Baseball ’85 : Ted Turner Unveils a New TV Show, and This One May Be a Hit

Ted Turner got his cables crossed last season by the Chicago Cubs, who displaced Turner’s Atlanta Braves as “America’s Team” on TV sets from Ashtabula to Zearing.

The Braves not only suffered in the ratings, they took a dive in the standings, too, finishing 12 games out of first place in the National League West.

Now, it’s one thing to finish second to the Dodgers--somebody had to be runner-up to Christie Brinkley in a swimsuit competition, too--but to come in second to the San Diego Padres? That’s enough to make a guy want to fight, which is just what the Braves and Padres did last season in a beanball brawl that left black eyes all around.

Thus, Turner came to the same conclusion that his TV subscribers had. He had seen enough. So, in the interest of quality programming, Turner did what any self-respecting network executive would do. Last winter, he canceled one long-running hit--”The Joe Torre Show”--and unveiled a new lineup for which he spared no expense.

Among the new shows:

--”Sutter’s Gold,” in which a bearded riverboat gambler from St. Louis, known for the peculiar way in which he holds his cards--not to mention his split-fingered fastball--strikes it rich on Peachtree Street. A high-budget production at $40 million, starring Bruce Sutter.

--”Company Man,” in which a loyal custodian for 26 years is suddenly promoted to manager and trades in his broom for a new uniform, a desk, and a chance to talk to reporters while sitting in his underwear. Imported from Richmond just for this role is Eddie Haas.

--”Miracles of Medicine,” in which a doctor from Houston who takes only hopeless cases finds a third baseman who has never played a full season because of injuries and heals the third baseman’s deformed right wrist. This show is on a trial basis, since no one is sure how long the wrist will hold up. Starring Bob Horner as the patient.

--”Murphy’s Law,” in which an unassuming Mormon superstar discredits the old canon that says anything that can go wrong will, and replaces it with one of his own, namely: Anyone who can win two MVPs in a row is a threat to win another, at any time, and somehow do it better. Dale Murphy plays the lead, the only part he knows.

--”Trimming Tummies With Terry,” in which the Weight Watchers’ all-stars are led in aerobic exercises by a relief pitcher who took a year off to wrestle Hulk Hogan before dropping 30 pounds last winter. Starring Terry Forster.

Does Turner have a sure-fire winner? There’s no way of knowing in April. The only sure thing is in a Rob Reiner movie, not in baseball, but for that same reason the Braves have to be considered a prime candidate to unseat the Padres as Western Division champions.

“I’m going to get down, say my prayers and thank the Good Lord, and pray that it’s all for real,” Turner said this spring. “I sure hope it is. The money’s on the line. The dinner bell is ringing.”

Something to digest: Division champions just don’t repeat. In the last three seasons, division champions in both leagues have failed to do so. The only division champion in ’83 that had a winning record in ’84 was the Baltimore Orioles, and they finished fifth in the American League East.

Although the Braves should mount the strongest challenge to the Padres in the West, the Mets are hoping, with the addition of catcher Gary Carter, to make it lights on for the playoffs, in lieu of lights out for the Cubs. Of course, the Democrats once entrusted their future to the hands of a Carter, too, and got two terms of Ronald Reagan as a reward. Jimmy Carter didn’t have Dwight Gooden, though.

Here’s a capsule preview of the division races, by order of preference:

WESTERN DIVISION

1. ATLANTA--Last season, the Braves were 30-23 with Horner, 50-59 without him. The man they obtained to replace him, Ken Oberkfell, had one RBI after July 21. If Horner is indeed back--and so far, as General Manager John Mullen said, “the reports are too good to be true”--an offense that slipped from first in the league in ’83 to 10th last season should be revived.

Beyond Sutter, the only reliever in history to have saved at least 20 games eight seasons in a row, the Braves now have what ex-Dodger Forster calls the best pitching he’s seen in Atlanta. If Len Barker and converted reliever Steve Bedrosian are healthy, and Craig McMurtry can rediscover the sinker that made him rookie pitcher of the year in ‘83, the Braves’ rotation is five deep, led by Pascual Perez and Rick Mahler.

Under Torre, who was fired with Turner still owing him $500,000 for the two years left on his contract, the Braves never had a winning record in the second half of the season. The Braves sacrificed personality when they replaced Torre with long-time triple-A manager Haas, but Haas’ Richmond teams always played .600 baseball the last two months of the season.

2. SAN DIEGO--The Padres’ rivalry with the Dodgers suffered irreparable damage this spring when the parents of Kurt Bevacqua, the man who once called Tommy Lasorda “a fat little Italian,” came to Vero Beach and invited Lasorda to a pasta dinner. But now that the Padres have won a pennant and Bevacqua has become a World Series hero, they can afford to be charitable to the Dodgers, who at the moment are southern California’s other team.

There are a lot of reasons to like the Padres. They’ve added LaMarr Hoyt, a former Cy Young Award winner, to their pitching staff. Batting champion Tony Gwynn and Alan Wiggins are the best 1-2 combination in the league. Kevin McReynolds is a rising power in center field. And Craig Lefferts emerged as the ideal left-handed complement to Goose Gossage in the bullpen. Plus, who can forget the performance of Steve Garvey in Game 4 of the playoffs? He had four hits, five RBIs, and a game-winning home run off Lee Smith.

But there are nagging doubts as well. Although the Braves, Dodgers and Astros all were crippled last season, the Padres put only two players on the disabled list. The starting pitching blew up in the Series, with a 13.94 ERA, the worst in Series history and 11 walks in four innings of the third game. Garvey, the playoff hero, batted .200 in the Series and his eight home runs in ’84 were his fewest since 1974. Third baseman Graig Nettles is 40, and with Carmelo Martinez on the disabled list, 37-year-old Al Bumbry is the starter in left.

Perhaps the biggest question is how the Padres will stand up to being challenged. They played only .500 ball (28-28) after Aug. 1 but no team got within six games.

3. LOS ANGELES--If everything falls into place, the Dodgers can move higher, but that’s asking a lot. Steve Howe and Rick Honeycutt have to be healthy, Greg Brock has to prove himself, Steve Sax and Ken Landreaux have to come back from off-seasons, and the defense can’t lose too many games. Prediction: Pedro Guerrero will surprise people at third, and hit his usual .300, 30 home runs, 100 RBIs.

4. HOUSTON--Bill James of Baseball Abstract fame poses this question about the Astros: how could Houston score more runs than the Padres last season, 693-686, and allow fewer, 630-634, and still finish 12 games behind? It’s only the fourth time in history that a team has scored more and allowed fewer than a division or pennant champion.

No one knows the answer for sure, but the Astros last winter decided to bring in their fences 10 feet, hoping to improve on their total of 79 home runs, second-fewest in the league. They also are hoping for the return of Dickie Thon, who hit nearly .400 this spring after missing nearly all of last season because of a beaning, and continued production from Jose Cruz, still having prime years at 37, Nolan Ryan, 38, and Joe Niekro, 40.

5. SAN FRANCISCO--To measure the impact the Cubs have had on the rest of the league, you need look no further than the San Francisco Giants, who decided to go au naturel in Candlestick Park, playing 65 day games. Even in sunlight, though, the Giants will often look as though they’re in a fog, even with the best young outfield in the league in Chili Davis, Jeff Leonard and Dan Gladden. Atlee Hammaker is healthy again and will pitch opening day. Another reclamation project for new manager Jim Davenport is Vida Blue.

6. CINCINNATI--Although the wins may be few, it’ll be interesting, where Pete Rose will pursue Ty Cobb’s hits record, with new owner Marge Schott’s St. Bernard nipping at his heels.

EASTERN DIVISION

1. CHICAGO--It’s been seven years since any team has repeated in the East, but the Tribune Company did its part to ensure the Cubs of a shot, spending $16.5 million to retain the heart of the Cubs’ rotation: Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Trout and Dennis Eckersley. They were less generous to first baseman Leon (Bull) Durham, who lost his arbitration hearing in which the Cubs mentioned that a ground ball went through his legs in the deciding game of the playoffs.

Durham is not one to sulk, though. He says he’s shooting for the triple crown--the league lead in home runs, RBIs and average. And, of course, there’s still Kid Natural, Ryne Sandberg, who came within one triple and one home run of becoming the first player in history to compile 200 hits, 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season.

The Wrigley Field groundskeepers can cut the grass a little shorter, now that rookie Shawon Dunston has replaced Larry Bowa, 39, at short. And for all the flack Ron Cey takes for his fielding, he went 60 straight games without an error, four short of the record.

Even though Sutcliffe won’t go 16-1 again, the Cubs have the ideal blend of power, speed, pitching and defense to win it again. But it can never be as much fun as it was last year. Magic never is the second tine around.

2. NEW YORK--To those who say that Gooden, rookie of the year last season, can’t get any better, consider that in the final third of last season, Gooden was 8-1 with a 1.07 earned-run average. He averaged 12.4 strikeouts, 1.5 walks and 5 hits a game. In his last three starts of the season, he struck out 41 batters and walked one. Beyond Gooden, however, the rest of the starting staff is suspect.

Carter gives the Mets a powerful presence in a lineup that already has Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry and George Foster, but if you believe what you hear out of Montreal, Carter’s presence is about as desirable as an outbreak of hepatitis. He, of course, considers that a bad rap, and this could be the year he proves it.

3. PHILADELPHIA--Juan Samuel, Jeff Stone and Von Hayes could steal 200 bases, but the league’s worst infield also has to cut down on its 113 errors. Al Campanis of the Dodgers has said that if he had Samuel, he’d make him a center fielder.

The Phillies have a new manager, John Felske, who has to have good seasons from a couple of old left-handers, Steve Carlton, 40, and Jerry Koosman, 42, to contend. And Al Holland must become at least semi-invincible again in the bullpen.

4. ST. LOUIS--Pity Manager Whitey Herzog. First, he lost Sutter, which he said made him 25 games dumber right there. Now, the Cardinals are making noises about trading Ozzie Smith, their all-world shortstop, who is eligible to become a free agent after the season. Saturday’s trade for Ivan DeJesus makes it appear that the Cardinals may be serious about unloading Smith. It’s enough to make the White Rat rabid. Jack Clark, acquired from the Giants, should help, and the addition of left-hander John Tudor should take some of the load off 20-game winner Joaquin Andujar.

5. PITTSBURGH--At the moment, the Pirates are a mess. With Tim Foli hurt, they’re shopping for a shortstop. John Candelaria was demoted to the bullpen, got in a shouting match with Bill Madlock, and has demanded a trade, an annual exercise for the Candy Man. George Hendrick, Steve Kemp and Sixto Lezcano should help an offense that scored the fewest runs of any Pirate team since 1968, although Kemp is currently on the disabled list while recovering from shoulder surgery. Madlock, who last season had an emergency appendectomy, shoulder surgery and elbow surgery. is now healthy.

6. MONTREAL--The Expos say they’ll be better off without Carter, and here’s their chance to prove it. Hubie Brooks, a good third baseman with the Mets, is a question at short for the Expos. If nothing else, it will be fun to see whether rookie center fielder Herm Winningham can fulfill his boast of matching Tim Raines, steal for steal. Raines stole 75 last season; Winningham stole a dozen this spring. Bob (Buck) Rodgers is the new manager.

National League FINAL ’84 STANDINGS

Western Division W L Pct. GB San Diego 92 70 .568 Houston 80 82 .494 12 Atlanta 80 82 .494 12 Los Angeles 79 83 .488 13 Cincinnati 70 92 .432 22 San Francisco 66 96 .407 26

Eastern Division W L Pct. GB Chicago 96 65 .596 New York 90 72 .556 6 1/2 St. Louis 84 78 .519 12 1/2 Philadelphia 81 81 .500 15 1/2 Montreal 78 83 .484 18 Pittsburgh 75 87 .463 21 1/2

THE ’85 PICKS Western Division Atlanta Los Angeles San Diego Houston San Francisco Cincinnati Eastern Division Chicago New York Philadelphia St. Louis Pittsburgh Montreal