BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS : Nixon Never Looked Back

When Deion Sanders came down with an upper respiratory infection in late August, Otis Nixon took over in center field and has remained there. “I think he brought his average up from .230 to .270,” Brave Manager Bobby Cox said. “I think he and Devon White are the two best center fielders I have ever seen.”

Nixon finished the regular season batting .269, with 77 runs and 47 stolen bases, the fourth consecutive season he has stolen 40 or more. He is batting .625 (five for eight) with four RBIs in the first two playoff games. Sanders is being used as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner in the postseason.

*

When Sid Bream made an appearance in Game 2, he became the first player to compete in four consecutive National League championship series. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990 and the Braves the last three seasons. . . . Since 1946, 14 teams have entered the World Series with three or more former Cubs on their roster, and 13 have lost. The Braves have former Cubs Greg Maddux, Jay Howell and Damon Berryhill. The only team to win with a three or more Cubs on its roster was the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, who beat the New York Yankees in seven games. . . . On the Phillies side: Only 10 teams who have lost the first game of the playoffs have come back to win the series. The Braves did it in 1991.

The Phillies’ Pete Incaviglia addressed the subject of his team’s outward appearance Friday: “I read in the paper today how fat and ugly we are. But that’s not what it is about. It’s how you play the game, not what you look like when you are doing it.”

Pitcher Terry Mulholland, who will start for the Phillies today, told team officials he would not do any interviews Friday because it interfered with his preparation and was a distraction. Pitchers usually don’t conduct interviews the day they pitch, but the day before? Mulholland’s strategy backfired, however, as about 50 reporters spotted him answering questions for a television reporter. Shortly thereafter, team officials dragged him into the formal interview room.