Phils Move of Schmidt an Error?

Mike Schmidt is not moving to Los Angeles. That rumor is old, cold and moldy. Mike Schmidt is, however, moving to first base. He is supposed to start there tonight, when a two-game series begins between baseball’s finders of lost gloves--the Philadelphia Phillies and the Dodgers.

Here we have two teams desperately trying to a) catch the ball, and b) throw it to the proper base.

This stuff is pretty basic. Yet, every time a National League batter makes contact, there is a reasonably good chance that a Phillie or Dodger will do something awful in the field. Kick it, juggle it, throw it away. Errors, errors, errors. There haven’t been so many Es on a scoreboard since Ernesto Escarrega pitched for the White Sox.

The Phillies and Dodgers are not bad teams. They played for the 1983 pennant. They still have exceptional players. But it is essential that they do something soon to plug the leaks in their defenses. If they don’t, Johnny Carson is going to start doing those Carnac the Magnificent routines again, where the answer to the question is: “50 flies.” The question, naturally, will be: “How many flies do the Dodgers catch out of a hundred?”

Going into the season, there were enough worries for the Dodgers with Pedro Guerrero still trying to get the hang of third base and Steve Sax’s throwing arm endangering the lives of customers behind the first base dugout. The team also put Al Oliver in left field, which was sort of like putting Leon Spinks in the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Sunday in New York, rookie infielder Mariano Duncan had a very bad day on defense. Monday, it was a pitcher, Jerry Reuss, who picked up infield taps and then played catch with his outfielders. It used to be that the pitchers were betrayed by the rest of the defense, but the disease has begun to spread to the mound itself. Baseball fever--catch it. Then, throw it over the first baseman’s head.

Tom Lasorda, the Dodger manager, is not yet fed up. He contends that the franchise traditionally has relied on good hitting and pitching and has never really been all that wonderful in the field, even when the diamond was populated by Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey, the Los Angeles codgers. Said Lasorda: “They were always able to compensate for their defense. They’d give up one run, but somebody would drive in two.”

Al Campanis, the Dodger chief of player personnel, is concerned without being panicky. Dave Anderson’s aching back will be better soon, Campanis mentioned, so the defense should improve at shortstop. “Making good plays can help you win games, and so far, we’re not doing that,” Campanis added. “But there’s nothing wrong with us that isn’t correctable.”

In Philadelphia, the defense has been just about as bad. A year ago, this team died with its boots. The double play combination of Ivan DeJesus and Juan Samuel took after Roberto Duran: Hands of stone. Those guys couldn’t have opened a safe with the combination.

Even with a new shortstop this season, things have not been getting much better for the Phillies. There is still a considerable amount of impatience among Philadelphia’s fans--once described by Bob Uecker as the kind of people who would boo children on an Easter egg hunt.

These gentle souls want to know if the Phillies’ situation is correctable.

The Phillies say it is.

Yes, but Mike Schmidt at first base?

It will be like seeing Reggie Jackson at short. Like seeing Eddie Murray in center field. Like seeing Bill Buckner behind the plate.

It will be strange seeing Schmidt with that big, leather crab-claw on his hand. Chances are, though, he can handle it. He won’t be any Dick (Dr. Strangeglove) Stuart out there. Schmidt is a good athlete. He knows what he’s doing.

Question is: Do the Phillies know what they’re doing?

They have a minor leaguer, Rick Schu, who reportedly is ready for the big time. That is what the Cubs said of Shawon Dunston, remember, but fair is fair, so Schu deserves a chance. Except to make room for the kid, the Phillies must move their trillion-time All-Star, Schmidt, to another position. It is an experiment that could be in effect for 48 hours or for the rest of Schmidt’s career, and Schmidt--no offense to Schu--is rooting for the former.

For a guy who has spent much of his major league life adequately fielding his position and beating the seams off baseballs with his bat, Schmidt sure has gotten a lot of lip of late.

It began in spring training, when word spread that five Dodgers were bound for Philly in exchange for Schmidt. This gossip turned out to be the work of an eavesdropping Dodger who heard someone mention a possible five-for-one deal for Smith, not Schmidt--specifically, Ozzie Smith of St. Louis. This is the same Ozzie Smith who could out-field the Dodgers if he had to play the left side of the infield by himself.

The hassling of Schmidt continued when he got off to a lousy start at the plate. As of last Friday, he was batting .192, and already had made more than 100 outs. He had fewer runs batted in than the immortal Nick Esasky, fewer than Bobby Meacham, fewer than Garry Templeton, fewer than half as many as Tommy Herr. Dick Schofield had as many runs batted in as Mike Schmidt, for heaven’s sake.

A scout told a Philly reporter that Schmidt looked terrible at bat, that he “doesn’t have an idea” up there. Another guy told Schmidt he needed glasses.

Funny. Schmidt’s eyesight seemed 20/20 over the holiday weekend, when he got six hits in three games. It might be a radical idea to some baseball people and fans, but perhaps what Mike Schmidt was going through was what they call a slump.

As for his fielding, well, maybe the time for first base has come. Schmidt already has made nine errors at third, and although he did have more errors last season at this point (12), it is not as though his play has been sparkling. You can get away with an erratic third baseman if your shortstop is a wizard, but there are only so many Ozzies out there.

People scoffed when the Cardinals shelled out millions and millions of dollars to Smith, a good-fielding shortstop whose bat carries about as much wood as a tongue depressor. Yet, look at the trouble the Dodgers and Phillies have had winning games, problems directly related to defense. One good play, as Campanis said, can win a game. Keith Hernandez won one for the Mets last weekend against the Dodgers.

“Fielding is something that is changeable,” Campanis says.

Mike Schmidt, a nine-time Gold Glover and nine-time All-Star, is finding that out the hard way. He just hopes that the Philadelphia Phillies know what they are doing. It wouldn’t be the first error they have made.