Rhoden Puts Damper on Angels’ Hopes

They used to say that Rick Rhoden was one of those lucky few who were able to combine a hobby--in this case, carpentry--with their work. Rhoden is a major league pitcher, and, for years, one of the great rumors around the National League was that sandpaper was his best friend. It was thought that Rhoden had never met a baseball he wouldn’t scuff.

But that was before 1987. Rhoden now pitches for the New York Yankees and, since switching leagues, he has changed his act.

Now, certain members of the Angels contend, he throws a spitter.

“He doesn’t throw that many, but he uses it at opportune times,” Angel designated hitter Brian Downing said Tuesday night, following a 3-2 defeat handed the Angels by Rhoden and Dave Righetti.

“When you hit against him, you go up there looking for three pitches--fastball, sandpaper slider and spitter. I don’t care, he’s still got to get it over the plate. This is not a complaint by any means. It’s just a part of the game. It gives him another variable to work with.”

Angel Manager Gene Mauch knows of Rhoden’s National League reputation. Last season, Rhoden got into a shoving match with New York Met coach Bill Robinson, who was rubbed the wrong way by the very thought of the sandpaper--shouting at Rhoden, “You’re too good to cheat!”

Mauch said it was not unusual to see a baseball doctor experiment with new methods of operation.

“If you’ll mark it up, you’ll wet it down,” Mauch said. “I wouldn’t be surprised (if he throws a spitball), and I think I know the sign he uses to tell the catcher when one’s coming.”

Mauch rubbed the palm of his right hand across his forehead.

“He goes right here,” Mauch said. “And that tells the catcher, ‘I’ve got a little help right now.’ I think I saw it three times.”

Mauch grinned.

“Rhoden might tell you, ‘He’s not looking hard enough.’ ”

Rhoden limited the Angels to five hits through 7 innings, surrendering two runs on solo home runs by Dick Schofield and Devon White. He outpitched Angel rookie Willie Fraser (2-3), who allowed a home run and a run-scoring single to Willie Randolph and a tie-breaking home run to Mike Pagliarulo in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Accused of such malpractice many times before, Rhoden knows how to respond to such charges. He simply grins, looks the other way and says, “If they want to think that, that’s fine with me. That gives them one more thing to think about.”

Rhoden said his first 10 American League starts had been complaint-free. “I haven’t had any problems,” he said.

Tuesday, it was simply a case of “good stuff,” Rhoden maintained. “For me, that’s as good a fastball as I’ve had all year.”

What about the move to the forehead, the move Mauch construes as a wet giveaway?

“I’m not gonna tell you why I do that,” Rhoden said. “I do that when I want to throw a pitch a certain way, to let the catcher know. I only do that once in a while.”

Legally or not, Rhoden held the Angels to one run--Schofield’s homer--through seven innings. That enabled him to take a 2-1 lead into the eighth.

There, Mauch, who had called for sacrifice bunts in the third, sixth and seventh inning, suddenly decided to gamble. He had Mark McLemore try to steal second with no outs and down by a run.

Yankee catcher Rick Cerone threw McLemore out.

One out later, White homered. Had McLemore remained at first, it would have been a two-run home run and the Angels would have led, 3-2.

Instead, Fraser took a 2-2 tie into the bottom of the inning--and wound up a loser on Pagliarulo’s home run.

“I didn’t pick a very good pitch for McLemore to steal on,” Mauch said. “When the double play was in order, I was not expecting a high fastball. This was better than a pitchout. It was right there for the catcher.”

After White’s home run, Righetti came on to retire the last four Angel hitters in order. Included were strikeouts of Downing and Jack Howell as Righetti earned his fourth win in five decisions.

But it was Rhoden the Angels wanted to talk about afterward.

‘ “I’m not going to whine about it,” Downing said of the alleged spitball. “I’ve caught guys who throw spitters, too. It’s great--you get guys out.

“But it’s still got to be in the strike zone. He’s still got to throw it for strikes.”

Mauch said he wasn’t complaining, either. If Rhoden does indeed get away with a little something extra, more power to him, Mauch said.

“The way the baseball is now, I don’t blame any pitcher for doing anything he can to it,” Mauch said. “Put all the juice you want on it. There’s a lot of juice inside that baseball, too.”

Angel Notes New Angel relief pitcher Greg (Moon Man) Minton brings with him a Terry Forster-sized sense of humor. On his weight problems in recent years: “Last year, I was up to 234, 235 pounds. I was a wreck. My fastball dropped off to about 36 miles an hour. I couldn’t get through the clubhouse door. They put up a giant scoreboard at Candlestick and called it Jumbo Tron. They named it after me.” On the off-season diet that enabled him to slim to his present 195 pounds: “The diet I had in mind consisted of cutting down on my candy bars. My wife said none of that. She played therapist with me. She put me on 800 calories a day and had me running eight miles a day. Now, I can pig out on 1,500 calories a day.” On his pitching in general: “In the National League, a high sinker doesn’t work too well. I don’t suppose it does here, either. I don’t challenge hitters anymore. Now, I get by with a little Vaseline on my fastball.” On the prospect of working with Bob Boone: “I hear he’s fantastic, how he sets up hitters. I don’t know any hitters in this league. I’ll have trouble setting up the on-deck hitter. All I can tell him is, ‘Mr. Boone, if you call a low and away slider, be on your toes.” . . . In recent seasons, Minton became a whipping boy for fans at Candlestick Park. “I’m not saying I was a scapegoat, but when I warmed up in the bullpen, they’d boo me,” Minton said. “On the road, my ERA was two points lower than at home. Two solid years of booing did affect me. It was time for a change.” Minton said the boos increased as his save totals dwindled. “I went from 30 saves (in 1982) to 22 to, all of sudden, 5. I let myself go and weighed 234 pounds last year. They got down on me, I got down on them. We needed a parting of the ways.” . . . With their first selection in Tuesday’s amateur draft, the Angels chose a catcher, John Orton, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Orton, 21, bats righthanded and hit .348 with 11 home runs and had 30 RBIs during the 1987 season. It marks the second time in four years that the Angels used their top pick for a catcher. In 1984, the Angels selected Erik Pappas No. 1, a decision that has yet to pan out. In three minor league seasons, none higher than Class-A, Pappas has batted .243, .240 and .246. . . . Devon White’s eighth-inning home run Tuesday was his first since May 9.