Just Ask Ducky: Our Rx For Baseball Fever

Forget the temperature, the wind-chill factor, the vague threat of snow flurries. It is spring again.

In Florida and Arizona, the pitchers and catchers have reported to camp. You can almost hear the crack of the bat and the pop of the hamstring; the smack of ball hitting glove and the groan of reluctant rotator cuffs.

Baseball fever has struck and, as a service to its legion of readers, its Fantasy League players and the horsehide mavens, your Seattle Times is beginning a new feature. We like to call it, "Ask Ducky Ponds."

We've enlisted the help of the former Seattle Rainiers center fielder, the man who has watched every Mariner game since Diego Segui's first pitch in 1977, to answer the questions of Seattle's die-hard fans.

Here it is, the first installment of "Ask Ducky Ponds."

Dear Ducky: Is it true that all 1,220 Major League players changed teams in the off-season? - Mike, Magnolia.

Mike: It only seems that way. But I have bad news for you. Jeff Schaefer is no longer a Mariner and you'd better come to grips with that.

Dear Ducky: Isn't this the year we finally have an all-Canadian World Series? - Garth, Vancouver, B.C.

Garth: Dream on, eh? Atlanta should have the National League West pennant clinched before the official start of summer. We're looking at a Braves three-peat and a Braves-Blue Jays repeat.

Dear Ducky: We love to go to the Kingdome to see Randy Johnson pitch. He brings an air of excitement to the mound that no other Mariners pitcher can match. Will he pitch a no-hitter? Will he last through the first inning? Will he strike out 18? Will he walk 15? Please tell me the Mariners aren't shopping him. - Mary, Burien.

Mary: It's true, but it's not the right thing to do. The Mariners don't have enough quality pitchers to risk losing the best strikeout pitcher in the American League.

Sure Randy can be petulant. He feels slighted that Ken Griffey Jr. and Chris Bosio have long-term contracts and he doesn't. He feels he should be marketed as one of Seattle's marquee players. He has a point. Let's hope the trade talks calm, negotiations for a long-term contract begin and Randy Johnson remains a Mariner for a long time to come.

Dear Ducky: Will there be baseball in 1994? - Karen, Capitol Hill.

Karen: It's the first day of spring training. Hope is in the air. Don't trouble me with such pessimism.

Dear Ducky: Will Roger Maris' home-run record be broken this season? - Boomer, Burien.

Boomer: You sound like the kind of person who loves the taters. My suggestion to you is to move to Denver. The Rockies' dregs-of-the-game pitching staff, combined with the thin mountain air, could make for record-setting ballgames at Mile High Stadium.

When the Mariners and Blue Jays came into the league in 1977, earned-run averages rose from 3.52 in '76 to 4.07. Teams averaged 50 more homers than in the previous season.

In answer to your question, let me remind you that Maris set the record in 1961, an expansion year.

Dear Ducky: Name the Mariners' best right-handed power hitter. - Clem, Enumclaw.

Clem: Lou Pinella.

Dear Ducky: Give me the name of the new commissioner. - Kris, Mountlake Terrace.

Kris: I don't know. I don't care.

Dear Ducky: I think the American League West will be the most competitive division in baseball. Give me your thoughts. Give me your early line. - Butch, Issaquah.

Butch: You're right, the AL West is tasty mix of mixed-up teams. I'm tempted to pick the White Sox, especially if Bo Jackson and Ozzie Guillen are healthy. But you have to wonder about the pitching after Jack McDowell. The Twins are intriguing, but they don't have enough pitchers, either.

My heart tells me it would be nice to see Texas win, giving Nolan Ryan one last chance to pitch in a World Series. The heart of the Rangers' order - Jose Canseco, Juan Gonzalez and Dean Palmer - is as powerful as it gets.

I'm afraid the Oakland A's, even without Dave Stewart and Mike Moore and Harold Baines, are the team to beat. Pitching coach Dave Duncan will work his usual miracles with a rotation of Bob Welch, Ron Darling, Bobby Witt, Curt Young and Storm Davis.

Look at that lineup. Mark McGwire, Ruben Sierra, Terry Steinbach, etc. All the A's need is a lead going into the ninth and Dennis Eckersley will close it. The A's win it at the wire.

Dear Ducky: Where do you expect the M's to finish? - Rich, Lynnwood.

Rich: I think it is 1991 all over again. Still too many questions on the pitching mound; still no right-handed power hitter, but a good manager, a solid infield, Ken Griffey Jr. in center field and more depth than ever. Prepare for another plus-.500 season. Let's say, 83 wins.

Dear Ducky: Can I have my team back? - Jeff, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jeff: Stay out of town.