BASEBALL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Port Now Running League of His Own

Not quite two years ago, when he was general manager of the Angels, Mike Port was appointed to a committee assigned to evaluate winter baseball leagues.

Now, he’s running one.

Port, fired by the Angels in April 1991, is president of the six-team Arizona Fall League, which will make its debut on Oct. 6 and run through Dec. 6. Backed by the financial support and marketing expertise of major league baseball, it’s envisioned as a way for teams to keep their top prospects sharp without subjecting them to the uncertain conditions of foreign play.

“Over the past few years, there had been an increase in jobs at the minor league level but no increase in winter league opportunities other than in the Caribbean and Mexico,” Port said. “This developed as a supplement to or alternative to existing winter leagues. Of course, there’s the Instructional League, but this is the first domestic endeavor where it ill be good, hard-nosed baseball.”

All but one of the six teams will play in a stadium currently or formerly used by major league teams during spring training. Each team will play a 54-game schedule, and a best-of-three playoff series will determine the league champion.

Each franchise has been linked with four major league clubs and will get the top three Double-A and Triple-A players from each club. To balance the math for a 26-man roster, the Twins and Astros will contribute two players to three teams instead of six to one team. Several coaches and minor league managers will get a chance to manage in the Fall League, including the Giants’ Dusty Baker at Scottsdale and the Dodgers’ Jerry Royster at Sun Cities.

Teams that train in Arizona will stock the Arizona Fall League team in their spring city. The Chandler Diamondbacks will have players from the Brewers, Phillies, Reds, Mariners and Astros; the Scottsdale Scorpions will be stocked by the Giants, Angels, Red Sox, Orioles and Twins; the Grand Canyon Rafters--who will play at Grand Canyon University’s stadium--will get players from the Expos, Braves, Twins, White Sox and Cubs; the Tucson Javelinas will get players from the Indians, Padres, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Astros; the Sun Cities Solar Sox will be stocked by the Dodgers, Royals, Tigers, Mets and Astros, and the Phoenix Saguaros will have players from the A’s, Rangers, Yankees, Pirates and Twins. Affiliations will change from year to year.

“The caliber of player we are anticipating hopefully will be strong candidates for 1993 AL or NL rookie of the year, the best of the best,” Port said.

Each major league club has been assigned positions they must contribute, but there’s flexibility. As an example, Port said if the Angels are assigned to send Scottsdale a right-handed starter, shortstop and catcher, and lack one of those, they can switch assignments with one of their co-contributors.

With the backing of Major League Baseball Properties and the advertising support of the Safeway supermarket chain, the venture seems solid.

“As an operating division of major league baseball, our stockholders are the 28 clubs, which gives us a two-fold advantage,” Port said. “Sometimes you start out, and people say, ‘Are your bills going to be paid?’ There’s no question our bills will be paid. Baseball as an industry has a vested interest in our success.”

Port is enjoying his career switch. “The detail is still there, but with the involvement with 25 or 26 major league organizations. With a club, you’re working on something involved with your particular club. This is something good for the industry, for Arizona and for the players . . . “I just try to move along on things. Change is the nature of the industry. Managers and GMs are hired to be fired. This has been a good thing. It’s an interesting, exciting environment, and I view this as something very important for the furtherance of the game.”

By signing Dennis Eckersley to a two-year, $7.8-million contract extension, Oakland A’s General Manager Sandy Alderson whittled his list of potential free agents to 11. He might still lose pitchers Ron Darling, Kelly Downs, Dave Stewart and Rick Honeycutt; first baseman Mark McGwire; catchers Terry Steinbach and Jamie Quirk; outfielders Harold Baines and Willie Wilson, and infielders Randy Ready and Carney Lansford, but Alderson isn’t likely to further reduce that list before the season ends.

Alderson described Eckersley’s case as unique, and not an exception to his policy of not negotiating during the season.

“He made it very clear he wanted to stay in Oakland,” Alderson said of Eckersley, “and he made it clear again in the fact that he signed (for far less than his market value).”

And if another player said he wanted to stay with the A’s and asked to talk, would Alderson agree? “Nobody has,” Alderson said.

Darling, whose second-half surge has helped keep Oakland atop the American League West, said he wants to stay--but he’s waiting for the A’s to approach him.

“I’d like to play here. I like it here. But they have to let me know,” Darling said. “Their stance seems to be, they’re not going to sign anybody until after the season or the (expansion) draft or whatever. I feel exactly the same way as Eck does, although I’m not in Eck’s category. I’d love to put myself in Eck’s category, though. I don’t need to go out and find what I’m worth on the open market.”

Darling also said A’s players had no resentment toward management for signing Eckersley now.

“Eck is like an institution here. He’s very popular with the fans and he’s been very successful,” Darling said. “He signed for a lot less than he could have on the open market. He’s as close to perfect in what he does as a ballplayer, as anybody. They need him here and want him to stay here. He’s a solid citizen.”

McGwire said last week he intends to file for free agency, but hasn’t ruled out returning to Oakland. Alderson, who has combined with Manager Tony La Russa to do a masterful job this season, isn’t worrying about McGwire now.

“We’re not taking anything for granted,” Alderson said. “This is the time we think about winning some games, and I know Mark is thinking about the same thing, too. . . . (The number of potential free agents) doesn’t weigh on my mind because I think things take care of themselves. Last year, we tried to re-sign Mike Gallego and offered him a lot of money, but he went somewhere else (to the Yankees). But we benefited from the emergence of Mike Bordick and we later found Jerry Browne.”

Eckersley’s willingness to sign for less money to stay where he feels comfortable “is a real good analogy” to explain Barry Bonds’ renewed desire to talk to the Pirates about remaining in Pittsburgh, according to Bonds’ agent, Dennis Gilbert.

But while Bonds will consider staying, he isn’t going to sacrifice mega-millions.

“That would be ludicrous. Barry is the best (upcoming) free agent and should command the most money,” Gilbert said. “But Barry has played his whole career in Pittsburgh and he’s been on winners two times. It’s tough to leave a winner. Following Barry’s command, I’ve opened up the lines of communication with (Pirate General Manager) Ted Simmons. He’s a real good friend of mine, and I’ve talked to him a few times. But there’s no real hard-core negotiations going on.

“Previously the lines of communication were cut off, and that’s one of the things I did, reopen them.”

Although an Associated Press story last week said Bonds would take several million dollars less than he might get elsewhere if the Pirates retain players such as Doug Drabek and Andy Van Slyke, Gilbert said that’s not the case. Gilbert said Bonds was speaking in a general sense and meant any player who signs before the season ends would likely get less than what he’d get if he filed for free agency and a bidding war ensued.

Bonds is earning $4.7 million this season, after rejecting a multi-year deal last winter worth about $25 million. Pirate President Mark Sauer has said Bonds is “in another solar system. I think he wants to test the free-agent system and to play in a major market. We’re hoping we can ride him to the World Series, and we’ll wish him well. There are no hard feelings.”

It’s been theorized that Bonds is suffering offensively because Steve Buechele is no longer hitting behind him, but that’s not entirely true. His homer pace has slowed and he’s being walked more often, but his overall numbers are about the same. In 65 games before the Pirates traded Buechele to the Cubs, Bonds hit .292 with 15 home runs and 44 runs batted in. In 35 games since, through Thursday, he has hit .291 with five homers and 23 RBIs.

Judging by his record as owner of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, Mike Ilitch--whose bid to buy the Detroit Tigers from Tom Monaghan received preliminary approval Wednesday--is an appropriate purchaser for the Tigers, a sagging team with an uncertain future.

The Red Wings were in a similar situation when Ilitch took over, boasting more tradition than talent. By spending freely but wisely on managerial and playing talent, Ilitch restored the Red Wings to contending status. The only other major Detroit sports team to play in the city instead of in the suburbs, the Red Wings are the hottest ticket in town.

Ilitch’s first major decision will be on the Tigers’ new home. It’s likely that instead of renovating Tiger Stadium or planning a suburban stadium, he’ll back a downtown site near the theater district. He’s already helped revitalize that area by renovating the Fox Theater, and the addition of a ballpark could help sustain an economic revival.

Robin Yount’s march to 3,000 hits has turned into a marathon, leading to eye examinations and tests to see if age--he’s 36--is contributing to his woes.

Yount checked out fine physically, but his batting average isn’t healthy. Until his three-for-five spree Thursday, he was in a five-for-48 slump, and is 23 hits away from 3,000. From June 16, when he was hitting .291--through Thursday, he was 33 for 182, a .181 average. Overall, he’s batting .242.

“I feel fine. I feel comfortable up there,” the Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder said. “Everything is fine, nothing a few hits won’t cure. I’m sure I’m putting some pressure on myself. That’s human nature. I think I’m capable of doing more, so I think I should be doing more.”

The Texas Rangers, who last winter strongly considered signing Ruben Sierra to a six-year, $30-million deal, are happy they didn’t. And unless the free-agent market takes a steep drop, they probably won’t pursue him when he becomes a free agent after the season.

From 1989 through ‘91, he had an average of .298 with 23 homers and 110 RBIs. But this season, after going to arbitration and getting a one-year, $5-million contract, Sierra is hitting .276 with 12 homers and 62 RBIs. Since the All-Star break, he’s hit one home run and driven in seven runs and become a favorite target of Arlington Stadium boo-birds.

“I play against two teams--the other team and the fans,” Sierra said.

Weary of Juan Gonzalez’s defensive gaffes, Ranger Manager Toby Harrah has moved Gonzalez from center field to left, displacing Kevin Reimer. Monty Fariss and David Hulse will also get chances to win Gonzalez’s old job. Gonzalez leads AL center fielders with eight errors, and Reimer leads left fielders with nine errors.

Len Dykstra, lost to the Phillies for the rest of the season because of a broken hand, has an undeniable influence on the team’s success. With him in the lineup, the Phillies are 76-71; without him, they were 53-81 through Thursday.

But Philadelphia isn’t everyone’s favorite place to play. Infielder Dale Sveum, asked about his thoughts on the city after being traded to the Chicago White Sox, said: “I miss it like a hole in the head.”

To which General Manager Lee Thomas replied: “Did he mention the hole in his bat?”

Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, who is 19-3 this season, has a losing record against the Montreal Expos both this season and in his career. He’s 1-2 this season and 3-10 overall.

Glavine, whose 13-game winning streak is the National League’s longest since Dwight Gooden won 14 in a row for the New York Mets in 1985, is a virtual certainty to win his second successive Cy Young Award. That would make him the first NL pitcher to win it in consecutive seasons since another left-hander of note, Sandy Koufax, did it with the Dodgers in 1965-66.

Like Boston’s Roger Clemens, Glavine also paid tribute to retired Celtic star Larry Bird by writing the number 33 on his cap. But Glavine inscribed the number on the back, unlike Clemens. The Angels complained that the 33 written on the side of Clemens’ cap Tuesday was a distraction, and the umpires made him change the cap.

The Chicago Cubs said that Shawon Dunston has volunteered to go to the Instructional League to learn to play the outfield, but Dunston doesn’t sound very willing.

“For me to do it, they’d have to have a better shortstop than me on this team,” he said. “There’s only two better shortstops in baseball as far as I’m concerned, Barry Larkin and Cal Ripken.”

Names and numbers:

--The Houston Astros’ 26-game, 28-day Odyssey ends today in Philadelphia, 9,186 miles and countless laundry bags after it began.

They’re 9-14 on the trip, including four losses to the Padres in San Diego. That’s still an improvement on their previous 13-27 road record. Doug Jones had one victory and seven saves, and eight pitchers each won one game until Jimmy Jones recorded his sixth victory Tuesday, most among Houston’s starters.

It’s curious, too, that even with such a grueling trip on their schedule, the Astros have three players who have played every game this season. Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Steve Finley join Atlanta’s Terry Pendleton as the National League’s only iron men.

--There’s no telling what it means, but the Braves won their season series from the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-5, including five of the last seven games. Ten were decided by two runs or fewer.

--Through Thursday, the Minnesota Twins had lost 12 of 16 games and 17 of 24, principally because their offense has stalled. They’ve been held to three or fewer runs in 11 of their last 14 games and are 4-10 during that span; first baseman Kent Hrbek is two for 21 on the Twins’ current trip. Minnesota is reportedly interested in reacquiring Tom Brunansky, whom the Boston Red Sox are willing to unload. Brunansky, who’s earning $2.7 million this season, hit only two home runs by July 1 but has since hit 10.

“Contending clubs have made inquiries about one or two of our veteran players, and we may be able to do something,” Red Sox General Manager Lou Gorman said, without confirming that Brunansky is one of those players.

--The Red Sox are 18-7 in games started by Roger Clemens but 37-59 (through Thursday) in all other games. Only in games started by Greg Harris (1-1) do they have a .500 record; they’re 12-14 in games started by Frank Viola.

Closer Jeff Reardon was 15 for 16 in save opportunities when he earned his record 342nd save on June 15. Since then, he’s 10 for 17 in save attempts and has allowed 13 of 24 inherited runners to score.

--Boston’s Jack Clark, who has averaged more than 28 homers a season over the last five years, has only five this season. None have come at Fenway Park.

--In a six-game span through Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Dave Winfield had 12 runs batted in. Over 14 games, he was 21 for 61 with four homers and 20 RBIs. He’s hit 20 or more homers in 13 of his 20 major league seasons.

While Winfield is helping keep the Blue Jays atop the American League East, their pitchers are dragging them down. Dave Stieb went on the disabled list this week for the second time because of a sore right elbow, and Juan Guzman remains idled by a strained back muscle. In a 17-game stretch through through Thursday, the Blue Jays were 7-10 and their starters had given up 90 earned runs in 96 2/3 innings, an earned-run average of 8.38.

--Rookie pitcher Eric Hillman of the New York Mets is 6-feet-10, so he’s accustomed to being asked why he doesn’t play basketball. His reply: “You can catch cold in those uniforms.”

--Cleveland right fielder Mark Whiten took the AL lead in outfield assists after throwing two runners out at home during the sixth inning of the Indians’ 8-1 rout of the Twins Tuesday. The Indians are 20-13 since the All Star break, tops in the AL East, and have a winning record (21-18) against the top two teams in each division. They’re 4-5 against the Blue Jays, 5-4 against the Orioles, 6-3 against the A’s and 6-6 against the Twins.

--Darren Daulton’s 22 home runs are the most by an NL catcher since Gary Carter had 24 for the Mets in 1986. His previous best in a season was 12, in 1990 and 91.

--With a 6-10 record, Dwight Gooden has reached double figures in losses for the first time in his nine major league seasons.

--The St. Louis Cardinals’ Bob Tewksbury did not walk a batter in 16 of his 25 starts this season. He’s issued 14 walks in 186 innings. However, he did walk a batter in the All-Star Game.

--The Angels’ Jim Abbott has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 17 of his 22 starts this season, including each of his last eight starts. Since the halfway point of the 1991 season, his ERA is 2.65, with 83 earned runs in 282 1/3 innings.