Baseball

HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

The St. Louis Cardinals have again sunk into a post-World Series stupor. After they won the Series in 1982, their record plummeted to 79-83 the next season. Then, in '85, they lost the Series to the Kansas City Royals and finished 79-82 the following year. So where were the '87 National League pennant winners at the end of last week? That's right—in last place in their division, with a 5-12 record.

"I wish it were as simple to explain as having some pitchers hurt, and missing Jack Clark [who signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees], but it isn't," says manager Whitey Herzog. "Sure, it's not the same lineup without Clark, but the fact remains that if our six switch-hitters [ Jose Oquendo, Terry Pendleton, Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and rookie Luis Alicea] don't hit around .300, we don't score runs. We had a game in Pittsburgh in which we had seven hits, four stolen bases and eight runners in scoring position, and we still got shut out. [Pitcher] Joe Magrane homered on Opening Day, and it took more than two weeks for someone to get two and pass him for the team lead."

To shake things up, last week St. Louis traded second baseman Tommy Herr, who is 32 and will be a free agent at season's end, to the Minnesota Twins for rightfielder Tom Brunansky, who has averaged 27 homers a year since coming to the majors in 1982. Brunansky, 27, who's also a solid fielder, should be a major improvement over Jim Lindeman, a converted infielder who has been put on the disabled list with a back injury. Alicea will replace Herr at second.

Unlike in previous years, Herzog hasn't been able to rely on his pitchers to keep the Cards in the race until his hitters started producing. Ace lefthander John Tudor is still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, Magrane tore a rib-cage muscle on April 16 and was put on the disabled list, and reliever Ken Dayley has hurt his back and will be sidelined for at least six weeks.

Meanwhile, the world champion Twins haven't fared any better than the Cards. When the Herr-Brunansky trade was made late Friday night, Minnesota was 4-10 and in last place in the American League East. Herr should have a steadying influence on the team, but it's going to take a lot more than one player to cure the Twins' many ills.

Looking back, general manager Andy MacPhail admits that going into the season with three over-the-hill pitchers—Steve Carlton, Tippy Martinez and Joe Niekro—was a mistake. In two games against the New York Yankees, on April 18 and 19, that threesome gave up 19 hits and 20 runs in 4? innings. The Twins lost the games by scores of 18-5 and 7-6.

Three of the pitchers MacPhail is thinking about bringing up—Mark Portugal, Karl Best and Jim Winn—may not be much of an improvement: Their combined major league record is 24-39. And there don't seem to be too many other prospects waiting in the wings. While Minnesota was being pummeled by the Yankees on April 18, its top two farm teams, the Portland Beavers (Triple A) and the Orlando Twins (Double A), were giving up a total of 25 runs. The night before, Orlando had gone into the ninth with an 18-5 lead over the Huntsville ( Ala.) Stars and had barely held on to win 18-17.

A ROSE IS A ROSE

Pete Rose's son is hitting better than .400 for Cincinnati's Oak Hills High and is eagerly awaiting the draft in June. A 6'1", 170-pound lefthanded-hitting third baseman, Pete Jr. recently got a rating of 44 (out of a possible 80) by the Major League Scouting Bureau. That grade should make him about a fifth-round draft pick. Mark Lewis, a 6'1", 175-pound shortstop from rival Hamilton High who has 11 home runs and 50 RBIs and is batting .600 in 21 games, got a 60 rating, possibly the best score for a schoolboy player so far this year.