NOTES

Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench said it’s not fair to criticize Toronto catcher Pat Borders too harshly for the base-stealing liberties taken against him by the Oakland Athletics and Braves.

“If the pitcher holds (a runner), you’ve got 1.5 seconds to get him, and that’s between catching the ball, transferring it (to the throwing hand) and throwing it,” he said. “If the pitcher doesn’t hold him, you’ve got nine-tenths of a second. They’ve all got track shoes on, they’re running on turf and they run the 100 in 9.5 seconds. What they ought to do is outlaw the split-finger fastball and make all baserunners stay on base until the pitch is thrown.”

In analyzing the Series, Bench cited the lack of production from Terry Pendleton as a key reason for the Braves’ predicament. Pendleton, who hit .311 with 21 home runs and 105 runs batted in during the season, hit .188 with three hits--all singles--and no RBIs in the first four games of the Series.

“He didn’t swing well in the playoffs. I don’t know if there’s something physical bothering him, but I know his knees were bothering him all year long and he played a lot of games down the stretch,” said Bench, a CBS radio analyst. “Terry won’t sit down much during the year, either.

“In the eyes of Terry Pendleton right now, I don’t think he has confidence to swing well. When Terry’s hurting or not swinging the bat well that hurts, because he’s the heart and soul of your ballclub.”