Lenny Dykstra

PHILADELPHIA -- He stood in center field and bayed at the moon.The Philadelphia Phillies' Lenny Dykstra, for whom losing is intolerable, could stand it no more. So in the light of a half-moon and the shell fire of Atlanta's six-run third inning last night, he threw back his head, opened his tobacco-gorged mouth wide, and howled to the heavens.It was baseball's version of the barbaric yawp.Lenny Dykstra is a throwback. Not to Pete Rose. To Java Man.So he gave voice to his frustrations. It was not the long, mournful "wh-o-o-o-o-o-o" of the wolf asking the question: Anyone else out there?

BaseballAngels: Purchased minor-league contracts of OF Damon Mashore and IF Frank Bolick. Placed IF Chris Pritchett (elbow) on 15-day DL.Astros: Placed P Ramon Garcia (elbow), P Chris Holt (shoulder) and OF Ray Montgomery (back) on 15-day DL.Blue Jays: Optioned IF Tom Evans to Triple-A Syracuse. Purchased contracts of IF Craig Grebeck and IF Juan Samuel from Syracuse.Giants: Placed P Osvaldo Fernandez (elbow) on 15-day DL. Recalled P Russ Ortiz from Triple-A Fresno.Phillies: Placed OF Lenny Dykstra (back)

Pistons use silver screens to get freeWas that really the Detroit Pistons playing the Boston Celtics? Or was it just a cast of impostors -- including a fictional mass murderer, two all-time great home-run hitters and Batman's sexy girlfriend?You couldn't have told by checking the hotel register where the two-time defending National Basketball Association champions stayed in Boston.Among the aliases the Pistons used to ward off overzealous fans or possible security problems were former New York Yankees sluggers Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, and Kim Basinger, the slinky actress who played Vicki Vale in the movie "Batman."

Has Lenny Dykstra played his last big-league game?Dykstra, whose trade to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1989 came to symbolize the mismanagement of the post-'86 New York Mets, announced Thursday that he will have season-ending back surgery to correct a condition called spinal stenosis.And then what? At 33, Lenny's no kid anymore. The back surgery, which will entail a shaving of the spinal column, is said to require 12-16 months recovery time. That could wipe out the '97 season.And while Dykstra said, "I'm definitely not thinking about retirement," he made it clear this is no simple surgery.

PHILADELPHIA -- Just when the Phillies were starting to look like the most inept group in baseball this side of the Florida Marlin grounds crew, the Wonder Boys of '93 resurfaced to bash and trash San Diego, 8-4, Sunday night for the benefit of ESPN's national TV audience.Lenny Dykstra was the leading man in the offensive revival with three hits, three runs scored, two RBI and a walk.Dykstra is hitting a robust .462 (12-26) over the past seven games to raise his average to a season-high .293 and his 76 runs scored paces the majors.

And now, a word from a starving union man:"Lenny Dykstra loves baseball. Lenny Dykstra is fortunate to be playing in the major leagues. Lenny Dykstra wants to play baseball in 1995."Lenny Dykstra is a dope, but never mind.He's a big-leaguer in the '90s. He speaks in the third person. He acts dumb and dumber. And he quite enjoys the lifestyle of the rich and famous, thank you very much.The picket line?It's just something for Lenny to blast through in his sports car come April.Lenny, Jose Canseco or one of the other oppressed laborers.

When they scored four runs in the seventh inning Tuesday, the Reds broke a streak of 77 straight innings during which they failed to score more than two runs in an inning.The Detroit Tigers began the year 8-7. Since then, they have lost eight straight, won one, lost four straight, won one, lost six straight, won one, lost two, won one and lost eight straight.Since Aug. 1 last year, Albert Belle has hit 48 homers and had 108 RBIs -- in 380 at-bats.In Colorado on May 17, the St. Louis Cardinals allowed the Rockies' leadoff hitter to reach base in all eight innings that Colorado batted, and seven times the leadoff man scored.

Lenny Dykstra of the Philadelphia Phillies left Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Hospital yesterday, four days after a car accident that also injured teammate Darren Daulton and left Dykstra facing a drunken-driving charge.Dykstra declined to talk about the accident but said: "I want to thank all the great fans of Philadelphia for their support."Dykstra is on the 60-day disabled list with three broken right ribs, a broken right collarbone and broken right cheekbone. A hospital spokeswoman said he was put in a shoulder cast to immobilize his collarbone.

For 10 years, Chuck Schupp has been manager of baseball promotions for Hillerich & Bradsby, the Kentucky company that turns out Louisville Slugger bats. He talked about his customers' swinging habits with The Sun's Mark Hyman.Q: How many bats does a major-leaguer order for a season?A: To answer that, you'd have to separate what's ordered from what's used in a game. As far as ordering, the average would be 10 dozen, and probably 50 to 60 percent of those would be used in a game. The ones that aren't -- maybe it doesn't have the right feel or doesn't feel balanced to them -- are used for batting practice or charity donations.

As a fat guy, I'm sure I speak for fat guys everywhere when I say of this World Series: "Go Phillies."Oh, you go ahead and root for the trim, clear-eyed Blue Jays. Me, I'm pulling for Philly. The Phillies look like a Friday night B League team at the Bowl-o-rama, a lot of beefy guys with unkempt beards and gold chains and a bottle of Bud in one hand. All they're missing are yellow polyester shirts with "Floyd's Sunoco" stitched on the back.I'm rooting for the Phillies because . . . well, because baseball is an easy game when you're in shape like the Blue Jays.

When they scored four runs in the seventh inning Tuesday, the Reds broke a streak of 77 straight innings during which they failed to score more than two runs in an inning.The Detroit Tigers began the year 8-7. Since then, they have lost eight straight, won one, lost four straight, won one, lost six straight, won one, lost two, won one and lost eight straight.Since Aug. 1 last year, Albert Belle has hit 48 homers and had 108 RBIs -- in 380 at-bats.In Colorado on May 17, the St. Louis Cardinals allowed the Rockies' leadoff hitter to reach base in all eight innings that Colorado batted, and seven times the leadoff man scored.

The TV Repairman:Because the U.S. Open is only a month away and CBS has at least a hundred-hour barrage of coverage planned, the network will go bonkers with a simple tennis exhibition tomorrow (2 p.m.), padding a Monica Seles-Martina Navratilova match out to two hours with reviews, previews and interviews, likening Monica's return to play as the equal of MacArthur's return to Corregidor.Depending on the mood of Seles when interviewed, she's either all a-twitter about coming back to (probably)

And now, a word from a starving union man:"Lenny Dykstra loves baseball. Lenny Dykstra is fortunate to be playing in the major leagues. Lenny Dykstra wants to play baseball in 1995."Lenny Dykstra is a dope, but never mind.He's a big-leaguer in the '90s. He speaks in the third person. He acts dumb and dumber. And he quite enjoys the lifestyle of the rich and famous, thank you very much.The picket line?It's just something for Lenny to blast through in his sports car come April.Lenny, Jose Canseco or one of the other oppressed laborers.

Philadelphia Phillies star outfielder Len Dykstra broke ranks yesterday and became the first high-profile player to publicly question the stubborn bargaining strategy of the Major League Baseball Players Association.Dykstra, appearing on ESPN's "Up Front," bucked the union position and spoke in positive terms about the settlement recommendation made Tuesday by special mediator William J. Usery."If you ask me, I think that Usery tried to do what's best for both sides; he kind of, it looks like, cut everything in half," Dykstra said.

For 10 years, Chuck Schupp has been manager of baseball promotions for Hillerich & Bradsby, the Kentucky company that turns out Louisville Slugger bats. He talked about his customers' swinging habits with The Sun's Mark Hyman.Q: How many bats does a major-leaguer order for a season?A: To answer that, you'd have to separate what's ordered from what's used in a game. As far as ordering, the average would be 10 dozen, and probably 50 to 60 percent of those would be used in a game. The ones that aren't -- maybe it doesn't have the right feel or doesn't feel balanced to them -- are used for batting practice or charity donations.

TORONTO -- The opening game of the 90th World Series played more like a boxing match than a baseball game. The Philadelphia Phillies came out swinging and went for a quick knockout. The defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays counterpunched in the early rounds and then let loose with a couple of roundhouse lefts that turned the fight in their favor.So much for metaphor. Devon White and John Olerud turned Game 1 around with a couple of middle-inning home runs and the Blue Jays went on to score a resounding 8-5 victory before a sellout crowd of 52,011 at SkyDome.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies are in last place again, but as always the season has had its share of amusements and oddments, ranging from the serious (Lenny Dykstra summoned to Mississippi during spring training to testify about illegal gambling) to the hilarious (a Phillies player tabulating the actual number of expletives used by general manager Lee Thomas during a brief, but purple, clubhouse outburst).Here, without further ado, is a look at the best and worst of the 1991 Phillies:Best win: On April 30 at Veterans Stadium, the Phillies trailed the Giants, 9-3, going into the bottom of the fifth.

Lenny Dykstra is on an exercise program that he hopes will get him ready to play by July 5, when he comes off the disabled list.The Philadelphia Phillies outfielder was injured in an auto accident May 6.On Thursday, Dykstra rode a bicycle, walked on a treadmill and ran in a pool to get into playing shape, Phillies general manager Lee Thomas said.Thomas, however, said he would be surprised if Dykstra returns by July 5.Dykstra suffered three broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a fractured cheekbone when his sports car slammed into two trees on the way home from a teammate's bachelor party.

As a fat guy, I'm sure I speak for fat guys everywhere when I say of this World Series: "Go Phillies."Oh, you go ahead and root for the trim, clear-eyed Blue Jays. Me, I'm pulling for Philly. The Phillies look like a Friday night B League team at the Bowl-o-rama, a lot of beefy guys with unkempt beards and gold chains and a bottle of Bud in one hand. All they're missing are yellow polyester shirts with "Floyd's Sunoco" stitched on the back.I'm rooting for the Phillies because . . . well, because baseball is an easy game when you're in shape like the Blue Jays.

PHILADELPHIA -- He stood in center field and bayed at the moon.The Philadelphia Phillies' Lenny Dykstra, for whom losing is intolerable, could stand it no more. So in the light of a half-moon and the shell fire of Atlanta's six-run third inning last night, he threw back his head, opened his tobacco-gorged mouth wide, and howled to the heavens.It was baseball's version of the barbaric yawp.Lenny Dykstra is a throwback. Not to Pete Rose. To Java Man.So he gave voice to his frustrations. It was not the long, mournful "wh-o-o-o-o-o-o" of the wolf asking the question: Anyone else out there?