Pitching isn't there
Stop the bleeding. Shut off the artery. The cliche of reading the handwriting on the wall does not apply here. The handwriting is billboard size at Camden Yards. Don't think World Series. Don't think pennant. This pitching staff won't get us into the playoffs. Mr. Gillick, where are you? We're not just losing. We're getting thundered.
Joseph Larson
Towson
Johnson's strategy faulty
Davey Johnson, you blew it! I can't believe nobody else would say it. Not Buster Olney, not Peter Schmuck, not John Eisenberg, not John Steadman, not even Ken Rosenthal.
Of all the reasons given to justify pulling Cal Ripken in the eighth inning for speedy Manny Alexander on May 1 against the Yankees, no one has mentioned the oldest axiom in baseball -- when on the road, go for the win; when home, go for the tie. With the Orioles one run down, Bobby Bonilla was on third and Ripken on first with none out.
Granted, Ripken doesn't have the speed, but there isn't a smarter base runner on the team (maybe in baseball). No way he would have been duped by Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson's fake throw to third.
Even if B. J. Surhoff hit a ground ball and the Yankees cut down Bonilla at home, they'd still have two on -- one in scoring position -- with one out. Davey, you have to score the tying run before you can score the winning run.
Larry Norwood
Baltimore It is of no surprise that our beloved Orioles are stuck in another season of unfulfilled expectations. The problem is quite obvious to real baseball fans.
Camden Yards is full of ersatz yuppies, wannabes, pseudo-power brokers and cell-phone posers who are there simply because it is in vogue. However, the worst offense is the passe phenomenon known as "the wave."
During a tight game, nothing gives me the urge to boot the TV screen more than seeing fans waiting for the wave to come their way, so they can stand up with their hands in the air and whoop like psychotic jazzercize instructors.
There is a simple solution to the Orioles' funk that will help return our ballpark to normalcy. Ban the wave (and all those who partake).
Steve Covzantino
Millersville
School is for education
I just read the May 2 article about Allen Iverson's early departure from Georgetown to play for big bucks in the NBA.
Hoyas coach John Thompson blames NCAA rules that the college couldn't subsidize Iverson's family financially, over and above an athletic scholarship. I find Thompson's reaction both appalling and typical. He laments that if the NCAA rules aren't changed, "there won't be one halfway sensible reason why kids will stay in school." Mr. Thompson, halfway sensible kids will stay in school. Their reason is to get an education.
Sophia Montgomery
Perry Hall I'm not an avid horse racing fan anymore, but I do take time to watch the Kentucky Derby and Preakness each year.
The coverage by ABC on Channel 2 was an embarrassment. One of the most dramatic events in horse racing is a photo finish. While the photo was being developed and reviewed by the stewards, ABC broke off to several minutes of commercials, missing the reaction of the crowd, owners and trainers and ruining the excitement for the home viewing audience.
After ABC bragged about the miles of cable, dozens of cameras, production trailers and the return of Jim McKay, the broadcast was actually a string of commercials interrupted by a horse race.
Alex P. Gross
Owings Mills
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Sports Department The Baltimore Sun 501 N. Calvert St. Baltimore, Md. 21278-0001 (410) 783-2518 Pub Date: 5/19/96
