Baseball : Mets Still on Top in East but Leave One Goal in San Francisco

Amid the attention given the Oakland Athletics’ sizzling start, the New York Mets have quietly fashioned a comparable record.

The Mets seldom do anything quietly, but they generally do it well--and even more so during the first six weeks of this season.

With a pitching staff that remains baseball’s deepest and an explosive attack enhanced by Darryl Strawberry’s strongest start ever, the Mets were 23-8 and California dreamin’ as they opened a 3-game series in San Francisco Friday night and a 10-game swing that includes San Diego and Los Angeles.

“It would be nice to go out there and put on a show,” Strawberry said.

“I think everybody wants to do that. I think we can establish ourselves real well.

“What we want to do is win every series.”

Aside from losing a pair of series to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets had done almost that, splitting one series and winning nine others, strengthening the impression that they will put an early stranglehold on the National League’s Eastern Division.

The impression seems valid despite Friday night and Saturday losses in San Francisco by idendical scores of 3-2. The Mets may not put on a show in California, but will they win the East?

“Without a doubt, we’ll do that unless we lose everybody (to injury),” Strawberry said.

Meanwhile, of Oakland’s threatened demolition of the American League West, Jose Canseco said, “Maybe before the All-Star break we can get a good cushion of 20 to 25 games.”

How do the Detroit Tigers lose Lance Parrish and Kirk Gibson and keep winning? One reason is they come to play--not to be taken for granted in the era of the disabled list.

According to Vern Plagenhoef of Booth Newspapers, the 12 players who make up the core--starting pitchers Doyle Alexander, Jack Morris, Frank Tanana, Walt Terrell and Jeff Robinson; relievers Guillermo Hernandez and Mike Henneman, and regulars Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Darrell Evans, Chet Lemon and Gary Pettis--have played a total of 111 years in the major leagues and been on the disabled list only 14 times.

The Tigers’ dedication has not been lost on Oakland Manager Tony La Russa, long an admirer of Sparky Anderson, his Detroit counterpart.

“I’ve had meetings with my club and made specific mention of the Detroit Tigers and Sparky Anderson as the club that does things right,” La Russa said.

“They used to be free-lance guys with a carefree attitude,” Trammell, the Tiger shortstop, said of the Athletics. “Now they have more discipline, a more professional appearance.

“They’re going about their business the way they should.”

Steve Boros, former Oakland and San Diego Padres manager who is now an instructor and special assignment scout with the Dodgers, says of Gibson:

“The most impressive thing about all the moves we made during the winter is that the big horse in left field has turned up everyone’s intensity level several notches.

“I saw Mike Marshall bust up a double play the other day and that’s the type play we’re getting consistently now.”

Internal combustion threatened the Toronto Blue Jays again after General Manager Pat Gillick was quoted Tuesday as saying it has been his experienced players--Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and Ernie Whitt--who haven’t been doing the job.

Whitt then taped an interview with the Canadian Television Network saying he was surprised that the players would be criticized by management because the players have refrained from criticism when a series of roster moves recently forced the Blue Jays to employ first baseman Cecil Fielder at second base.

Gillick heard about the interview and confronted Whitt by the batting cage Wednesday. Whitt asked the network to withdraw the interview, which it did.

Labatt’s brewery, which owns the Blue Jays, is also one of CTV’s most influential sponsors.

The Boston Red Sox’s Roger Clemens recorded 16 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over the Kansas City Royals Monday, but the highlight was an exchange of words between Clemens and Willie Wilson, who reached second base and attempted to signal pitch locations to George Brett in the batter’s box.

Clemens said it was so obvious that Wilson could have been doing cartwheels and that he yelled at Wilson to stop cheating.

“I’m out there against a .400 hitter and future Hall of Famer and he really needs help getting pitches?” Clemens said. “Maybe when I’m 40 years old and throwing spitters he (Wilson) can give location.

“When I’m cheating, he can cheat, but right now, no.”

Wilson said he tried to remind Clemens that “we get paid to win, too.”

“Who does he think he is--Roger God Clemens?” Wilson asked. “He struts around out there like, ‘Hey, man, I’m God, nobody’s going to hit me.’ Well, . . . him.

“He’s supposed to be a two-time Cy Young winner and have all this class. Hey, everyone can read his pitches. It’s just that you can’t hit (him).”

With the San Diego Padres scoring only 11 runs in 10 games, Manager Larry Bowa said: “Maybe I need Nancy Reagan to look at the stars. Maybe she can give me a clue who to play.”

Eric Show arrived at Chicago’s Wrigley Field Thursday and found a man selling voodoo dolls that carried Show’s name.

The San Diego pitcher blew him a kiss and continued to the clubhouse, where a teammate said: “You know, Wrigley Field is the worst place for this to happen. Think of all those rooftops outside the fence, all those snipers waiting up there.”

Show knew what the atmosphere would be like when he returned to Wrigley for the first time since his July 7 beaning of Andre Dawson last year.

“I expect the fans to be very loud, boisterous, obnoxious and filthy,” he had told the San Diego Tribune in advance. “They were that way before it happened, so how much worse can they be now.”

There were threats against Show and apprehension, but it all dissolved.

There was no need for the earplugs he purchased and decided not to wear. Show deprived the fans of their voice by pitching six strong innings in a 2-1 victory.

Teammate Ed Whitson, virtually chased out of New York as a Yankee by vicious fans, called it a display of character.

Said Show: “It would have been easy to fall apart out there. It’s over now, and I do feel a lot better.”

Frank Robinson has used 23 lineups in his 27 games as the Baltimore Orioles manager, but the nightmare continues.

Consider:

--Starting pitchers Mike Morgan, Mike Boddicker and Mark Thurmond were a combined 0-18 through Thursday, and the starting pitchers failed to make it through the fifth inning 15 times in 33 games.

--The offense scored fewer than 2 runs 13 times and had a .139 average with runners in scoring position. Eddie Murray was hitting .194 with runners in scoring position, Fred Lynn .136 and Larry Sheets .115. Terry Kennedy had an overall average of .187 and 5 runs batted in, and Bill Ripken was benched Thursday night in Texas with an average of .165.

In addition, Oswald Peraza and Jose Mesa, two promising pitchers acquired from Toronto for Mike Flanagan and currently at triple-A Rochester, are both sidelined with shoulder problems; teammate Eric Bell, the force-fed pitching prospect of last season, is sidelined by tendinitis, and pitchers Chris Myers and Anthony Telford, the club’s top two draft picks from last summer, are out with injuries, though neither is believed to be longterm.

There is also a growing feeling that the Oriole front office has never read a rules book. Managment fouled up a roster move for the fourth time Monday night, activating Don Aase and announcing that pitcher John Habyan was being optioned to Rochester only to learn later that Habyan is out of options and has to stay.

The Orioles released Tito Landrum instead, costing Robinson a potential hitter--of which he has few.