Atlanta: 69-76
Games left: 17 10 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)

Braves' run over; Yankees' up next

A Mets' victory or a Braves' loss tonight will bring to an end Atlanta's major-league record-run of 14 straight division titles.

Once that is a done-deal, the team with the longest current streak of consecutive division titles won will be the Yankees, with eight. Not-so-bold prediction: the Bombers' Their streak will stretch to nine since 10 1/2-game leads in mid-September are rarely blown.

Especially not when you field a lineup of the sort the Yankees are sporting these days. With the return of Hideki Matsui, the addition of Bobby Abreu and the pending activation of Gary Sheffield, the Yankees will have current or one-time all-stars at every position except second.

Joe Torre's toughest decision of the day is who to sit, not who to play. An embarrassment of riches? To some. To Torre, it's a window to a world of possibilities - not to mention the expensive pieces that could make a run at the division title-champion Braves possible.

Braves' run over; Yankees' up next

A Mets' victory or a Braves' loss tonight will bring to an end Atlanta's major-league record-run of 14 straight division titles.

Once that is a done-deal, the team with the longest current streak of consecutive division titles won will be the Yankees, with eight. Not-so-bold prediction: the Bombers' Their streak will stretch to nine since 10 1/2-game leads in mid-September are rarely blown.

Especially not when you field a lineup of the sort the Yankees are sporting these days. With the return of Hideki Matsui, the addition of Bobby Abreu and the pending activation of Gary Sheffield, the Yankees will have current or one-time all-stars at every position except second.

Joe Torre's toughest decision of the day is who to sit, not who to play. An embarrassment of riches? To some. To Torre, it's a window to a world of possibilities - not to mention the expensive pieces that could make a run at the division title-champion Braves possible.

Wild Card Update

Thank the Dodgers for making this 7 Dwarfs+1 race so much fun.

A disastrous loss in Chicago assured three things: L.A.'s presumed win in the NL West is anything but assured. Two, the Padres' late-inning stumble in Cincinnati cost San Diego a day off the calendar but not a game in the standings. Meanwhile, the ancient Giants are like sharks sniffing for blood in the water out west. Faster than you can say Bobby Thomson, the franchise most hated by the Bums is creeping closer to the top of the division.

Out in middle America, you just know that the Cardinals will find it very sweet to put another nail in the fast-fading Astros' coffin by completing a three-game sweep tonight.

You remember the 'Stros, the team Houston manager Phil Garner said could not afford to lose another game this season - three losses ago!

The Phillies, the team that still has the easiest path to the playoffs because of the poor records of the teams left on their schedule, could help themselves tremendously with a doubleheader sweep tonight, but won't do it if the offense does not wake up.

Sure, Pat Burrell and his bat are toast, but can somebody else please step up! Ryan Howard cannot do it alone.

Here is the tale of the tape heading into tonight's games:

Los Angeles: 76-68 (32-41, road) Games left: 18 10 home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)

San Diego: 74-69 (36-32, road) Games left: 19 Six home, 13 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)

San Francisco 73-71 (33-39, road) Games left: 18 Nine home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)

Florida 73-72 (33-38, road) Games left: 17 Seven home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Five (one vs. Mets, four at Mets)
Philadelphia 72-71 (36-33, road) Games left: 19 Seven home, 12 road Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero

Cincinnati 72-72 (33-26, road) Games left: 18 Six home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Two (vs. San Diego)

Houston 70-74 (32-41, road) Games left: 18 Ten home, eight road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Five (one at St. Louis, four vs. St. Louis)

Atlanta 69-74 (36-38, road) Games left: 19 12 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)

What, did they expect a medal?

PITTSBURGH (ASSOCIATED PRESS) - A T-ball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old boy $25 to bean a disabled teammate is unlikely to receive a fair trial because of intense media coverage, the man's lawyer said.
Mark R. Downs Jr., 29, of Dunbar, was scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Fayette County on a string of charges, including solicitation, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He refused a plea agreement in December.
The charges against Downs drew the attention of media outlets around the world. Many columnists expressed disgust at what they considered adult corruption of a child's sport.
"We feel he's been persecuted by the media," defense attorney Thomas Shaffer said. "[The case] was on from the nightly news in Japan to every syndicated network broadcast across the country."

***This guy is lucky the charges don't carry death threat implications ***

Wild, wild Wild Card Race

Ah, the National League Wild Card - 20 games to go and still as clear as mud, what with eight teams fighting for one playoff invitation (yes, that eight includes Los Angeles, because of the Dodgers' failure to shake the Padres and assure that the NL West flag is truly their own).

Which team will prove to be the mudder, the horse with the best kick left in this wacky stretch drive?

My only prediction: The Phillies - the team with the most obvious Mvp candidate (Ryan Howard, left) and the easiest remaining schedule - have the path of least resistence of the brood and, therefore, the least amount of excuses not to win advancement to the playoffs. If you think not, take a look at what faces the contenders, and the pretenders, in the final three weeks of the regular season as they head into play today (Sept. 11):

Los Angeles: 76-67 (32-40, road)
Games left: 19
10 home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Four (vs. San Diego)

San Diego: 74-68 (36-31, road)
Games left: 20
Six home, 14 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (Four at L.A., three at St. Louis)

San Francisco 72-71 (32-39, road)
Games left: 19
Nine home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Seven (three at St. Louis, three vs. L.A.)

Philadelphia 72-71 (36-33, road)
Games left: 19
Seven home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Zero

Florida 73-71, after 16-5 victory over Mets Monday (33-38, road)
Games left: 18
Eight home, 10 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (two vs. Mets, four at Mets)

Cincinnati 71-72 (33-26, road)
Games left: 19
Seven home, 12 road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. San Diego)

Houston 70-73 after 7-0 loss at Cardinals Monday night (32-40, road)
Games left: 19
Ten home, nine road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Six (Two at St. Louis, four vs. St. Louis)

Atlanta 69-74 after 8-3 loss to Cubs Monday night (36-38, road)
Games left: 19
12 home, seven road
Games remaining against teams at least five games over .500: Three (vs. Mets)

Dynasty Well Done: An Appreciation

. By Claire Smith, for The Philadelphia Inquirer

To their credit, the New York Mets came to bury the Atlanta Braves last week and did.

To their discredit, New York fans came to taunt, mocking visiting Atlanta with the Braves fans’ own signature tomahawk-chop chant during a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday.
Tom Glavine/
David L. Pokress/Newsday/MCT)
Photo via NewsCom

The two victories reemphasized the obvious. The Mets are going to win the National League East running away. The Braves won’t, ending a 14-year run as division champions.

Atlanta’s dream of a wild-card berth also likely ended that night, as the Braves fell off the pace by 6 1/2games in that race.

So Mets fans should have celebrated. But to dance on the dugout roofs at Shea and mock? The home team — arguably the best in the National League — deserved better from its fans. So, too, did the Braves.

There are classic dynasties and then there are classy dynasties. And the Atlanta Braves’ dynasty (1991-2005) had class.

The most arrogant thing about the franchise’s storied run was the chop.
That chant might have been as insufferable as it was insensitive, but not so the product on the field, for no one other than the rock-headed John Rocker ever demeaned the Atlanta uniform, belittled the opposition, or singlehandedly put an ugly face on the era.

Not Tom Glavine. Not Greg Maddux. And certainly not manager Bobby Cox.

Those guys were all too busy taking care of business.

They laid the groundwork for Hall of Fame berths for Maddux, Glavine and Cox, and maybe even for Atlanta’s third Cy Young’un — John Smoltz.

They won not only three NL West and 11 NL East flags, but also five pennants, the 1995 World Series, and so many Cy Young Awards, MVPs and manager-of-the-year trophies, you lose count.

And they did all of the above with less arrogance in their 14-year run than some losing teams exhibit in one forgettable season.

That down-to-earth approach may not have made the Braves the postseason constant they were. It did make them a welcome one.

It all started with Cox, the three-time NL manager of the year and arguably the league’s manager of the last decade.

Cox, a four-time manager of the year overall, could have big-leagued[/ITALIC] writers, players, and even others in his fraternity as he solidified his Cooperstown credentials since 1991. When you’re the only manager in baseball history other than Hall of Famers with fourteen 90-win seasons, after John McGraw (16) and Joe McCarthy (15), an inflated ego is all but expected.

Yet no cottage industry for books about the brilliance of being him has ever sprang up around Cox. He doesn’t pretend to be Abner Doubleday or try to reinvent the game daily. Most important, Cox has remained consistent in areas where it has counted the most: accessibility, civility, humility.

As Cox showed how it’s done in the manager’s office, he was blessed with a stellar supporting cast: a master architect in general manager John Schuerholz, and key veterans aligned not only as stars, but as team leaders as well.

Terry Pendleton, tantamount to a player-manager, policed the clubhouse. Brian Jordan, Chipper Jones and Javy Lopez made for a formidable posse.

Then there was Glavine, the lefthanded Michelangelo to Maddux’s Da Vinci.
How different might things have been for the Phillies — a team desperate for veteran leadership the last two seasons — if Glavine had signed here instead of with the Mets.

Glavine, like Derek Jeter and old-schoolers Willie Stargell, Don Baylor, and Brooks and Frank Robinson before him, defines clubhouse presence.

Glavine’s comportment and his intelligent approach to all things baseball showed one young Brave after another the meaning of professionalism and responsibility.
After Glavine and Maddux departed, Smoltz stood in their stead.

Before the 2005 season started, Smoltz gathered his teammates to explain what was expected: courtesy and accountability rather than condescension when dealing with the media; dealing with rather than ducking defeat; honoring rather than embarrassing the organization.

The conglomeration of kids took Smoltz’s advice, then took the NL East — again.

You cannot manufacture that kind of character. Most teams are just grateful to stumble onto it one or two players at a time in any one cycle.
The Braves overflowed with it for 14 years.

Now the race, well-run, is over.

So celebrate, Mets. Consider the possibilities, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals.
But remember, before you mock the dying dynasty as it exits stage right, before you even think about topping it, try emulating it first.

Fly, Phillies, Fly?

By Claire Smith, in the Inquirer

If Jimmy Rollins was joking, he's got a better deadpan delivery than Bob Newhart.
The veteran shortstop, who has logged enough time in these parts to vote in the election, paused the other day to assess whether the Phillies are making any inroads into the heart of Eagles country.
"I don't think they really care about baseball," Rollins said. "It's football season."
In Philadelphia, that's all that usually needs be said for someone to break out in an E-A-G-L-E-S chant - which is exactly what happened Monday, before the Phillies defeated the Houston Astros and Rollins offered his frank opinion.
Rollins, both resigned and ready for the inevitable, brushed off the "but you're in a wild-card race" rebuttal by reminding folks what happened a year ago.
"Shoot, I remember when we were sitting a game out, a half-game out, and we had 10,000 people here for the last day of the season," Rollins said.
Actually, the crowd for the finale was not nearly that bad. Still ...
Just for argument's sake, haven't the Phillies captured some attention around here because of a spirited MVP chase by home-run king Ryan Howard and a feverish wild-card race by the team? Or have generation after generation of Philly fans - indoctrinated into thinking this town isn't big enough for two passions - forgotten how or why their forefathers once stoked their pennant fever?
Well, Rollins, noted for his dry wit, was asked yesterday if he'd been joshing the day before. "Nope, dead serious," he said before a rainout spoiled the Phillies' chance to see whether a 16th victory in 24 games could move the needle on the interest meter all the more.
Jeff Conine, the recently acquired outfielder, doesn't sense a preoccupation among his teammates on whether it's the Eagles or Phillies winning the hearts and minds of fans. But the veteran Conine also knows that sometimes it takes more than just winning to seize the day.
Conine was on the Florida Marlins teams that won wild-card berths in 1997 and 2003. And even though those two teams went on to win world championships, "in Florida they never cared about the whole wild-card thing and didn't show up there," Conine conceded.
Here, the walk-up crowd of 10,000 that had Citizens Bank Park jumping on Labor Day suggested there might be room for a groundswell even as the Eagles limber up for their season opener.
Unfortunately, rainy Scottish moor dreariness has not allowed much chance to gauge whether the Phils can even move the ball against the Eagles, let alone sustain a drive into October.
Still, there is optimism. "With what Ryan is doing and what Chase Utley has done with his 35-game hit streak, I don't think there's any question they've helped rejuvenate interest," Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas said.
Those two, along with Cole Hamels, represent the new face and phase here, enough so, Kalas believes, to make a difference between this year's stretch drive and last year's.
Phillies coach Milt Thompson agreed. "They're making inroads, they really are," he said.
Having the big boomer chasing 60 home runs in the middle of the lineup can't hurt. "I'd pay to come see him," Thompson said.
And if thousands of others agree, and stumble into a wild-card race while searching for a home run chase? The P-H-I-L-L-I-E-S will take whatever you've got.

Calling All You Einsteins

The Phillies, at 70-68, are in the thick of the National League wild-card race. So, too, are the Padres, Braves, Astros, Marlins, Reds. None of these teams are necessarily thriving. Rather, they're either fighting to get to .500 or barely holding on to winning records.

So here is the question: How many wins will it take to win the NL Wild Card?

Unrelenting War of Nerves

By Claire Smith
Inquirer Staff Writer

Ty Cobb never participated in a wild-card race. But baseball's original Mr. Intensity must have been wishing for something like the insanity that is the 2006 scramble for the National League's backdoor entry into the postseason when he said that the national pastime "should be an unrelenting war of nerves."
Unrelenting?
Try divvying up the one playoff position still up for grabs in the league by seven desperate teams. Six teams, led by the Phillies, began play yesterday within five games of the wild-card-leading San Diego Padres.
That makes seven teams in the scramble for October by any means other than a division title.
Seven. That's insanity and intensity rolled into one. And not Stephen Hawking, Las Vegas oddsmakers, Carnac the Magnificent, or any fingernail-biting player in this race knows how this will all play out.
All that is known is that the ingredients for ultimate victory must include, well, a lot more victories than any of these teams currently have.
"Who knows what it will take?" said Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies shortstop, after watching his team outlast the Houston Astros, 3-2, yesterday to improve to 70-68. "I have no idea, but it's going to take some wins, that's for sure."
The Phillies stayed above .500 because Chase Utley hit a walk-off home run off Dave Borkowski in the bottom of the 10th inning.
The victory assured that the Phillies, at worst, would remain 11/2 games behind the Padres and stay ahead of Florida, Cincinnati, San Francisco, the Astros and Atlanta entering play today.
More important, the win also allowed the Phillies to climb one more rung closer to that 85-, 88- or, heck, even 83-win total it might take move into the postseason.
Not knowing exactly the magic number of victories required is what is magical about all this, of course.
No one knows.
Not Utley nor yesterday's other long-ball hero, Ryan Howard, as they try to find their way to their first postseason.
Not future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who would likely have to add a wing to his home should he collect any more postseason bling.
"I don't know what the numbers are if you're trying to get to 88, 85 wins to get this done," said the veteran Astros righthander, who was forced from yesterday's pitching duel with Cole Hamels by a strained right groin.
"And who knows?" Clemens added. "If someone goes on a little run, [those totals] might not be good enough, either."
Anyone familiar with the seven gnarled contenders will probably chuckle at the thought of one catching fire.
The Phillies? Bullpen woes. San Diego? Can't hit. Houston? Can't jell. The Braves? Too little, too late. Florida? Too much inconsistency from Dontrelle Willis. The Giants? Too ancient.
For all but one of the above, there is soon to be another problem as well: too little time.
Ask Phil Garner, the harried Astros manager.
"We're down to no games left," Garner said. "We have to win them all. We don't have much room to play with here."
The Astros do have 24 games left. Still, logic, not numbers, suggests that Garner has reason to be concerned.
Even if the league meets the most mediocre of standards and hands its wild card to a team that wins merely 83 games, the Astros would have to go 16-8 the rest of the way, which is tough for a team that is 67-71.
"We've got to get to .500, and if we can't get to .500, we can't even put it in our vocabulary, talking about the playoffs," Garner said.
The Phillies are above .500 - barely. Getting to 83, 85, 88 victories or beyond? A good start would be to put away one rival at a time, starting with the Astros tonight and tomorrow.
"Running the table, that would make it a lot easier," Rollins said, smiling while crunching the numbers and considering all the possible routes to postseason play.

Remembering Mom

If I have told the story once I've told it a thousand times - there would be no Claire Smith, baseball writer, if it were not for Bernice Anastasia Ximines Smith.

My mother was an avid sports fan. She especially loved the Dodgers - for the reasons most African Americans of her generation did. The Dodgers of Brooklyn had integrated the major leagues by signing Jackie Robinson in 1947, and, by doing so, captured the hearts and loyalties of a fan base previously shunned by professional sports.

My mother regaled me with tales of the Dodgers, Jackie and The Great Experiment that helped change America.

Superman never seemed more heroic to me than Robinson. I, too, became a Dodgers fan, a baseball fan. I didn't realize until much later in life that before Robinson, my hero was my mother - a superb human being and superwoman in the best sense of the word. Because she, like Robinson, was a trailblazer in a time that it was difficult to rise up from under the weight of segregation.

Mom, the daughter of immigrant house servants from Jamaica, became a chemist, worked for General Electric in its space exploration wing. She was a vocalist, a model, travel agent, insurance exec, world traveler, political activist. Did I mention she was a great mother and even better friend.

At every stop, though, Mom was a sports fan. Having spent her formative years in Philadelphia, she eventually gravitated to the city's teams, adding football (the Eagles) and basketball (76ers) and, yes, the Phillies, to her list of loves.

I stuck with baseball. The passion never waned. My mother never judged, but rather encouraged me to explore the possibilities. I did, eventually wedding a love of writing with the love of a game that changed America.

On Monday, my mother passed away at age 82 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She had not been aware of baseball for some years and, in retrospect, that makes me sad. Because I think she would have loved the idea of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels, much the way she loved Jackie, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Garry Maddox, Steve Garvey, Don Baylor, Dave Windield and Willie Randolph.

The lady knew ball and she knew talent!

I will always think of my mom when I think of the game. I smile today knowing that somewhere in the section of heaven reserved for baseball, she is again sitting in the sunshine, cheering on her team. And, who knows, perhaps she is even trying to convince an angel or two that the Dodgers are still No. 1.
___________

The Inquirer and Daily News did very nice jobs writing about my mom in today's editions. Their wirters I think captured what I always knew: she was an extraordinary woman. Here are the links. I hope you enjoy at your leisure.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/obituaries/15228947.htm
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/obituaries/15230831.htm

Gone But Not Forgotten

Spending time in Cooperstown last week reminded that the people responsible for my love of baseball were, in many ways, memorialized even though many are no longer with us.

Jackie Robinson. Larry Doby. Joe Black. Ted Williams. Babe Ruth.

I interviewed Ted Williams once - on the steps of Cooperstown's venerable Otesaga Hotel. His body was that of a old man in his final years. His eyes were fiery and his mind sharp. What a memorable experience.

Inever met Robinson or Ruth, but thank all my colleagues before me who put the human faces on these larger-than-life heroes and made them part of a nation's history and, therefore all of our lives.

As for Larry and Joe, I did know both very well. They were a part of the posse of noble men who sought to educate as many people as possible about the legacies of the Negro Leagues and blacks in baseball. That posse still rides - Fay Vincent, Len Coleman, Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan.

But the absence of Larry, Joe and Slick Surratt - a delightful former Negro Leaguer who is in failing health - leaves a void that hurts very much.

Not a day goes by without an urge to pick up the phone and reach out to Joe and Larry, to glean from their knowledge and understanding of the game they loved.

Then comes the inevitable - the acknowledgment of their passing and what time takes from us with each such loss.

Remembering Elden Auker

These reminiscences began today due to the sad news that Elden Auker, a peer of Dizzy Dean, Babe Ruth and a great friend of Fay Vincent's passed away today at age 95.

Fay wrote the following about his venerable dear friend:

Elden Auker pitched to Babe Ruth as a rookie for the Tigers in 1934.

He roomed with Jimmie Foxx in 1939 the year Ted Williams came to the Red Sox and he won 130 games in the big leagues, mostly with the Tigers where he was a stalwart on the great teams of the mid-30's, including the World Champions in 1935.

He grew up in Western Kansas, the son of a rural mail carrier who delivered the mail by horseback when Elden was a child.

At Kansas State he had been an All-American in football, basketball and baseball. But he also had been married to his beloved Mildred for 73 years when he died this morning at 95.

He is survived by his son Jim and his wife. He lived in Vero beach, Fla. He was a beloved figure in baseball and had been active until very recently.

Rest in peace, all.

Branca, Thomson & A Great Cause

Ralph Branca and Bobby Thomson - the pivotal players in the immortal New York Giants playoff victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers of 1951 - will be the honorees at Ed Randall's second annual Diamonds in the Rough Golf Classic to benefit the Prostate Cancer Program and the Cardiovascular Institute of St. Luke's and Roosevelt hospitals of New York.

The star of Talking Baseball with Ed Randall is seeking all who wish to contribute, play and, well, talk ball with some of the area's most legendary names in baseball, hockey, basketball and football.

So if you fans of both games would like to participate in the tourney - and hit their own "shot heard 'round the world - at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough-on-Hudson, N.Y., Aug. 7, contact Belinda Smith at 212-636-8400.

Banking On Torre - And His Word

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, neither you nor any of your
predecessors can actually relate to this, but ...

There are managers, when blessed or burdened with an embarrassment of riches, either choke on it or thrive.

Joe Torre is very much in the latter category.

As usual, the Yankee manager has superstars backed up at most every position, like jets stacked up in holding patterns over Philadelphia International on a bad weather day.

That's what happens when your team owner, in this case, George $teinbrenner, buys you all you want in the form of quality players — then goes out and buys you some more.

Witness the $15 million insurance policy — Bobby Abreu — just added to the Yankees’ stable of all-star outfielders.

Don’t assume that the money rather than the trust factor makes things work. Steinbrenner has thrown millionaires by the bunch at Lou Piniella, Billy Martin, Bucky Dent and Buck Showalter and more often than not they flee, babbling about the sheer madness of power - his, ie. The Boss', not theirs.

Torre took the zoo out of the Bronx in a way that many other Steinbrenner-era managers could not.

His deft touch, tough hide, media savvy and incredibly accurate compass all resulted in easily calcuable success. Witness the 10 postseason berths the Yankees have gained in Torre’s 10 1/2-year tenure.

Year in and year out, team after team of high-priced Bronx Bombers was accepting of the way Torre handles the delicate balancing act.
They trust Torre to find enough at-bats or enough innings for players often used to more.

“I feel good about that; I feel it's an important word you used - trust,” said Torre. “I want them to trust me because I try to be as honest as I can with them.

And, again, the fact is I'd like to think that I am loyal to everybody but the most important thing is being loyal to the 25, and what’s best for the team.”
Over the last decade, Steinbrenner may have opined, even, dare we say, meddled. And Brian Cashman, the GM, is a proven architect.

But have no doubt — Torre is the ultimate arbiter on the field. And he’s made some tough ones during the biggest stages of championship seasons. Remember when he benched one-third of his starting lineup during the 1996 World Series against the Braves?

Torre replaced three noted veterans — third baseman Wade Boggs, rightfielder Paul O'Neill and first baseman Tino Martinez with Charlie Hayes, Darryl Strawberry and Cecil Fielder, respectively.

Bold, to be sure, the moves also proved to be right on. Instead of blowing up in Torre's face they helped get all six of those veterans World Series championship rings.

“Over the years, I was lucky. I had Strawberry and Big Daddy here at the same time - and these guys were ‘go ahead, go ahead,’” said Torre of such moves. “Chili Davis, it was the same thing. Guys have been ready to play whenever I’ve called on them.

“For 10 years I’ve been here, I've had very, very little guys only concerned with themselves, and that's great.”

Torre is counting on more of the same this time around from Bernie Williams — the partime outfield veteran-turned-starting rightfielder-turned role player who Tuesday night gave way to Abreu in right field.
Torre will expect no less cooperation from Gary Sheffield should he return next month from a wrist injury.

The guy Williams replaced will also have to adjust to having Abreu around, perhaps even reinvent himself as a first baseman, something Sheffield and Torre hinted at upon Abreu’s arrival.

“He already told me he’s already ordered a glove,” joked Torre.
Sheffield’s take on it all?

“The first thing I did was give him a hug,” he said of Abreu. “That’s the way this clubhouse is. We want to win. Alex moved to third base when he got here,” a reference to Alex Rodriguez — an MVP and outstanding shortstop making the career shift in order to play alongside all-star shortstop Derek Jeter.

“It’s not about egos,” said Sheffield.

Williams agreed, reminding, as Torre did, that when he signed he never expected to play as much as he has.

“This year is going to have a lot of defining moments,” said Williams. “The way I’m going to look at the year is that I am going to have an opportunity, or maybe two or three to make my mark and I am going to be ready for it.”

Williams then promptly went out on the night Abreu debuted at Yankee Stadium and delivered a three-run double in the Yankees’ 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays.

Williams contributed, alright — just as Joe Torre trusted him to do.

Bad First Impression?

Bobby Abreu would be wise to learn that what flies in Philadelphia may come crashing down on him in New York.

In Phillie land it is not uncommon for the biggest stars to big-league or even stiff the media, win, lose or rainout.

Abreu's new team - the Yankees - do not hide. Haven't since the start of the Joe Torre era. Win or lose, the biggest of the big stars in the Bronx, stand up for the team, as a team.

So imagine the surprise - and disdain - drawn by the newest Yankee all-star when he kept about 50 members of the media waiting for nearly an hour after his first start in pinstripes tonight.

The muttering was unmistakable among the reporters. They'd long since interviewed Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez - and even Bernie Williams, who'd lost his starting job to Abreu. Guys who actually played far greater roles in the Yankees' 5-1 victory.

Abreu, 0-for-3, but none-the-less still in line for the softer questions accorded during a honeymoon, made the scribes wait.

Not smart. Likely not a scene to be repeated, either. The Yankees police themselves - and undoubtedly the scene most of them missed long after they carried out their olbigations to speak for the team will be recounted - and dealt with. That's the beauty of a Torre club - another lesson Abreu will learn.

Honoring An Era Brings Closure

Buck O'Neil addresses Hall of Fame audience
By Claire Smith
Inquirer Staff Writer
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - On a sun-splashed, sultry day, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the major leagues shone a light, perhaps for one last time, on the racial chasm that once divided a sport and a nation.

And judging by the celebratory air that surrounded the induction of not only relief ace Bruce Sutter but 17 luminaries from the era of Negro league baseball, closure was very much at hand.

"It is an awesome responsibility to stand before you and try to explain to you how important this day is to us," Jackie Robinson's daughter, Sharon, told the audience gathered to salute the Hall's largest induction class ever as well as Houston Astros announcer Gene Elston (Ford C. Frick Award) and baseball writer Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News (J.G. Taylor Spink Award).

Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, speaking after the ceremony, agreed. "This was a momentous day," he said, "because something you never thought would happen did happen. It's a great, great day."

It was made all the more special because of what was lacking. For there was no bitterness to be found despite the many heartfelt examinations of one of the nation's most divisive eras.

Despite his surprising exclusion from the latest group of Negro league-era inductees, Buck O'Neil, the legendary Kansas City Monarchs manager, warmed the audience with his grace and sheer joy for those who were selected.

"I want you to light this valley up today," said O'Neil, who also brought some Southern black preaching to the outdoor setting when he had the audience join hands and sing a repeated refrain: "The greatest thing in the world is loving you."

Love was not a theme exclusive to the distant past. Sutter, the Lancaster native and revolutionary split-fingered fastball specialist who pitched for the Cubs, St. Louis and Atlanta, was brought to tears when speaking of his deceased parents, his sons and his wife, Jamie, who is battling illness.

"I wouldn't be here without you," a choked-up Sutter told sons Josh, Chad and Ben.

"And," Sutter said, addressing the woman who has been his wife since he was in the minor leagues, "I know we have challenges to face, but we'll meet them as we always do - together."

The many family members of the Negro league-era honorees completed the sense of family. The new enshrines included:

Frank Grant, considered the preeminent black player of the 19th century, whose career in the integrated minor leagues was sidetracked when the notorious "gentlemen's agreement" made by white team owners segregated the game in the 1890s.

Standout centerfielder Pete Hill, who graced the Philadelphia Giants among other teams in the early 1900s.

James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey, the legendary player-manager who led Philadelphia's Hilldale club to a Colored World Series crown in 1925 and the Newark Eagles to the Negro League World Series crown in '46.

Louis Santop, the starting catcher for the Hilldale teams that won three straight Eastern Colored League pennants from 1923 to '25.

Effa Manley, a Philadelphian noted for her innovations as Newark Eagles co-owner, her civil rights work - and the distinction of being the first woman enshrined in the Hall.

Also enshrined were pitching ace and pennant-winning manager Andy "Lefty" Cooper; Alex Pompez, Jose "The Black Diamond" Mendez, and Cristobal Torriente, who were legends in both their native Cuba and black baseball; innovative club owners J.L. Wilkinson and Cumberland Posey Jr.; and prolific power hitter George "Mule" Suttles.

Homestead Grays pitching ace Ray Brown, slugging Monarchs centerfielder Willard "Ese Hombre" Brown, defensive first-base standout Ben Taylor, player, manager and historian Solomon White, and Ernest "Jud" Wilson also now reside among their fellow baseball immortals.

What the Hall started in 1971 with the election of Negro league legend Satchel Paige and continued with the selection of 17 other stars from the league over the years may now be compete. But Irvin, for one, is not ready to say that. Not when O'Neil still patiently awaits at age 94.

"I have no clue as to why he wasn't selected," said Irvin, adding his voice to a list of Hall of Famers now actively campaigning for O'Neil's inclusion, including Joe Morgan, Lou Brock, Ernie Banks and Henry Aaron. "I'm just hoping he might live long enough that he might get some consideration."

Cooperstown & A Classic Cowboy

Tracy Ringolsby, Hall of Famer.

Could there ever be a more fitting and accurate statement?

This past weekend in Cooperstown, the National Baseball Hall of Fame simply made official what peers, friends and family have always known: the gentleman from Wyoming is a consummate baseball reporter and writer.

Tracy was honored as the 2005 J.G. Taylor Spink award winner during the Hall's annual induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday.

The award which leads to entry into the writers' wing of the Hall of Fame, is not tossed around lightly. The Baseball Writers Association of America votes it into the hands of only a select few based on their "meritorious contributions to baseball writing."

There was no better candidate than Tracy to take his place alongside such past Spink recipients as Murray Chass, Peter Gammons, Ross Newhan, Phil Collier and Jerome Holtzman.

Tracy's contributions to his profession have been many as his distinguished resume suggests. Yet the readers of the Long Beach Press Telegram, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Kansas City Star, Dallas Morning News and now the Rocky Mountain News were not the only beneficiaries of Tracy's skill, dedication and passion for his craft.

We fellow writers gained immeasurably, as well. Working alongside Tracy is like going to school. If you're smart you listen, watch and learn - about journalism, ethics, fairness and humanity.

Last but not least, Tracy teaches you about friendship and loyalty.

Topped off by a big stetson and an even bigger heart, Tracy Ringolsby is the complete package and, as most every veteran baseball writer has long suspected, also a bona fide Hall of Famer.
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Want to read Tracy Ringolsby's Hall of Fame acceptance speech? Click on this link.

"In closing, I'd like to say there's an announcer over at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo, Brad Paulhomaus, he closes the evening by saying God's gift to us is that we are here today and our gift to God is what we do while we are here." - Tracy Ringolsby

Manley: Pioneer, Hall of Famer

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - When the late Effa Manley is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum today, emotions will flow among the family present to see the Philadelphia-born pioneer of the Negro League era honored.

The family contingent is led by Manley's niece, Connie Brooks, a wonderfully proud proponent of the era, its pioneers and their legacies. Especially Effa Manley.

Even when I was young, I knew that she was very special," said Brooks, a self-described "70-something" year-old retired social worker who lives in Jersey City. "But, to be truthful, I knew that the Hall did not put in all the people that should have been in. But I knew that somebody somewhere had to put her in, because she was definitely before her time."

"I'm extremely proud of her because, No. 1, she's a woman and this is a man's thing here," said Brooks. "And I know she would have been proud. And I know if my grandmother was living, or any of the seven siblings, they would say 'it's been a long journey for all of us, but Effie, yo made it" and rally around her like I don't know what."


Manley will join not only Irvin in the Cooperstown, N.Y., hall, but other greats who played for her, including Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League; and Negro league luminaries Leon Day, Roy Dandridge and Willie Wells.

Player-manager Biz Mackey, who led Manley's Newark Eagles to the 1946 Negro League World Series crown;, and another Eagles all-star, Mule Suttles, also will be inducted. They enter the Hall as part of a group of 17 African Americans selected by a committee of former players and historians that Major League Baseball put together in 2001 to recognize the contributions of black players to the sport's early days.

Relief pitcher Bruce Sutter also is entering the Hall, through the regular annual voting process.

To read the full Effa Manley story that appeared in today's Philadelphia Inquirer, click on this link: Queen of Baseball.

Wolf Set To Return

Randy Wolf of the Phillies was told he'd miss a year and the doctors were right. The lefthander who underwent Tommy John surgery on July 1, 2005, today will make his first start since the reconstruction effort to save his career.

How excited is he? Well, read all about it in a Randy Wolf one-on-one interview today's Philadelphia Inquirer.