Inside Pitch (april 22-28)

Padre second baseman Alan Wiggins, who went AWOL last week, has arranged to enter an undisclosed drug rehabilitation center. Wiggins, who signed a four-year, $2 million contract last winter, was hitting .054 when he disappeared. Reportedly, he had also recently separated from his wife.

Wiggins spent time in a rehabilitation center after his arrest for the possession of cocaine in 1982. But his previous problems will not count against him, according to the drug program worked out by the players and owners last year. That program provides for Wiggins to receive his full pay for 30 days, half pay for the next 30 days and the minimum salary, prorated, after that.

The question, though, is whether the Padres will be true to their word. When Wiggins returned to action in '82, team president Ballard Smith said, "I have told Alan if this happens again, it will mean the end of his association with the Padres."

Vince Coleman was supposed to be a year away, but when Willie McGee pulled a muscle, Coleman got a chance to play in the Cardinals' outfield. Now it looks as though he won't be returning to Triple A. Coleman, who set a pro ball record in 1983 with 145 steals (in 113 games!), is hitting .289 and is 11 for 14 stealing in 14 games.... The Cardinals, who had one streak of 17 straight steals, have 36 thefts in 49 tries after 18 games.... When Fernando Valenzuela was 12-17 last year, the Dodgers scored one run or fewer in 13 of his 34 starts. This year, he hasn't even been that lucky. When he was beaten 1-0 by the Padres Sunday on Tony Gwynn's ninth-inning homer, it was the first earned run he had allowed this season in 42 innings. Valenzuela (2-3) has been shut out in two of his starts and received only one run in two others.... When the Mets' Bruce Berenyi went on the DL last week, rookie Roger McDowell replaced him in the rotation. That gave the Mets four starters—Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Calvin Schiraldi and McDowell—whose average age is 22½ and whose major league experience going into this season added up to two years and 61 days.... Veteran righty Lary Sorensen, who hooked on with the Cubs this spring, likes what he sees in the clubhouse. "The teams I've been on, three guys, maybe four, would hang out together," he says. "Here, 14 or 15 will go out to dinner, to a concert or some other event. They go around the room saying 'Can we count you in?' and 'Are you coming?' Sure they can count me in." ...Houston righty Mike Scott may finally have found the right off-speed pitch to complement his 90-plus heater: the split-fingered fastball. Scott, 5-11 last season, spent a week in the offseason working with Roger Craig, the guru of the split finger. In two consecutive starts recently, Scott worked 16⅓ innings and allowed no earned runs and nine hits.... The move to the bullpen seems to be working for Mark Davis, the 24-year-old Giant lefty who was 5-17 last season. He has allowed three runs and seven hits and struck out 23 in 16⅓ innings.... After John McSherry, a 300-pound umpire, called Pete Rose out on strikes in Houston, Rose told him, "That ball was low, you missed it. If it had been a hamburger, you wouldn't have missed it."

The medical report from Milwaukee combines the good with the bad. Pete Vuckovich, the 1982 AL Cy Young winner who missed most of the past two seasons because of shoulder surgery, has allowed three earned runs over 14 innings in his last two starts. His victory over Chicago last Wednesday came only 948 days after his last win.... Paul Molitor, coming back from elbow surgery, is hitting, but the elbow may not be able to handle the strains of third base on an everyday basis. "Four [straight] games seems to be about my limit," he says.... And Robin Yount, a leftfielder these days because of his aching right shoulder, will not be moving back to short anytime soon. One estimate is July. Don't hold your breath.... John McNamara, the new Red Sox manager, named Jim Rice the team's third captain (Bobby Doerr and Carl Yastrzemski were the others). According to McNamara, "He pays the price to be a leader." Said Rice, "You can put numbers up but it's nice to have public recognition of leadership." No one works harder than Rice, who plays hurt and never offers excuses.... When the Brewers scored five times in the ninth to beat Detroit 11-7, they ended a Tiger streak of 107 straight games in which ninth-inning leads had stood up. Willie Hernandez, severely hampered by a bronchial condition, was a spectator, having been forced to take himself out of the game after the eighth.... What game is Dave Rozema playing? "I'm not going out there thinking I have to pitch nine innings every game," says the Rangers pitcher. "If I pitch six and a quarter, seven and a quarter innings and keep my team in the game, I've done my job." ...After the O's Scott McGregor was knocked out in the second inning by Texas on April 22, he was one bored lefthander. "He asked us if he could come down and help warm up the pitchers," said backup catcher Floyd Rayford. "I told him we had that taken care of. Then he wanted to know if he could warm up the outfielders. I told him we had that taken care of, too." Said McGregor, "The sad thing is that I got here at two and played only 20 minutes. You should be able to go out and coach or something." ...A's shortstop Alfredo Griffin, who walked four times in 419 at bats for Toronto last season, already has five walks this season.... Joe Carter and Otis Nixon, a pair of young Indian outfielders, are road roomies. Teammates call their hotel digs The Presidents' Room.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]