Between The Lines

LOOK AT 'EM NOW
The four 1986 divisional winners were a combined 135-137 through last weekend.

HOME RUN DERBY

Two more explanations for the glut of home runs:

?"There's a hole in the ozone layer."—White Sox coach Eddie Brinkman.

?"It's the underground testing. Gravity is leaving the earth and so are the baseballs."—Indians pitching coach Jack Aker.

DAVID LETTERMAN, STEP ASIDE
When Twins president Jerry Bell told former owner Calvin Griffith that the club had signed Terry Forster, Griffith said, "I'm in better shape than he is."

EASY OUT
In the ninth inning of the June 15 White Sox-Mariners game, Carlton Fisk hit a fly into the Chicago leftfield bullpen area. While chasing after the ball, Seattle leftfielder Phil Bradley ran into White Sox bullpen catcher Ron Karkovice. Fisk was ruled out because of interference. "Karkovice even makes outs when he doesn't play," mumbled a teammate. At the time, Karko was hitting .068 with five hits and 32 strikeouts.

IF YOU'RE SCORING, THAT'S...A MESS
Against the Braves on June 17, Giants manager Roger Craig made 12 lineup changes from the sixth through the eighth innings. In the bottom of the seventh alone, Craig used three pitchers, three leftfielders, two third basemen and two rightfielders. In that inning, he moved lefty reliever Keith Comstock to rightfield and brought in righthander Randy Bockus to face Dale Murphy. Murphy homered to send Bockus to the bench, and Comstock returned to the mound and gave up two more hits. The Braves won the game, 6-1.

ONE DEVIL OF A DAY
On June 16, 1986, in Anaheim, Calif., pitcher Charlie Hough of the Texas Rangers pitched 8? innings of no-hit ball against the Angels. On June 16, 1987, in Anaheim, Ranger pitcher Jose Guzman had a no-hitter going for 7? innings.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Pirate outfielder John Cangelosi, on why he prefers being listed at 5'8" in the team's press guide when he is really 5'7": "It sounds taller."