Monday. April 5, 1999
The University Daily Kansar
Section B · Page 5
'Outmatched' Royals team will begin season today
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Boston and Kansas City, which had the American League's highest winning percentages in spring training, open the season in spruced-up Kaufman Stadium Monday with only one team expected to keep up the pace.
It's not Kansas City. "Obviously, we're probably going to be out"
matched in the majority of the games we play talent-wise, name-wise and payroll-wise," said general manager Herk Robinson, whose surprising Royals, amid dire predictions of a fifth straight losing season, had a club record 22-9 spring mark.
achieve a lot of things that people don't expect it to."
"But I really believe this club has enough character that it's going to
The Royals, who lost their top starting pitcher and two top run producers from last year's 72-89 team, will open with promising rookies Carlos Beltran in center field and Carlos Febles at second base and a starting pitcher who expected to be working for another team by now.
Right-hander Kevin Appier's $5 million contract made him the subject of trade talk throughout the spring. But The Royals, unable to get a satisfactory offer for a 32-year-old coming off shoulder surgery, will have him make his seventh season-opening start Monday.
"To be honest with you, I didn't think I'd still be with this club on opening day," said Applier, who ranks among the club's top 10 in most pitching categories but was 1-2 in three September starts last year.
"But I'm here and I'm happy to make the most of it. Beyond that, I don't even want to think about all the trade stuff."
Boston, adjusting to the loss of slugging first baseman Mo Vaughn, strung together an 18-10 spring record that low-key manager Jimmy
Williams naturally was trying to play down.
"We're just trying to prepare ourselves for opening day," Williams said. "Our whole key going in was to get ready to compete heading into Kansas City."
Starting for the Red Sox, 92-70 last season, will be right-handed Pedro Martinez, whose 19 wins in 1998 were the most by a Boston starter since Roger Clemens won 21 in 1990.
Replacing Vaughn's .337 average, 40 home runs and 115 RBIs will be first baseman Mike Stanley, who hit 29 homers last season.
But shortstop Nomar Garciaparrara insists the Red Sox are past even thinking about the loss of Vaughn, who was also a vocal clubhouse leader.
"We go out there and we just play our game. We know who we've got," said Garciaparra. "We've been doing it through all of spring training and we go out there and continue it throughout the season."
Leading off the Red Sox will be second baseman Jose Offerman, who signed a four-year, $26 million free agent contract after hitting a career-high .315 with 45 stolen bases and a league-leading 13 triples last year for Kansas City.
"We've got a good team," said Garciaparra.
"For the most part, everybody's back. Our pitching staff's great. We'll go out there and see what we've got."
Other newcomers for the Red Sox include Jeff Frye, who will start at second base, and right fielder Trot Nixon.
For the 10th straight year, the Royals will open with a new left fielder. Johnny Damon has moved over from center to make way for Beltran and will bat leadoff.
"Pitching is going to be a factor because of the fewer homers we'll hit," said third baseman John Valentin.
And like many veterans, Damon got lost before Sunday's workout trying to find his way from the refurbished clubhouse to the field. With new dugouts, weight rooms and managers' offices and expensive new seating areas alongside the dugouts, the passageways beneath Kauffman Stadium have been almost completely reconfigured.
McGwire begins home run chase tonight
Now it's time to see if he can begin the way he did last year, when he hit an opening-day grand slam off Ramon Martinez in a 6-0 win over the Dodgers, the first of his record 70 home runs.
ST. LOUIS — Mark McGwire is back at 0
The Associated Press
"I'm sure no matter what I do this year, if I don't hit 70 someone will say I had an off year," McGwire said as the St. Louis Cardinals prepared for Monday night's opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.
St. Louis already has sold 2.5 million tickets — even a couple hundred season tickets in the prime home-run territory out in left — with fans anticipating more McGwire moon shots.
His career best 545-foot homer, the longest ever at Busch Stadium, slammed off a sign beyond the center-field backdrop that's now memorialized by a huge
band-aid. He homered in each of the first four games, tying Willie Mays' major-league record and eclipsed Roger Maris' old record of 61 with three weeks to snare.
This year, there's also the chase for 500. McGwire needs 43 homers to become the 16th player in major league history to reach that barrier.
become the first player to hit 50 or more in four consecutive years.
If he hits only 50, some will be disappointed.
"That's still a very good number," he said.
McGwire's heroes last season enabled the Cardinals to draw 3.2 million fans even though they were 19 games back in
the NL. Central and finished 83-79.
Overall, the team does not figure to be much better. The No.1 starter is the often-injured Donovan Osborne, who has eight victories the last two seasons. Center fielder Ray Lankford, who hits cleanup behind McGwire, and shortstop Edgar Renteria still are recovering from injuries sustained last season.
Milwaukee starts rookie left-hander Rafael Roque, who allowed home runs No. 64 to both McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Renteria, who had a knee injury, has a good shot of starting the opener. Lankford, who had knee surgery in November, likely will be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
"I think I learned something by facing both McGwire and Sosa last year, so I may do some things different," the Roque said. "I want to get on TV because I'm doing my job, not from giving up home runs."
U.S. tennis team moves to quarterfinals of Davis Cup
The Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, England — Jim Courier used to play these types of important matches all of the time.
Courier, the former world No. 1, who has slipped to No. 54, moved the United States into the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup with a 6-4, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 1-6, 8-6 victory against Britain's Greg Rusesdki.
The United States, which won the first two matches in the best-of-five, survived a rally by Britain and set up a quarterfinals match against Australia at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston in July.
Courrier, the No.1 player in parts of 1992
and 1993, started the U.S. victory on Friday with a five-set victory against Henman.
Courier blunted Rusledsk's serve with a well-organized game, setting up a quarterfinal match against Australia at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston in July.
Tim Henneman and Rusedski won Saturday's doubles against Todd Martin and Alex O'Brien. Henman scored a 4-6, 7-5-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Martin in Sunday's first reverse singles to even the series for Britain, which was playing in the World Group for the first time since 1992.
The final set could have swung either
the first way but Courier never gave Rusedski a break point and he won on his first match point, with a powerful serve into the body that forced Rusedski to hit the ball into the net.
Courier led the celebrations after clinching victory. He called the other team members onto the court they hugged each other formed a circle
Courier: Helped team to Davis Cup quarterfinals.
and bounced up and down as the Brits consoled each other.
Russedki, who foot-faulted 12 times during the 3-hour, 47-minute match, managed to lose his own serve in the opening game of the match, despite three aces, and that was the only break of the opening set.
The British left-hander squandered three
set points at 5-4 in the second and a fourth at 6-5 before winning it in a tie breaker on his fifth set point when Courier netted a forehand.
Courier edged ahead again when Rusedski double-faulted on break point in the fourth game of the third and won the set 6-3.
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Rusedski won the first five games of the fourth set to force the decisive fifth set in front of 9,300 boisterous fans.
Hennan, who had been on court a total of 10 hours, 44 minutes during his three matches in three days, clinched his victory when Martin netted a backhand to the roaring delight of the crowd of 9,000.
"Three hours 17 minutes is a little bit short for me," said Henman, who had been involved in two five-setters.
Martin, who crushed Rusedski in three sets on Friday, appeared on the way to another quick victory when he took the first set and broke to lead 4-3 in the second.
But he was riled by a call at 30-15 in the next game. His backhand volley was called wide, and instead of 40-15 it was 30-30. He went on to lose his serve and, ultimately, the match.
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