Banner Graphic, Volume 15, Number 166, Greencastle, Putnam County, 13 March 1985 — Page 13

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RICK CERONE Has something to prove

Trade puts new determination into Cerone c. 1985 N.Y. Times News Service FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. After hitting .227, .220 and .208 in consecutive seasons, Rick Cerone seemed to be bogged down in a career that not long ago seemed so promising. He desperately needed •something to shake him out of his doldrums, and he got it last Dec. 4 a trade to the Atlanta Braves. “I’ve never worked as hard as I am now,” Cerone said of the first time in six springs that he has not been in the Yankees’ camp. “I take it more seriously. I’m more determined like I used to be, like I was my first year with the Yankees. It’s like I’m teed off and feel that I have something to prove. It’s been working good. I’ve felt better this spring than in a long time. I don’t take anything for granted.” The Braves split their squad for two games Monday, one in the afternoon against Montreal at nearby West Palm Beach, the other against the Yankees here Monday night. Cerone caught the game against the Expos, so he had to wait for a chance to play against his former teammates. His primary interest, though, is not playing against the Yankees but in winning the No.l catching job with the Braves His competition is Bruce Benedict, who batted .223 last season, and Alex Trevino, who batted .243. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re all starting even,” said Cerone, who is 30 years old. “You have to prove yourself No.l on the field. You have so much to prove. You have to get the respect of your teammates, the manager and the coaches. Maybe after you become established, you don’t work as hard. You’re not as determined ” Perhaps that’s what happened to Cerone with the Yankees. In his first year in New York, 1980, after a trade from Toronto, he batted .277, hit 14 home runs and drove in 85 runs. But in the next four seasons with the Yankees, he totaled 11 homers and 84 runs batted in and watched his average plummet to .208 last year. A year ago, he acknowledged that he undermined himself ’in 1983 by reacting badly to his unsuccessful fight with Butch Wynegar for the No.l job. When he wasn’t playing as much as he thought he should be, he said, he basically quit caring and his play reflected his attitude. Hoping to shed that bad attitude, Cerone had a good spring training last year, batting .295 to Wynegar’s .262. “But,” he noted, “it was predetermined that we would be platooned. Then I was on the disabled list for two months and when I was 0.K., there just weren’t that many left-handed pitchers and things started changing.” Then there was the knuckleball factor. At one point in spring training Cerone indicated privately that he wanted no part of Phil Niekro’s knuckler; Wynegar could have it. But Cerone now recalls the situation differently. He cited “the Keough experiment’ as the reason he never caught Niekro during the season, leading to more time on the bench. “Matt Keough was experimenting with a 90-mile-an-hour knuckleball and I was catching him,” Cerone related. “Afterward, they said I didn’t do a good job. That led to me not catching Niekro But that’s the past. This is a new opportunity.” In the past, Cerone had no desire to be traded. That first season with the Yankees had made him a hero in New York, especially among young single women, and he liked the attention. By the end of last season, though, he was married and ready to leave for the sake of his career. “I was hoping to be traded,” he said. “It worked out very, very well. This is a great place to come to. I’m leaving a lot of friends behind, but this is a great opportunity. I’m not disappointed, I’m excited. If I have one regret, it’s that I didn’t have more years like that first one. But I had some injuries, and then I didn't produce when I played ” Cerone had played only 10 games when a Sore arm forced him to the disabled list ■May 7 last season. He didn’t return until July 5, then played sporadically the rest of The season. He played only 18 of the team’s !48 games after he left the disabled list, and in that period, he drove in only two runs.

Frey believes Cubs can win NL East again

c. 1985 N.Y. Times News Service MESA, Ariz. —■ Despite their teddy-bear charm as America’s latest team, the Chicago Cubs, according to some baseball philosophers, may not repeat as National League East champions, especially now that Gary Carter is the Mets’ catcher. The reason: too many of the Cubs had last season what baseball people call a “career year,” meaning a season that is likely to be the best year in that player’s career. One of the those philosophical snipers has been Whitey Herzog, the St. Louis Cardinals’ manager. “Of the 25 Cubs,” Herzog says, “23 had their career year. The only ones who didn’t were Larry Bowa and Ron Cey.” But in the Cubs’ dugout here, Jim Frey did not tolerate such sniping. Snatching a

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Cub media guide as if it were a loaded shotgun, the manager jumped from the bench, then turned, stood on the steps and fired back. “All right,” he snapped, “let’s take Sandberg’s stats.” Now 25, the second baseman Ryne Sandberg was voted the Most Valuable Player award after recording his career high in hits, runs, doubles, triples and batting average. But that didn’t deter his manager from defending his potential. “Do you think,” Frey began, “that he’ll hit .314 again? Why not? Maybe .320 or .330. Do you think he’ll hit 36 doubles? He’ll likely be in that area, maybe 32, but maybe 38 or 40. “Do you think he’ll hit 19 triples. Unlikely, that’s a lot of triples. But 19

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home runs? I think he’ll have years when he hits more. And 85 runs batted in? I think he’ll do better than that, either this year or in the years to come. “When you take all that into consideration, you would have to say that Sandberg didn’t have a career year last season. Because of his age, he’ll have many more years that are comparable. Maybe a little better, maybe not quite so good. But comparable.” Frey flipped through the pages of the Cubs media guide. “We’ve got the same five-man rotation, the same lineup,” he said. “Sandberg, Bull Durham, Jody Davis, Keith Moreland, Bob Dernier, they’re all in their prime with a good live body and experience. It’s not an old pitching staff, most are under 30, but

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the guy who probably did have a career year for us last season was Rick Sutcliffe —l6-1, you just don’t do that again. But he can be 10 or 12 games over .500, say 18-8 or 21-9, and if he is, he’ll be outstanding.” Sutcliffe agreed that another 16-1 record is unlikely. “No matter how well I do pitch,” the 28-year-old Cy Young award winner said, “they’re probably not going to score six runs a game for me like they did last year. I don’t control the runs we score. I don’t control Bob Dernier making diving catches for me. But counting what I did at Cleveland before the trade that got me here, I won 20 games last year. I think I can do that again.” Sutcliffe is surely being paid now to do that again

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m. *lO p.m. Sun. 9 a.m. • 7 p.m.

March 13,1985, The Putnam County Banner-Graphic

years. As a free agent, he rejoined the Cubs despite a higher offer from the San Diego Padres and the appeal of his hometown Kansas City Royals. “This is a good ball club and good people,” he said. “The other clubs were good, but I didn’t know the people and I couldn’t walk away from what we have. To win a World Series here would mean more than it would in Kansas City.” But Sutcliffe is also known for having blown a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning of the decisive fifth game of the National League championship series when the Padres rallied to win, 6-3. “I don’t want to be known for losing that fifth game, that’s another reason I came back here, 1 felt bad about what happened,” he said.

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