European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 19, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday july 19. 1987 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary dodgers leave bad taste with Lasorda the secret of Thomas Charles Lasorda s Suc new has always been runaway optimism. Tommy was always sure there was Pony under there some place the next card would be an Ace the Check really was in the mail and tomorrow would be belter. Tommy would have told Custer to hang in there. He still thinks they la find Amelia Earhart and judge Crater and that the Lindbergh baby is alive. Tommy could t stand bad news. The team lost a few games Tommy would be ready. Hey he would say the 1927 Yankees the greatest team in baseball history had a nine game losing Streak they did t. But the players did t know that. Tommy dealt in positives. True or untrue. Tommy would t let a player gel Down on himself. Hey Gabby Hartnett had slumps he would yell. Lou Gehrig was going to quit Iii game once these bulletins would probably have been news to Hartnett and Gehrig. But Tommy was More inter ested in consequences than truth. It worked. The los Angeles dodgers seemed to believe in themselves. The secret of any great athlete is to be Able to keep his self esteem. To blame catastrophes on outside agencies. The grass was too High. Or Loo Green. His foot slipped. The other Guys cheated. The umps blew it. How can you win when there is conspiracy a flouting of the rules a flagrant Crample of a competency in authority god was a dodger in Tommy Lasorda s theology. But All Hal Wai before his year. There is some thing missing from the dodger melodrama these Days and Hal is he noise and bombast coming from the Corner office where the manager holds Forth breathing fire and Defiance. Some nights to show you How Low things have sunk even the pasta sits there untouched. The manager has not wasted away. If he had stitches he would still look like a 200-Pound base bait with legs but there is a new Light behind the eyes that seems to say the party s Over the dance is through. You can put away the paper hats and Stop the music for his year. The next card is not going to be an Ace it s going to be a Trey. Tommy was still full of fight earlier this year. The team was going bad. Hey he would shout Between for Fuls of Linguine Del Golfo they gave up on the Miracle braves in 1914 they were in last place on july 4 h and everybody said Back up the truck and they came Back to win the Pennant and the world series in four straight Don t you think they gave up on the 1951 giants thirteen games out of it in August in 1983, we gained 10 games on the at Lanta braves in 11 Days we gotta believe in our selves Tommy Luord from hit me to i  but that was before this past month. The 1987 dodgers seem finally to have done the impossible turned their very own Pollyanna into a practising Pessimist. This is a very bad baseball team. It is full of role players not stars. It no longer seems to believe in itself. It has players playing out of position it has pitchers fearful to throw a ground Ball out it plays with All the Elan of a Guy going to the electric chair. There is an axiom in baseball that you never make the third out on third base. This team docs. This team Breaks whole lot of baseball shibboleths. The one Hal says you Don t end up with two players on the same base for example. This team ends up with two players on first base. Not even babe Herman thought that one u p. This team Dwyn i let Oiler team. Do thai. Only the other Day with a nun on first Ilie dodger first baseman took a double Plaj Bull. Kicked the bag o make an out at first Ilii n threw i i und where the info older stood on the lug with tin. Ball while the runner returned safely to the by now unoccupied first base. This is the kind uniting licit has been spoiling Hie manager s appetite. Worse than that they May be turning him into one of those Guys who thinks the Glass is half empty and somebody up there has it in for him. Last week the dodgers blew out cub pitching if you can Call it that nil Over the premises of Wrig Ley Field arid came up with an easy Victory As Dob Welch pitched a four hit shutout. But it s going to take More than one Laugher to Start up inc Calliope in the Corner office again to Start the comparisons with the 1914 Miracle braves and the similarities to the 1927 Yankees. Tommy Lasorda silent is an offence against nature like a Fred Asia ire on crutches a Beach whale a flightless Bird. He finally seems to comprehend he s asked to play a busted straight with All the aces out he s going to need a two on the 18th Hole just to make the Cut. I be never seen anything like it he said in a whisper amid two suspended games at Wrigley Field last week. I be managed 10 years. We finished first five limes tied for first another time and finished one game out of third when Joe Morgan Gol a Home run he should t have. But i be never seen anything like his trip. You can t even figure out what Day it is round the clock  this team has a lot to answer for. But its ultimate disservice to Mankind to say nothing of the grand old game May be that it look a Guy with the Nice sunny Outlook of a Guy who Sells balloons for a living a Guy who would go through life saying hit me if he already had 18 at Blackjack and turned him into the kind of Guy who would say i fold if he had two pair or who would sit there in a dugout and expect the worst. And gel it. The world needs More optimists not fewer. The dodgers particularly. Tim let Antte attn a rockets sweep sabers rams split with flyers Rhein main a Germany the Rhein main rocket swept the Spang Dahlum sabers 3-0 and $-4 in Continental sports conference baseball saturday. Kevin Sorenson pitched the first game shutout and scored the winning run in the Nightcap As the rockets rushed out of the cellar with a 7-9 record. The sabers who were on front run Ning Ramstein s ail two weeks ago dropped to 7-11. Sorensen a right hander spun his shutout on two hits 11 strikeouts and two Walki. The Rock eur gave him one run in the third inning when Tim Yanchisin singled Home Benny Franco Tricy scored two in the fifth with Jamie Blackwood driving in Dave Jones and Scon Huston singling Home John Haratyk. Air Force baseball Dennis Schreiber look the loss despite striking out ii. In game 2, Rhein main pulled it out with two runs in the Bottom of the seventh. Franco led off with a Home run to lie it 4-4. Blackwood singled with one out and Sorensen Pinch ran. Sorensen reached second on a ground out then came around on Brad Tipton s single. Harry whittle. 3-, picked up inc Vic tory. He fired a four Hitler fanning three and walking three. Bob Dorr look the loss in Relief. The sabers had Given him a 4-3 Lead with two runs in the top of the seventh. Mark Ellsworth scored on Kusley Jewell s i single and subsequent error and Pat Mallard crossed Home on an error off bully Balaam s grounder. Him storm 8-11, Wales bad 0-12 Wiesbaden country Mcmanus drove in the run that gave him the Victory in the Wiesbaden flyers 12-11 Deci Sion Over the Ramstein rams in the Nightcap of a Csc double header sat urday. In the first game Danny Woltemath fired a three hitter in Ramstein s g-0 Triumph. The double header split left Ramstein at 12-4, still atop the Csc and Wiesbaden at 6-10. In game 2, Mcmanus produced the game winning rib with one out in the Bottom of the seventh. With the game lied 1 ill Dave Ger Meza started the flyers rally with a walk and took third on Mike Mcglaughlin s single. Woltemath relieved Clint Harris and surrendered Mcmanus single Mcmanus was credited with inc Victory Afler pitching to two batters in the top of the seventh. He relieved Lenny Flana Gan with two on and one out and got two Quick outs. Wiesbaden Duthil Hemslein 11-9, but the rams got the Only Homer Woltch mail s two run shot in the third. Woltemath pitched the first game shutout while sinking Oul five and walk ing one. His big support Camj from Harris who slugged a iwo run Homer in the first inning Harris a left fielder robbed Mcglaughlin of a Homer in the fourth by leaning Over the Fence and making the  Craig look the loss. He fanned three a and walked eight. Cubans win 2nd straight from . Nine in Amateur series Havana Cuba a two Victo Riei in two games by Cuba Over the United states has fans talking about a sweep of the five game Amateur base Ball series. Rogelio Garcia a 29-year-old right hander struck out 10 batters and pitched a sin hitter Friday night in Cuba s 7-3 Victory. Garcia s Forknall was especially effective in his nine in Ning mint. Auburn freshman Frank Thomas homered in the third and the . Did not score again until the eighth when sacrifice flies by Dave Silvestri and Scott scr Ais brought in the last two runs. Luis Giraldo Canova hit a three run Homer for Cuba in the first. Cuban president Fidel Cairo who was among 30,000 at inc game Shook hands with each . Player in a pre game ceremony. The tries a warm up for the pan american games next month in Indi Aimu is was to resume sunday in ate Roisa. Located about 100 Miles from Havana