European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday. April. 1988 the stars and stripes Pago 23 baseball 88 giants assemble All the pieces b Rimi ova no Al sports writer while five learns in inc National  Wen search in fill japs in their irn cup and  sults the san fran Cisco giants Kuzuw what they want and just How to gel ii. Man ajar a ofter Craig and fic neral manager Al Rosen liar assembled an everyday mining lineup solid Bench and deep pitching staff. Nurl acquired Pitcher kick ecu sch from i  last aug. 21. At the Lime. The of giants were tied with Cincin Nati for first place Hul finished 27-13 and inn the division by six games. Over till Winter. Koscin signed free agent outfielder Hectl Butler and Lei go outfielder chill Davis. Bulk was ninth in on base  in the american league and Aoe 3.1 basis far Cleveland last season. My biggest Job this year will be to keep these Guys aggressive Craig said. We re not intent winning the division we want to win in Al the giants led St. Louis 3-2 in the no playoffs but failed or score in inc last two games. Craig a pitching guru thinks the i Anlo have a Pom Sho at repealing As no West champions because of their pitch ing we could t have won the division without the kind of outstanding pitching we had and they re All  Craig said. Any one of is Guys can Start Dave Drav Cclif Rick Keuschel Mike Krukow Atlee Hammaker Mike Lacoss and a Coly Downs. The bullpen is just As  the los Angeles dodgers who finished 17 games behind the giants in l h7, signed free agents Kirk Gibson and Mike Davis and made a big three Way Deal 10 acquire shortstop Alfredo Griffin and relievers Jesse Orosco and Jay Llowell. A Middle lineup if Gibson 1 Cdr Guerrero. Mike Marshall and Mike Davis should put the dodgers Back into Contention. Cincinnati has she hitting but some pitching problems Houston hat the pitching but some Hilling problems and san Diego and Atlanta just rec prob lems. San Francisco giants Wuh will hark Al first Robby Thompson at second Jose Uribe at shortstop and Kevin Mitchell at third the giants have one of the Best iwo Way infield a baseball. Clark hit 35 lion cry and drove in 91 runs and Mitchell had 22 homers and 70 Unis last year. Thompson and Uribe helped the giants Lead the majors with 183 double plays. There s plenty of Hilling in the out Field with Jeffre Leonard Butler Candy Maldonado and Reserve Mike Al Dretz .325. Catchers Bob Brenly and Hob Mclvin combined for 2t homers and they threw out 3 keep dodger Blue synonymous Mih dodger Green As in profit. Attendance dropped under three Mil lion at dodger stadium for the first full no West preview season since 1979, there were Many Rea sons for the decrease. The dodgers were last in the no in batting 1.251. Last in runs of 35 and last in on base percentage .309. They la the majors with 155 errors. They finished 73-89, Matching their worst record since moving from Brook Lyn to los Angeles in 1958. In inc biggest Trade of the Winter the Dodgin acquired Griffin Roseo and Howell in a Trade with the new York mets and Oakland athletics. The Outfield hat a Tsow look with the signing of free agents Gibson 24 Hom ers 79 Rols for Detroit and Davis 22 homers 72 Rols for Oakland. John Shelby acquired Lail summer will i in Center. The infield will be Marshall at first. Slave Sai Al second. Griffin at Short and Guerrero at third. Catcher Mike Scioscia was plagued by injuries but threw out 50 of 143 has Seal cars. Stance Bob Wleh went to Oakland in the three team Deal so the rotation shapes up As pc Nanjo Valenzuela Orel Hershiser Tim Belcher Don Sutton and either Shawn Hill Ceas or Alejandro i Cna Cincinnati reds although Eric David ended up with impressive numbers 37 homers 100 Rols and 50 stolen base she slumped the second half of the season and so did inc reds. At the end of May Davis had 19 Hom ers and 52 Rolls. From mid May on the reds were 56-65. Dave Parker was traded to Oakland so Davis will Bat cleanup. He will be joined in the Outfield by a Daniels in left and Tracy Jones and Paul o Neil in right. The infield is a combination of youth and experience with veterans Nick seas to in and buddy Bell 3b joining Rookie Jeff Treadway 2b and Barry Larkin is. Dave Conception Back for his 19lh season with inc reds will share second with Treadway. The reds potentially could have four left handers in the starting rotation with Tom Browning newcomer Danny Jack son Dennis Rasmussen and Guy Hoffman. Browning 20-9 As a Rookie in 1985, was Itie opening Day Pitcher last Kar but after a 4-6 Start was in the minors by june. Ron Robinson 7-5 Souid be the Only right hander if Mario Soto does t make it Back off his Spring performance Soto can t throw hard any More. The bullpen is the strength of the staff with John Franco 32 saves Rob Mur Phy and Frank Williams Houston astros the astros won the no West in 1986 with pitching and timely Hilling. Both areas slumped last season. The pitching staff allowed 109 More runs and 160 More Hils than during 1986. Nolan Ryan 40, led the major with 270 strikeouts Anil a 2.76 Era but was Only s-16 because of non support. The astros scored two or fewer runs in 11 of of Ryan s starts. Mike Scon got off to a 10-5 Start but finished 6-8. Including 0-7 in his last eight starts on the Road Jim Deshais is coming off shoulder surgery. Bob Knepper tt-17danny Darwin 9-10 and Joaquin Andujar 3-d and injured arc coming off losing sea suns. Fin Barmin will Chryc delivered 35 Homer and 91 Rebii for 1907 division winners. How they ii finish 1. San Francisco giants 2. Los Angeles dodgers 3. Cincinnati ads 4. Houston astros5. San Diego padres 6. Atlanta braves in the bullpen Dave Smith converted 24 of 28 save opportunities. The astros were nent to last in the no in runs scored on bosc percentage and slugging. First baseman Glenn Davis got off to a slow Stan but recovered to hit 27 Hom ers and drive in 93 runs. Second base Man Bill Doran is one Ollie aame j Best secrets. He hit .2sj with 16 homers 79 r Bli and 31 steals. The left Side of the infield could be shaky with newly acquired Rafael Rami rez at Short and Ken Caminiti at third. Ramirez makes Loo Many errors Cami Niti a switch Hitler batted Only .189 right handed. The Outfield has Billy Hatcher in left Gerald Young in Center and Kevin Bass in right. They need to get on base for the Aii Rosto win. Catcher Alan Ashby had a Good no ten Sivc year with 14 homers and 63 Rols. San 0, ego padres in 1984, san Diego won the no pen Nant. Last year the padres started 12-42 in route to a last place finish. The padres offence however has the ability to produce runs. They iad four .300 Pilieri led by Tony Gwynn s .370. Rookie Catcher by Nilo Santiago balled .300 with 18 homers and 79 Rols tint baseman John Knic hit .313 and Rookie second baseman Randy ready hit .309. Manager 1-Arry Bow a expects Short mop Gany Templeton and third Hast Man t Hris Brown to rebound from off if sons the padres  Power by acquiring left fielder Keith Moreland 27 homers from Chicago for reliever Rich Gussage Stan Jefferson is in Center. The starting pitching was woeful last season allowing i 75 Home runs. The rotation figures to come from and Hawkins Eric showed Whitson. Mark Grant. Jimmy Jones and Eric Nolle. Atlanta Graves the braves seemed to have More pitchers in Camp this Spring than there wite College students in Daytona. Atlanta finished last in the no in Era j.63shutouts four saves 32 and . After left hander 7unc Smith manager Chuck Tanner is looking at Veteran kick Mahler and Young slurs Kevin coff Muju Tom Glavine Tommy Greene and do if . Dale Murphy moved 10 right last sea son and hit j4 Homen with 105 Rols. With other Quality Tulk i like first Basc min Gerald ferry third baseman Ken Oberkfell. Left fielder Dion James and Catchero in Virgil the braves can score but not enough to overcome the shaky pitching. Tomorrow american it tour