"Kentucky Windage"

The Old Perfesser was back home in Glendale, Calif., tending to his bank, his oil wells and Edna's roses, satisfied that his New York Mets had finally learned how to pick a man off base without forgetting to watch the hitter "which pops one outta the park." The Mets, ventured Casey Stengel, had "done splendid" in spring training -- and so they had, winning 13 games, losing only nine, leading the National League by a full game, an improvement of 48 games over their standing on the last day of last season.

It was only the Grapefruit League, of course. But what if Las Vegas bookies were offering 100-1 against the Mets winning the National League pennant? A 90-1 shot had won the Florida Derby just two weeks before, and Manager Wes Westrum was so keyed up that he went around telling everybody that the Mets would wind up in the first division. "Kentucky windage," he called it --"aiming a little higher than what you are actually shooting at."

Give & Go. The National League favorites as the season started were the Los Angeles Dodgers -- 2 1/2-1 to win again this year. But it was hard to see why, when the only man they could find to play second base was one Nate Oliver, who weighs 165 and bats about that. After holding out for $245,000, Star Pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale finally tested their arms last week against the San Francisco Giants, gave up two homers, ten hits and six runs in six innings. If they don't shape up fast, they could find themselves in the position Sloppy Thurston was in with the old Chicago White Sox. When Sloppy demanded a raise, he got a telegram that read: NO RAISE. WE COULD HAVE FINISHED LAST WITHOUT YOU.

The most cautious manager around had to be San Francisco's Herman Franks. "All I can do is do my best with the players they give me," he said. So they gave him Willie Mays, who batted .365 during the exhibition season; and Pitcher Juan Marichal, who won 22 games last year; and Orlando Cepeda, whose lifetime batting average is over .300. A lot of money was riding on the Giants (odds: 3-1) to win the pennant--since their hard-hitting third baseman, Jim Ray Hart, expects to be deferred by his draft board. (He had trouble with the mental exam.)

The Cincinnati Reds (5-1), the Pittsburgh Pirates (6-1), the Atlanta Braves (8-1), and even the Chicago Cubs (50-1) all figured to be tough too. The Reds had Rookie Tommy Helms, who batted .381 in 21 games last year. The Pirates had a kid pitcher named Woody Fryman, who just might turn out to be another Bob Feller; he struck out 74 men in 64 innings in the minor leagues last year. The Braves had power to spare--seven men who hit 20 or more home runs in 1965. And the Cubs had Leo Durocher--gourmet, clotheshorse, pool shark, umpire baiter and fair-to-middling baseball manager. "Nice guys finish last," is Lippy's motto, and he was in midseason form when the Cubs lost to the American League's California Angels 10-1. Reporters asked him to comment on the game. "It was sheep-dip," he snarled. "Please, Leo, I work for a family newspaper," one reporter begged. "In that case, gentlemen," said Durocher, "you may quote me as saying it was 'wretched.' "

"They Kill You." As for the American League, Casey Stengel would hardly recognize his old New York Yankees. At 34, and $100,000 per, Mickey Mantle was warming the bench and lifting sandbags to strengthen the right shoulder which was operated on for removal of a bone chip last winter. The Yanks' new centerfielder was Roy White, a 22-year-old rookie who has never played anything but second base before, Whitey Ford's sore arm was nowhere near as sore as his head--after he pitched seven innings against the Mets' Jacksonville farm club and gave up nine hits, a walk, two homers and four runs. "Kids!" he complained. "They think a slider is a curve that didn't break and a change-up is a fastball without much stuff--and they kill you. They don't know enough to be fooled."

The bookies weren't fooled either: the odds against the Yanks winning the American League pennant were 5-1, although Manager Johnny Keane insisted that this team was "better" than last year's sixth-place finishers. The team that did look better was Baltimore (odds: 3-1). Hank Bauer's Orioles batted only .238 last season, but they pried Frank Robinson away from Cincinnati over the winter, and he is an old horsehide hater: he hit .393 this spring, with eight homers and 17 RBls. Even so, the Minnesota Twins (3-1) would probably be a shoo-in, if it weren't for the way Owner Calvin Griffith holds onto his money. Imagine. Pitcher Jim ("Mudcat") Grant won 21 games last year, but he had to hold out for 17 days to get the kind of raise he wanted. As a result, he has looked just awful: 17 hits, ten runs in 14 innings. Then there is Tony Oliva, who has won the batting championship every year he has been in the American League. The first year, Griffith paid him $7,500. The second year, Oliva got $9,500. This year he hired a lawyer and held out. Two weeks later, he signed for $21,000.

There are all sorts of hot teams in the American League this year. The Detroit Tigers (5-1) wangled Pitcher Bill Monbouquette away from Boston in a trade. The Chicago White Sox (6-1) have a new manager, Leo Durocher's protege Eddie ("The Brat") Stanky, and a new centerfielder--Bonus Baby ($65,000) Tommy Agee, who is hitting .366 this spring--but they also have a line-up that averaged 80 strikeouts per man last year. The newly named California (formerly Los Angeles) Angels have a new $24 million stadium in Anaheim and new ambitions (at 20-1). But they still take their spring training in Palm Springs, and that is no place for a man to keep his mind on his work. Unless he has the determination, say, of Pitcher Marcelino Lopez. Lopez flies as high as any Angel, but he sticks to beer and Coke--mostly mixed together. "It tastes like a malted milk," he says, "and you never get drunk."

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