BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Reds ‘Traditional,’ Look to Afternoon Opener

The Cincinnati Reds, who lost their traditional National League opening day because of the delay in the start of the regular season, are considering moving their home opener on April 17 from 7:35 p.m. to 2:05 p.m. to follow a rescheduled Opening Day parade.

“We want to make our 1990 Reds homecoming as much like the traditional Cincinnati Opening Day as possible,” Reds majority owner Marge Schott said. “The 70th annual Findlay Market opening day parade is back on, and if the fans want an afternoon game, that’s what we should try to do.”

The Findlay Market Assn., an organization of Cincinnati merchants, has sponsored the annual opening day parade for 69 consecutive years. Parade chairman Tony Bare of the organization said today that the parade has been rescheduled to April 17 from the original April 2 season-opening date.

Greg Maddux, who has replaced Rick Sutcliffe as the ace on the Chicago staff, has been named the Cubs starting pitcher in the April 9 season opener at Wrigley Field against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Manager Don Zimmer named his pitching rotation of Maddux, Mike Bielecki and Sutcliffe on Wednesday. The fourth and fifth starters have not been named.

After five straight seasons, Sutcliffe will not pitch the opener, but the veteran pitcher said he approves the manager’s choice.

“Opening Day means a lot to everyone, but no one deserves it more than The Kid (Maddux),” Sutcliffe said. “I was shocked to get the opportunity last year. It’s something you go out and earn and he earned it.”

Maddux took the news in stride.

“That stuff doesn’t matter to me,” said the 23-year-old Maddux, who was 19-12 with a 2.95 ERA last season, finishing third in the National League Cy Young voting. “I’m more concerned with how I pitch than when I pitch.”

Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn said that despite being hounded by creditors of his failed New York law firm, he has no plans to file for bankruptcy and is in good financial shape.

In an interview published in today’s The Florida-Times Union, Kuhn denied published reports that he is hiding out in Ponte Vedra to avoid creditors and to protect his property under Florida’s liberal debtor laws.

Kuhn, commissioner from 1969 to 1984, said the reports were “unfair and wrong.” He noted he has been to a number of public functions in nearby Jacksonville.

The New York law firm of Myerson & Kuhn filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in December and he said it appears it is headed for Chapter 7 liquidation.

Kuhn, 63, won a legal action Wednesday when Marine Midland Bank of New York, the law firm’s largest creditor, withdrew a motion in a state court seeking a lien against Kuhn’s new $1-million home in Marsh Landing.

Another lawsuit against Kuhn by Marine Midland is pending in New York. That one seeks a lien on his property in suburban New York.

Kuhn and his attorney said Kuhn is being singled out when all 46 partners in the law firm are liable for the debts.