BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : All Big Games Won’t Be Between the Lines

The games of the second half have begun, with some of the biggest to be decided off the field:

--Commissioner Fay Vincent is expected to reach a decision by early August on George Steinbrenner’s status as owner of the New York Yankees, with Monday the deadline for Steinbrenner to present additional testimony or evidence regarding his relationship with alleged gambler Howie Spira, and Steinbrenner’s handling of Dave Winfield while Winfield was a Yankee.

--On Thursday, a federal judge in Cincinnati will announce Pete Rose’s sentence for filing false tax returns. A prison sentence of three to six months is expected.

--Arbitrator George Nicolau is expected to announce all or part of the financial penalties in Collusion II and III before the end of the season. The Major League Baseball Players Assn. has recommended damages of $200 million for the three cases.

--The National League is receiving and responding to expansion questionnaires. Prospective owners are scheduled to be interviewed before Sept. 30, with the expansion committee formulating an initial finding by Nov. 30.

Among those with a personal interest in the expansion process is Dodger broadcaster Don Drysdale, who has agreed to become vice president and general manager of a Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., team if a group fronted by Ken Harrelson wins that franchise.

“I’ve done just about everything else in baseball, and I don’t care about managing,” Drysdale said. “This is the next plateau. I’m looking at the challenge. I think it would be fun.”

Harrelson and Drysdale became close while serving as Chicago White Sox broadcasters. Harrelson then made a failed run as White Sox general manager, employing Drysdale as a pitching coach before resigning under pressure.

Now Harrelson, known as Hawk because of the shape of his nose, is back broadcasting White Sox games. He said of the expansion bid: “I’ll be a part-owner, but Don will run the baseball operation. I’ve been there once and had my nose knocked off. Now it’s his turn.”

Sarasota, Fla., businessman Tom Hammons is known to be one of Harrelson’s financial backers, but Harrelson said the others won’t be identified until after the league completes interviews. Drysdale said the money is there or he wouldn’t be involved.

Of the three groups bidding for a Tampa-St. Petersburg franchise, the late-emerging Harrelson group is given the least chance by Florida observers.

The sentimental favorite is a group headed by area businessman Frank Morsani, who has been at the forefront of the area’s expansion bid for almost a decade and pushed for construction of the Suncoast Dome.

The third group is fronted by Joel Schur and Steven Porter, co-owners of the St. Petersburg Cardinals of the Florida State League. This group is said to have resources of $2 billion and incorporates investors from rival Orlando, Fla., including Los Angeles-based Roy Disney, Walt’s nephew.

How to measure the depths of the Angels’ underachievement this season? Try comparative salaries, a popular yardstick among players.

Adding the salaries of the five starting pitchers and nine players who have most often made up the starting lineup, the Chicago White Sox have a total of $6.7 million and an average of $478,785 a player, and the Seattle Mariners have a total of $6.6 million and an average of $474,000.

The Angels do not have a regular lineup, but using Brian Downing as the designated hitter, Chili Davis as the left fielder, Devon White as the most frequent center fielder of the first half, Winfield as the right fielder and the rest of their regular position players and starting pitchers, the total is $16,785,000.

That’s $10 million more than the White Sox and Mariners and an average of $1,198,928 per player, about $700,000 more than the averages for Chicago and Seattle.

The bottom line is that the Angels are trailing--and showing no interest in catching--two teams with payrolls that seem stingy in contrast with their own, two teams more motivated because of it, perhaps.

Gene Autry’s long admiration for, and warm relationship with, Whitey Herzog was chronicled in this column last Sunday, Autry saying he would probably contact Herzog after giving him time to sort out his emotions after his resignation as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.

It now turns out that Autry and Herzog had lunch in Los Angeles a few days before Herzog resigned, and while there have been rumors about Herzog eventually joining the Yankees or an expansion team as manager or general manager, the Angels should not be ruled out.

Responding to the impressive return of Cecil Fielder from Japan with the Detroit Tigers, the Montreal Expos, one of baseball’s most successful scouting and developmental organizations, have decided to place a full-time scout in that country.

“I feel that if we get one guy, it will be worth it,” General Manager Dave Dombrowski said.

In their last 19 games of the first half, the Tigers’ starting pitchers yielded 65 earned runs in 93 innings, pushing their earned-run average for the first half to 5.13.

The point: Kirk Gibson’s desire to return to Detroit and the Dodgers’ desire to obtain a fifth starting pitcher don’t seem to mix.

So far, the Dodgers have rejected Detroit’s offer of Brian DuBois, and the Tigers have rejected the Dodgers’ bid for Steve Searcy.

In the meantime, the Boston Red Sox, looking for another starting pitcher down the stretch, are also said to be talking with the Tigers regarding Jack Morris, who won his last two starts of the first half and pitched complete games in two of his last three before being bombed by the Texas Rangers in Thursday’s first start of the second half.

Lou Gorman, Red Sox general manager, is also reportedly interested in Mike Scott of the Houston Astros and has traditionally traded for extra pitching when his team is in the race. Gorman swapped Steve Lyons for Tom Seaver in June of 1986 and dealt Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling for Mike Boddicker in July of 1988.

Despite a wrist injury that reduced his effectiveness in April and a hamstring strain that recently put him on the bench for a week, Kevin Mitchell is having another fine season with 22 home runs, 51 runs batted in and a .317 average.

Can he still match the 47 homers and 125 RBIs of his 1989 MVP campaign?

“I haven’t set any goals,” the San Francisco Giant left fielder said at the All-Star game. “I just want to go out and do the best I can. I’ve still never felt like I did last year at the plate. I haven’t had that feeling that I can hit one out against any pitcher.”

Derek Lilliquist, sixth player chosen in 1987’s June draft, had a 2-8 record and a 6.28 ERA with the Atlanta Braves when he was sent to their triple-A farm club at Richmond, Va., in early June.

Lilliquist responded with a 4-0 record in five starts, rebuilding his stock to the point that Jack McKeon, only one day after giving up the San Diego Padres’ managerial reins to concentrate on his responsibilities as general manager, began what is expected to be a second-half housecleaning by trading Mark Grant for him.

The deal failed to produce major headlines but could prove significant for the Padres. Lilliquist is a 24-year-old left-hander who still has a chance to fulfill his promise and may profit from the change in venue, though he will be used initially in middle relief.

And Grant was no longer in San Diego’s plans. He had a 1-1 record and no saves in 26 appearances, pitching in only three Padre victories.

In parting with Lilliquist, Atlanta Manager-General Manager Bobby Cox said: “We’ve got left-handed starters backed up throughout the organization. Sooner or later, we were going to have to do something to help the bullpen. We’ve got good reports on Grant, and we plan on using him in both the setup and closer roles.”

The Braves, through Thursday, ranked well down in the National League with 18 saves and had wasted almost as many opportunities, 16.