The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

SECTION 2«PAGE 16 - PLA1NDEALEKHKRALP. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 10,1985 Sports •Oh. Chris Juzwik |America's pastime: feeing is believing # > " • • 4 j When last we left America's favorite game back in balmy ; October, Chicago-area fans were doing a lot of head-scratching. In some circles, the rejuvenated Cubs were cause for some M As new life rolls around, we can be sure of a number of things, relatively positive of some others, and in unmitigated darkness 'on the rest. : While the game itself is of course the country's favorite ^pastime, predicting the uncertainties of the divisional outcomes 1 other such trivial matters is a close second. So, without ther adieu, here are some educated guesses concerning 1965. P YOU CAN BANK ON: § > . : i Jimmy Piersall ripping the Sox, the commissioner, the ^commissioner's socks, and everything else the least bit mired in controversy; 1. Turmoil being a part of everyday living with the New York •Yankees; » Pitching being 90 percent of the game; V Sox fans crying for manager Tony LaRussa's head by mid- vfelnr: Being bored, silly, with the daily updates of Pete Rose's pursuit of Ty Cobb's hit record; Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" off- J'Zooking forward to hearing sing off-key; _ Harry The Western Division of the American League will be laughed ' The end of day baseball as we know it. YOU CAN PROBABLY EXPECT THAT: The first playoff gsCme ever of the United States will take place this year, and it won't be in Montreal: Reds' pitcher and upstart pugilist Mario Soto will be involved in scnne sort of scuffle, but no one will try to break it up; Billy Martin won't replace Yogi Berra as Yankee manager, at least not until mid-season; Steve Carlton will grant an interview to a crusty old reporter if the Phillies win the World Series, but the catch will be that only 'yes and no' questions may be asked, to which Carlton will respond with a nod or shake of his head; Baseball will continue to thrive without Greg Luzinski, but Chicago-area restaurants may not; Ryne Sandberg will be canonized as soon as the weather warms up. Cub shortstop Shawon Duns ton is still a year away from being a major league player; Rick Sutcuffe will win 16 or so games again, but may lose almost as many; Steve Trout will finally emerge as a stellar pitcher, the Cubs' time fcjflwoof the animai - one Knew what waft occur • lyi Cikki«u« i!iCi scmiitt in a tree, 1'̂ ^B • * V;>v- by .five of them does, buck. And ts sat about 15-18 yards drettDB was thiiWiear-old M man Irniw ft season, "I had mm deer <$ ' in. He wis big. top starter; The Sox won't miss LaMarr Hoyt as much as was originally thought; Luis Salazar will be an improvement over Vance Law as the Southsiders' third baseman; Sox first baseman Greg Walker will come into bis own as one of the top power hitters in the American League; Ron Kittle will hit 40 home runs and drive in 115 as a designated hitter; ' Left field in Comiskey Park will be a safer place for all now that Kittle won't be out there attacking fly balls in his over- zealous manner; Harold Baines will be fitted for a halo soon after Sandberg. ; $ YOU'VE GOT TO ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY BELIEVE ; THAT: *£ The Mets aren't as good as most people think; The Cardinals and Pirates are better; Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray are quite possibly the best baseball players ever; r„ Sitting in the bleachers on a searing day is one step from ^.paradise; * Most of these predictions will be dead wrong; You can't beat fun at the ol' ballpark. Expanded F VC season draws mixed reactions By Chris Juzwik and Steve Metsch _ »» I -A „ , r iter ami iNcwi ocrvice Familiarity is supposed to breed contempt, but you wouldn't know it had you listened to common complaints voiced on baseball and softball diamonds in the 'Fox Valley Conference last season. But now, the complaining has le FVC ballclubs have abandoned their format of meeting each other twice per season, in favor of a three-game series this year. Gone are the days when two teams would play out a season's series in one day - in a doubleheader. McHenry baseball coach Brian Wilson is one mentor who likes the idea. "Now, a team with five or six losses could still be right up there," Wilson said. Last season, Dundee-Crown, which finished within one win of the state tournament, raced off with the FVC crown. Wilson hopes the new format alleviates a one-team race. "I hope it's not a runaway like it was with Dundee-Crown last year," the Warrior coach said. "This will give everybody a chance to come back. It will be a better indicator for all the coaches to see how their teams fit in. Last year, a bad day during a doubleheader, and you're through. I like it (the new format)." A majority of FVC coaches voted for the increase in games. Crystal Lake Central coach A1 Banker wasn't one of those. "In one way, I think it's good because it allows more games in conference to decide the championship. But on the other hand, because of such diversity in the students - Cary has 900 and Dundee-Crown has 1,800 or 1,900 - there's a definite disadvantage for smaller schools like Cary, Central and South," Banker said. "You have to have a minimum of two pitchers, and almost have to go with three," he added. "You throw one on Tuesday, one on Thursday, and your No. 1 on Saturday. So vou have to have a minimum of three, and you know the cupboard just goes so deep." Pitching woes may greatly affect baseball teams, but softball squads appear safe - even with the busier schedule. "From my standpoint, because I've coached baseball, the bigger impact is on baseball," explained Cary softball coach Mike Buck. "With softball you use the same pitcher several times a week, but if you get two starts a week from a kid in baseball, you're pretty fortunate." - Last year, every outing was crucial for Cary, which won a share of the FVC title. The same holds true for 1984's second- place team, McHenry. This season may be different for the league's top teams, however. "It may give us a better chance," said McHenry coach Pat Wirtz. "There were a few games last year that we lost to some of the bottom teams, because we didn't have enough players suited up, or whatever. This year, though, you could lose one or two to the lower teams, but still win two out of three from them and have a shot at first placer "The better teams will benefit, I think." Wirtz's Warriors should be one of those better teams again this season. "You can get by with maybe losing a couple of games here and there, Buck said. "This doesn't make each game as critical. We'll have to wait and see to evaluate it. "I have mixed feelings," Buck continued. "I'm glad we're tying more games. I think lat's good. But it may be an athletic director's nightmare before it's all done. You know, if we get bad weather." "That's the only negative thing, the bad weather," said Wirtz. "The lousy weather means you have a lot of games to make up, playing every day. But I'm for it (the three-game series). I think it's a good iaea." Old Man Winter is bound to leave town sooner or later. Once he does, we'll find out whether three games are better than two. -- ' * , T;V; mm \ i ja I T I m : J:?'? » f W J-.' V