THE WORLD SERIES : MINNESOTA TWINS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS : Notebook : Story of a Sore Arm for Straker Has Twins’ Kelly Showing a Sore Head

Less than two hours before the start of Game 6 of the World Series here Saturday, Minnesota Manager Tom Kelly was involved in a heated exchange with a reporter from the Minneapolis Star and Tribune over a story that ran in that day’s editions.

Kelly approached reporter Dennis Brackin and angrily asked why Brackin had written that Les Straker, who started for the Twins Saturday, had complained of arm soreness.

“How do you think it . . . looks, sending out a sore-armed pitcher in Game 6 of the World Series?” the 37-year-old rookie manager asked. “ . . . MacPhail (Andy, the Twins’ vice president) is worried. The . . . trainers are going crazy up there (in the clubhouse). How could you write something like that?”

Brackin’s response: “Straker said he had more than just the normal soreness. Twenty other guys (reporters) heard him say that (Thursday). Why don’t you ask Straker about his arm?”

Kelly: “He said he never . . . said it.”

In his story, Brackin questioned Kelly’s decision to go with a three-man rotation. Had Kelly chosen to pitch Joe Niekro, instead of Bert Blyleven, in Game 5 at St. Louis, Frank Viola and Blyleven would have been available to pitch this weekend at the Metrodome.

“Are you saying it’s a . . . mistake to go with a pitcher on three days’ rest?” asked Kelly, yelling although he stood only a foot away from Brackin. “So, that guy over there (St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog) is . . . up, too, because he’s going with (John) Tudor on three days’ rest?”

Responded Brackin: “It’s not my job to say who’s . . . up. I was just outlining your options. . . . But I guess I’m too stupid to do that.”

Kelly screamed at Brackin, “Yeah, you’re too . . . stupid,” and then stomped toward the outfield.

This is not the first time in the World Series that Kelly has reacted angrily to stories or questions.

He snapped at a reporter in a press conference following Game 3, in which the Twins lost a 1-0 lead after Kelly replaced Straker with Juan Berenguer in the seventh inning.

Straker lasted just three batters into the fourth inning Saturday and was charged with four runs.

There was some levity among the Twins around the batting cage before Saturday’s game.

Before his run-in with the reporter, Kelly pitched batting practice to Kirby Puckett, Tom Brunansky, Don Baylor and Dan Gladden. Each player ended their turns in the cage with a drag bunt down the third-base line.

Asked Kelly, jokingly: “What’s going on here?”

Replied Brunansky: “We’re changing our style, baby. We’re going to be like St. Louis.”

Stupid question of the day: Cardinal pitcher John Tudor, asked whether Don Baylor hit a “good” pitch for a grand-slam home run in the fifth inning: “I’m sure it was good for Don.”

Obvious answers of the day: From Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith, on Game 7 tonignt: “Somebody’s going to win, and somebody’s going to lose. We know that.”