European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday May 11, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 23commentaryscioscia did no to Dodge la. Glory q. The most important Home run hit in . Dodger history was choose one a Kirk Gibson a blast in game 1 of the 1988 world series against Oakland which won the game and maybe the whole series. B Rick mondays ninth inning clout at Montreal that won the 1981 playoffs and put the dodgers in the world series against the Yankees. C neither of the above. In this Case c May be the right answer. Its just possible that the most important Home run hit in . Dodger archives was hit by a lifetime .261 hitter who had hit exactly three Home runs the whole season when he faced Dwight Gooden no less with the Pennant on the line that night in october of 1988 in Shea stadium. No one will Ever Call Mike Scioscia a Home run a Scioscia or the Sultan of swat or even  they be never run a seasonal Chart on his Home runs listing How far behind he is from Ruth and Maris at the moment. No one yells a outta the lot sosh a when he comes to Bat. Mike Scioscia is As easy to Overlook As the Light Bill but he has a Knack of not wasting hits. Some Guys get 200 hits a season and no one can Ever remember one of them. They go 2 for 4 and the team fends for itself. But if Mike Scioscia Hadnot hit that ninth inning shot off the Metsy Gooden consider what might have happened to baseball lore. Kirk Gibson might never have come to Bat in that historic ninth inning of the series. The situation was this the dodgers were Down two games to one in the playoff and 4-2 in the ninth inning of the fourth game. Gooden was pitching a four hit nine strikeout masterpiece and the game looked As Good As in the hangar. Dwight walked John Shelby but he figured Scioscia  Hurt him. He threw what he thought was his double play Ball. Instead it was his Gopher Ball. Scioscia socked it Over the right Field  Gooden it was like being bitten by his own poodle. Ordinarily Mike Scioscia is a Batter who hits Down on the Ball. He tomahawks it. Mike just likes to put the Ball in play. He put it in play All right. Conceivably that pitch Cost the mets the Pennant. Kirk Gibson homered in the 12th to win the game but again it was a Case where Gibson would never have had that at Bat without Scioscia. Hell never get any serious votes for league map but a Case could be made for Scioscia As the mid a most important dodger a Over the past decade. Scioscia is also the most taken for granted dodger. His manager Tom Lasorda disagrees. A we know what he Means to the dodgers. That a Why we went All out to keep him. The dodgers could lose a lot of people to free Agency but Mike Scioscia ainu tone of Jim Murray them and i done to say that because he a italian i say it because in a italian a a Scioscia is one of those players whose Worth cannot be traced through the Decimals of baseball. A first of All a Lasorda says a a there a that blocking the plate. He a a tank do you realize How Many opposition runs Scioscia Cut off at the plate he a the dodgers dead end Street. He a got so Many Cleat Marks on him he looks like a Zipper a baseball Calls it a the Pennant line a an imaginary plotting beginning with the Catcher through the pitchers Box out to the Middle infielders to Center Field. Few teams have won a Pennant without a solid Pennant line or a certified craftsman behind the plate. In Scioscia a tenure the team has rarely been tar from Contention. A i take Pride in the team performance not mine a Scioscia says. A we got knocked out by a Joe Morgan Home run in 1982 in the next to last inning. We got Down to one pitch in the playoffs in 1985 when Jack Clark hit it out. In the 10 years i played in seven of them we had a real Chance. I rate my performance on the standings not the top-10  does it bother him to be passed Over for map consideration a i done to think in a gifted enough to be called the Best player in the league. I done to think anybody could look at me and say a hey this team  win without him a a other people do not find that so hard to picture. A when you look at this team who a been Here longer a Lasorda says. A a we be made changes in every position out there. But not Catcher. Scioscia a like a  one of the problems is he runs like one. A a in be never lost any Speed because i never had any to lose a Scioscia says with a Grin. He not Only does no to beat out any infield hits he sometimes has to Hustle to beat out Outfield ones. Catcher has never been a Speed position. Squatting for nine innings a night would probably slow an ocelot. If the dodgers had a Choice it would be that Scrosia would become a Power threat. Hit Mem where he can walk if he wants. Scioscia admits he concentrated on being a Contact hitter. He strikes out As Little As any player in the league Only 29 times last year and As few As 21 times in 429 times at Bat and 23 in 461 at bats. Does he work at being a pure Contact hitter a i done to know about a pure a a Scioscia says. A i done to think in a a pure anything. Nothing comes easy to file jays Cut Flanagan Toronto apr the Toronto pitching staff will have to find another teacher. Mike Flanagan is gone. The Toronto Blue jays Cut the left hander tuesday and brought in right hander Steve Cummings from the farm system. A yeah Well miss him a said jays starter John Cerutti a fellow left hander. A Mike talked about pitching with us. A the talked about our mistakes things to do when you run into trouble. He opened up lines of communication Between us. I know he helped me a  manager Cito Gaston said the team made the decision to release the 1979 by Young award Winner during the weekend. A a it a hard to put your Finger on it a Gaston said. A we done to want to say that mikes Over the Hill but he a 38 years old and he a not throwing As Well As he used  Flanagan who won 165 games and lost 136 in his career was traded to Toronto by Baltimore on aug. 31, 1987. He was 26-27 with the jays including 2-2 this season in five starts with a 5.31 earned run average. He won his first two starts but struggled recently. Flanagan accepted the decision with the dry humor treasured by his teammates. There Are Only two sure things in this game a you re either going to quit or get released a he said. He rejected age As the key to his recent struggles. A in my mind i feel like 1 was in a slump the last three games a Flanagan said. A so if someone gives me a shot i might take  Gaston  be surprised if he gets another Chance. M a it might not be the end for Mike Gaston said. A Boston and St. Louis Are in need of pitching so there might be a spot for him  Flanagan said he leaves Toronto with a a lot of Good memories that have to do with on the Field and off. In a fortunate to have been a Blue Jay for three years and ill cherish that a  Cummings 25, from the Syracuse chiefs of the class aaa International league was 2-0 with a 1.03 Era m five games four of them As a starter. He was Toronto a second round pick in the june 1986 draft of free agents and was with the jays for a month last season posting a 2-0 record with a 3.00 Era in five games. He said he Learned of the move tuesday afternoon though he had some inkling that something was happening. Pitching for Syracuse on sunday he was pulled Ater two innings with a 4-0 Lead. A i asked what was going on but nobody said anything and we had had so Many rainout that we thought maybe they were just trying to give us All some work a Cummings said. Light hitting Mike Scioscia is still a dodger cog. Me. I have to work hard at everything. I try to hit line drives. A Home run is a Surprise to  it was also a Surprise to Doc Gooden and the mets. All 45 of Scioscia a major league Home runs were surprises. Lasorda would like them to become dog bites Man stuff. A look at him he a big and Strong. He a got the swing. He hit 10 Home runs last year. That was about seven Over his average. Done to you think he could hit 20 a year a at 20 homers a year Mike Scioscia could become not Only a legit map candidate but also a $2-million-a-year ballplayer. Would t Lasorda be doing a disservice to the team budget a i already owe it to him a Lasorda chortle. A when he was a kid out of High school we gave him a tryout and he did no to want to sign at our figure. So i pitched against him and i gave him All Hooks and sinkers and tricks. When 1 got through with him he said a where do 1 sign a a even if he hits 25 a year Scioscia will probably never hit one with More Impact than the one in 88. If he were the Mick instead of the Mike Gooden might never have Given him that a there hit this fastball. When it comes to Home runs Scioscia likes Quality not Quantity. The los angles time softball hitting bases Hanau is hosting a slow pitch softball tournament May 25-28 at Pioneer Cavern. The double elimination tourney has an entry fee of $30 per team. Call the Hanau sports office at ets 322-8960 or civilian 06181-15080 or 15089. A the Miessau army depot is the site of a softball tournament May 25-28. The first 20 teams to plop Down $125 will compete. Call Eric Hernandez at ets 486-3653 or Mario Garden at 494-7253. A men and women softball tournaments will be held at Vicenza scamp Ederle May 25-27. There is no limit on the number of entries but the cutoff Date is May 18. Entry fee is $95 per team. Further details and information on billeting can be obtained by calling Doug Urner at Auto on 634-7009 or 7887. Up sex Toronto lefty Mike Flanagan. A shot in Boston or St. Louts correction an error appeared in prep pickings yesterday. The . Track meet will be held May 18-19, not 17-18. The 17-18 Date was in reference to next year and the sentence referring to the 1991 schedule was inadvertently deleted