Baseball / Ross Newhan : Controversial Trades Paying Off for Mariners, Phillies

While the Baltimore Orioles continue one of the most remarkable reversals in baseball history, there also have been positive developments for two other downtrodden organizations--the Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mariners have never finished at .500 or better, but they were there Thursday later than in any year except 1982, when they were 59-59 on Aug. 17.

The 47-47 record under Manager Jim Lefebvre marked a 10-game improvement over 1988 and indication that two controversial trades may be paying off.

--Brian Holman, Randy Johnson and Gene Harris, three prospects acquired from the Montreal Expos for Mark Langston, are a combined 8-7. Johnson has pitched into the seventh inning in seven of nine starts, and Holman has pitched two shutouts in his last four starts and combined on a third.

--Scott Bankhead, battling injuries after his 1987 acquisition from the Kansas City Royals for Danny Tartabull, is 10-4 with a club-record eight consecutive wins.

The 25-year-old right-hander had allowed only 11 earned runs in his last 10 starts, replacing Langston as the ace of a rebuilt staff that entered the weekend with five shutouts and a 2.91 earned-run average over the last 21 games, of which the Mariners won 15.

In all, Seattle has six rookies playing pivotal roles: Johnson, Harris, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. (who leads all major league rookies with 13 homers and 45 runs batted in), left fielder Greg Briley (11 RBIs and a .424 average in his first eight games of the second half), shortstop Omar Vizquel and part-time third baseman Edgar Martinez.

Outfielder-designated hitter Jeffrey Leonard, who made the All-Star team; first baseman Alvin Davis, who should have made it, and second baseman Harold Reynolds, who has made it before, have helped provide leadership and stability under Lefebvre.

The Phillies’ improvement has been less dramatic but still noteworthy.

Gone are the marquee names. Mike Schmidt retired in May, and Steve Bedrosian and Juan Samuel were traded in June.

The Phillies entered Saturday’s play with a 14-14 record since the departure of Bedrosian and Samuel, and Manager Nick Levya said his goal is to win 50 games in the second half, an optimistic objective considering the 32 victories of the first half.

Nevertheless, the Phillies seem on the right track.

Terry Mulholland and Dennis Cook, the left-handers obtained from the San Francisco Giants for Bedrosian, had gone six innings or more in 11 or 13 starts through Friday, strengthening a beleaguered rotation.

Lenny Dykstra, obtained from the New York Mets in the Samuel deal and happy to be playing regularly, had scored 20 runs in his 26 games as the leadoff man, and Roger McDowell, obtained in the same deal and happy to be employed in game-saving situations again, was 1-0 with six saves in 13 appearances, having yet to allow an earned run.

Touted Charlie Hayes was brought up to replace Schmidt at third base, and General Manager Lee Thomas, who first wanted the Giants’ prized prospect, Matt Williams, in the Bedrosian deal, now says, “Right now, from what I’ve seen, I probably wouldn’t trade Hayes for Matt Williams.”

The Phillies still need another starting pitcher and a right-handed power hitter to protect Von Hayes in the middle of the lineup, but there is a new enthusiasm, and Thomas is hoping his club will play well enough in the second half so that free agents will be attracted by the lure of playing for a young team on the rise.

“I want people to sit up and take notice of the Phillies before this year’s out,” he said. “I want them to say, ‘Look at that ballclub. They have improved. It looks like in a year or two, they may be a force to be reckoned with.’ ”

The Mariners seem to be there, the Phillies just around the corner.

The Orioles, losers of 107 games last year and leaders of the American League East for 78 days this year, have begun the ultimate test, a 14-game trip to Oakland, Minnesota, Kansas City and Boston, where the series with the Red Sox begins a stretch of 52 games in 51 days.

The key thing in the Orioles’ favor remains an inept division. The New York Yankees moved to within four games last week, then fell back, victims of their own pathetic pitching staff.

The Yankees have lost 20 games by five runs or more this year. In their last 18 games through Thursday, the bullpen had a 6.54 earned-run average.

“It’s time for some pitchers to look in the mirror and see what’s going on,” Manager Dallas Green said. “It’s ridiculous. Frustrating. It’s demoralizing for the team to keep sending pitchers out there who can’t get people out.

“We’re getting the runs. We’re getting enough offense, but the pitchers are taking us right out of the game. Something has got to be done. We can’t continually send out guys who can’t get the job done.”

Said owner George Steinbrenner: “We’re not pitching effectively, and the bullpen stinks. It doesn’t look like a team that understands it’s got to get going soon or it’ll be all over.”

The Yankees did something about it Saturday, trading third baseman Mike Pagliarulo and minor league pitcher Don Schulze to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Walt Terrell. Terrell, 31, was 5-13 with a 4.01 earned-run average in 19 starts for the Padres this year after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the end of last season.

As Dwight Gooden rehabilitates a shoulder injury, nephew Gary Sheffield may face a tougher adjustment, healing his wounded pride.

The Milwaukee Brewers sent their prized shortstop and one of baseball’s most touted rookies to triple-A Denver last week. Sheffield hit .248 in 81 games. He had 29 runs batted in and four homers, none since May 3. He had only one hit in his last 21 at-bats and five in his last 43.

He also made 12 errors and, of even more concern to the Brewers, seemed to see shadows where there weren’t any.

It started when Sheffield accused Milwaukee pitchers of being babies for failing to protect their hitters. He also seemed to think another rookie shortstop, Billy Speiers, was receiving preferential treatment, that he had been made an outcast by the coaching staff and that he couldn’t relate to Manager Tom Trebelhorn, one of baseball’s most communicative managers.

“They set the standard too high for me,” Sheffield said when sent out. “I didn’t think I played that badly.”

Said Trebelhorn: “He was putting pressure on himself. He has the tools and ability to play at the big league level, but he wasn’t hitting or playing like a big league player. I didn’t think this would ever happen.”

Tim Leary went from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, Zane Smith from Atlanta to Montreal.

Whitey Herzog said he pursued both for his St. Louis Cardinals, but didn’t like the price.

“I would have been interested in Tim Leary, but not for Willie McGee,” Herzog said. “I would have been interested in Zane Smith, but not for Willie McGee.”

In the meantime, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the Cardinals’ oft-injured pitching during last week’s four-game series against the Dodgers, who scored a total of eight runs, but Herzog said:

“Let’s face it, everybody pitches well against the Dodgers. You can’t judge your pitching against the Dodgers. Those guys can’t hit.”

Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith was a teammate of Dodger first baseman Eddie Murray at Locke High in Los Angeles and remains loyal to Murray.

“He’ll do better as the team does better,” Smith said, assuming it will. “You know, Eddie’s not the only one over there hitting .240. Everything’s falling on him, but he’s not a one-man team. He’s not Bo Jackson.”

Opinion: The acquisition of Kal Daniels leaves the Dodgers in double jeopardy. Not only is there a question about the durability of Daniels’ knees, but what about Kirk Gibson’s tender legs now that the Dodgers have made the commitment to play him in center field during the final 1 1/2 years of his contract?

Also, how heavy a price will the Dodgers pay for Gibson’s inability to throw from a more demanding position. Daniels is 25. It is too soon to write off his potential, but the more sensible acquisition would have been a bona fide center fielder.

With the evidence indicating that court delays will allow Pete Rose to survive the season, a new candidate being rumored to replace Rose as the Cincinnati Red manager in 1990 is ex- pitcher Jim Kaat, who is also expected to be offered a position with CBS next season.

Of the Reds’ rumors, Kaat alluded to the salary and said, “I don’t think they could stack it high enough to make it attractive.”

Rose exhibited wise discretion in opting to miss today’s Hall of Fame induction of former teammate Johnny Bench and the Monday exhibition game between the Reds and Boston Red Sox at Cooperstown, N.Y.

“There’s no sense taking the circus to Cooperstown,” Rose said, alluding to the media certain to descend on him there.

Bench agreed. “They can do whatever they want, but don’t mess around with my weekend,” he said, adding that Rose’s demeanor during the investigation into his alleged gambling activity “reminds me of the Joker. He’s been able to laugh through all this.”

First, Tom Seaver pricked Rickey Henderson’s pride by suggesting that Luis Polonia, his successor with the Yankees, has a better arm. Then, Polonia was quoted in USA Today saying he will make New York fans forget Henderson.

“Luis Polonia will make people forget about me?” Henderson responded incredulously. “I’m a legend. People aren’t going to forget about me. I mean, when people forget about me, baseball is over. I rewrote the book.”

Tom (Flash) Gordon recorded 263 minor-league strikeouts in 1988. He joined the Kansas City Royals’ bullpen this year with a curveball thought to be the best since the arrival of Bert Blyleven. And he went 10-2 over the first half, picking up five of his wins after blowing six of seven save opportunities.

Moved to the rotation for the second half, Gordon struck out 10 in eight innings of his first start Monday, a 3-2 victory over Milwaukee. Now he has the Royals envisioning what would probably be a major league first--a 20-win season in two different roles.

“I have dreams of an amazing year for Tom Gordon,” Royal Manager John Wathan said.

“I’m not saying it’s a shoe-in, but he can win 10 games in relief in the first half and 10 as a starter in the second. I don’t think it’s ever happened, but it’s a strong possibility the way he’s pitching.”