Minus Boros and Nettles, Padres Win

Two more Padres were ejected by umpire Charlie Williams Friday night, but the Padres had the last say of the game this time.

Marvell Wynne drove in Bip Roberts with a two-out single in the 11th inning as the Padres defeated Atlanta, 3-2, in front of 19,224 fans at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Manager Steve Boros and third baseman Graig Nettles were not around to see the finish. Both were ejected by Williams, who had given Steve Garvey his first career ejection Thursday night.

Boros, criticized in Oakland for being too nice a manager, was the first to go. He received his first ejection in 259 games as a major league manager for arguing with Williams while the lineup cards were being exchanged.

Nettles was next.

The situation unfolded when Nettles was unhappy over two strike calls on him in the sixth by home plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt. Nettles was ejected in the top of the seventh by third base umpire Williams when Nettles continued to complain.

Before Friday’s game, Boros expressed his displeasure over the manner in which Williams had ejected Garvey on Thursday.

On the play in question, Bip Roberts slid around catcher Ozzie Virgil and touched home plate with his hand (according to television replays), but Williams didn’t see it.

Garvey, the on-deck batter, went out and drew a line where he thought Roberts had touched the plate. After Garvey drew the line and said, “Bear down,” he was ejected by Williams.

When Boros took the lineup card to the plate Friday, he was angry. Immediately, he began arguing with Williams, who ejected him.

According to an announcement in the press box, Boros--who carried a videotape with him to home plate--said he asked to show replays of Thursday’s controversial play to Williams.

Williams, who thought he had been “showed up” by Garvey, knew he was being showed up by Boros.

Goodby Manager Boros, hello Manager Harry Dunlop for the evening. Dunlop is regularly a Padre coach.

During batting practice, Boros said he had watched Thursday’s play at the plate three times on television after he went home. When asked if Roberts had touched the plate, Boros nodded affirmatively.

Boros had a little fun when Garvey first stepped into the batting cage before Friday’s game.

“Watch your language, will you?” Boros said with a smile.

However, he wasn’t smiling when the game began.

Boros was ejected once in his 13-year playing career. According to his version, a teammate had been yelling from the bench at an umpire. But when the umpire came over, he pointed at Boros and told him to leave the game.

In 1971, Boros was ejected while managing the Waterloo, Iowa, club in the Class A Midwest League. He said there was a umpire in the league who finally made him incensed enough to get kicked out.

After the ejection, Boros went into the clubhouse and made a sign that said “Umpires” out of a piece of wood. He went to the scoreboard and inserted the piece of wood over the opponent’s name. The scoreboard thus read: “Umpires 9, Waterloo 2.”

By the seventh inning Friday, the score for the series was Umpires 3, Padres 0.

Nettles had argued about two strike calls by Wendelstedt in the bottom of the sixth when Nettles struck out for the third straight time. On his way back to the dugout, Nettles gestured at Williams and Wendelstedt as if to say, “First him, now you.”

When Nettles went to play third base in the top of the seventh, he was still saying unkind words to Wendelstedt.

That’s when Williams interceded. Two pitches into the inning, Williams apparently told Nettles to be quiet and an argument followed that caused Nettles to be ejected from the game.

After Nettles left the field, fans above third base began throwing coins at Williams. Four security guards temporarily shielded Williams before play resumed without any further incidents.

If Boros had been attempting to fire up the Padres, his strategy succeeded early.

Roberts led off the first by reaching base on first baseman Bob Horner’s throwing error. Roberts stole second, then he moved up one base at a time on ground outs by Tony Gwynn and Marvell Wynne.

Andy Hawkins allowed four hits through the first four innings, but he was pitching a shutout.

In the fifth, Ozzie Virgil ruined the shutout with a homer well into the bleachers in left-center.

There was more to come in the Brave fifth. Glenn Hubbard walked and was sacrificed to second by pitcher David Palmer. Hubbard took third on Omar Moreno’s grounder and scored on a Hawkins wild pitch.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Padres evened the score, 2-2.

Garry Templeton walked, Hawkins struck out and Roberts forced Templeton at second. Consecutive singles by Gwynn and Wynne scored Roberts.

The Padres had a chance to break the game open in the fifth, but Terry Kennedy took a called third strike with the bases loaded and two outs.

In the eighth, Atlanta had an opportunity to break the 2-2 tie, but pinch-hitter Ted Simmons lined to center with the bases loaded and two outs.

Both teams went quietly in order in the ninth, forcing extra innings.

Padre Notes

When the ban on beer in the clubhouse went into effect after Thursday night’s game, Goose Gossage assailed Joan Kroc, Padre owner, and Ballard Smith, team president. “God bless Ray Kroc, or they’d be worthless,” Gossage told reporters. “It’s just because their lives are so boring. They’re worthless people--gutless, spineless. It’s just so totally asinine, it’s hard to believe. If this is what money does to people, who needs it? Ballard’s gutless. He didn’t even have the guts to come down here and tell us in person. I’d like to see him without that money and see what kind of person he is. . . . Ballard doesn’t know anything about running a club. He just has money. So he thinks he has power to butt into other people’s lives. . . . They have Budweiser signs in the park so they can make money, but they don’t want the players unwinding with a couple of beers after a game. How inconsistent and hypocritical is that? All of a sudden, we’re being treated like 14-year-olds.” Before Friday’s game Smith met privately with Gossage. According to Smith, Gossage was not reprimanded for his comments. “He said he wanted to get my attention, and I told him he did,” Smith said. “But am I upset? No. The only thing I was upset about was he said it in the papers and not to me directly. He said it directly to me today. It’s pretty hard to get mad at Goose. What do you want me to do? Punch him in the mouth? We shook hands. I’m sure his feelings are still the same. He understands my position, he just doesn’t agree with it.” On Friday, Gossage said he didn’t have anything more to say on the matter. . . . While Steve Garvey was taking batting practice Friday, some players began chatting about the old-timers’ game that will precede Sunday’s Padre-Brave game. “Hey, Garv’s got a doubleheader that day,” Terry Kennedy said. . . . Third baseman Graig Nettles returned to the lineup for the first time in six days since suffering a hamstring injury. . . . Center fielder Kevin McReynolds was benched in favor of Marvell Wynne. “He swung at some bad pitches last night,” Manager Steve Boros said of McReynolds. “He’s dragging a little bit. He has been successful against the other two guys Atlanta is pitching in this series, plus Houston will pitch three left-handers against us (Monday through Wednesday). If we’re going to give him a day off, this is the time.”. . . Dave Dravecky was voted the Padres’ player representative Friday. He replaces Kennedy, who had resigned and said that the job had become too much of a burden. . . . Two local players have signed Padre contracts--third baseman Jimmy Dean of Madison High School and shortstop Tom Levasseur of San Diego State. Both were selected in undisclosed rounds in Monday’s draft.