BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Tough to Overlook Braves Now

Only the Atlanta Braves among baseball’s six division leaders failed to make a significant acquisition in the final days before the non-waiver trade deadline.

“My feeling is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” General Manager John Schuerholz said. “I had said going into the season this was the strongest roster we’ve ever had. We haven’t traded anyone away, so I have no reason to change that opinion. I’m satisfied. I feel very good about our club.”

Much attention has been given to the offensive explosions in Anaheim and Cleveland, to the Ron Gant-inspired resurgence of the Cincinnati Reds, to the machinations of George Steinbrenner as the New York Yankees try to catch the Boston Red Sox and to the bold bid of the third-year Colorado Rockies to embarrass the Dodgers and others in the National League West.

As if taken for granted, the Braves have emerged from the shadows of a struggling start to stalk baseball’s best record while again burying their division, now the NL East.

Schuerholz laughed.

“That’s fine,” he said. “We don’t need the publicity. Let people focus on the other franchises. We’ll see what happens as the season plays to a conclusion.”

The Braves’ only move on the eve of the trade deadline was to send unhappy relief pitcher Mike Stanton to the Red Sox for a player to be named by Dec. 15. The long-anticipated development of Mark Wohlers into a dominant closer had reduced Stanton’s workload, and NL hitters were batting .369 against him. Atlanta had made its big move before the season, acquiring the needed center fielder and leadoff hitter in Marquis Grissom.

The impressive aspect of the Braves’ record is that the team is winning although Steve Avery and Kent Mercker have pitched inconsistently at the back end of the renowned rotation, and David Justice, Fred McGriff, Jeff Blauser, Mark Lemke and Grissom are all hitting below their career averages.

The Braves were last in the league with a .247 average through Friday, trying to become the first team since the 1988 Dodgers to reach the World Series without batting .250.

Home runs (the Braves were third in the league), walks (second) and pitching (first with an earned-run average of 3.32) compensated for the low batting average. Schuerholz also cited run differential.

“The most important statistic to me is the runs we score and the runs our opponent score,” he said. “And right now, only Houston has a greater differential. That ratio measures the whole club and speaks well for our team strength. The standings reflect that margin.

“I also think it’s hard to argue with career statistics, and if you look at the historic evidence, the likely conclusion is that some of our hitters have some good weeks and months ahead if they merely perform up to their normal levels.”

If the Braves (58-33) perform to a higher level, there is no question on which franchise the focus will ultimately be.

DEALERS’ CHOICE

Swapping stories on the recent flurry of trades:

--The acquisition of Jim Abbott, giving the Angels four left-handed starters, has caught the attention of people in Cleveland, looking ahead to a possible playoff in which left-handers might nullify catalytic Ken Lofton and power-hitting Jim Thome and force switch hitters Eddie Murray and Carlos Baerga to bat from the right side, where they generally have less power. The Indians are 16-12 vs. left-handed starters and 47-15 vs. right-handers.

“People say the Angels now have four left-handers, what are we going to do?” Cleveland General Manager John Hart said. “I say, ‘Who gives a . . . ?’ What it comes down to is our hitters have got to hit those left-handers. We’ve built this team around our offense. Our club is what our club is. We’re not going to do a lot of tinkering. We’re going to have to beat the Angels with the team we have.”

--Tony Gwynn on the San Diego Padres’ decision to trade pitcher Andy Benes to the Seattle Mariners: “The numbers don’t lie. He was 4-7. If he was 7-4, he probably wouldn’t have got traded. Maybe we’ve got somebody who could step up and do the same thing.”

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Wayne Lockwood on the same deal: “Andy felt unappreciated here, which I think was something of an overreaction. Given his accomplishments, I think he was appreciated as much as he should have been.”

Maybe Benes has lost velocity, as the scouts say, but it might be that he also lost focus watching previous Padre owner Tom Werner dismantle a competitive team, thrusting Benes into the pressure of a leadership role he might not have been ready for or capable of assuming. The change of venue comes at the right time for a still prime-time--he’s only 27--pitcher.

“Andy doesn’t have to do anything more than he’s capable of doing,” Mariner Manager Lou Piniella said. “We have a pretty good No. 1 [in Randy Johnson] already.”

You can bet the Mariner ownership--by approving a major second-half acquisition for the first time in club history--had more in mind than the wild-card race. It was a campaign commitment for King County voters, who on Sept. 19 will weigh a proposed sales tax increase designed to fund a grass-field, retractable-roof stadium that the Mariners say is imperative if the club is going to stay in Seattle.

--The acquisition of red-hot David Wells gives the Cincinnati Reds three solid left-handers--John Smiley and Pete Schourek are the other two--to throw at the lefty-swinging heart of the Atlanta lineup--Justice, McGriff and Ryan Klesko--in a playoff matchup.

“Of all the clubs, I think the Reds helped themselves the most,” the Braves’ Schuerholz said of Cincinnati’s addition of pitchers Wells, Mark Portugal and Dave Burba, and center fielder Darrin Lewis.

How did Red General Manager Jim Bowden get owner Marge Schott to agree to $7 million in additional guarantees for next year? “I didn’t push, plead or shove,” Bowden said. “I laid out the options. I said, ‘It’s not a smart business move, you’ll lose money, but if you want to win, here’s what you do.’ ” Schott approved, he said, “because she wants to win and has the money to lose.”

She also has a can’t-miss elixir in the form of hair from the original Schottzie, her beloved St. Bernard. Schott insisted that Manager Davey Johnson rub it on the chests of his players when they were 1-8, a possible factor in the team’s resurgence. Schott herself rubbed the hair on Wells’ arm before he beat the New York Mets in his Red debut. Reporters asked Wells later if he is allergic to dog hair “Nope, just shellfish. If you want to get kicked in the shins rub some shellfish on me,” he said.

--On the failure of the Detroit Tigers to retain Wells and improve their pitching, Cecil Fielder said: “It’s been the same thing for six years. We’re satisfied just to get to .500, I guess. It’s not satisfying to me. We never do anything. We stay the same. Right now, I’m not enjoying the game at all.”

--Danny Tartabull was one for 11 with six strikeouts in three games with the Oakland Athletics before aggravating the rib-cage injury that had plagued him in New York this year, leading to the trade for Ruben Sierra.

A’s Manager Tony La Russa suggested that the Yankees hadn’t been entirely truthful about Tartabull’s injury. “We were told he was ready to play,” an irritated La Russa said. However, General Manager Sandy Alderson said the A’s were so annoyed by the inconsistency of Sierra’s attitude and performance that he told Tartabull he would have made the trade even if he “had been in a hospital bed the next two months.”

--Said the nomadic David Cone of his acquisition by the Yankees: “Call me a hired gun, call me a mercenary, call me whatever you want. Moving around doesn’t bother me. I’ve had a chance to see a lot of Hall of Fame players, to play with guys like Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and George Brett, and now Don Mattingly. I think you learn a lot playing with guys like that.”

--Bobby Bonilla should ultimately help the Baltimore Orioles’ inconsistent offense--”I won’t be able to tell you how I like hitting in Camden Yards until I get the ball out of the infield,” he said of a struggling start--but the Orioles continue to pay a price for front-office decisions affecting the bullpen. Lee Smith, allowed to leave as a free agent last year, is 25 for 28 in save opportunities with the Angels, and Jose Mesa, blossoming since being traded in 1992, is 30 for 30 with Cleveland. Oriole relievers--primarily Doug Jones and Armando Benitez--have blown nine of 30 opportunities.

--The payroll purge in which the Minnesota Twins dealt Rick Aguilera, Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson and Mark Guthrie has left a roster that includes 11 rookies, four in the rotation. Kirby Puckett, who might exercise an escape clause in his multiyear contract when the season ends, shaved his head and goatee to mark the loss of traded friends. He also adopted a new nickname: “I’m still around, so that’s my new name--Still Around.”

ST. LOUIS BLUES

The Cardinals, only percentage points above the last-place Dodgers in NL team fielding and next to last in team batting, will stumble into Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, a disappointing and dispirited team that must execute precisely to win but doesn’t.

Manager Mike Jorgensen, who should be eager to return to his player-development position after this frustrating experience as Joe Torre’s successor, takes exception when anyone suggests that the Cardinals are abysmal fundamentally, but he has been among those recently comparing his team’s play to double-A ball.

“You tell these guys what to do and they do the opposite,” coach Jose Cardenal said. “This is a hard team to teach.”

Outfielder Ray Lankford said: “We play, but we don’t think.”

Outfielder Brian Jordan, thinking about a return to the NFL, agreed: “We stink, that’s the bottom line, and it’s frustrating. I’m losing my edge for this game. It makes me want to retire.”

NAMES AND NUMBERS

There have been media and internal rumblings that the San Francisco Giants’ pitching coach, Dick Pole, will be made the scapegoat for an injury-riddled staff and the failure of the front office to retain the nucleus of what had been a winning staff.

“Everyone’s getting on the pitching coach, and I don’t like it,” Manager Dusty Baker said. “We’ve had 23 pitchers in three months. We’ve lost eight pitchers [to injuries]. It’s hard enough to build a staff, but it’s even tougher when you have to bring guys up out of necessity when they’re not necessarily ready. If you want to know what kind of pitching coach Dick Pole is, talk to Greg Maddux [who pitched under Pole with the Chicago Cubs]. Talk to Bill Swift and John Burkett [20-game winners under Pole with the Giants]. I wish all this would stop.”

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The Houston Astros were not happy that Jeff Bagwell, for the second consecutive year, suffered a broken hand when hit by a San Diego Padre pitcher.

Said Craig Biggio: “That team likes to pitch inside. If you want to pitch inside, fine. But something has got to be done about this. [The Padres] give you that bit, ‘We’re sorry, we’re sorry.’ Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t buy it. I’m . . . and I have a right to be.”

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With two bad knees and dwindling desire on a Chicago White Sox team going nowhere, John Kruk delivered a single in his first at-bat last Sunday and limped into retirement. “I could have gone on the disabled list and continued to count their money, but why?” he said. “Too many guys are doing that . . . already.” His first retirement objective: Find a good golf cart.

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Former Angel Mike Fetters, who blew his first save in 16 opportunities Saturday, is starring for the Milwaukee Brewers despite bone spurs in his elbow, occasionally necessitating rest.

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Baseball officials, requesting anonymity, say Arlen Kentarian, chief operating officer of entertainment and marketing at Radio City Music Hall in New York, will become head of baseball’s expanding marketing and business divisions early next year. Kentarian may carry the title of president of major League baseball, reporting to a commissioner, who will be hired after there is a labor agreement.