The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 07, 1976, Image 10

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WEDNESDAY, APR, 7, 1976
SPECIALS GOOD
Thur. April 8
THRU
WED. APRIL 14
TUESDAY IS
DOUBLE
STAMP DAY
ON PURCHASES OF $2.50
OR MORE EXCL. BEER.
PILLSBURY FLOUR..™,...5
TOTINO PIZZA
CHEESE.HAMBURGER
-SAUSAGE .PEPPERONI
EACH
HI
DRI
JUMBO ^ ED C
ROLL WC#
JUMBO TOWELS
SURE DEODORANT 99c
SILVER LABEL
BUDGET BEEF
LB.
CROWN ROAST
BRISKET ROAST.. lb. 45*
ROUND STEAK s,lverl ^ l lv b ^c g k etbeef b I 09
SEVEN STEAK
SILVER LABEL BUDGET BEEF
FAMILY PACK
CRISP
FRESH
ARTICHOKES
PASCAL CELERY
EACH
CRISP
CALI FOR MIA
STALK
Cincy tougher Sonny P: natiomE
slam-dunk charm
than ever/’ AP
Associated Press
Give the Cincinnati Reds an arm
and they’ll take a leg. Give them a
couple of new legs, and they’ll prob
ably take a pennant.
The Reds won the World Series
last year despite championship-level
bench strength. But they didn’t sit
on their bench over the winter, sw
inging some deals which appear to
have made them stronger in that de
partment this season.
The Reds added a lethal right-
handed pinch hitter in Bob Bailey
and a swinging left-hander in Mike
Lum and now Sparky Anderson’s
gang is loaded, if you’ll pardon the
expression.
The Reds are a team that has ev
erything — speed, power, defense,
pitching and bench strength and the
guess is that they’ll also have the Na
tional League pennant by the time
the 1976 baseball season is over.
Along with their new bench
strength, the Reds can count on
some old strengths in catcher Johnny
Bench, second-baseman Joe Morgan
and third baseman Pete Rose, all
Most Valuable Players at one time or
other. Those Big Three are joined by
reliable Tony Perez, giving Cincin
nati’s thoroughbreds the inside track
in the West Division race.
The Reds will probably be chal
lenged most seriously in their divi
sion by Los Angeles, which remains
a palpable threat despite the loss of
pitcher Andy Messersmith, who
won free agent status and jumped
the Dodgers in search of fortune
elsewhere.
Pitching is the Dodgers’ forte.
They led the league last year for the
fourth straight season with a 2.92
earned run average and figure to
have a strong staff with Don Sutton,
Burt Hooton and Doug Rau as the
nucleus. If left-hander Tommy John
comes back with some of his oldtime
authority, the Dodgers could make it
red-hot for the Reds.
National League champions two
years ago, the Dodgers have big
run-producers in Steve Garvey, Ron
Gey and Dusty Baker, the center
fielder acquired in an offseason deal
with the Atlanta Braves.
The San Francisco Giants finished
27% games off the Reds’ runaway
pace last season, and don’t figure to
get too much closer this time. The
only thing positive about the team is
that it’ll be playing in Candlestick
Park. On the verge of a move to To
ronto, the financially troubled
Giants were saved at the last mo
ment by a local group, but won’t be
saved the embarrassment of finish
ing third in the West despite the
presence of outfielder star Bobby
Murcer and the addition of third
baseman Ken Reitz.
The talent gap which separates
San Francisco from the top two
teams becomes even more discerni
ble in the rest of the West.
General Manager Tal Smith and
Manager Bill Virdon put the trading
emphasis on pitching for Houston
over the winter, unloading longtime
star Doug Rader and catcher Milt
May. The Astros have plenty of
prospects on the mound and that’s
precisely what they are with few of
proven quality.
The San Diego Padres came out of
the cellar for the last season, but still
won’t see much light this year.
They’ve acquired the aforemen
tioned Rader to bolster their infield,
but pitching is still their main prob
lem. Randy Jones pressed New
York’s Tom Seaver for the Gy Young
Award last year, but Dave Freisel-
ben and Dan Spillner are the other
leading starters and they only won
10 games between them in 1975.
The Atlanta Braves had a disastr
ous fifth-place finish last season de
spite high hopes and General Man
ager Eddie Robinson took things in
his own hands over the winter. He
tore up the Braves beyond recogni
tion, unloading hometown favorites
like Ralph Garr and Baker in a major
reconstruction job.
In the East, the Pittsburgh Pirates
have strengthened their pitching
staff with the acquisition of Doc
Medich and the development of
young John Candelaria.
Texas A&M’s Sonny Parker and
Indiana’s Scott May shared honors at
Monday night’s Pizza Hut All-Star
Classic held in Las Vegas.
Parker, the first Aggie ever to play
in the post-season basketball classic,
was named the National Collegiate
Slam-Dunk Champion during the
contest held at halftime of the game.
May was named Most Valuable
Player of the game after he guided
his team (the East) into the lead and
ultimately to victory in the final mi
nutes of the game.
Parker drew plaudits for his out
standing defensive job on the highly
regarded May. Parker limij
all-America forward to twol
through most of the first (
two points May was credit
came as a result of Texas Tec „
Bullock being called forgdfJBu'K 11
Parker scored eight points^ jven
game while playing about
time, as all players werel* ^
equal time. W ,
The East gained the leado yj p ^
Parker left the game in thefe^T ^
mites and May was notbei
..— oi en .iM ar > 11
The final score was 91-87,
iding a
over the West for the third
y ear - It of*
AP chooses As'
to regain title
s Mun
;on Wai
by eigl
H * s
rd The
mal rec
he Min
. the 7-y
Associated Press
For years they hollered “Break up
the Oakland A s” in the American
League West. Well, somebody’s fi
nally done it — the owner.
But it appears that Charles O. Fin
ley’s zany machinations won’t keep
the Mustache Gang from winning
another division championship.
Catfish Hunter escaped the Oak
land madhouse last year when Fin
ley committed a contractual error.
Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman,
two other players who helped the A’s
to three straight world champion
ships, were unloaded in a trade that
left the baseball world stunned, but
it seems there was a method to Fin
ley’s apparent madness.
The A s, winners of five straight
West titles, have been aching for a
blue-chip righthander since the de
parture of Hunter. And Finley
landed two good ones in the
Jackson-Holtzman deal with the Bal
timore Orioles — battle-tested Mike
Torrez and fast-rising Paul Mitchell.
In addition to the two pitchers,
Finley acquired outfielder Don
Baylor, a player who hit shorter and
fewer home runs than Jackson but
batted 29 points higher.
Ae
Finley, a man of a thousand jj°y-
and a million managers, alM 106 rul
changed managers, firingA]\i[jr m 'l e ai
and hiring Chuck Tanner^ 5 ^ or
former Chicago White Soil® on hi
should have everything this*
cept job security. Despitetie^,
Jackson and Holtzman, the ip
have enough talent to beat!
rest of the West — a pitchii||
headed by Vida Blue, abullpA
tressed by Rollie Fingers*^
power-packed lineup with * I
ters as Baylor, Joe Rudi.®'^ 31 ' ,
Tenace, Claudell Washingto:| s | S1
Billy Williams. 1
The toughest inter-diviir' ns
competition for Oakland piDp 16 ^’
will come from the KansasNat
als and Texas Rangers. iec ‘ a
The Rangers were a teamH^' 1
future two years ago underr
Martin and could be a teaniT
present if their pitching matt
hurry. Texas traded veteran!
hander Ferguson Jenkinsdui
off-season to the Boston Redij
outfielder Juan Beniquez. HeMt
a group of fine young players!®^ ^
mcr
<,1; '
by Mike Hargrove, Toby Hi
Len Randle, Jim Sundbergd|| as
Burroughs. choftht
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