NOTES : Tschida Shows Umpires’ Value

Umpires have been embroiled in numerous post-season controversies--who can forget Don Denkinger’s blown call at first base that helped Kansas City win Game 6 of the 1985 World Series against St. Louis?

But no matter how much Tim Raines stomped his feet or Yankee Manager Joe Torre ranted and raved, there was nothing controversial about home-plate ump Tim Tschida’s call to culminate the Rangers’ bizarre 1-3-6-3-2 double play in the fourth inning Friday night.

Simply put, Tschida got it right, striking a blow for all major league umpires and reinforcing a belief that replacement umpires could have done great harm to the game.

The situation: Bernie Williams on first, Raines on third, one out. Ranger pitcher Darren Oliver picked off Williams, who was tagged out by first baseman Will Clark in a rundown.

Just as Clark tagged Williams, Raines broke for home. Clark threw to Ivan Rodriguez, and Raines slipped past the catcher with a perfect hook slide. But, as replays clearly showed, Raines’ left foot missed the plate by about two inches.

Tschida didn’t make a call at first, but when Rodriguez tagged Hayes before he could get back to the plate, Tschida called Hayes out.

*

It was a parting shot the Rangers didn’t appreciate, so much so that a newspaper clipping of it was taped to a clubhouse wall in their spring training facility with obscenities scribbled around it.

“I wanted to play for a winner,” pitcher Kenny Rogers had said after leaving Texas to sign a four-year, $20-million deal with the Yankees last winter. “All my relatives are happy. They always told me nobody had ever heard of the Texas Rangers anyway.”

They have now. The Rangers are playing in their first postseason in franchise history, and today, Rogers will oppose his ex-teammates in Game 4.

SERIES AT A GLANCE

* GAME 1--Texas 6, New York 2

* GAME 2--New York 5, Texas 4 (12 inn.)

* GAME 3--New York 3, Texas 2

* TODAY--New York (Kenny Rogers, 12-8) at Texas (Bobby Witt, 16-12), 10 a.m., ESPN.

* SUNDAY--(If necessary) New York (David Cone, 7-2) at Texas (John Burkett, 5-2), 1 p.m., ESPN.