Thursday, October 14, 1999
The Univer sity Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 5
Braves win 4-3, lead NL series
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — All of a sudden, that injury to All-Star catcher Javy Lopez is hurting the New York Mets a lot more than the Atlanta Braves.
Backup Eddie Perez reprised his role as the unlikely hero, teaming with Brian Jordan to hit two-run homers in the sixth inning and lead Kevin Millwood and the Braves against the Mets 4-3 yesterday for a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.
Showing how serious they are, the Braves brought in John Smoltz for the first relief appearance, of his major
league career that began in 1988. The Game 4 starter pitched a perfect ninth for a save.
Lopez got a big cheer when he threw out the ceremonial first ball before Game 2, yet it was Perez that had the crowd of 44,624 chanting "Ed-die! Eddie!" after he delivered again.
Perez, who took over full time after Lopez was lost for the year to a knee problem in late July, had not homed at Turner Field this season until connecting Tuesday night in a 4-2 victory in the opener.
The lightning strike ruined an afternoon for the Mets in which most everything seemed to be going their way but instead gave Millwood his second victory of the postseason.
Edgardo Alfonzo finished Millwood with an RBI double in the eighth. John Rocker protected the lead by striking out John Olerud — who threw his bat flailing away — and Robin Ventura to end the inning.
Now, after its 11th loss in 14 meetings with Atlanta. New York returns to sold-out Shea Stadium for Game 3 Saturday night. Al Leiter, a savior all year for the Mets, starts against Tom Glavine.
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Jordan had just sliced a drive off the right-field foul screen against Kenny Rogers to tie it 2-2 when Andruw Jones followed with a single. With the smoke from the fireworks set off after Jordan's shot still drifting across the field, Perez launched a drive into the left-field seats.
- Braves 4, Mets 3
- Braves lead best-of-seven series 2-10
- Game 3 at 7 p.m. Saturday in New York (NBC)
Wendell warming up, threw his hat and kicked the air as Perez circled the bases.
Up to that point, it had been a good day for New York. It had its own surprise star Melvin Mora hit his first major league homer after replacing the ill Rickey Henderson midgame — and Rogers had managed to stay
out of trouble.
Mill wood,
who pitched a hitter in the
Mora entered in left field in the bottom half of the inning when Henderson was forced to leave because of nausea. In an unusual sight, Mora was throwing in the dugout to get loose before getting the call.
Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who had Turk
Mora homered in the fifth for a 2-0 lead. A late-season spark for the Mets, Mora had come a long way since starting the 1998 season playing in Taiwan.
The Mets' big hitters, however, did little. Mike Piazza, Olerud and Ventura combined to go 0-for-10, leaving them 1-for-21 in the series.
The Braves got a runner on in every inning against Rogers, but many of them didn't last long on the bases. Leadoff man Gerald Williams hit a single in the first and was quickly picked off, and grounded into 6-4-3 double plays in his next two at-bats.
first round against Houston, gave up an RBI single in the second to Roger Cedeno.
Andruw Jones singled in the second and also was picked off. When Jones singled again in the fourth, he took no chances. Instead, he took a Little League-style lead — keeping one foot on the bag until Rogers released the ball.
Notes: Rogers' last start at Atlanta came in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series for the Yankees. That was the game in which Jim Leyritz homered to swing the momentum in New York's favor. Masato Yoshii, who started the opener for the Mets and turned his left ankle. He's expected to be OK to pitch again in the series, if necessary.
Williams homer lifts Yankees to win
NEW YORK — With a leadoff homer by Bernie Williams in the 10th inning, the AL championship series opened with one of the oldest stories in baseball: the New York Yankees overtaking the Boston Red Sox.
Derek Jeter and Brian Daubach's RBI single. Jose Offerman's RBI infield single made it a 3-10 lead in the second against Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who had allowed just one run in 20 career postseason innings coming in.
Williams hit the game-winning shot off Rod Beck, and Scott Brosius hit a two-run homer, triple and single to lead the Yankees to a 4-3 victory last night.
The Associated Press
in the first postseason game ever between the traditional rivals, the Yankees won their 11th straight postseason game, and once again tortured their neighbors from New England.
Boston took a 2-0 lead just seven pitches into the game on a run-scoring throwing error by shortstop
Brosius hit a two-run homer in the bottom half against surprise starter Kent Mercker, and Jeter tied it in the seventh with an RBI single off Derek Lowe.
Williams then opened the 11th by sending an 0-1 pitch to straightaway center field. At first, Darren Lewis thought he had a chance at it, but the ball kept sailing and went over the 408-foot sign.
"I was due." Williams said. "I was just able to get a good pitch and turn on it. I was just looking for a pitch
David Cone, who has not pitched since Oct. 2, tries to give New York a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series when he starts tonight against
out over the plate. I definitely didn't want to pull out on the ball."
Until the 10th, it had been a frustrating night for the World Series champions, who were just 2-for-11 with runs.
with runners in scoring position.
with runners in scoring position. Brosius tripped in the fourth and singled and scored the tying run in the seventh. He missed becoming the first player to hit for the cycle in the postseason when he took a called third strike in the ninth.
Boston shortstop Nomar
Garciarpa saved two or three runs
with flashy catches. He jumped at full extension to backhand liners by Chili Davis in the first and Tino Martinez in the third. He was able to time his jump on the first, a soft liner with runners on second and third. Martinez's ball came with runners at the corners.
Garciaparra also made two errors in a game for the first time since Aug. 23, 1988, but neither led to any runs.
There were trappings of history in the air on the cool autumn night made damp by an on-and-off rain. Not that Boston needed a reminder, but several fans brought along banners emblazoned "1918," the year of Boston's last World Series victory.
Two years later, the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees, and since then New York has won 24 Series titles and Boston none.
Young awaiting OK to play
49ers quarterback meets with doctors, specialists to discuss his retirement
The Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — His agent, family and friends have all told Steve Young he's taken enough hits to the head and should retire. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback still would like to play, unless his doctors say the same thing.
That is a possibility, and it could happen this week.
young, fighting the effects of the worst in a series of concussions during the last three years, was expected to meet with his neurologist, Gary Steinberg, and team physician James Klint, yesterday.
Young's agent, Leigh Steinberg, who is not related to the neurologist, said yesterday that the medical meeting might result in Young being given clearance to resume playing, or it could signal the end of his career.
Young still has every intention of rejoining the 49ers and hopes to get medical clearance to play again.
However, Leigh Steinberg said the upcoming meeting also might produce a recommendation that Young, a two-time league MVP and the highest-rated passer in NFL history, should quit because of the potential health risks from another concussion. Repeated concussions can cause premature senility and other brain dysfunctions.
Young, who turned 38 on Monday and is in his 15th NFL season, suffered his fourth concussion in three years on Sept. 27 against Arizona. He was leveled by blitzing cornerback Aeneas Williams, and his head struck tackle Dave Fiore's knee before slamming into the ground.
The force of the blow left him unconscious for several seconds.
sectors for Jeff Garcia has started two games in place of the injured Young, and coach Steve Mariucci said Monday that Young likely would miss a third straight start Sunday, when the 49ers play Carolina.
Even if Young receives medical clear-
Mariuciu is preparing himself for the possibility that Young may retire.
may not to think about it. Marrcole said, "but it's constantly being discussed." San Francisco plays at Minnesota on Oct. 24, and it's unlikely that Young would return for that game, which will be played on an unforgiving artificial surface. The 49ers then have a bye week, meaning that the earliest Young would return to play, provided he receives clearance, could be Nov. 7, when San Francisco plays host to Pittsburgh.
Last week, Young conceded he was bothered by headaches and grogginess after trying to resume practice with the team.
Young's latest concession appears to be the most serious one he has suffered. He endured two in 1996 and another in the 1997 season-opener at Tampa Bay.
"I try not to think about it," Marilucci
did, "but it's certainly being discussed."
Leigh Steinberg said he, along with Young's family and some of his friends, had been urging Young to retire for the last two years, and they renewed their calls in the aftermath of the latest concussion.
Young has said he still has a passion for football, and whether he left the sport or not was a matter he wanted left primarily between him and his doctors.
His agent said in all probability it would take a persuasive recommendation from his doctors to convince Young he should retire.
ance to resume playing. Mariucci said he would probably rest him for an additional period of time to make sure he's all right.
"I don't know what the doctor is going to say, and I don't think this is an exact science, which is why I think you should retire if you take a couple of hits like that to the head," Leigh Steinberg said. "But if a doctor told him he risked serious future ramifications imperiling his ability to think long term, or he risked possible brain damage. I think that would have an impact on him.
"He's obviously had a couple of weeks to start thinking about the possibilities. And even if we do get a thumbs down from the doctors, we're not going to do anything precipitous. This is not John Elway leaving after a Super Bowl. Steve has been to training camp and he's been playing this season. He may need more time."
Spinal injury may force Irvin to retire
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas - Michael Irvin hinted today that he might have to give up football because of a neck injury that temporarily paralyzed him.
Irvin didn't use the word retire, but he swallowed hard, clenched his teeth and paused before answering questions about his future. His voice cracked and his eyes redened.
"I love playing the game," the Dallas Cowboys star receiver said, speaking softly, slowly and without his usual verve. "But I'd
be lying to you if I tell you that in the last couple of days it hasn't come up."
Irvin sustained a swollen spinal cord and herniated disc after slamming his head into the turf early in Sunday's 13-10 loss to t
Sunday's 13-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 12-year veteran said he tried getting up after the play but couldn't. He then stared at the sky above Veterans Stadium and feared the worst.
He was relieved a few minutes later when feeling returned to his finger and toes while in an ambulance.
"I was just scared," he said. "I thought about not playing with my son."
That contrasted with the good spirits coach Chan Gailey described Irvin as being in when he flew home Monday. But this time Irvin had just come from a visit to a spine specialist. He had nothing to report about his condition, saying that the doctor spoke only in medical terms.
Wearing a neck brace that also supports his chin, Irvin spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes while sitting in front of his locker at the team's training center.
Before meeting with the media, Irvin also spent about 20 minutes talking to teammate Daryl Johnston, who is out the rest of this season and may have to retire because of a second neck injury in three years.
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