July 08, 1997|By Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko,SUN STAFF
CLEVELAND -- Word was relayed to Brady Anderson yesterday that American League manager Joe Torre might need to play a couple of his outfielders for nine innings in tonight's All-Star Game. The response was a slight grin and predictable answer.
"I hope I can be one of them," Anderson said.
It may not go that far, but at least Anderson is able to play, aches and all. He'll bat leadoff in a star-studded lineup that includes Orioles teammates Cal Ripken and Roberto Alomar. It will represent his first action since coming out of the second game of Friday's doubleheader in Detroit with a bruised left calf, the result of being hit twice by pitches.
Anderson joked about the possibility of going the distance tonight, saying, "You don't like to have to show your skills too much in an All-Star Game."
By running and taking part in yesterday's All-Star Home Run Derby, Anderson showed he's ready to make his second consecutive start in the midsummer classic. If he hadn't been able to play tonight, he would have ended up missing almost a week before the regular season resumes Friday.
"I don't like to do that," he said. "If I wasn't going to play, I still would have been here. I don't have that much else to do."
Alomar will do something unusual -- bat ninth in the order. The Seattle Mariners' Alex Rodriguez will hit second, Alomar's normal Orioles spot.
The closest Alomar ever came to batting so low was when he broke into the majors with San Diego in 1988.
"I hit eighth there," he said. "I didn't hit ninth because the pitcher hit there. But for me, that was like hitting ninth. But that's OK. I feel real happy to be part of this lineup. I don't care if I hit 10th."
Alomar even came up with a possible advantage to bringing up the rear. "By hitting ninth, maybe I won't have to face [Greg]
Maddux," he said, referring to the National League starter and four-time Cy Young Award winner.
"If you look at the lineup, we have some great hitters, so I don't mind. Somebody has to do it."
Ripken will bat seventh, also lower than where he's accustomed. Then again, he's also playing a position different from the one he was at in his 14 other All-Star appearances.
"It's the same feeling," he said of starting at third base, rather than shortstop. "Third base might be a different look, but I'm getting used to it. It would be weirder now to go back to shortstop."
Ripken added that the experience of playing in an All-Star Game never gets old or becomes routine. "You get to see a new stadium, you get to be with a different group of players. It's a great celebration of baseball. It's always a pleasure to be here and be a part of it," he said.
Two other Orioles could find their way onto the field tonight: pitchers Mike Mussina and Randy Myers.
Mussina didn't throw yesterday and said he would treat an appearance tonight like his normal workout between starts. This is his fourth selection, and the first since 1994 in Pittsburgh. "I'm glad I got another chance. Hopefully, I'll perform well," he said.
Myers closed out the 1995 game in Texas, but expects Torre to use his closer in New York, Mariano Rivera, if the AL has the lead in the ninth. "I'll probably pitch the eighth inning, which is fine," he said.
With all the chaos around him, including enough members of the print and electronic media to fill a clubhouse, Myers tried to treat yesterday as any other.
"That's the way I prepare. I'm in the same mind-set here," he said.
"I've been in circus atmospheres in the playoffs and World Series. Once you cross the lines, that's what you have to do."
All-Star bonuses
American League
$100,000 -- Ken Griffey, Seattle.
$75,000 -- Roberto Alomar, Orioles.
$50,000 -- Brady Anderson, Orioles; Roger Clemens, Toronto; Pat Hentgen, Toronto; Randy Johnson, Seattle; x-David Justice, Cleveland; Edgar Martinez, Seattle; Tino Martinez, New York Yankees; Paul O'Neill, Yankees; Cal Ripken, Orioles; Alex Rodriguez, Seattle; Ivan Rodriguez, Texas; Bernie Williams, Yankees.
$25,000 -- Sandy Alomar, Cleveland; Joey Cora, Seattle; Chuck Knoblauch, Minnesota; Mark McGwire, Oakland; Jim Thome, Cleveland; Justin Thompson, Detroit.
None -- Albert Belle, Chicago White Sox; Jeff Cirillo, Milwaukee; David Cone, Yankees; Jason Dickson, Anaheim; Nomar Garciaparra, Boston; Mike Mussina, Orioles; Randy Myers, Orioles; Mariano Rivera, Yankees; Jose Rosado, Kansas City; x-Frank Thomas, White Sox.
National League
$50,000 -- Rod Beck, San Francisco; Jeff Blauser, Atlanta; Ken Caminiti, San Diego; Royce Clayton, St. Louis; Steve Finley, San Diego; Andres Galarraga, Colorado; Tom Glavine, Atlanta; Ray Lankford, St. Louis; Greg Maddux, Atlanta; Denny Neagle, Atlanta.
$25,000 -- Jeff Bagwell, Houston; Craig Biggio, Houston; Kevin Brown, Florida; Mark Grace, Chicago Cubs; Tony Gwynn, San Diego; x-Todd Hundley, New York Mets; Chipper Jones, Atlanta; Darryl Kile, Houston; x-Kenny Lofton, Atlanta; Javier Lopez, Atlanta; Larry Walker, Colorado.
$15,000 -- Pedro Martinez, Montreal.
$10,000 -- Moises Alou, Florida.
None -- Barry Bonds, San Francisco; Shawn Estes, San Francisco; Charles Johnson, Florida; Bobby Jones, Mets; x-Barry Larkin, Cincinnati; Mike Piazza, Los Angeles; Curt Schilling, Philadelphia; Tony Womack, Pittsburgh.
x-injured and will miss game
Pub Date: 7/08/97
