Whitey Herzog is gone but not forgotten. The same cannot be said for the style of play he brought to the St. Louis Cardinals.
It's only been a decade since Herzog stepped aside as Cardinals manager and put a "Gone Fishing" sign on his door for good. On the other hand, it was also another century ago when the Runnin' Redbirds provided some of the most exciting days in St. Louis' rich baseball history.
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Center stage
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Curt Schilling only pitches once every five days, but the Phillies
believe the impact of his return goes much deeper than that.
In the nine games after Schilling was activated from the disabled list, the Phillies were 5-4. The team batting average had jumped from .231 to .253 and the team ERA had fallen from 5.26 to 4.51. The starting rotation's ERA since Schilling's return was 2.18.
"I think it takes everybody to another level," second baseman Mickey
Morandini said. "You see it mostly with the pitchers."
Morandini said something similar happened to the Cubs in 1998. With the arrival of Kerry Wood, the Cubs went from a last-place team to a 90-win squad that earned a wild-card playoff berth.
"The other guys would watch Wood go seven innings and strikeout 12 and then they'd go out and give up just one or two runs," Morandini said. "I think you're going to see the same thing with Schilling here."
Catcher Mike Lieberthal thinks Schilling's arrival gives the Phillies one of the best rotations in the league.
"Besides the Braves, I think we can compete with anybody rotation-wise," he said. "It's just unbelievable what a big difference Schilling makes in this rotation."
Rico Brogna thinks the hitters also benefit from Schilling's return.
"Even though he's only out there every five days, it's still just an
enormous lift for us," said the Phillies' first baseman, who landed on the DL Thursday after breaking his left ulna. "When you get a pitching performance like he gave us (Saturday), it can roll over into the next day. It can give you a feeling of confidence and this game is all about having confidence. That's how you get on a roll. It's just like getting a few hits, then you go into the next day feeling that much better. I think that's what Schill does for us."
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"We had to steal third with two outs, because we hit so many nubbers,
that's the only way we could score," Herzog said after a recent morning of bass fishing. "There isn't a place in St. Louis I can go where somebody doesn't thank you for 10 years of exciting baseball.
"The best compliment I ever had in my life was a guy came up to me one time and said, 'To be honest, I'm entertained if your team hits 10 singles. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, I know I'm always going to see your team sliding and always scratching.' I don't think you'll see that ever again. We had six switch-hitters and everybody could run except (Jack) Clark and (George) Hendrick."
It's nice to know that Herzog's fundamentally sound style of baseball is fondly remembered by the fans in St. Louis, which is arguably the best baseball city in the country. It's nice to know that some people remember what it was like to hit-and-run rather than pound-and-trot.
"I'll be very honest," Herzog said. "I love the game of baseball and I watch the game. I go to about five or six games a year. I attend the games, but I don't watch a lot of games from beginning to end. It seems like every game is decided by a home run. I guess the fans like it."
Had games been decided by home runs during Herzog's tenure as manager in St. Louis, the Cardinals may have gone 0-162 every season.
"One year, I think we hit 58 homers," Herzog said. "We started every year trying to break (Roger) Maris' record (of 60). Now, one guy breaks that every year and the team has already broke it this year."
The 2000 Cardinals crossed the Maris line May 2. Through 34 games, they led the majors with 74 home runs, including seven by shortstop Edgar Renteria and two from pitcher Rick Ankiel. The Cardinals already have more homers this season than they did in five of Herzog's nine full seasons with the club.
During eight of Herzog's years as the manager, the Cardinals did not have a hitter with more than 22 home runs. When the team hit just 58 homers in 1986, Andy Van Slyke led the Cardinals with 13 home runs, which is fewer than Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi have already hit this season.
George Hendrick led Herzog's world champion Cardinals with 19 home runs in 1982. That team finished last in the major leagues with 67 home runs. None of Herzog's teams ever hit more than 94 home runs in a season.
If you like triples and stolen bases, you would have loved Herzog's
Cardinals. Willie McGee led the Cardinals with 18 triples during the team's 1985 NL championship season. Jack Clark led the team in home runs that year with 22. He was the first Cardinals player to reach 20 homers in five years.
Lonnie Smith had more steals (68) than the Cardinals had home runs (67) in 1982. Vince Coleman had more steals than the team hit homers each season from 1985 through 1988.
You didn't see 500-foot home runs during Herzog's days as manager in St. Louis, but you did see something else: wins and championships. The Cardinals won three division titles, three NL pennants and a world championship under Herzog. They have won one division title since his departure. The Royals, meanwhile, also won three division titles with Herzog from 1976-78 using a similar offensive strategy.
Predictably, Herzog has reservations about the way the game has evolved. He admires Mark McGwire, but home runs are not a heavenly sight for the White Rat.
"He's probably the strongest person to ever play baseball," Herzog said. "I know the Babe had incredible strength and who knows how many home runs he'd hit now. He might hit 100 ... But I think McGwire is the strongest person I've ever seen play the game. The ball goes off his bat like a golf ball and he's a pretty disciplined hitter. He can be pitched to. I know (Curt) Schilling has had success against him. But there aren't many pitchers who can get the ball by him."
What bothers Herzog is that the home runs have become more important than winning to the fans.
"They watch McGwire hit and then you see the lines grow in the concession stands," Herzog said. "There's more excitement generated by him than by the game itself. The Cubs finished last last season, but they had great attendance because everybody was flocking to see (Sammy) Sosa. It would bother me if I were the manager that they didn't come to see the team win. I think that will change this year in St. Louis."
It may change because the Cardinals have learned to hit the long ball
better than any team in baseball. The only similarity to these Cardinals and the ones managed by Herzog are the uniforms.
Herzog believes the team that may play the closest to the old Cardinals is none other than the world champion New York Yankees.
"They play baseball," Herzog said. "They really execute and do things
right. They don't have the best lineup, but they know how to come back in games. Most of these other clubs are up there whacking. You would think some of these small-market teams that can't afford to pay home run hitters would try to do it, too. You might win 55 or 60 games at home. Of course, they might only win 20 on the road. Baseball always goes through cycles. But right now, it just seems like the offense is so out of balance.
"You can pick up the paper any day after June and find 12 out of 30
pitchers who have ERAs bigger than my hat size. I think I had one pitcher in all my years of managing who had an ERA over five. That was Rich Gale. I kept sending him out there because he had such a good rookie year. He probably saved my job that year and got me fired the next one."
These days, managers have entire staffs with ERAs over five who can get them fired. And some of those pitchers can even win 15 games.
Herzog, meanwhile, can safely reel in bass and watch his grandson play baseball at Blue Springs High School just outside of Kansas City.
"I'm really not doing nothing," Herzog said. "My problem is I'm getting pretty good at it. I fish in the morning and watch my grandson. He's getting a lot of attention (from professional scouts)."
His grandson, John Urick, is a 6-foot-3 senior first baseman.
"He's got a quick bat," Herzog said.
All the better to hit home runs with.
On the rise: Mark Wohlers
Based on his performances in batting-practice sessions, it appears as if Wohlers has rediscovered the ability to throw the ball over home plate, which could be bad news for Reds opponents.
"He hasn't thrown a ball badly for me since spring training," Reds
pitching coach Don Gullett said. "He has never gone backwards as far as his velocity. His arm strength continues to build. I see no reason why his slider won't get sharp."
Wohlers, who underwent elbow surgery last July and hasn't pitched since the first series of last season when he was with the Braves, could begin a rehab assignment in the next two to four weeks.
On the fall: The Cubs bullpen
There are a lot of bad bullpens in baseball these days, but none worse than the Cubs' collection of castoffs. Through Wednesday, the bullpen was 6-9 with a 7.32 ERA and had blown six of 13 save opportunities.
In the last four games, the Cubs' pen has allowed 18 ninth-inning runs.
Remarkably, the Cubs still managed to win a few of those games.
Last Saturday, the Pirates scored six in the ninth to win 11-9 against the Cubs. Milwaukee scored four in the ninth Monday to finish its comeback from a 9-1 deficit before the Cubs rallied to win 12-11 in the 10th inning. The Brewers then scored three in the eighth and four in the ninth to turn a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead before the Cubs escaped for a wild 9-8 victory on Wednesday.
Cubs manager Don Baylor doesn't expect to find much help.
"It's a vicious circle, really," Baylor said. "Everybody's looking for the same thing, but nobody wants to give up anything."
Mark McGwire Award
Luis Sojo isn't the most unlikely winner of this award, but he's in the top 10. Before last weekend, Sojo had no home runs this season and 29 in a career that started in 1990.
But the wind was blowing out during Sojo's first-ever trip to Wrigley
Field, so he decided what better time to do a Sammy Sosa impersonation. Sojo homered in three straight games at the Friendly Confines, including a three-run shot in his final at-bat Sunday.
"I love this place," he said. "I don't want to go home."
As a team, the Pirates hit three three-run homers (Kevin Young, Brian
Giles and Sojo) Sunday at Wrigley Field. They hadn't done that since May 31, 1959 when Bob Skinner hit two (including a grand slam) and Smoky Burgess hit one.
Around the Senior Circuit
Maybe it's 100 percent of game: Everybody knows that pitching is the most important aspect of baseball, but nobody can say it quite like Felipe Alou.
"The name of the game is pitching," the Expos manager said. "We are
desperate looking for pitchers everywhere. We look for them on rafts washing up shore in Florida. We're looking for them in Korea, Japan, Australia. That tells you the whole story. Don't tell me it's the juiced baseball. The United States is not producing enough pitching. When we go to Japan or Korea or guys defecting from Cuba, I never hear about anybody looking for sluggers.
"Pitching, I didn't know it then as a player, but I know it now, it's a very difficult art. Hitting comes a little easier. Especially to hit mediocre pitching."
Worth every penny: Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown -- the two highest-paid pitchers in history -- gave the fans and the players at Bank One Ballpark their money's worth Wednesday night.
"It was the best game I've played in in years," Diamondbacks second
baseman Jay Bell said.
"Usually games don't live up to the hype, but this one did," added
Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter.
Johnson struck out 13 in eight innings, allowing one run on Todd
Hundley's second-inning homer. He's the only man in baseball whose ERA could go up after such a performance and it did -- from 0.93 to 0.95.
Brown, meanwhile, allowed a run on six hits in eight innings, striking out six, and lowered his ERA to 2.20.
The Diamondbacks won the game against reliever Terry Adams in the bottom of the ninth.
Benny and the Mets: Armando Benitez is giving the Mets cause for concern. Coming off a sensational 1999 season, Benitez showed up to spring training 15 pounds overweight and now has an inflated 6.62 ERA. He has already surrendered more home runs this year than he did last season.
Benitez was angered last Friday night when manager Bobby Valentine allowed John Franco to close out a game against the Marlins. Franco picked up his first save since last June 24.
"I don't know what to say," Benitez said. "All I know is that (Valentine) better respect me. I give (Valentine) respect, and he better respect me, too. Why would Bobby do that to me? I don't deserve that. I love John and have nothing against him. But I don't think Bobby should have got me up in the eighth and then have me sit down so somebody else could save. What is that?"
Thanks for the support: Scott Rolen hadn't had a day off this season, so manager Terry Francona decided to rest him Monday when the Phillies played their Double-A Reading affiliate in one of those minor-league exhibitions.
This apparently did not sit well with a fan in a box seat near the
Reading dugout. The fan shouted at Rolen several times in the early innings, then, acording to one player, the fan said, "Rolen we made you and we can break you."
Finally, the unsatisfied customer got up and stomped on a Phillies jersey with Rolen's name on it.
After watching the man's antics for four innings, Rolen got a new
baseball and signed it, "Sir, thank you for your support." After also signing his name to the ball, Rolen personally delivered it to the man amid cheers from the rest of the crowd at GPS Stadium. The man sat quietly for the remaining five innings.
Breaking down Galarraga: Andres Galarraga's batting average has dropped 38 points in the last two weeks and he hasn't homered since April 29.
The reason?
He is no longer seeing a steady diet of fastballs and he is chasing
breaking balls out of the strike zone.
"They've been pitching me differently," Galarraga said. "They haven't
been throwing me too much stuff to hit. As soon as I get patient and start taking pitches, I'll be all right."
Earning his keep: Rockies reliever Jerry Dipoto is out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck, but the Rockies want him back at work as soon as he gets a neck brace off in a couple months.
Owner Jerry McMorris and general manager Dan O'Dowd have both talked to Dipoto about joining the Rockies television broadcasts and O'Dowd is also planning on bringing Dipoto along on a few scouting trips.
"I'm not some money-sucking slug," DiPoto said.
Stats and stuff
The Cubs are 49-94 since June 8 of last year. ... The Diamondbacks hope to have third baseman Matt Williams (fractured right foot) back by June 1. ... Steve Avery's bid to return to the Braves is fizzling. He has a 10.57 ERA on his rehab assignment with Double-A Greenville. ... Tom Glavine is 6-11 against the Marlins, the only team he has a losing record against. ... Only Trevor Hoffman of the Padres has more saves than Jeff Shaw among NL closers over the last three seasons, but so far this year Shaw has blown four of 11 save opportunities. In his last five outings, Shaw has three blown saves and a loss. ... Left-handers were 2-for-25 against Randy Johnson before the Dodgers' Shawn Green picked up three singles against him Wednesday. Green had been
hitless in five at-bats with two strikeouts against Johnson before that game. ... Since being dealt from the Blue Jays to the Phillies last May 5 for the forgettable Paul Spoljaric, Robert Person is 13-7 with a 3.21 ERA. ... The Pirates' 5-1 road trip to St. Louis and Chicago was their best trip since they went 7-1 on a 1996 West Coast swing. ... After an 0-6 start at Pac Bell Park, the Giants won eight of the next 10 at their new home.
Bob Brookover, who covers the Phillies for the Delaware County (Pa.) Times, writes on the National League for ESPN.com. | |
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