European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday october 11,1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary 7-game series Lowers the Shotgun perhaps the Best thing the sometimes impulsive proprietors of baseball have done in recent years is to expend the playoffs from a Best of five format 10 Best of even. There is some suspicion however that their intentions were not entirely altruistic. Two extra games do after  produce two More Days of ticket sales parking and concessions reve nue and  the rest of the substantial income Gener ated each Lime & baseball game is played. That is How we happened to Firel get from 154 to 162 games in the regular season 23 years ago. When the Bosses in concert with the players decided last year to expand the five game playoffs to a Best of seven there was ome fear that the format might damage the tradition of the world series. More importantly though the extra games Supply a better barometer of the iwo team playing for the cubic championship. Certainly the Kansas City royals benefited immediately. Toronto won three of the fim four games in the american league playoffs last year and had the royals looking like poor relations. Until 1985, those three victories would have been enough 10 eliminate pc and Pat the Blue jays in the world series. Needing one More Victory though Toronto never got it and the royals became american league and eventually world champions. It was an instant endorsement for the test of seven format. A Beil of invt series has Shotgun overtones. Lose the opener especially at Home and you re in a note from which you might never escape. That 100-Victo-Ry season assembled Over tit Long months which earned you a place in the playoffs could go up i smoke in a hurry. The Best of seven arrangement allows for some margin for error a kind of pressure release for the Mere mortals who play this game. And so it was that when Boston and new York dropped the first games of the playoffs this week they did not go int terminal depressions. The red sox situation was More crucial than the mets because they bad been beaten at Home by Cali fornia. A visiting learn playing the first two games on the Road is always looking Lor a split. The Angels had that much before the Sun Ever Rose Over Fenway Park for game 2 of the series. You get greedy Angels manager Gene Mauch said. You come in wanting one game. When you get that one you want the other one  Boston designated hitter Don Baylor knew How important came 2 was to the red sox. When you come Inlo a Park As a visitor. You look for a split he said. Now Here we were the Home team and we were looking for the split. It would have been Tough going out there to California having to win   no team has Ever lost the first two games at Homeland recovered to win the playoffs a bit of history thai might have preyed on Boston minds. By winning the nol so neat second game. Inc pres sure was eased. Now the red sox know they need win just one of three games in Anaheim to assure return to friendlier Fenway Park. The Musl win pressure is wiped out for he  Meu had a different approach As visitors at the Start of the National league series in Houston. Right from the Start i said if we split Here and go Home even we d be sitting pretty Good new York Catcher Gary Carter said. So Mike Scott s five hit 14-Strikeoul opening game Victory was not As devastating Asil might otherwise have been. And when the mets won game 2 5-1 behind Bob Ojida they were tied and heading Home an entirely satisfactory situation for them. So now we Start Over the two Busl of seven series effectively reduced to a pair of old fashioned Best of five showdowns. The tension and butterflies have been somewhat relieved until somebody wins game 3 and that ominous Hole leading to elimination opens up again for the losers. Mauch taking 3rd Good shot at Pennant  Boston Nytz to finishing his 25th year As z major league manager As Many As Casey Stengel bad. Only Connie Mack John Mcgraw and Bucky Harris have Nimi Ayri longer but nobody has manage that Long without winning a pen Nant. His hair is Silver his face Ruddy As 60 year old Gene Mauch tries to get to the world series for the first time. For  his imaginative moves As perhaps baseball s smartest but most second guessed manager up to now something has always gone wrong on his Way to the world Senes. But Seldom have so Many somethings gone wrong As they did wednesday in the an gel1 9-2 loss to the red sox. No use of me discussing any of the things that happened Mauch said. Idol understand pm. Only an astronomer might understand. For the Angels the Sun the Moon and the stars were out of orbit especially the Sun. Bobby Grich lost a pop Fly that fell for a two run double. Kiik Mccaskill the an gels starter lost a ground Ball in the Low october Sun staff Lonj through Fenway Park s old grandstand Girdon Jurt a Billy us once a dodger Nghi hander did at ebbets Field in a world series. One of those Fenway gremlins Days Mauch  still has a shot at the world series but  the Angels lineup wednesday against Bruce Hurst the red sox left hander the second guesses wondered Akk Buri Eaon was. The Angels it tag med Hidur Sot Reggie Jackson not or october not the Cen jul bitter of 548 tunic nibs in his career exactly 500 More than  m using the lineup that i think has the Best chances of winning Mauch said. Us commentary a lineup hat has been shut out by or. Hunt but it s also a. Lineup that s got or. Hurst out of the game by the fourth in  but on wednesday or. Hunt pitched what he described As a nifty 1 a hitter As or. October never emerged from the Angels dugout. No sense of me complaining sir. October said later. "1 just accept in. It s part of going out  Mauch has been close to the world series twice before but each time some thing went wrong. Back in 1964, he compressed his Phil Adelphia Phillies pitching staff using Jim gunning and Chris Short each with Only two Days rest Over the last two weeks during a 10-game losing Streak that blew a 6ft-game Lead to St.  Yean ago his Angels opened a 2-0 Lead in the . Series but the Milwaukee Brewers won three straight for the Pennant after Mauch bypassed Ken Forsch in. The fourth game to Start Tammy John and then Bruce Kison. I be had three Good shots Mauch was saying now. The other two did t materialize. This is the  maybe inc but in baseball recently no matter How Good a team is one sea son it s  pod the next year. And with the Angela at with the Phillies the Montreal Epos and the Minnesota twins earlier Mauch has never had thai Many Good Learnt that s another recon Way he s known As a manager who manipulates hit players during a game manager who has been described a the smartest manager in baseball. Do you  he was asked Dow the first person to say that about Yout my  he said smiling. But no i Don t remember anybody saying  asked Why he thought he was the most second guessed manager in baseball he pondered the question. If i told you he finally said you d think i was  he though a moment then smiled and said i Don t think i la Tell  Are you crazy somebody asked smiling. Some people even hesitate to ask him about the Angels lots in the 1982 championship series. I d have an amazing ability to for get he said if people would let  but he does t forget much about baseball. Before the opener tuesday night he talked about How he had Awak ened about 130 in the morning the night before and could no get Back to sleep Tor several hours. I remembered two hits Bill Buckner got on two Low curves he scraped off the ground be said. I remembered a base hit Rich gedman got after taking six or seven curves in a Row and a Home run he got in Anaheim one theory for the Angels domination of he , West this season involves several aging Angels in the final year of their contracts including Jackson Brian Downing Bob Boone Grich Don sur ton. And Burijon. You re tolf conf to a Guy who does t consider himself motivator of players Mauch said. I think it s an insult to a ballplayer to have to be motivated but according to longtime joke. Angel player feel Macb s eyes Borin through them even when their backs Are turned. And after  those thing Wen wrong wednesday those eyes were Bor ing through everybody around him. Ability to puget of we d lost the opener mov won Lah game we d be Vav High Goj Ngi Hack to Anaheim he said. But the human ten Dency is to be Creedy. We. Wanted two and until Friday s game i la be trying a figure out Why we did t gel  must know Why. Something always seems to go wrong for him. But maybe this time something will of right Clemens from Page 21 fourth game on what we wanted to  Bruce Hurst started game 2 and Den Nis Oil can Boyd was scheduled for the third game. Mcnanara had previously said he might use Al Nipper in game 4. Clemens a hard throwing right hand or who suffered a Welt on his pitching Elbow when nil by a line Dove of oct. 1. Suffered his worn Outing of the season tuesday night in game i which califor Nia won 8-1.Clemens was pounded for 10 hits and eight runs seven of them earned m7w innings. In was the most runs he had Al Lowed  season. He claimed he was not bothered by his Elbow instead saying be might have Bee too Strong from Lack of work. Unusually wild Clemens walked three and threw 65 pitches in the tint two innings. He Tell after throwing 143 pitches. There is no doubt about his ability to pitch on three Days rest Mcnamara said. He has had a full complement of rest. He pitched nine innings in a scoreless gamete eventually lost against Toronto on sept. 26then had fou Days of rat before he went against Bam More. Thai s us night he got hit on the Elbow. He pitched just Iff innings and threw Only 30 pitches. The other night be threw a lot of pitches Early but was  right after that