European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 02, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 2,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 23commentarywill puts punditry on the base paths i always thought i had this understanding with political pundit George will. He would take care of the Day to Day stuff such As what to do about Lithuania How to handle Qadhafi who should be president. You know the minutiae. I on the other hand would handle the really important matters of our time such As How to pitch to Tony Gwynn with men on whom to Start in the Allstar game whether the designated hitter is Good or bad for baseball. I would leave running the world to him. I had More pressing responsibilities a running the american or National league. I figured he was Busy enough telling George Bush what to do next. I had the tougher assignment a telling George Steinbrenner. So you can imagine my Chagrin the other Day when i picked up a Book by will and found he had left the posh areas of journalism a the relative in consequential ties of Mideast policy the european economic Community what to do about Noriega a and ventured into the treacherous Shoals of infield Fly rules bunt signs Pickoff plays Back door sliders and double steals. The title of the Book was a men at work a so i knew right away it Wasny to about Washington . What i did no to bargain for was that George would presume to instruct me in the nuances of a game that in be been covering Man and boy since a Well since Brooklyn was still in the league the braves were in Boston the athletics in Philadelphia and the orioles were the St. Louis Browns. I think the Only fair thing now is for me to write a Book analysing the state departments policy in latin America which come to think about it is not too different from the St. Louis Browns at that. You would not expect George will to be handling any subject sub Arnold Toynbee and a Book by him subtitled a the Craft of baseball would be a form of literary slumming. Not to George will. To George will baseball is an american institution As lofty As the supreme court state department or Capitol Hill. Gibbon never put More Devotion concentration and attention to construction in a the decline and fall of the roman Empire than George puts into his examination of the grand old game. A i feel As if my life will be downhill from Here a he notes. A it was the hardest work in be Ever done. There was always More to say. You know . Aude Jim Murray once said that no poem is Ever finished. It is abandoned. That a the Way i Felt about this Book. I had to yield it up to the publisher but i made changes in it right through the first press  will feels his lifelong love affair with baseball is requited. A i wrote the Book As a kind of thank you letter to baseball a he explains. A a thank you for what it has meant to me and my family. To me baseball is a gift. A legacy. I see baseball As a realm of excellence a Pool of craftsmanship in an Ocean of  adds will a if America made its automobile with the same care and precision baseball brings to its Craft the streets of downtown Tokyo would be jammed with Fords and  Georges Book is not for the casual fan. It delves into the clockwork of baseball. It is a surprising Book to a fan used to a chronicle of the frivolities of our National pastime. It fingers lovingly on the inner game the microchips if you will. If you want to know what to Jackson is really like or what Jose Canseco had for breakfast or is driving these Days this Book is not for you. If you want to know How to pitch to to or Jose or when to pitch to them George brings you the answers of experts. It is not an Ivory Tower Book. George crisscrossed americans locker rooms in search of baseball a secrets. George will has been known to come Down hard on the striped pants diplomats of foggy Bottom but the pinstripes of baseball draw his unbounded respect. He defends the game As eloquently As any Man who Ever collected Bubble gum cards or caught a foul Ball. So far As George is concerned the National Anthem should be a take me out to the Ball  he does no to care if he never gets Back either. Will reserves his scorn for those who find the game Dull a red Smith put it Best. He said baseball is a Dull game Only to Dull  says will a people speak of the game As a unhurried or  that a silly. There a something oing on every minute. There a barely enough time a Between pitches for All the thinking that a going on. Baseball action involves blazing speeds and fractions of seconds. The Pace of the action is relentless. Folks from the serious quarterlies like to say baseball a has the Pace of americans pastoral  this is nonsense on stilts. Any late 20th-Century academic who thinks a 19th-Century Farmers Day was a leisurely and unhurried stroll from sunup to Sundown needs a reality  a born and bred cub fan will knows what makes a True baseball fan suffering. The Book was More than a labor of love. It was an Effort to know the game better. A i done to write to Tell what i know. I write to find out what i  what he has found out he knows about baseball is considerable. The Book is Replete with nuggets of facts More often overlooked in the grand scheme of things. For instance did you know that babe Ruth no less stole Home 10 times in his career Tycobb stole Home 45 times while the All time base stealing Champion Lou Brock never stole Home Rickey Henderson has stolen Home Only four times and not once since 1982. Why will provides the answer with the Renaissance of base stealing with the artificial surfaces pitchers done to Lake a Windup with a Man on third anymore. When will wants to find out Why there Are no More .400 hitters he goes to the record Book to find out How Many hits Cobb got on his fourth and fifth times at Bat. A lot reason Relief pitchers were not in Vogue in those Days. A reliever was just a mop up sore armed sex starter or a junk throwing kid without an a a out pitch not the formidable specialists of today. But the significant thing is that our important thinkers have finally come to the realization the important concern of our Day is not the situation in Berlin or Cabinet meetings in Vilnius its can the cubs Ever win the Pennant with Don Zimmer if the master historians of our Day arc going to invade our territory its Only fair play for us to move into the political Arena and tackle comparative issues such As can George Bush go to his left can Dan Quayle Bat cleanup is James Baker a sucker for reds pitching frankly from what i can see George America needs More Power in the lineup. We be become a Bunch of punch and Judy hitters we need the big inning. The los Angeles times Trainer says thirty six red set to collect a pile of chips or. Frisky takes the air monday at Churchill Downs. By de Schuyler or. A racing writer Louisville by. A the word that thirty six red will win the Kentucky Derby does no to come straight from the horses Mouth. It does however come straight from the Mouth of a Man close to the Colt. A yeah i said that a Trainer Nick Zito said monday. What Zito said was if thirty six red won the 1 smile Wood memorial he would win the l i mile Derby on saturday at Churchill Downs. Thirty six red won the Wood on april 21, holding off Burnt Hills by a head. A a he a earned his shot a the 41-year-old new yorker said. A a he a got the  thirty six reds Victory in the one mile Gotham april 7 and his win in the Wood put him in the second Echelon of Derby contenders behind unbeaten mister Frisky and once beaten summer Squall. Helping Zitows Confidence is the fact that thirty six red is the Only one of the 17 Derby probables to win under the Derby weight of 126 pounds. The highest weight mister Frisky carried was 122 pounds in winning the Santa Anita Derby on april 7. The highest impost for summer Squall was 124 in his Victory in the 6 v2-Furlong hopeful last year. He carried 122 in finishing second in the seven Furlong swale on March 17. When it comes to racing though it does no to seem to matter How much weight thirty six red carries. A the gets what i Call free rein a Zito said. A a you be got to give him his head. Its almost like he a running wild. He rates  time out for rhythm be k Louisville by. Apr rhythm 1989�?Ts 2-ear-old of the year is right in time with the Kentucky Derby a Jinx on 2-year-old champs. Rhythm will not be in the Derby Field saturday at Churchill Downs. He raced poorly in Bis first two starts this year before undergoing surgery March 8 to relieve a breathing problem. He returned to finish seventh in a race april 7. The last 2-year-old Champion of the previous year to win the Derby was spectacular bid in 1979. Since then six juvenile champions did not even make the Derby. Five were injured a lord a vie for the 1980 Derby Deputy minister 1981 roving boy 1982 Devil s bag 1983, and Tasso 1985. The 2-year-old champions who failed to win the Derby during the 1980s were Rockhill native fifth As the favorite in 1980 chiefs Crown third As the favorite in 1985 capote 16th in a 17-horse Field in 1987 forty niner second As third Choice in 1988, and easy goer second As the favorite in 1989. In the Wood the son of slew of Gold was second behind Pace setting Burnt Hills never worse than a length Back before surging into the Lead in the upper stretch a a he a like a football player who tells his coach a give me the Ball a a Zito said