European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 25, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 25, 19b8 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary banged up dodgers can finally relax maybe most of All this Winter 111 miss Mickey Hatcher who runs As if he s being chased by a dog. Or Kirk Gibson hobbling lurching unshaved going up to Home plate i fee a Man lost for Days m the desert. Or John Tudor staggering around the Mound clutching his pitching Elbow As if he had been plugged by Cauls  Orel Hershiser slumped on the dugout Bench Between innings of game 5 of the series his Mouth thrown open. He said later he was humming Church hymns to Calm himself because he was so pumped up. He looked though like he was gasping for air. I thought he needed not a Church Organ but an oxygen mask. Those were Only a few of Many memories of the recently departed world series and league playoffs and the whole baseball season for that matter that will Slick like Jay Howell s Pine tar to the mind. And on monday afternoon a most unexpected scenario took place along a thoroughfare in tinsel town. A Parade held in Honor of the underdog Dodg ers these most unlikely world series champions. The dodgers arc perfect for that pastel town for they Are a colourful lot mostly Black and Blue. The motorcade could be included a couple of ambulances a paramedics Van and several stretchers. Music should be been provided by a Fife and drum Trio swathed in bandages for this learn compresses poultices and Mustard plaster were nearly As important As the hit and run. Even one of their most useful stratagems is reminiscent of an Accident the Mosi valuable player just might be the team Trainer. Then when their first Spring Catcher Mike Scioscia. Went Down with a bum knee and Mike Marshall the slugging right fielder had 1o be stricken from the lineup because Ofa Back ailment observers wondered if All the King s horses and All inc King s men could t put Thi humpty dumpy team together again. This was the task that fell to the round As or. Dumpty Tommy Lasorda. Ira Berkow recall that it was the same Lasorda the dodgers were talking of dumping before this season after two straight losing years. And then he lost perhaps the Best player on the team Fernando Valc Nucla for the second half or the season and for All of the Post season play Freddy could Only sit on the Bench in his Warmup jacket Nurs ing his sore pitching shoulder. How then did Lasorda accomplish such a rever Sal of his team s fortunes he did it among other things with . Or psychology. Or so it is said. Great pitching and timely hitting also helped but that Story comes later. Lasorda has been criticized As a bulgarian a charlatan someone filled with As much hot air As that Good year Blimp. But something worked. I remember after the dodgers had beaten the mils in game 7 of the league championship and in sorta Well from player to player in the wild and wet club House embracing them and telling them he loved them when he passed his scion baseman Steve san in a runway to the interview room he threw himself into sax s surprised arms and said Saxy. Did i Tell a 1 love a us yeah skip us you  yeah Saxy 1 love a i love a then the two came unfastened and went their separate ways. Lasorda tries to gel to know his players and their families. He Calls them in the of season. He seeks Tobe a combination of father confessor. Aunt Jemimah and pal Joey. He remembers birthdays and inquires How a son is feeling who had fallen off a bicycle. He Calls hospitals too. Play re Are sceptical at first then begin to appreciate  there was Good reason for the ample Lasorda to love sax that glorious team player who did so much damage to the opposition. He regularly got on base As a Lead of Thiller. Broke up double plays and was so dependable in the Field after thai weird interlude a few seasons Back when every time he threw in the lint baseman the Ball wound up in the dirt or in the dugout or in suction 209, Row 6 of dodger stadium. I remember sax in Vero Beach fla., in class a Ball in his second full season in the minors m 1 980. I was doing a piece on the team manager Slan a own Aswan siak the longtime minor league manager know As the King of the minors. I had asked Wasiak to project if he could which of the players on his Tea might make the major leagues. I remember that he liked a Pitcher named Alejandro Pena. But. He said that kid at second sax can t miss. That s because he s talented and loves to get dirty said  Gibson docs too. It will be remembered for example How he made that wallowing catch in the Monsoon in Shea stadium in the playoffs. About an hour after game 7 of the playoffs a few reporters spoke with him on the dugout Bench h the quiet of the night the characteristic stubble on his checks his uniform still on still smudged and Lorn at the knee from a  mentioned that Tom Monaghan the owner of the tigers the team Gibson left last season when he became a free agent had said the whiskered Gibson was a disgrace 10 the Tiger uniform. I guess said Gibson he wanted me to be la designated  Lasorda though made no de mands on Gibson s grooming  All this might simply be detail. For All the bombast for All the menial machinations for All the wacko things that occurred the dodgers still had to succeed physically. The pitching Halo be Superior to the opponents and they had to catch enough balls and score enough runs to win. Now vat Tumi dodgers won despite Mike Andrews Rule by George Vescee one of the Nice things about the world series was seeing Charleso Fin Ley being rehabilitated in the Kremlin sense of the word. Even though Finley stubbornly ran the athletics into chaos in the late 1970s and finally sold out he had Given Oakland glorious tradition and was graciously mentioned by manager Tony Larussa and others in the past week. But Finley s most notice Abl legacy was the rigid Rule against roster substitutions during Post season play. The Mike Andrews Rule you could Call it. Fifteen years ago Finley tried to Cash Ier his spare second baseman smack in the Middle of the world series. Finley even got a doctor s note that Andrews chronic sore shoulder had kicked up on him. Whai it was was Andrews had made a couple of errors that Cost the a s a game against the acts. Bowie Kuhn the old Cammish correctly refused to allow Finky to replace Andrews which was when Finley started calling Kuhn the Village  and manager Dick Williams even used Andrews sore shoulder and All As a Pinch Hitler in a later game just to taunt his favorite club owner. Ever since then we be had the prix file menu. No substitutions please. Three years ago Vince Coltman was swallowed up by the Tarpaulin roller that had seen Little shop of horrors once too often in his own Ball Park no less. The cardinals weren t pulling any shenanigans. The Man had a damaged leg. But Inq Mike Andrews Rule was used against the cardinals who nearly stole a world series anyway with Tito Landrum replacing Coltman. This year the dodgers went Inlo the series with 23 Able bodied players plus the hobbling Kirk Gibson who somehow managed to hit the winning Homer in the firs game and was never seen again. A Dick Williams l taunted Charles Finley by using Mike Andrews in a game. The third game John Tudor went out with a sore Elbow bad Luck but no Rea son to replace him. However in the fourth game Mike Scioscia twisted his right knee coming out of a slide and the valued Catcher hobbled off the Field replaced by Rick Dempsey. Since baseball went to 24-Man rosters to try to b a on a salary mos clubs keep two catchers on the theory they can always Call up another Catcher in Case of injury. But during the Post sea son play you arc stuck. The dodgers flew in Gilberto Reyes their top minor league Catcher but they knew the Mike Andrews Rule would keep them from replacing Scioscia. Dempsey caught the entire fifth game and the series was Over. Bui what i Dempsey had broken a Finger on a foul lip or been injured in an Auto Accident would baseball have wanted an injured Scioscia to risk his career squalling behind Home plate would the new com mesh Peter Ueberroth or the future Cammish Bart Giamelli have wanted to be the dodgers go Inlo a sixth game with Mickey Hatcher taking on Lac Job training in front Ofa worldwide audience a the Midsummer showcase of the All Star game if the last Catcher is injured one of the earlier catchers can come Back Inlo the game. That Dispensa Tion allows All the catchers to gel Inlo the exhibition but it would not be appropriate in a Post season game. Given the 24-Man rosters and the possibility of violent injury at least catchers should be replaceable from game to game but Only by players from within the organization of course. Larussa who openly criticizes the 24 Man trend was handicapped in the third game. He wanted to use Kon Hascy be Hind the p Ais to Calm Down the impulsive Buh Welch but lie also wanted to use Teiry a Linbach s right handed Bat. Fearing injury to Hassey. Larussa could not use the Lefi Liand ii Dave Par Kerlo line for slain Bash a lion the Dodg ers switched to right handed pitching Early in the game. And Larussa wanted to avoid Slimbach replacing Hassey at Catcher because the a s would then for Feit the designated Hitler. M was a perfect example of three wrongs definitely not making a right. The Mike Andrews Rule is had. The 24. Man limit is Chintzy. And the do signalled h Ilter Rule is inks. Don t take my word for it. Ask Orel harsh scr Star Pitcher world series Bat Ling average 1.000. After not being allowed to Bat in the fifth game in Oakland her Shier said he hates the Rule because he can t stand in the on Dick Circle and make Eye Contact with his wife. Mostly he Hales in because it robs the game of its Surat cry the fans second guessing the manager about Pinch Hil  National league managers have Odo More managing because of the Jug gling at the Bottom of the lineup. Eighth place i Lien have to be More inventive. Pitchers have to at least be Able to bunt. Tony Larussa is a smart manager but you can t convince me that american league teams do not atrophy because of the designated Hitler. The dodger organization retained its reputation As a pastel Paradise but the Oakland part of the series was Fine Loo. The management of the athletics is Asgood As any in sports and Larussa made new admirers with his analytical patience As Well As his moist eyes when he praised his players after the final loss. One final Praise for Oakland you can take a handsome train from Many Points in the Bay area to within a fungo shot of the coliseum