European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes Page 23 commentary tigers spark while Yankees fizzle be honest. If you thought the Detroit tigers would be in first place by the All Star break raise your hand. One hand. Two hands. There s another one in the Back of the room. Such geniuses. To predict first place for a team that replaced Kirk Gibson with Gary Pettis Well i could be used your help before the baseball season started. My problem was thinking Billy Martin would last the season thus cinching a Pennant for the new York Yankees. Silly me. Imagine a Man of 60 resist ing a Brawl at a Texas strip joint. I should know Billy by now. I did know if Billy lasted through october he would be managed the Yankees into the world series. But he weirder out and got fired. Which leaves the Yankees with Lou Piniella and in second place behind Detroit. While in new York last week i visited Yankee stadium to see if Piniella has the guile to get the Yankees Back on top. They played three games with Detroit. They lost two. Piniella looked Ordinary exactly How he looked while producing also rans in 1986 and 87. Piniella is not the Young Maverick you might imagine. He s 44 with a 54-year-old face dragged Down by Marlboro. His pos game spiels Are tired. He blames umpires and gloats Over a team meeting. I told them to just go out and have fun Piniella said after his yanks lost 6-1 to Detroit s 35-year-old Jun Baller Frank Tanana. Baseball is a game of relaxation. They re too tense. If they relax and have fun they la what Hogwash. If big league baseball is so relax ing Why did Piniella look like a nervous wreck he would do better to order his team to Bear Down hit hard throw accurately and catch the Ball. Kind of like How he played. Piniella could be started with Dave Winfield. The Bucky Fox a photo Sparky Anderson continues to Shock the Al East. Right fielder was my map pick before opening Day and that s one pick on target. But against Detroit Winfield took his Sweet time in the Outfield to help Gary Pettis stretch his single into a double. To make up for that Winfield twice tried to gun Down tigers at Home allowing the Batter to reach second. Winfield sure looked relaxed out there. He Proba Bly had fun too. Some Good that did new York. The tigers apparently took the game More seriously. They did t Bumble. Their manager Sparky Anderson explained Why we pitch the Ball and catch the Ball. There Ain t no team in baseball that catches it this is baseball s professor. Casey Stengel s Suc Cessor. Sparky Speaks full of double negatives and Wisdom. Asked about Piniella s Contention that the Yan Kees will prove to be the better team Over 162 games Sparky replied he s smart to think that. Las vegas picked them before the season and those Guys know How to bet. I think our Odds were 18-1." told about Piniella s team meeting Sparky said i Don t have no team meetings. I had one last year and none this year. If you stand up there you stand the Chance of showing How stupid you Sparky strikes you As Jovial and eager to spread the first place wealth to his players. He guarantees Jack Morris will shed his problems and win 18-20 games. He lauds newcomers Pettis and Luis Salazar. And yet Sparky knows he s Good. He advertises his Success we re one win away from tying the Yankees for the Best record of the 80s. We could be the team of the 80s. I told my wife what a fantastic thing to have the team of the 70s at Cincinnati and the team of the 80s with for Sparky to the tigers to baseball s Best record of 1987 might be been the managing feat of the 80s. Then to lose Gibson to l.a., leaving Alan Trammell As his big Bat. Then to lose Trammell to a busted Elbow leaving Salazar As his shortstop and the american league East at mid season it s More ammunition to shoot or. Anderson into the Hall of Fame. No wonder Sparky joked with the umpires upon greeting Piniella before the first game of their series. Sparky has the Yankees where he keeps his lineup. In his hip pocket. The stars and stripes bombs hos in olympic trials Mercer reaches title round Concord Calif. A Ray Mercer continued his heavyweight March to olympics wednesday night. Mercer the army Champion out of Baum older West Germany captured his second straight unanimous decision at the . Olympic boxing trials. Mercer the . Amateur Champion dropped Charlton Hollis of fort Lauder Dale fla., in the third round and rocked him on several other occasions to score his 5-0 win. Mercer will meet Michael Bent who beat Derek Isaman of Fremont Ohio 4 1, in saturday s heavyweight final. Darin Allen one of the biggest names in the trials May also turn out to be its biggest Surprise. Allen the former world Champion who dropped out of the rankings after a series of defeats fought his Way into the finals of the 165-Pound class with a bruising 4-1 decision Over John Scully. The win was the second impressive performance in As Many Days for Allen who quit boxing earlier this year and earned a berth in the trials Only by special invitation after losing to Scully in the Eastern qualifying tournament. A lot of people did t give me a t a 11 _ _ _ 1 1 Imfelt Pic team. It just made me that much Allen after a tentative first round took the fight to Scully in the second and third rounds to score the narrow win in a decision roundly booed by the crowd of about 1,000 at the Concord Hilton. It s hard to beat a Guy once he makes up his mind to win said Allen who will meet Anthony Hembrick in the finals. I had More Talent but he was very determined and it is Only a three round Allen the world Amateur Middle weight Champion in 1986, began a downhill slide the next year when he was knocked out in the first round of the pan am games by Cuba s Angel Espinosa. After a series of defeats Allen briefly quit boxing before deciding to make one last try at an olympic medal. I was always in Good physical shape but it was All mental Allen said. When i used to go into a fight i had one style. If that did t work i d fold i d quit. Now i can adapt to Allen said the death of his Mother Sharon two weeks ago made him even More determined to win. I m dedicating the tournament to her he said. I came Here ready to Allen joined fellow world Champion Kenneth Gould of Rockford 111., in advancing following semifinal bouts in six weight divisions. Six More semifinals were to be held thursday night with the finals scheduled for saturday and Sun Day. The trials winners will face fighters deemed by a committee to be their most worthy opponent in Las vegas july 16-17, with the winners earning one of the 12 berths on the olympic used his Quick hands inside to score a 5-0 decision win Over Gerry Payne of Washington d.c., to Advance to the finals where he will meet Ron Morgan of Cincinnati. Morgan beat Tony Robinson of St. Louis by a 3-2 margin. I was wondering when it was All going to come Back and tonight it did said Gould a Silver medallist in the pan am games. I was Able to stick and Jab and move out there. I m peaking at just the right also seemingly peaking at the right time is Kennedy Mckinney a perennial runner up in major tournaments. Mckinney who finished second in the . Amateur tournament three of the last four years beat favored Michael Collins of la Porte Texas 4-1 to and Vance to the 119-Pound final. This is the end of my second place finishes Mckinney vowed. There s no stopping me from Mckinney a 22-year-old from kill Een Texas avenged a 1987 loss in the . Amateur with his win Over col Lins the pan am Silver medallist. He gets a Chance to Settle a second score when he meets Jemal Hinton in sat urday s final. I revenged my loss to Mike now i want to revenge my loss to Jemal Hin ton said Mckinney who was knocked Down by Hinton in losing the final of the . Amateur in april. Hinton of new Carrollton md., gained his spot in the finals with a 4-1 win Over Fernando Rodriguez of Lancas Ter la be harder this time Hinton said of Mckinney. I m just going to have to put out a Little More Effort than i did is photo by l. Emmett Lewis or. Baum older s Ray Mercer. Another 5-0 Victory
