Mike Stanton, Minnesota's young MR, is out for the season when he tore a back muscle on April 20th. To make matters worse, the Twins also lost outfielder Ken Henderson to a broken ulna. Ken will miss about 5 weeks. Henderson was hitting .250 with 3 HRs and 12 RBI while Stanton was 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA. Both these players will be surely missed by what many feel to be a strong Minnesota team.
Saturday 4/22/1982 TORONTO - Toronto's ace Nolan Ryan will not pitch again this year, suffering a serious injury in the game against Seattle on Saturday. After being examined by several specialists the diagnosis is clear: Torn Bicep Muscle. This season Ryan compiled an ERA of 1.89, going 1-1 in 5 starts. He fanned 32 while giving up 22 hits in
33.1 innings.
American League-Pitcher of the Month :
Mike Wegener (DET) !!
He had a record of 2-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.96.
American League-Batter of the Month :
Gary Thomasson (BAL) !!
He batted .344 in 93 AB, with 8 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month :
Mike Caldwell (CHN) !!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.90.
National League-Batter of the Month :
Joe Lahoud (SF) !!
He batted .314 in 86 AB, with 7 homers and 21 RBI.
Who knows whats gonna happen with the Expos. Your guess is as good as mine, your guess is as good as the Expos players for that matter. "The talent is there, there is no question about that." veteran leader Mike Schmidt stated in the pre-season press conference. Star Leftfielder Willie Crawford tacked on the statement "There is no reason that this team should be finishing under .500, something is wrong there."
GM Brian McFall was nowhere found at the press conference, my prediction is that the poor guy has confused himself into a coma. Anyway for the pre-season analysis of the Expos here it goes. They are again bringing 2 past MVP's in Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt, although Morgan is beginning the end of his career, he could retire any year now, I think he is waiting for a possible championship. Schmidt will be the bread and butter with his power, he led the national league in HR's and RBI's last year. Gary Matthews is patrolling Rightfield, he is the quiet steady player that no one hears about because he is sandwiched between stars like Morgan, Schmidt,Crawford and Parrish. Matthews will surely put up solid numbers again. Crawford will be in left and his talents are promising although he is coming off 2 off years. Parrish, the field general behind the plate is a youngster but has plenty of experience. Corcoran and Horner will be sharing first base, while Chris Speier and Alan Bannister split up the Shortstop duties. Ace Lary Sorenson seems to be a diamond in the rough with the rotation, Pete Falcone, Tom Hall, David Palmer and Lynn McGlothen round out the rotation, all have solid talents, it is just coming through when the Spo's need them. The Bullpen has been a work in progress and has seemed to have been bolstered over the last couple of years with youngsters Gary Lucas, Scott Holman and Lee Smith. Jerry Cram will take over the Closing duties as he was shipped here for Bill Campbell.
There you have it, a team who knows they can play with anybody but for some reason doesn't, we'll see what goes on north of the border this year.
Noone can accuse the Padres of being spring chickens, epecially their pitching staff. Half of their 12 major league pitchers are 35 or older. 1982 will probably be the final year for long time San Diego closer Wayne Granger. Granger was solid to put it lightly, turning in a 1.82 ERA last season. Unfortunately Wanye has looked less than stelar during the pre-season, but Padres GM/Coach/Owner/El Presidente Brian Wohldmann hopes to squeeze one more season out of Granger's arm.
Two of the 6 "elderly" hurlers in the Padres staff were acquired at the begining of the year. Former Padre Denny Mclain returns to San Diego after being dealt to the Cubs in the J.R. Richard trade of '78. Mclain rather than Granger will be the Padres closer to start the season, Wayne being relegated to middle relief due to his lackluster spring.
The big news in San Diego was the acquisition of the man with the 'stache himself... Rollie Fingers. Dan "The Quiz" Quisenberry had osted Fingers from his traditional closing duties in Pittsburgh. Not to be outdone, Wohldmann has made a decision that can be called questionable at best. Fingers will be starting for the Padres... not only starting... Fingers will be San Diego's #1 ace.
Can a team of has-beens and never-wases make a dent in the always tough NL West? We'll find out soon enough.
St. Louis (MO) A poorly-timed change of ownership left the Cardinals unable to be a factor on the free agent market, leaving them vulnerable in the short term. The team has little depth at the major league level and few quality prospects on their way up, which is never a good sign.
New GM Christian Trudeau knows he has a good challenge and some tough times ahead of him, but he's ready for it.
Trudeau arrived just in time for the Amateur draft, where the team selected 21 year old starter Frank Viola with their first pick. Viola will be part of the 4 man rotation of the Cards, behind Ken Forsch, Bob Knepper and John Tudor. He's expected to struggle a bit at first, but in the long term, his future is really bright. Ron Kittle, the 2nd round pick, is an outfielder with outsanding power potential, but there are doubts about his ability to make consitant contact. He'll start his pro career in AA.
Viola will be joined on the team by a couple of other rookies. Larry Rothschild will be in the bullpen while Mike Patterson will be a backup outfielder. Both were drafted last year. Wayne Krenchicki, a 2nd round pick in 1979, will be the starting third baseman.
Trudeau's plan is to go through a rebuilding period, which was overdue. He is apparently shopping around some of his veterans. Dave Parker, Duffy Dyer and Mike Kilkenny are among the rumored players who could be traded.
While the 1982 Cardinals might not be a terrific experience for their fans, it might leave them with hope. The team didn't have a ,500+ season since 1975 and has not won a pennant since 1968.
TORONTO---As spring training breaks, there's a different mood in the Blue Jays locker room. For the first time in the team's existance, Toronto finshed the season out of the cellar. Granted, it wasn't a great season, and certainly wasn't a season to smile about, but it was better, and that's all that GM Matt Culberson can ask.
But expectations are higher in '82. No one is printing up division championship t-shirts just yet, but a season above .500 shouldn't be too much to ask.
Key additions Nolan Ryan and Leroy Stanton will supply a much needed punch to a lineup in need of a boost, and a starting rotation in need of some major help.
Ryan will start on opening day, followed by Mike Witt, Jim Kern, then Don Hood. The Blue Jays have decided to start the season with a 4 man rotation, with Alan Wirth filling in when needed. A decent bullpen will follow a decent starting staff, who if they live up to their potential, will be a far cry from the struggling pitching staff that took the mound for the Blue Jays in '81.
Offensively, the Blue Jays should be better, led by Ken Phelps and his 43 home runs, and the recently aquired Leroy Stanton. If Cliff Johnson has another solid season as he did in '81, these three players could help propel Toronto to the top.
There's no myopia in Canada just yet, although if their pitching comes through and plays to its potential, the Blue Jays could be a contender in '82. Common sense would point to a 80 win season, and there's not a player in the clubhouse who would be disappointed with that.
They took a step out of the cellar in '81. It will be exciting to see just how many steps they will take in '82.
Los Angeles - The Dodgers have decided that Steve Sax, last year's 1st round pick, will start the season with the big club, after only 1 year in the minors. Sax is a second baseman, which led to some controversy, as John Sipin is firmly entrenched at that position. GM Dennis Hartney said, "John is still our everyday second baseman, but Stevie doesn't need another year in Albuquerque. We can use him to spell John, to take some occasional starts in the outfield, and to be our pitch-hitter extrordinare."
Andy Messersmith, the Dodgers free-agent acquisition this off-season, will help shore up the starting rotation. Starting pitching will be the key to the Dodgers success this year.