American League : Phil Niekro to Be Pitcher-Manager of Braves?

Which will come first, Phil Niekro’s 300th win or his appointment as the Atlanta Braves’ manager in 1986?

The rumor simply refuses to die, and Niekro, who registered his 297th victory as the New York Yankees defeated the Angels, 4-0, Thursday night, has apparently been fueling it. He reportedly told friends that he has agreed to succeed interim Manager Bobby Wine, who last week succeeded Eddie Haas.

Niekro, 46, would be a pitcher-manager, and he has reportedly said that he would insist on the Braves signing his brother, Joe of the Houston Astros, who will be a free agent when the season ends.

In fact, Niekro has been saying privately that his slogan will be: “Phil and Joe and Away We Go.”

The return of Cliff Johnson to Toronto as the designated hitter against left-handed pitching should make Blue Jays’ General Manager Pat Gillick the executive of the year. At least in Johnson’s mind.

“If Gillick doesn’t get executive of the year for pulling this off I won’t understand it,” Johnson said.

Johnson, however, also said that Gillick must first renegotiate his contract or he is prepared to retire.

Johnson left the Blue Jays as a free agent last winter because they wouldn’t meet his contract demands. He then got a three-year, $2.1-million contract from the Texas Rangers, and knocked the Blue Jays for a lack of intensity on the field.

Now the Blue Jays have agreed to take on his contract and his personality, but he wants more. He wants a raise. He has also bitten the hand that agreed to feed him when the Blue Jays wouldn’t. He has knocked the Rangers in the same way he knocked the Blue Jays.

“There’s not enough pride,” Johnson said of the Texas team. “When you lose to somebody you sit on the bus or plane and think about how you screwed up, but not here (Texas). They party, have fun.”

The Rangers’ reaction to Johnson’s return to Toronto?

“I think both teams are happy now,” first baseman Pete O’Brien said.

Said Texas coach Rich Donnelly, about the Blue Jays’ decision: “It’s like Tom Landry taking back Duane Thomas.”

Add Blue Jays: Gillick has received remarkable help from his Syracuse farm team while bolstering the varsity’s pitching staff. Tom Filer, Steve Davis, Ron Musselman and Tom Henke, up from Triple-A, are a combined 14-1 with nine saves.

Kirk Gibson of the Detroit Tigers, who will be eligible for free agency when the season ends, is expected to test the market.

“At this point I’d be surprised if I didn’t file,” he told Vern Plagenhoff of the Booth newspaper chain.

The Tigers ended their recent West Coast trip by outhitting the opposition in home runs, 15-2. Their edge in errors, however, was almost as lopsided, 13-4. Thus, they lost five of the nine games.

Said Manager Sparky Anderson: “Next spring it’s going to be back to minor league instruction for everybody.”

Remember Chris Pittaro? He’s the rookie infielder Anderson called the best he had ever seen and was the rookie who opened the season for Detroit at third base. Anderson even considered moving Lou Whitaker from second to third to make room for Pittaro. Pittaro finished the season at Nashville, hitting less than .200.

Texas Manager Bobby Valentine, whose roots are in the National League, said of Kansas City’s George Brett, who has seven homers in nine games against Texas, “If he’s not the best hitter in baseball I don’t know who is.”

Spaceman Bill Lee has resurfaced with the Moncton Mets of the New Brunswick Senior League. He was 6-1 with an 0.59 earned-run average and is convinced he could still pitch in the majors.

“The owners won’t let me come back,” he said. “Peter Ueberroth would have to give me amnesty like he gave Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle.”

Some views by Gene Mauch as the Angels head into September:

--On pressure: “I don’t like the word. Pressure is being involved in something you know nothing about. Guys like Stewart Cliburn and Dick Schofield aren’t out there trying to knock in a 10-foot putt. They know how to throw a strike and field a ground ball.”

--On his season-long pattern of juggling the lineup to keep his older players fresh and his reserves involved: “It’s been the most delicate thing I’ve ever had to do, but now when I give a guy a rest I can see he’s mad about it, which tells me he’s still strong, still fresh. It beats the hell out of a situation where a guy keeps looking around, wondering when he’s going to get a day off.”

--On the Royals: “We’ll concern ourselves with the Royals starting Sept. 9 (when a three-game series begins at Anaheim Stadium). Until then, we’re just trying to build up that left hand (games won) column.”

--On the possibility that he will manage differently in September: “How I manage will never be a factor. At least, I don’t intend to let my managing become a factor.”

--On the prospect of a September dogfight: “This is where the fun is. This is why you start working in mid-February.”

Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield have combined to drive in 195 runs for the Yankees, but they’re chasing some pretty impressive ghosts.

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris drove in 270 in 1961, but the New York best was established by Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in 1931. Gehrig had 184 RBIs and Ruth 163 for a 347 total in 154 games.

Control? Consider Bret Saberhagen, the Kansas City Royals’ sophomore who is 16-5 with 9 wins in his last 10 starts. Saberhagen has thrown 79 innings in those 10 games. He’s struck out 63 and walked just 7.

He was also on his way to another win when rain washed out a 3-2, fourth-inning lead at Milwaukee Thursday. Dick Howser, the Kansas City manager, was asked if he would juggle his rotation to get Saberhagen back in as soon as possible.

“I’m not that swift to hold people back and move ‘em around,” he said. “When I hear talk about it I’m reminded of the guy who, before the strike, was going to get tricky, then lost 12 of 16.”

The guy was San Diego Manager Dick Williams, who began the second half by telling the Padres that he wanted them to play every game as if it was September because of the possibility that the Aug. 6 strike would wipe out the season.

Ellis Valentine, who did not play with the Angels in 1984 because of a bruised heel and was then released with a year to go on his guaranteed contract, is hitting .305 with 9 homers and 32 RBIs in 151 at-bats with the Rangers’ Triple-A farm team at Oklahoma City.

Valentine (Bobby) on Valentine (Ellis): “There’s a decent chance he could be with us next year. The Angels told us he could still play, but he just had nagging injuries.”