Rader Has Proved He Deserves the Job

R eading between the datelines . . .

Angel Manager Doug Rader still hasn’t heard yes or no about 1991, which we can only assume is Mike Port’s way of injecting suspense into the rest of 1990.

Should the Angels bring Rader back?

Should the A’s bring Rickey Henderson back?

Last year, the Angels gave Rader a one-year contract extension because he had the Angels in first place at the All-Star break. That was fine work by Rader but certainly no finer than the dredge operation he has managed this summer.

Last year, Bert Blyleven went 17-5 for Rader. This year, Mark Langston goes 9-16.

Last year, Greg Minton and Bob McClure anchored Rader’s middle relief corps. This year, Greg Minton and Bob McClure anchored the disabled list.

Last year, Wally Joyner hit .282 and drove in 79 runs. This year, Joyner hits the freeway and drives to Dr. Lewis Yocum’s office.

Last year, Devon White and Jack Howell spent full seasons in the major leagues. This year, they did not.

Still, Rader has a chance to bring this leaking rig in above .500, an idea that boggles. Jeff Torborg is manager of the year, but Rader might be runner-up. At the very least, he should be Angel manager for another year.

Should Rader want to come back?

Don’t ask me hard questions.

SAN DIEGO--Experts on winning baseball, San Diego Padre players trash Tony Gwynn, hold team meetings to criticize his hitting philosophy and hang a Tony Gwynn doll in effigy in the Padre dugout with the arms and legs lopped off.

Finally, we know why the Padres are buried in fourth in a division they should have won this year and last. Gwynn, four-time National League batting champion, hit only .309. He drove in only 72 runs, which would lead the Angels by six. He bunts too many runners into scoring position and sacrifices too many swings when a teammate tries to steal second base. Too many fans, writers and non-Padres like him.

Mike Port, please notice. Jack McKeon’s number is in the book.

TOKYO--The city of Atlanta, the city that can carry the weight, gets carried away and cons its way into the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

Athens had the history.

Melbourne had the scenery.

Belgrade had the facilities.

Toronto had the Skydome.

Manchester had the night life.

Atlanta has the Braves, the Hawks and the Falcons.

Obviously, a sympathy vote.

VIENNA--The U.S. Davis Cup squad opens semifinal competition Friday against Austria, which must be a big event, because Andre Agassi has consented to show.

Win or lose, it could be a short Davis Cup stay for Andre--and for Team Orange County, Michael Chang and Rick Leach. If the United States advances, the doubles team of Leach and Jim Pugh should as well, but this year’s finals are set for St. Petersburg, Fla., which will be played on a fast surface, which should spell a bye for the baseline-bound Chang--and, maybe, Agassi, too.

Today, the best fast-court players in America are John McEnroe and Pete Sampras, who has a U.S. Open cup to prove it. Agassi has spent his brief, petulant Davis Cup career picking and choosing. It’s about time U.S. captain Tom Gorman had a rebuttal.

AUBURN, STARKSVILLE AND POINTS BEYOND--Titan Tour Across America reaches Akron, Ohio, this weekend with Cal State Fullerton lugging a predictable 1-2 record it has fashioned in unpredictable style.

Fullerton failed to embarrass itself in Auburn and hung in against Mississippi State despite a 17-hour fright flight that was straight out of the film “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” No blowouts at either site--scoreboard, knee or otherwise.

This could be the best Gene Murphy team ever sighted at Fullerton, except that it’s never sighted at Fullerton.

ANAHEIM--SmogPros superstar Mike Lansford has a torn calf muscle in his right leg, prompting the Rams to schedule a seven-man tryout to find a possible kickoff man for Sunday’s game against Philadelphia.

Why stop at seven? Why not throw it to the masses? Open tryout, come one and all, for the thrill of being a Ram for a day.

It’d be a great publicity stunt and it couldn’t be any worse than the one-man tryout the Rams staged last Sunday in Tampa.