WORLD SERIES NOTES : Davis’ Injury Will Not Require Surgery

Eric Davis, Cincinnati Reds outfielder, won’t need surgery on the kidney he severely bruised during Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday.

Davis will remain at Merritt Hospital in Oakland for five to seven days, team spokesman Jim Ferguson said Sunday.

A battery of overnight tests, including a CAT scan, found no rupture of the kidney, so no surgery will be necessary, Ferguson said. Team physician Michael Lawhon visited Davis in the intensive care unit Sunday.

“A full recovery is expected,” Ferguson said.

The left fielder hurt his ribs and right kidney Saturday night when he dived for a fading line drive by Willie McGee in the first inning of the Reds’ clinching 2-1 victory. Davis dived to his left, momentarily snagged the ball in the webbing of his glove, then lost it after he hit the ground hard, wedging his right arm under the side of his body.

Davis stayed in the game for the rest of the inning, then was replaced by Glenn Braggs. He required help getting to the clubhouse, and had blood in his urine.

Esther Canseco had a few choice words for Oakland A’s Manager Tony La Russa after he benched Jose Canseco before the final World Series game.

“He’s a punk,” Esther Canseco told a San Jose Mercury News reporter after learning of the last-minute snub of baseball’s highest-paid player. “Let them sweep us. I should have worn a red dress.

“Tony’s gone too far. He’s putting the blame on Jose when it’s the whole team.”

The 1990 World Series appears to have gotten the second-lowest rating since games moved to prime time, according to preliminary figures released Sunday.

The fourth and final game of Cincinnati’s sweep over Oakland got a 22.5 rating and a 38 share on CBS, according to overnight ratings from 24 major markets.

National ratings from Game 3 and Game 4 will not be available until today, but they usually approximate the overnights. The average of the four games with the overnights comes to a 21.3 rating, higher than last year’s 16.4 rating but lower than every other World Series since night games began in 1971.

CBS won all four World Series nights last week. Saturday it got a 20.6 rating for prime time while ABC got an 11.8 and NBC a 9.5.

The rating is the percentage of televisions in the United States and represents about 931,000 homes. The share is the percentage of televisions in use at the time.

Oakland Manager Tony La Russa had no regrets about the trade that sent World Series MVP Jose Rijo to Cincinnati for Dave Parker on Dec. 8, 1987.

“It was a good trade,” La Russa said. “Sandy (Alderson, the Oakland general manager) always get value for value when he makes a deal. That’s why Sandy keeps making them. It was good for both clubs and I guess that’s what you look for when you make a trade.”

Parker helped the A’s to the American League pennant in 1988 and the World Series championship last year before leaving as a free agent and signing with the Milwaukee Brewers.

In a strange game in a strange World Series, one of the stranger episodes took place with Herm Winningham of the Reds at bat in the sixth inning of Game 4.

A fan in the left-field lower deck apparently was turning a flashlight on and off in hopes of aiding the A’s.

Winningham stepped out of the box, Reds Manager Lou Piniella came out on the field to get the attention of umpires and point out the culprit.

After a delay of about two minutes, the flashlight was confiscated by security guards.

The Cincinnati bullpen has not allowed a run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk’s game-winning home run in the sixth game of the 1975 Series.

Since then, Cincinnati’s bullpen has pitched 27 consecutive scoreless innings over eight games.