ports THE BATTALION Page 15 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1977 Aggie spring training begins today | emphasis will he on defense Lh Emory Bellard and his |l en their sixth spring football session today. 1 Annie defense has dominated fouthwest Conference (SWC) Lst four seasons, and has fei high nationally as well. | season the Ags were No. 4 in ition in total defense with a yards per game average, only three yards out of second place. They finished second in the nation in rushing defense, allowing an av erage of 96.7 yards per game. Only 13 lettennan and three star ters return from last year’s defen sive unit. The three starters are, strongside linebacker Kevin Monk, cornerback Mike Williams and free safety Carl Grulich. A fourth starter could be back next fall. He is defensive end iedSlait n to sut ivion® le in in f the in Cli ed Sox only team j) challenge Yanks tions t n the Cami 1 I United Press International »'gs hit™ “ ^'Boston Red Sox manager, is ^"Awlincerned with the seemingly season improvements made defending American League lampion New York Yankees. Zimmer worried too much his uncertain pitching staff. port and her rnaili sts, geo under t| ponsorsH irk, C: ra ;9- the seif may at animail lental cli ’an, ofli 1 in sun iome al when in but Mi aavior . is most important to Zim- [for the Red Sox to get off to a jstart—something they didn’t Idefending AL champs a year )y early May they were 6-15 bver fully recovered. can’t let the Yankees do [they did last year—run away rest of the league by early [said Zimmer. “Nobody ever la race of it. I don’t think we mentally prepared last spring, lere too overconfident. Red Sox, who figure to give nkees the best run of all the 1st clubs this year, return most etweenlli | startin £ cast which won the he earths nnant and took the Cincinnati Logan, oeven games in the 1975 sea- eork will itificbem jg Carl Ysvstrzemski, titular ■ of the club, is coming off one toftheli |j es j y ears i()2 RBI, while Davissa r Carlton Fisk .225, 17 HR, unrelaW f le id er Fre d Lynn .314, 10 totheife sand shortstop Rick Burleson , :e being counted on to play up nnlogislii a ]| y ear long now that their a wide rip U disputes with the front of- ges pret-j ve | )een settled, that bi» s have e Edition, the Red Sox reac- ootto jd slugging first baseman ot he pem iden, a eophysidj , said sliil ing ea Scott, 18 homers, 77 RBI in a ivith the Milwaukee Brewers le winter and signed relief ace Campbell in the free agent takes. question with Reggie Jackson thi li on Gullett, the Yankees are a improved hall club,” said "but we feel with Scott • assui an envirn ugh to A earth equip"'" jls. is that» hangeinS efore an is that W lounds d- mt anim Demi and Campbell we’ve improved greatly, too.” Zimmer’s big problem, assuming his hitters all have typical seasons, will be the starting pitching where aging ace Luis Tiant 21-12 is closing in on 37; Workhorse Ferguson Jen kins 12-11 is coming off of Achilles heal surgery; southpaw Bill Lee has had shoulder problems and Reggie Cleveland and Rise are considered “iffy” each year. There has been talk about an effort to land left-hander Vida Blue from the depleted Oak land As, but unless that happens,: Zimmer has a lot of uncertainties on his mound staff, while his chief ri vals, the Yankees, are deepest in that same department. Strengths; In Lynn, Fisk, Yas- trzemski, Scott and Jim Rice, the Red Sox present as potent a middle batting order as any opposing pitcher will face in either league. Campbell, Jim Willoughby and pos sible rookie Boh Stanley look like a strong bullpen which will see a lot of activity this year. Excellent defense at every position hut second and third. Weaknesses: A most uncertain starting pitching rotation. Big ques tion at third base where the Still un proven Butch Hobson experienced sore arm woes in spring training. Denny Doyle and Doug Griffin likely to platoon at second although neither has proved to he the answer to Bosox brass. New faces: Campbell will help the bullpen—a major disaster area in Fenway Park last year; Scott adds to an already awesome offense; rookie pitchers Rob Stanley and Jim Vosk given good chance to stick as relievers and Don Aase has outside shot at landing starting berth. Outlook: Unless the pitching situ ation crystalizes rapildy. Red Sox can not expect to overhaul the Yankees. A strong second place finish is more likely. Eugene Sanders, a classroom casu alty. Much of last year’s talent was lost to graduation, including all-America linebacker Robert Jackson and all- America safety Lester Hayes. Add to that list defensive tackles Edgar Fields and Jimmy Dean, defensive end Tank Marshall, linebacker Jesse Hunnicutt and cornerback Wiliam Thompson, and one can see why the emphasis this spring is on defense. Among the other 10 returning let- terman, there are some who have had starting roles. Those 10 men in clude ends Phil Bennett, Stacy Breihan and Eddie Heath; tackles Steve Spitzenberger, Johnnie Donahue and Garry Milligan; linebackers jimmy Kocurek and Frank Lemmons; cornerback Jimmy Hamilton and safety Larry Johnson. Returning squadman who could make strong bids this spring include ends Jacob Green, Jerry Shannon and Mark Giamfortone; tackles Gerald Galloway, James Scoggin and Jonnie Svatek, linebackers Lawton Carlton, Ken Rollins, Gary Tate, James Zachery, Dick Frazee, Randy Harvey and Steve Flynn; cornerback Wadine Miles and safeties Greg Sokora, John Baber, Ralph Barrett and Carl McCor mack. On offense, the outlook is much brighter. Lack of depth at quarter back is the only major problem, with that not being totally solved until the fall. Minor problems will be filling the voids at each guard slot, and at tight and split ends. One position change should help elliviate the split end problem. Dar rell Smith will move out to that pos ition from his running back slot. He has great speed and excellent hands. Doug Teague will also be trying out for the position. At tight end, returning letterman Russell Mikeska must fight off chal lenges from three fine squad men. They are Chuck Carr, Phillip Simpson and Kyle Golson. Filling the two guard positions should be no problem for Bellard. Top candidates are Thomas Gregory and Ed Pustefovsky. Each man had starting assignments last year. The Ags’ kicking game should be quite strong. David Appleby re turns as the punter, with Tony Franklin picking up the rest of the kicking duties. The wishbone offense will still be the main formation. The bone will consist of David Walker, George Woodard, Curtis Dickey and David Brothers, which rushed for 3,007 yards last year. A&M passed over 1,000 yards as well. Spring training’s major goal will be keeping the Aggies in their posi tion among the nation’s major foot ball powers. The Ags were ranked 7th and 8th on the wire polls last year. Next year's schedule will test the Ags early. A&M h;is to play Kansas, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech and Houston the first five games of the season. If they can win all five of those games, then they should be well on their way to another fine season. CAREER SALES Excellent future for responsible sales-oriented individual who enjoys active contact with public. For permanent resident only, no travel. Expenses paid at home office training school plus training locally. Position offers stable career with substantial income and managerial opportunity. Call Frank Novak At 846-2426 or 693-8754 3-C CORRAL THE BEST BAR-B-Q IN TOWN! Chicken-Fried Steak and Salad Bar $2.75 1808 BARAK LANE (East of 29th St.) itcrnatii®' bio — )iie ^ artoonist j always n 1 *' (Ik 1 ci)"^ 1 I hinr , , spent m ding vlaii |ieS ! ked the^ rd at n ves witli / Circlfi his eon>| [rrowinf! ’ utt0 cV'' G ,soS e* a