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THE HERALD,
Sharon, Pa.,
Thursday, November 11, 1999
B-3
AP
Houston’s Cuttino Mobley, right, tries to pull Los Angeles’ Brian Shaw off
Charles Barkley after Barkley and L.A.’s Shaquille O’Neal got into a fight in
the second quarter. Barkley and O’Neal were both ejected.
The Associated Press
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles
Barkley had different takes of the
scuffle that led to their ejection from
the Lakers-Rockets game.
O’Neal said Barkley instigated
their brief wrestling match because
Sir Charles was frustrated by Hous-
ton’s 0-5 start.
“He did one of his Charles-like
things; he just didn’t want to play
tonight,” O’Neal said after Los Ange-
les beat the Rockets 89-88 Wednes-
day night in Houston. “Obviously, he
is frustrated the way his team is play-
ing. He wasn’t doing much and his
team is 0-5.”
Barkley claimed Shaq started it
all.
“I can’t let him hit me and get
away with it,” Barkley said. “My
grandma would be mad at me if I let
him get away with it. I had to defend
myself.”
O’Neal and Barkley were ejected
following their second-quarter tussle,
which started after O’Neal blocked
Barkley’s layup attempt.
The ball went out of bounds,
Barkley retrieved it and then got a
slight shove from O’Neal. Barkley
then threw the ball at O’Neal and the
two grappled each other to the floor
as players and coaches from both
teams rushed to stop it from escalat-
ing.
“For whatever reason, Charles
was upset and instigated it,” Lakers
coach Phil Jackson said. “It sure
changed the complexion of the
game. It was an exciting game after
that.”
ä Pistons 110, Celtics 92 —
At
Boston, Jerry Stackhouse scored 30
points as the rested Detroit Pistons
finally won after losing their first four
games. Paul Pierce led Boston with
26 points.
ä Sonics 109, Wizards 95 —
Re-
serve Vernon Maxwell scored 24
points, and Gary Payton added 20
points and tied a career high with 17
assists as Seattle won at Washington.
Richard Hamilton scored 15
points, and Isaac Austin and Juwan
Howard had 14 apiece for Washing-
ton, which has dropped four straight
since winning its opener.
ä Suns 104, Nets 89 —
Penny
Hardaway scored 25 points as the
Phoenix Suns won at New Jersey,
their fourth straight victory.
Phoenix hasn’t lost since dropping
its season opener at Denver. The
Nets fell to 1-4.
ä Hornets 117, Bucks 111 —
Eddie Jones had 33 points, and Char-
lotte overcame Milwaukee’s 83 per-
cent shooting in the third quarter.
Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen
each scored 24 points for the Bucks,
who came in averaging an NBA-best
109.8 points.
ä Magic 110, 76ers 105 —
Pat
Garrity scored 25 points, and Darrell
Armstrong had 20 points and 10 as-
sists as the Magic overcame Allen
Iverson’s season-high 46 points at
Orlando.
Iverson overcame a slow start
with 36 points in the second half, in-
cluding 22 in the third quarter when
he made all eight of his shots and
was 4-for-4 on 3-point attempts.
ä Grizzlies 102, Hawks 97, OT
—
Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 20
points, 12 rebounds and nine assists
as Vancouver beat Atlanta for the
first time.
Bimbo Coles scored 20 points and
Chris Crawford matched a career-
high with 18 points for the Hawks,
who fell to 1-4.
ä Spurs 99, Clippers 94 —
At
Los Angeles, Tim Duncan scored 22
points despite a poor shooting night
and grabbed 17 rebounds as San An-
tonio beat the Clippers.
Derek Anderson led the Clippers
with 28 points, two short of his ca-
reer high.
Shaq, Sir Charles scuffle,
both ejected from game
NBA
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jack McK-
eon’s 50th year in baseball was one
of his best. He managed the low-bud-
get Cincinnati Reds to the threshold
of the playoffs, making the right
moves with a youthful lineup.
He reveled as two of his young
players won postseason honors.
Finally, he was chosen Manager
of the Year by two different panels.
“It’s very gratifying,” McKeon said
Wednesday after the Baseball Writ-
ers Association of America picked
him as NL Manager of the Year. “Af-
ter spending this many years in base-
ball and getting hit with these
awards at one time, it’s exciting.”
McKeon has managed four teams
in the majors — Kansas City, Oak-
land, San Diego and Cincinnati —
and earned the nickname “Trader
Jack” for his dealmaking as the
Padres general manager.
He has worked for Charlie Finley
and Marge Schott, traded big-name
players and turned around struggling
teams, worked in the front office and
managed on the field.
What happened for him in 1999
ranks up there with any of it.
“This has probably been my most
rewarding year,” McKeon said.
He managed a team that bucked
the trend of only big-payroll teams
making the playoffs.
McKeon coaxed 96 victories out
of a $38 million roster that was
loaded with youth and remained in
contention until the last day of the
season.
The New York Mets beat the
Reds 5-0 in a tiebreaker for the NL
wild card, Cincinnati’s only disap-
pointment in a season that revived
the city’s interest in baseball.
McKeon had hoped for a multi-
year contract extension, but had to
settle for another one-year deal.
Although he turns 69 on Nov. 23
and is the third-oldest manager in
major league history behind Connie
Mack (88) and Casey Stengel (75),
McKeon thinks he can manage for
several more years.
“I feel like I’m a 45-year-old,” he
said. “I’d like to continue for four,
five years at least. Maybe they won’t
want me, but that’s the way I feel.”
His patience with young players
made the improbable season possi-
ble.
The Reds stayed in contention be-
cause Sean Casey, Pokey Reese,
Aaron Boone, Scott Williamson, Dan-
ny Graves and other young players
had breakthrough seasons.
Williamson won NL Rookie of the
Year honors Monday and Reese won
his first Gold Glove on Wednesday
as a second baseman. Reese said
McKeon’s easy-going style was im-
portant.
“With a young team, you know
you’re going to have a lot of mis-
takes,” Reese said. “In the game of
baseball, you learn from your mis-
takes. Jack is willing to let you go on
because he knows you’ve learned
and will only get better.”
McKeon, who won The Associat-
ed Press Manager of the Year award
last week, said his years in baseball
taught him how to handle young-
sters’ mistakes.
“You’ve got to exercise more pa-
tience,” he said. “You’ve got to let
them be on their own a little bit,
build up their confidence and not re-
strict them. You allow them to make
a mistake here and there and not
jump all over them. The confidence
results from being patient with these
guys.”
McKeon edged out two managers
who overcame a lot of adversity to
get their teams to the playoffs.
Bobby Cox, who managed injury-
depleted Atlanta to its eighth consec-
utive NL Championship Series, fin-
ished second in the voting.
Larry Dierker, who returned from
midseason brain surgery to lead the
Houston Astros to their third straight
NL Central title, finished third.
Reds’ McKeon is NL Manager of the Year
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) — The New
York Mets didn’t drop the ball when
it came to the National League Gold
Glove awards: Players don’t vote.
Shortstop Rey Ordonez won his
third straight Gold Glove on
Wednesday and third baseman
Robin Ventura won his sixth. But the
other members of the record-setting
infield, first baseman John Olerud
and second baseman Edgardo Alfon-
zo, fell short in the voting by man-
agers and coaches.
San Francisco’s J.T. Snow won at
first base for the fifth straight season,
and Cincinnati’s Pokey Reese won at
second base for the first time.
“It was an injustice,” Ordonez said
as his wife, Gloryann, translated.
“Edgardo had an awesome year de-
fensively. He really deserved that.”
The Mets made just 68 errors, 13
fewer than the previous record low,
set by the 1998 Baltimore Orioles.
New York’s infield had 33 errors, 12
fewer than the previous record, set
by the ‘64 Orioles.
Olerud and Ventura each had nine
errors and Alfonzo five, none on
grounders. Ordonez made just four
errors, none after June 13.
“If he wasn’t at shortstop, we
wouldn’t have been close to where
we were,” Ventura said. “The ground
balls he can get to and turn into outs
became obvious, especially at the
end of the year.”
The Mets were aspiring to equal
the Orioles, who had three Gold
Glove infielders in 1971 (Davey John-
son at second, Mark Belanger at
shortstop and Brooks Robinson at
third) and 1973-75 (Bobby Grich at
second, Belanger and Robinson).
Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Mad-
dux won his 10th consecutive Gold
Glove, breaking a tie with Bob Gib-
son for most by an NL pitcher. Jim
Kaat has the overall record of 16.
Philadelphia catcher Mike
Lieberthal joined Reese as a first-
time winner. Reese was a shortstop
in the minor leagues, but was shifted
to second after the Reds traded Bret
Boone to Atlanta. In the outfield, Col-
orado’s Larry Walker won for the
fifth time. An injured left knee limit-
ed Walker to 114 games, but he still
finished tied for sixth in the NL with
13 outfield assists, including seven
that threw out runners at home
plate. Arizona’s Steve Finley won his
third, while Atlanta’s Andruw Jones
won for the second straight season.
Maddux wins 10th Gold Glove
DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) —
While Ken Griffey Jr. and his appar-
ently shocking price tag are the talk
of the general managers meetings,
teams are making other deals.
The San Diego Padres, back in a
cost-cutting mode, traded ace Andy
Ashby and his $5.9 million salary to
the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednes-
day night for right-handers Carlton
Loewer, Steve Montgomery and
prospect Adam Eaton. Loewer and
Eaton are former first-round draft
picks.
Ashby has veto power over the
trade, but the two-time All-Star said
he would likely accept the deal.
“You hate to leave somewhere
where you’ve been so long and what
we’ve been through there,” Ashby
said from his home in Pittston, Pa.
“But I knew it was going to happen.”
Ashby, a 32-year-old right-hander,
began his career in the Phillies orga-
nization in 1986. He was 17-9 with a
3.34 ERA as the Padres reached the
World Series in 1998, then went 14-
10 with a 3.80 in 1999.
“It’s going to be nice, I hope,” he
said of a return to Philadelphia. “I
want to go back and definitely help
them go where they want to go.”
Earlier in the day, Cincinnati gen-
eral manager Jim Bowden said he
made five proposals involving Griffey
that Seattle rejected, and the
Mariners made three proposals that
the Reds rebuffed.
Bowden wouldn’t say how many
players were included in the offers,
but he gave a hint at what it would
cost to get Griffey.
“It would make us non-competi-
tive,” said Bowden, who put together
a team that lost a one-game playoff
to the New York Mets for the NL’s
wild-card spot. “Instead of 96, we
think we’d win 79. They’re asking for
all of our best players.”
Bowden didn’t plan to meet again
with Seattle’s Pat Gillick before the
general mangers meetings end to-
day.
“We want to continue the discus-
sions, but certainly not at the price
that they’re asking at this point,”
Bowden said.
Griffey, eligible for free agency af-
ter next season, asked to be traded
closer to his home in Orlando, Fla.,
and the Mariners said they will try to
comply.
Griffey grew up in Cincinnati,
where his dad was a star on the Big
Red Machine of the 1970s and is cur-
rently a coach.
Bowden said the situation could
change in a month or two if the
Mariners haven’t traded Griffey.
“One of the big reasons we want
Ken Griffey is not just he’s the best
position player in all baseball, but the
fact what he can do for the city of
Cincinnati,” Bowden said. “After win-
ning 96 games, you bring Griffey
into the house, he might have the ef-
fect on Cincinnati that Mark McG-
wire had on St. Louis, or even more.”
Gillick has said there is no
timetable on a deal, other than he
hopes it can be done before the start
of spring training.
The Phillies gave up on Ashby af-
ter he went 2-8 in 1991-92, and he
was taken by Colorado in the 1992
expansion draft.
After going 0-4 with an 8.50 ERA
with the Rockies in 1993, Ashby was
acquired as the player to be named
in the final move of the Padres’ Fire
Sale, coming over with catcher Brad
Ausmus and pitcher Doug Bochtler
for pitchers Bruce Hurst and Greg
Harris. Ashby went 70-62 with the
Padres, but is still under .500 for his
career at 72-74.
The Cleveland Indians also were
pursuing Ashby, and Wade had to in-
clude Eaton to get the deal done.
“To add Andy Ashby to a staff that
includes Curt Schilling, Paul Byrd,
Robert Person and a young guy like
Randy Wolf certainly validates what
we’re trying to do,” Wade said.
Reds: Griffey too expensive;
Padres trade Ashby to Phils