National League Playoffs Notebook : Backman Not Surprised by Ryan’s Fadeout, but Nolan Was

Met second baseman Wally Backman said Nolan Ryan’s middle-inning fadeout was not surprising.

“He’s basically the type of pitcher who blows us away for a couple, three innings, then he loses about a foot off his fastball,” Backman said.

Ryan, who has lost his last six starts to the Mets, including four this season, disputed the suggestion that he had lost any velocity.

“I didn’t feel like I was in trouble, even after the hit by (Gary) Carter,” said Ryan, referring to the double by the Met catcher in the fourth that drove in New York’s first run.

“The next inning they hit some balls good, and they hit some where there wasn’t anybody. I’m pretty disappointed, because I thought I had good stuff.”

Ryan, who pitched seven innings in relief and struck out seven Atlanta batters in a 1969 playoff game for the Mets, was at at a loss to explain his trouble against his ex-team.

“I haven’t pitched well against them--why, I don’t know,” he said.

Ron Darling, who will pitch Game 3 for the Mets, when asked the difference between his split-fingered fastball and the one thrown by Scott, said: “Mine doesn’t strike out 14.”

Unlike Scott, who can throw his split-fingered pitch at 90 m.p.h., Darling said he uses the novelty pitch as a changeup.

“They tried to teach me the Tom Seaver changeup, but I couldn’t master it,” Darling said. “Neither could anyone else.”

Davey Lopes, at a recent workout, said he tried to teach Pedro Guerrero how to slide when they were teammates on the Dodgers.

“That’s not saying much, is it?” Lopes said.

Lopes, who broke Honus Wagner’s major league record for stolen bases by a player 40 or older--he stole 25 bases in 33 attempts--said he took a barefoot Guerrero onto the grass at Dodger Stadium for some one-on-one lessons.

It was a disaster. “If he had been wearing shoes, he’d have broken his ankle then, too,” Lopes said. “He can’t slide. He’s one of the worst.”

But that will have to change, Lopes said, for Guerrero to continue his career. “He has to learn the easiest, safest slide,” Lopes said. “Bent-leg, nothing fancy. He can’t afford to put himself in another career-threatening situation.”

Lopes, who grew up in East Providence, R.I., is pulling for the Red Sox in the American League playoffs.

“I used to go to as many games (at Fenway Park) as I could afford to go to,” Lopes said.

What did it cost him, about a dollar a game, someone asked.

“If it was a dollar, that was too much, as far as I was concerned,” Lopes said.

“I always wanted to play for two teams--the Red Sox and the Brooklyn Dodgers.”