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8 • The Red and Black • Thursday, July 20, 1989
Mudcats want new home
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ga. — The owner
of the Columbus Mudcats, un
happy with the stadium where his
Class AA baseball team plays, is
threatening to move the club to an
other city by the 1991 season even
if a new stadium is built.
But owner Steve Bryant says he
might be willing to move another
minor league team to Columbus if
the city builds a new stadium. And
city officials say they are willing to
consider that.
“Now it’s up to the city,” Bryant
said after a two-hour meeting with
Mayor James E. Jemigan and
other officials Tuesday.
The Mudcats play at Golden
Park, which was built for the 1951
season and is the second oldest
ballpark in the Class AA Southern
League. Bryant has proposed a
6,000-seat stadium near Interstate
185 north of Columbus.
Bryant, who bought the team
last year, said the club probably
will stay in Columbus for the 1990
season, but he declined to say how
long the Mudcats might stay be
yond that — even with a new sta
dium.
“A Double A team traditionally
draws 200,000 or 250,000 people I
don’t believe a stadium in Co
lumbus would draw that many
people," he said.
Jemigan said he believes the
city must build a new stadium if it
wants to keep a minor league team,
in either ('lass AA or Class A
“I really think we have no choice
in the matter in the long run,” he
said Tuesday.
Bryant said he has hud “serious
discussions” with other cities
around the South about a possible
move, but the one most promi
nently mentioned is Greensboro,
N.C., where Bryant currently owns
a Class A team
Greensboro officials “are going
to build a new 10,000 seat stadium
on a new site, and it would be
ready for the 1991 season," he said
Bryant said he understands that
Rome, which has been actively
seeking a minor league team, has
offered a guarantee of 2,000 season
tickets for the first three years and
a new stadium by 1991.
Dan Magill: Founder of the Crackerland tournament
1989 tourney begins
Smith single lifts Braves
The Associated Press
MONTREAL - Lonnie
Smith’s two-run single capped a
four-run seventh inning as the
Atlanta Braves rallied from a six-
run deficit Tuesday night and
beat the Montreal Expos 7-6.
Dennis Martinez, who had won
a club-record nine consecutive
decisions, was given a 6-0 lead in
the second inning. But Martinez
allowed three runs in the sixth
and was chased in the seventh.
Steve Frey, 3-1, was the loser.
Mark Eichhom, 2-2, pitched a
hitless sixth. Jim Acker followed
with two innings of one-hit relief
and Joe Boever finished for his
16th save.
Oddibe McDowell’s two-run
triple and Smith’s RBI single
pulled Atlanta to 6-3 in the sixth.
In the seventh, Darrell Evans
led off with n single and, after
Dale Murphy’s flyout, consec
utive singles by Jeff Treadway
and John Russell made it 6-4
Frey relieved and allowed an RBI
single to pinch-hitter Jeff
Blauser.
McDowell struck out but Frey
walked Tommy Gregg, loading
the bases Andy McGaffigan re
lieved and allowed the two-run
single to Smith.
The start of the game was de
layed for 1 hour, 57 minutes be
cause of rain The retractable
roof at Olympic Stadium was left
open and could not be closed be
cause of high winds.
By ROBERT MACDONALD
Sports Writer
The University will host the
43rd Annual Crackerland Tennis
Championships this Monday at
Henry Keild Stadium.
The tournament runs for two
weeks with adults playing from the
24th to the 29th and juniors com
peting from the 31st to August 5.
Georgia Tennis Director Dan
Magill, the tournament’s founder,
said that this year’s tourney should
be strong, though the level of com
petition will be less than in past
years
“Most of the players now are
from the state,” he said. “In the old
days, the tournament used to get
the best players in the South.
There are so many other tourna
ments now that the number of en
tries has been diluted.”
Among the players competing in
the tournament will be former
Bulldog tennis star Allen Miller
Miller, who co-captained Georgias
1985 national championship team,
will team with current Georgia
CAR COSTS
women’s tennis coach Jeff Wallace
in doubles action.
Magill said that University fac
ulty and students are welcome to
enter the open tournament. Among
the University competitors already
entered are Head Swimming
Coach Jack Bauerle and Public
Service Director Richard A.
Hudson.
Hudson, last year’s champion in
the 40-year-old age group, said he
looked forward to the tournament.
“Any tournament run by Dan
Mngill is fun to compete in because
it’s so well done,” Hudson said.
Magill and former Southeastern
Conference Champion Dr. Tommy
Robinson will also be competing.
Magill will look to defend his 1988
tournament championship in the
65-year-old age group, while Rob
inson, who played at LSU, will play
in the 50s singles bracket.
The tournament’s second week
will feature action in five age
groups ranging from the 10-and-
under to the 18-and-under groups.
Oddly enough, the Crackerland
tournament came about as a way
to increase enrollment.
“We started the tournament to
help encourage students to come to
Georgia,” Magill said.
Anyone interested in entering
the tournament should contact
Magill at 542-1622
Braves need face lift
Now I’m not going to jump on
the bandwagon of Braves’
bashers because that ride is full,
but the club needs help. General
Manager Bobby Cox has got to do
something about the team’s
glaring weaknesses if the Braves
want to have a chance of being
genuinely competitive.
I am certainly no expert on
baseball, but I er\joy the game
and consider myself somewhat
knowledgeable on the subject.
When I look at the Braves, I see
an organization chock full of
young pitching talent on both the
major and minor league levels.
Tom Glavine, Derek Lilliquist,
Tommy Greene, Kent Mercker,
Steve Avery, Dennis Burlingham
and Ben Riviera just to name a
few. All coveated by more than a
few ball clubs. The Braves must
give up a few of these guys to fill
needs at other positions.
Hoarding pitching talent is
like hoarding gold — very, very
easy. But Cox has to deal some of
these arms before their trade
value dips. The Braves will not
win unless he does.
Cox needs to concentrate on
several problem areas, beginning
with the club’s all-time sore spot
—catcher.
Bruce Benedict is competent
defensively and handles pitchers
well, but can barely hit his
weight. Jody Davis might as well
not waste the gas of driving to the
stadium from his Gainesville
home and John Russell doesn’t
seem like a front-line player to
me.
Mr. Cox, please make a deal
for Sandy Alomar Jr. while you
still can. Part with one of our
E romising young pitchers (either
illiquist or Pete Smith or even
one of the young phenoms still in
the minors), a middle infielder
(pick ’em, though I’d prefer
keeping former Bulldog Jeff
Treadway) and change, to get
Alomar.
I could not believe how big this
kid looked on ESPN’s telecast of
the Triple-A All-Star game.
When he stood up behind the
plate, the center field camera had
to adjust to keep his head on the
screen.
And how about finally snag
ging the guy who should have
been the team’s third baseman
for years now? Brook Jacoby, lost
to Cleveland in the infamous I*»n
Barker trade, can probably be
gotten for the price of one or two
pitchers and an outfielder.
With the Ron Gant experiment
at third a proven disaster, the
Braves need to find somebody
reputable for the job. Jeff Blauser
is no everyday man at the posi
tion and Darrell Evans’H best
days at the position are well, well
behind him
If not Jacoby, then how about
Mike Paglirulo of the Yankees.
Pags can field his position and
has shown some power in the
past when not hurt. The Man
ners’ Jim Presley is an inter
esting candidate as is Tom
O'Malley, a triple A all-star for
Tidewater of the Meta organiza
tion.
All of these choices would be
much less expensive to the club
than Boston’s Wade Boggs, appa
rantly the team’s present candi
date of choice. Boggs can no
doubt hit the baseball, but he
doesn’t have the power Atlanta-
Fulton Co Stadium calls for Thl
Braves need a third sacker who
can hit it far and often and they
need one soon.
Another thing the Braves need
is a swiff centerfielder who can
get on base and score runs. Ex
Olympian Oddibe McDowell is
fast and he can field, but he
simply doesn’t reach base enough
to handle the job. Unless he turns
his career around, McDowell is
not the answer here.
The list of could be’s in cen-
terfield is unfortunately over
shadowed by an impressive list of
could’ve been’s. Brett Butler
could’ve been as could’ve Lenny
DykBtra or Roberto Kelly of the
Yankees.
Even if the club makes a deal,
there is no guarentee that its for
tunes will improve. The bone-
head Barker deal and the trade
that sent future Cy Young award
winner Steve Bedrosian to Phi la
delphia for catcher Ozzie Virgil
make this fact clear.
Nevertheless, the Braves have
got to enter the trade waters to
improve. They can not be tena
tive on the matter, but hopefully
their decisions will be wise
Robert McDonald Is a sports writer
for the Red and Black
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