National League

Giants: San Francisco has opened the season on the road in 10 of the past 12 seasons.Pub Date: 4/06/99

ATLANTA - Chris Davis couldn't pinpoint the last time he made a start in right field - a statement in itself how long and infrequent it's been. But with the Orioles losing the designated hitter Friday in Atlanta, manager Buck Showalter 's lineup creativity was tested. Showalter gave Davis his first big league start in right field. Primarily a first baseman and third baseman, Davis played 54 minor-league games in the outfield, including 14 in left last season with Texas' Triple-A team, but he hadn't played right since his first pro season with short-season Class A Spokane.

NEW YORK -- Rick Sutcliffe of the St. Louis Cardinals was suspended for eight games and fined by National League president Leonard Coleman yesterday for throwing at and hitting pitcher Marvin Freeman of the Colorado Rockies in a game July 17.Sutcliffe, who went on the disabled list this week, appealed the suspension and will have a hearing before Coleman.

Given the recent crackdown on contract hits, as noted in "Sins of the Saints" (March 22) and other player run-ins with the law, perhaps the acronym NFL refers to the National Felons League. Dennis R. McCartney, Baltimore

Celebrities who threw out the ceremonial first pitches in National League games on Opening Day:Site .. .. .. .. .. .. ..CelebrityCin. .. .. .. .. ..NL Pres. Leonard ColemanChi. .. .. .. .. ....Hillary Rodham ClintonColo. .. .. .. .. .Darrell "Mike" Preston-aHou. .. ... .. .. .. .. ..Evander HolyfieldS.D. .. .. .. .. ..Anisha & Tony Gwynn II-bS.F. .. .. .. .. .. Stony and Thad Feeney-aa-season-ticket holderb-children of Tony Gwynnc-children of the late Chub Feeney

They were counting the hours in Miami, Denver and the four other cities where baseball expansion in 1993 remains a possibility. But, as of yesterday, they could be back to counting months.Saying the cities need to be studied further, the National League announced a delay in its decision on the two expansion sites, which was to have been made at next week's owners meeting in Santa Monica, Calif. No new date has been set, but a decision is likely before the Sept. 30 deadline the owners have set for themselves, according to a statement by the National League yesterday.

First baseman Will Clark and third baseman Matt Williams rode the groundswell of the San Francisco Giants' electorate to take position leads this week in the National League balloting for the 64th All-Star Game to be played at Oriole Park July 13.Clark, the NL's starting first baseman in four of the past five years, overtook last week's leader, John Kruk of the Philadelphia Phillies, despite a .249 average that only recently has been on the climb.At third base, Williams, with 18 homers and 56 RBI, jumped from third to take a 43,000-vote lead.

Quote: "I just got lucky. The guys always tell me I don't have any pop and they're right." - Astros' Bill Spiers, who homered twice to give him 38 in a 10-year big-league career It's a fact: The Pirates have lost their past six Sunday games and are 3-12 on Sundays this season. Who's hot: Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny has caught a major-league-best 53 percent of base stealers. Who's not: Diamondbacks pitchers have given up hits to opposing pitchers in eight of their past 10 games, letting them go 8-for-19.

Some good baseball news for a change: Bill White will not seek re-election when his term as National League president expires next March 31.It is good news because it means the home office for conflict of interest in sports will be leaderless for just one more year.From the April 1989 day he replaced the late Bart Giamatti, who was elevated to commissioner, White's performance has been a disaster for the league and an embarrassment to professional baseball.There was no misfeasance in office.

ATLANTA -- When the Atlanta Braves take the field today for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, they'll be playing behind a slightly miffed starter, John Smoltz.Atlanta manager Bobby Cox pushed Smoltz, whose regular turn was last Wednesday's playoff opener, back to the fourth slot in the rotation, behind Steve Avery, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, and Smoltz is an angry young man."I said from the first time that it was posed to me that I wasn't too happy with it," said Smoltz.

Predicted finish, records Reds Cardinals Cubs Brewers Astros Pirates 91-71 85-77 84-78 83-79 79-83 68-94 Pennants, wild cards since 1995: 3,1. Average payroll: $91.9 million (fourth of six divisions). Manager with World Series rings: Tony La Russa ('09, '06). Players with MVP awards: Joey Votto ('10), Albert Pujols ('05, '08, '09). Pitchers with Cy Young awards: Zack Greinke ('09)

Jack Martin Cloud, whose career as a coach and educator at the Naval Academy spanned more than 30 years and who later became a Navy football radio broadcaster, died June 19 of kidney failure in the hospice unit at Spa Creek Center in Annapolis. He was 85. Mr. Cloud, who was part Cherokee Indian, was born in Britton, Okla., and moved in 1935 to Norfolk, Va. He was an outstanding football player while a student at Maury High School in Norfolk. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and served as a waist gunner aboard B-17 Flying Fortresses in Europe with the 429 t h Bombardment Squadron.

How bad has the production from Orioles first basemen been? Entering the series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Monday night, Orioles first baseman were hitting a cumulative .215 with a .287 on-base percentage and a .263 slugging percentage. Not only are the Orioles the only team in the league without a homer from a first baseman, but the Arizona Diamondbacks (.271), Milwaukee Brewers (.270) and Cincinnati Reds (.263) also all have higher cumulative slugging percentages from their pitching staffs than the Orioles are getting from first base.

NL WEST Dodgers Starting point: 95-67, 1st (beat Cardinals in first round, lost to Phillies in NLCS). Project manager: Ned Colletti . General contractor: Joe Torre. New materials: OF Reed Johnson, 2B Jamey Carroll, OF Brian Giles, RHP Ramon Ortiz. In the dumpster: Playoff No. 1 starter Randy Wolf, RHP Jon Garland, 2B Orlando Hudson, OF Juan Pierre, INF Mark Loretta, 1B Jim Thome, injured starter Jason Schmidt. Job description: Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, who somehow won only 20 of 62 starts last season, must be molded into 1-2 starters with stamina.

It looks like a happy new year for the Cardinals, thanks to an unlikely bit of work from general manager John Mozeliak and owner Bill DeWitt Jr. By signing Matt Holliday to a seven-year contract after previously securing the uncertain returns of manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan - even if for only the 2010 season - the Cardinals have joined the Mariners and perhaps the Yankees and Red Sox in having...