Goose Feels Stopped as Padre Stopper

It is the time of year when baseball players fill their Gatorade cups with coffee. On a chilly Midwest afternoon, Goose Gossage stared down into his cup and shook his head.

With less than two weeks remaining in this, his 16th and longest season, all the eldest Padre could find were questions.

Is Goose still needed? Is Goose still wanted? Is anybody still listening?

Tuesday, Gossage took a wondering, worried, often frustrated glance at 1987 and ahead to 1988. A glance is all he can stand.

“Our season,” he said, “speaks for itself.”

He spoke in quiet, uncomplaining terms. His mouth has caused no problems this year. He didn’t feel this was the time to start.

But Gossage said he feels he has lost his spot as the bullpen stopper. He said he isn’t sure what his role will be next season, the final year of his contract. He said he would just like Manager Larry Bowa to clear it all up.

He recently passed Bruce Sutter to move into second place on the all-time save list (289), behind only Rollie Fingers (341), but he feels that’s no reason to turn him into a relic.

“I don’t know what their plans are for me next year, but I haven’t known my role all this year,” said the 36-year-old, who will be finishing his fourth season with the Padres. “I would like to be used more, and for whatever reason, I haven’t been. I don’t like to be kept in the dark, but that’s what it’s been like. I really haven’t talked to Larry (Bowa) all year.

“Lance (McCullers) is the main man down in the bullpen. I’m just out there in case somebody gets in trouble. I’d like to have done more this year than I did.”

Gossage wonders if there isn’t a movement in the system to rid it of the veterans.

“I don’t know if they want to get rid of us before our Basic Agreement is up (after the 1988 season), so we can’t influence the younger guys,” he said. “With some members of management it’s like, if you aren’t their players, they don’t want you.”

Gossage then referred to a couple of statistics, all accumulated after he missed a month of the season with torn cartilage in his rib cage.

Since July 19, he has made 14 appearances. During that time, the 23-year-old McCullers has made 30.

Gossage has been given 15 save opportunities. During times when Gossage was healthy, McCullers has been given 21 such chances.

Gossage has made the most of his opportunities. Since July 19, he has allowed only four earned runs in 17 innings for a 2.12 ERA, going 3-0 with three saves.

Saturday, he threw three perfect innings in the Padres’ 14-inning, 2-1 victory at Houston.

Overall, Gossage leads the club with a 2.63 ERA but in only 48 innings, with a career-low 11 saves. McCullers, fifth in the league with 72 appearances, has a 3.78 ERA in 114 innings with 15 saves. “I feel healthy, I think I can still pitch,” Gossage said. “I’ve got a year left on my contract, they might as well make use of me.”

Bowa said they will. Except for Gossage needing more rest, said Bowa, his role has not changed.

“His role is still as our stopper,” Bowa said. “But there are days when, according to the reports from the trainer’s room, he can’t pitch in back-to-back games. I never question those reports.”

Said Gossage: “There are times when I say, ‘If I can get a rest, I’ll take it.’ But I’ve had other managers ask me how I feel, and Larry has very seldom asked me how I feel.”

Said Bowa: “My door is always open.”

There is also the matter of Gossage not wishing to pitch in games already decided. He feels he can get in his work just as well in the bullpen.

“This has been a strange year like that. There have been a lot of games where we have been way ahead or way behind,” said Gossage. “I understand that.”

Bowa discounted any sweeping youth movement.

“Hey, I’m a Rich Gossage fan,” he said. “I like older guys like Goose. I need guys like Goose, good stabilizers. Many times an older player can tell a younger guy something I can’t.

“And Goose has handled this season with class and professionalism. He’s made no waves. We need guys like him on the team.”

Gossage: “I would like to help.”

Gossage would not predict if next season would be his last. But he would guess about what would make it a good season. He said he’s hoping this team doesn’t think it can just roll out of bed next spring and be a contender.

“You can’t ignore the standings--we’re in last place, we’ve had a terrible year,” he said. “Everyone talks about the second half, but this game is two halves, 162 games, and you can’t forget the first one. I mean, we’re not in a real strong division and we’re in last place. It’s been a terrible year.

“If we were in the East, I don’t know where we would be. There would be no light at the end of the tunnel.”

Gossage said the club’s biggest need is experience. And he said the worst thing that could happen would be if management expected that experience to suddenly appear.

“This year, there’s been no pressure on our kids, but if everyone comes out next year talking about us being contenders, we can’t say that yet,” he said. “To put that kind of pressure on these kids is unfair. I’m not saying we can’t be respectable. I like what I see. But they need more time.

“The worse thing you can do in this game is force something. You force something, all hell breaks loose. Some of these guys haven’t even had one year. To say we can come back next year and win it, that’s a pretty heavy statement.”