Baseball

SPRING FEVER
New York Mets second baseman Wally Backman has had a tough spring. He was criticized by manager Davey Johnson for "losing his killer instinct," he suffered a pinched nerve in his neck and a pulled hamstring, he collided with Mets shortstop Kevin Elster, he was kicked in the head by Atlanta Braves second baseman Damaso Garcia, and he was hit by a Nolan Ryan fastball. Then he was told that he would no longer platoon at second with Tim Teufel. The righthanded-hitting Teufel earned the full-time job because, for one thing, he had more extra-base hits against lefthanded pitching last season than any National League player except Cincinnati's Eric Davis. Teufel is a self-made player, whose defense improves immensely when he plays every day. Backman is a scrapper who doesn't like to lose, and, finally, on April 4, he figured to get the better of Teufel. In the Mets' NCAA basketball tournament pool, Backman had the favorite, Oklahoma, and Teufel had Kansas. No, it isn't Wally's spring.

SAILING WITH THE SOX

Chicago White Sox pitcher Dave LaPoint likes to say that he plays for the St. Petersburg Sailors. The Chicago owners are considering moving the Sox to the 43,000-seat Florida Suncoast Dome, now under construction in St. Petersburg, if they don't get a commitment for a new stadium in Chicago. One club official predicts that Chicago will draw fewer than 800,000 fans this season because of construction on the Dan Ryan Expressway. As if that weren't enough, the Sox general manager, Larry Himes, has clashed with the manager, Jim Fregosi, over roster matters. And in the off-season Chicago traded away its three best starting pitchers.

It sounds terrible, but when the White Sox put their 1988 cast on the field they didn't look so bad. They have speed in lead-off man Lance Johnson. With lefthanded-hitting Harold Baines, Dan Pasqua and Greg Walker and righties Carlton Fisk, Ivan Calderon and Kenny Williams, they have power from both sides of the plate. Toronto Blue Jays coach John McLaren says, "If they get starting pitching and Williams settles down at third base [he was moved there from centerfield], they'll scare the American League West more than most people thought they would."

Indeed, Chicago won three of its first six games, with rookie righthanders Jack McDowell and Melido Perez each excelling in his first start and veteran lefthanders Rick Horton and LaPoint also having strong opening outings. "I don't worry about any of the players' abilities," says Fregosi. "What we don't know is whether they'll hold up over the season. Last year 45 major league pitchers worked 200 innings, and we had three of them [Richard Dotson, Floyd Bannister and Jose DeLeon]. Now we don't have anyone who threw 180 innings. So we don't know what will happen. If our pitching holds up, we can be all right."

Even if the pitching comes through, Williams's play at the hot corner will be crucial. He made an error in each of Chicago's first two games, but knocked in three runs in the Opening Day 8-5 win over the California Angels. "He's making one of the toughest moves in baseball," says Fregosi, a former big league shortstop. "There's so much more to think about at third base than in center. In center he always saw the ball come off the bat. There's a fear factor at third. It takes more skill to play short or center, but there's more uncertainty at third. I know. I tried it. [Former St. Louis Cardinal] Mike Shannon is the only person I can think of who made the switch from center to third successfully."

Even though Williams is one of the best young players in the American League, third base is a new world to him, and it's easy to understand why he was reluctant to make the move. But if Williams succeeds there and the pitching holds together, the White Sox may be a far more entertaining team than expected.

BALK SQUAWK

Pitchers in both leagues learned right away that umpires are serious about enforcing the newly clarified balk rule. In the season's first week, 73 balks were called. A year ago, umpires called only 19 balks during the first week.

The Detroit Tigers scored the first run of the season after Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox balked a runner to second. Second base umpire Tim Welke called it because Clemens didn't bring his hands to a complete stop while pitching from the stretch. Kelly Downs of the San Francisco Giants lost his first start with the help of a balk. With the Los Angeles Dodgers' Mike Scioscia on second and one out in the sixth inning of a 0-0 game, L.A. pitcher Orel Hershiser flied out to center. Scioscia was no threat to steal third, but second base ump Dave Pallone ruled that Downs had balked before the pitch. Scioscia was awarded third base, and Hershiser was sent back to the plate. Hershiser then put down a two-strike squeeze bunt to bring in the only run Downs gave up. The Giants ultimately won 5-0.