The Dodgers: No Longer Seeing Red

The Dodgers No Longer Seeing Red

Despite any rumors, Cincinnati Reds Manager Sparky Anderson has not returned to the used-car business. It's tough to tell though, considering the clunker he has been driving lately. It certainly bears no resemblance to the Big Red Machine that cruised by the Yankees in four straight games last October for the team's second straight World Series victory. Five weeks into the season the Reds were blowing leads, big and small, failing to produce in the clutch, surrendering runs in bunches, falling down in the base paths and sputtering along under .500. "This has been a real team effort," observes two-time MVP Joe Morgan sarcastically. The kind that put the Reds at one point as many as 11 1/2 games behind their traditional rivals in the National League's Western Division and the hottest team in baseball: the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers won 22 of their first 26 games, the quickest start of any major league team since 1955, when baseball was still played in Brooklyn. That Dodger team lost only two of their first 24, coasted to the pennant, then whipped the dreaded Yankees for their first-ever World Series win. Those were the "Bums" of Campanella, Reese, Hodges and Robinson, the "Duke" of Flatbush and big Don Newcombe, whose pinch hitting was as fearsome as his fastball. There was also a little lefthander on the pitching roster named Tommy Lasorda. He was shipped back to the minors after compiling an un-Dodger-like earned run average of 13.50 in only four appearances.

Now 49, Lasorda is in his rookie season as manager of the Dodgers. After 27 years as a spear carrier in the organization, he is enjoying the big job. Says he: "Managing during this streak has been a lot more fun than it was watching from the bench back in '55." An open, ebullient man, subject to sudden attacks of overstatement (Dodger Stadium is "blue heaven on earth"; "Cut me, I bleed Dodger blue"), Lasorda is the antithesis of Predecessor Walter Alston, who perfected the art of keeping his own counsel. "I believe in whooping it up, patting guys on the back, enthusiasm," says Lasorda, whose fealty to his team is so strong that he would like to continue to be of service after death. "They can just put the Dodger schedule on my tombstone," he says. "Visitors to the cemetery can check it to see if the Dodgers are at home or away."

The team has responded brilliantly to Lasorda's gusty enthusiasm. They are leading the league in hitting, home runs and runs batted in. Of the starting rotation -- Don Sutton, Rick Rhoden, Doug Rau, Tommy John and Burt Hooton -- John and Hooton are the only ones to have lost games in the first five weeks of the season. Sutton, the ace of the staff, like a former Dodger righthander, Carl Erskine, catches the corners of the plate with his curve -- and batters looking at third strikes. On the infrequent occasions when the Big Five falter, in motors Charlie Hough from the bullpen.

His earned run average is 1.85, and Lasorda calls him "the Hope diamond."

The real blue gem, though, has been Third Baseman Ron Cey. A power hitter whose stubby legs and flat-footed stride earned him the nickname "Penguin," Cey had averaged 20 home runs and 90 RBIS over the past four seasons. Moved from fifth to the clean-up slot by Lasorda, Cey hit nine home runs in April and set a major league record for the month with 29 runs batted in -- a pace that would project to 72 of the former, 235 of the latter, and a reserved alcove in the Hall of Fame. Says he: "With Steve Garvey behind me and Reggie Smith in front, I see more good pitches in a night than I used to in a month." Garvey, a lifetime .300 hitter, is no slouch. Smith, unloved in Boston, unappreciated in St. Louis, is merely batting .347. Like the '55 Dodgers, the L.A. lineup has no easy outs.

Not even Lasorda believes that his stalwarts can keep up the early-season pace. The Dodgers have a history of late-season swoons. The most famous was the 1951 fade when the Giants made up 13 1/2 games. Two years ago, they led the Reds by 5 1/2 games in the middle of May, but eventually lost by 20. So Sparky Anderson has the record on his side when he says, "The Dodgers will come back to us in July. Don't ask me why, but they always do."

Perhaps not this year. Don Gullett, millionaire, now pitches for the Yankees. Tony Perez, who drove in more runners than any other batter in the majors over the past ten years, now swings for Montreal. Then there was the preseason holdout of home-town hero Pete Rose, and rumblings about money from Johnny Bench. The Big Red Machine may not have quite the synchromesh of recent lustrous seasons.

The breakaway start of the Dodgers hasn't helped the Reds either. Says Garvey: "If you get behind like the teams in second place now, they suddenly realize that if they have a bad stretch they can afford to have only one more. If you have pressure on you from the beginning of April, that's going to take its toll." Lasorda is more direct: "Personally, I'm sick and tired of watching other people on television in October. We want to be there." Stay tuned.

As L.A. was racing in one direction, the Atlanta Braves were hell-bent in another. When their losing streak reached 16 last week, Owner Ted Turner gave Manager Dave Bristol a few days off and slipped into a uniform himself. His managerial debut: consecutive loss No. 17. National League President Chub Feeney, citing a little-known rule, banished Manager Teddy from the dugout. "If I'm smart enough to save $11 million to buy this team," grumbled Turner, "I ought to be smart enough to manage it." Next day, with Teddy once more a spectator the Braves finally won, beating the Pirates 6-1.

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