A wise guy in the back of the room mentioned that, on this particular Saturday in October, pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers delivered more strikes to first base than to the plate. Whitey Herzog cackled, then amended the notion.
”You ain`t seen nothing,” volunteered the St. Louis Cardinals` manager. ”We had a game against Montreal this year, Vince Coleman singles and David Palmer of the Expos threw over 13 straight times, trying to pick him off. Finally, Palmer comes to the plate, it`s a pitchout, Coleman goes, and he still steals second!
”There was one period this season, we were keeping track. Opposing teams tried an average of 52 pickoff throws a game against us. That`s why we`re here so long every day. That`s why they love me around here. You know how much extra money our brewery makes while all those pitchers are working from the stretch position?”
Postseason baseball returned to Busch Stadium this humid afternoon, and you suspected it might be the Cardinals` day when the high-stepping Budweiser Clydesdales made two pre-game trips around the diamond without leaving anything behind. They were not so fortunate during the 1982 World Series, nor was the stadium`s grounds crew.
However, whereas St. Louis` horses of renown contained themselves, the city`s rabbits ran amuck, as is their wont. Speed is one facet of this sport that is virtually immune to slumps, and the Cardinals Saturday put on a 24-carrot display of how they ran off with the best record in the major leagues. Give them an inch and they`ll take 90 feet.
”Without a doubt, that`s the most distracting team in the league,” said Bob Welch. ”Subtract Coleman`s total, and they still stole more than anybody.”
Welch was the vanquished Dodger right-hander, having worked 2 2/3 innings. That doesn`t sound long enough to have one`s mind scrambled, but before departing what would be a 4-2 Cardinals` victory, Welch made 83 serves, which doesn`t count his 20 tosses to first base, which don`t include a grenade he launched into center field while searching for second. Suffice it to say, whenever Welch came to attention, it was perilously divided.
”I played with Maury Wills,” said Dodger pitching coach Ron Perranoski, ”and I saw not only what he did to the guy on the mound, but to the whole club. Everybody`s always moving.”
Welch contends he was not rattled by the attendant commotion, and that`s probably an honest self-analysis. The subconscious works in strange ways. When Dolly Parton walks into a restaurant and the band stops playing, she probably thinks it`s because the song just ended. But stealing 314 bases in one summer means the Cardinals cause tension even when they`re standing still. You always stop for a deer crossing, but, really, have you ever seen any deer?
”What they possess is another dimension,” offered Jerry Reuss, who will toil for Los Angeles in Game 4 Sunday night. ”But you also have the dimension of pitcher versus batter. What you have to do is not let one conflict with the other. I`m not saying that`s what Bobby went through, but it can happen.”
All indications are that Welch, like many well-intentioned hurlers before him, fell into that speed trap Saturday. A clue that the Cardinals would relish a return to the home-carpet advantage occurred when Coleman led off the first inning with a single, then stole on a pitchout. Welch promptly walked Willie McGee to make for double trouble. Then, Welch went for a quick kill and shot himself in the foot.
With Coleman edging off second base, Welch whirled and sought to surprise him. Instead, Welch heaved the ball over the bag, between his middle infielders but well within reach of umpire Paul Runge, a neutral observer. Coleman scored, McGee accepted third and batter Tommy Herr walked soon thereafter. The Cardinals had re-entered the tournament and on their terms.
”A lousy throw,” said Welch. ”Runge`s the first guy I saw.”
”Maybe Bobby was distracted because the umpire had a blue shirt,”
offered catcher Mike Scioscia. ”I only wish Runge had had a glove.”
Scioscia, ice pack on his shoulder, was not accepting nominations for player of the game, either. In the second inning, after a one-out single by Coleman, Scioscia had the St. Louis rookie hung out to dry between first and second. Instead of rushing Coleman, though, Scioscia unleashed an off-balance toss that skittered into right field. Coleman gathered third, and the Cardinals gathered two more runs for a 4-0 lead.
”That was just a bad play on my part,” said Scioscia. ”What we`re trying to do against them, with all the pitchouts and throws to first, is control their running game. Even if they steal 15 of 15, we want to try to control it. It`s not always going to work. I guess it didn`t work today. But we just played a bad ball game by making a lot of mistakes.”
To forsake the batter for the runner is perhaps the greatest mistake a foe can make against the Cardinals, but avoiding that sin is easier said than done. They are not just Coleman and McGee and a cast of plodders. They are fleet street, almost from top to bottom in the lineup, and the threat can affect even the selection of pitches.
”But if you start calling for a lot of fastballs just to get that extra jump on them,” Scioscia said, ”then you get into even worse trouble than you`ll get into with the stolen bases.”
Even with gloves on and track shoes off, the Cardinals can wear you out. Their outfield–Coleman in left, McGee in center, Andy Van Slyke in right
–greets you like the perfect smile. No gaps. And when all else fails, as it had in two defeats at Los Angeles, there`s Herzog. After Saturday`s initial pickoff effort, he was out arguing with plate umpire John McSherry about Welch not taking the proper pause before throwing to first. Herzog did not argue about Welch`s hurried throw to center field, of course.
”Did we get into their heads a little bit today?” mused Herzog. ”You can say that if you want. I ain`t gonna say it.”
Enough said. The Cardinals` rabbits are back at it, chasing the carrot, and the pennant.
