Is Lou Piniella the reason the Reds have done so well this season?
No way.One baseball writer suggested this week that we shouldn't expect a total Reds collapse just because they have lost a few games recently. He wrote: "Here's a two-word reason why the Reds are going to be very hard to beat: Lou Piniella. Louie will get it done if the talent is there to do it. He's an exceptional manager because he's an exceptional leader."
So where's the evidence of all this leadership?
Let's see, in 1986, Piniella managed the Yankees to 90 wins and a second-place finish. Not bad, until you consider that they finished second the year before, while winning seven more games.
In 1987, also under Piniella, the Yanks finished fourth, and in 1988, they were in fifth place after 93 games when Leader Lou got the yank.
The fact is, the Reds' smoking start to this season was more a reaction to getting rid of Pete Rose than it was a response to Lou's leadership skills.
If the Reds do hang on for the NL West title, Lou will be less deserving of the credit than will the injuries to the Giants' pitching staff.
FLEE-ON DEION:
Has there ever been so much fuss about a guy who hits .158? Just what has Deion Sanders shown the Yankee brass that he obviously hasn't shown the rest of the baseball world?
In a snit over the Yankees' withdrawal - under threat of lawsuit - of a contract offer, Sanders recently packed his bags and stomped off to Atlanta - or somewhere, since he didn't show up at the Falcons' training camp.
"I'm leaving. I'm going to football," Sanders said. "Maybe I'll be back next year."
Shallow threat. The guy wanted $1 million a year from the Yankees, which makes him more larcenous than Pete Rose.
He's at least shown a little talent in football, so let him play it. Baseball needs him like it needs George Steinbrenner.
KEEP TALKING:
I don't care what anybody says, I like Jose Canseco. The guy is a sportswriter's dream - a never-ending source of headline-making quotes.
First, asked if the Angels had a chance to win the AL West, the burly Cuban said: "We'd all have to go blind for them to catch us. They'd have to play .900 ball to catch up and we'd have to play .500 ball."
Then, after being hit by a pitch thrown by Bert Blyleven and exchanging angry words with the Angel hurler, Canseco was asked if he thought about charging the mound. He responded: "The only way I'll go to the mound is if I'm totally forced to, and then it's going to be totally ugly. I'm a lover, not a fighter, but if I would have thought he would hit me on purpose, I would have gone out and pulled off a body part."
MURF MILESTONES:
Atlanta/Philadelphia's Dale Murphy's 17th homer gives him 371 and moves him into 31st place on the all-time list. He's just one ahead of the Angels' Dave Winfield, who has 13 for the season and 370 career homers, so that could change any time. So far this season, Murphy has passed Lee May, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Rice, Ralph Kiner and Gil Hodges. If he continues to hit homers at his current pace and winds up with 27 for the year, he will also pass Rocky Colavito, 374; Norm Cash, 377; Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, 379; and end up tied for 26th place with Darrell Evans, 381.
SHORT STUFF:
Jack Morris has been the victim of more unearned runs - 19 - than any other AL pitcher. In second place was Seattle's Matt Young, with 15 . . . 1989 Trapper third baseman Mike Grace was the player of the month of June in the Expos' minor-league organization. Grace, who plays for Rockford in the Single A Midwest League, is hitting .299 . . . Former BYU baseball player Gary Cooper made the Peter Gammons' all-name minor league baseball team on ESPN recently, sharing the honors with such as outfielder Ted Williams and first baseman Greg Pikl.