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Damlan Leff!erDa!!y Nebraskan
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The time has finally come. One div
ision, the NL West Just might produce
such an ultimate parity that the win
ner could be decided by just who
chokes and who doesn't down the
stretch. Oh sure, that's been the case
' many times before, but in the National
League West this season, all six teams
could be within a series reach of the
top spot come September.
Reason is, the best team in the div
ision, the Los Angeles Dodgers, did lit
tle to improve themselves over the
winter. If anything, they took a down
ward slide by releasing veterans with
out really making sure the gap could
be filled. The next best teams, the
Houston Astros and the Atlanta
Braves, pretty much stood pat, while
the three lower teams added, subtract
ed and multiplied their strengths to
cover obvious weaknesses last year. All
told, even with a two-day sneak pre
view, it's too close to call
SAN DIEGO PADHES
I predict the Padres will win, not ,
because their talent will overwhelm
anybody else. No do I do it, because
after 12 long, long years as a Padres
fan, I finally don't have to apologize for
it. But the Padres should sneak this
out by one or two games because of a
pitching edge.
Eric Show (15-8 last season) went
seven innings Tuesday to defeat the
Pirates, and he was only the best the
team had in the waning days of last
season. The real ace, Dave Dravecky, is
in the bull pen, and budding all-star,
Tim Lollar is healthy. The remaining
starters Andy Hawkins and Ed Whit
son won't scare anyone, but the addi
tion of Goose Gossage to a bullpen that
already had Luis DeLeon and Sid '
Monge will make some mistakes easier
to override.
HOUSTON ASTROS '
To the Astros' credit, they main
tained the strong lineup they ended
with last season despite a "swirl of
, trades. The Astros made a serious tide
run despite a lack of general speed and
. the quality pitching they thought they
had. With Jerry Mumphery looking for
-that big year he was supposed to have
had every year, Nolan Ryan chalking
up more records' and Dickie Thon
going on as simply the best all-around
shortstop in the business, this is the
best single unit returning.
Riegel . . .
Continued from Fes 12
"I think it was between Nebrsaka's
gymnastics and UCLA's sun and beach,"
he said. "I just never would have been
in the gym at UCLA But with two years
to the Olympics, I thought now was the
time to put it in full gear."
Riegel said he's entertained thoughts
of quitting gymnastics throughout his
training, but never to a serious degree.
"I've always thought about it at dif
ferent stages of my growing up," he
said. "When I was little, about 8, 9 or 10,
I didn't want to go to the gym, and I
used to cry, because I was scared of
Mover.
"Then, around 13, 14, 15, getting into
high school,. I just wanted to get out
and be a normal kid and go play," he
continued. "That was just kind of naive,
immature thinking."
Riegel underwent wrist surgery last
June, which also created a kind of
"crisis in confidence" for the gymnast
"When I'm hurting or sore or injured,
which I was for a year with my wrist, it
plays a big part on you mentally and
physically," he said. "I've never been
injured like that before. It just messes
you up in your head I wanted to
start working out again so hard, but
mentally, you think you can't do it,
you're not ready yet."
LC3 ANGELES DOB GEES
The Dodj fs had every opportunity
to crash and burn last season. They
were unable to beat San Dir;o or San
Francisco and certainly proved that
major league fielding wasnt the clock
work art it was supposed to be. Still,
they won. Made no sense whatsoever,
but they won.
Dusty BaSer is gone and the Dodgers
ended up feeling the loss of Steve Gar
vey after Greg Brock hit .224. But
expect Brock to have a make-or-break
season, since the Dodgers farm system,
far and away the best in the majors,
has plenty of suitors on hand in case
Brock proves he can't do the job. The
same is true at the other eight posi
tions as well. Jack Fimple, R.J. Rey
nolds and German Rivera, all of whom
contributed for the Dodgers late last
season, got tickets to Albuquerque or
to the far end of the bench.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The Giants spent a jolly time last
year whipping up on the league's top
finishers. But when they -stooped to
play people like Chicago and New York,
they took a thumping.
Part of that problem not winning the
little ones is due more to youth and
inexperience than lack of talent. So
the Giants went out arid landed Al
Oliver from the Expos, Dusty Baker
from the Dodgers and Manny Trillo
from Cleveland.
CINCINNATI REDS
It was a fast fall to the bottom and it
looks like a very slow climb back to the
top for the Reds. Except for Mario
Soto, the pitchers are erratic, and the
fielding and hitting are an adventure
after the great youth experiment. But
there is a bright spot when some of
those youth are people named Gary
Redus and Nick Esasky.
While there are a bit too many holes
to realistically consider the Reds a
contender this season, particularly if
they should have any injuries among
the top nine, it's also a mistake to
totally count them out. .
.ATLANTA CHAVES
I don't think this is as strong a team
as it was last year. Dale Murphy is a
superstar, but Rafael Ramiriz, Claudell
Washington, Chris Chambliss and yes,
even Bob Horner, all seem to play in
streaks that can make the Braves
very, very good or very, very bad. This
season, they won't even have the top-of-the-line
pitching they sometimes
turned up with, now that Pascual
Perez and Phil Niekro are gone.
But the major reason the Braves
could finish last is that the once for
midable lineup of Horner and Murphy
back-to-back has been equalled, if not
surpassed, by the other five teams in
the division. I hope they finish last
strictly because of WTBS.
Riegel said his parents pushed him
into training to an extent, but always
left the decision to quit up to him.
"I can remember one time, I think I
was 12 or 13, and I just didn't want to
go," he said. "And my dad said, 'See all
those trophies? You want to give them
'all up, you don't want any more? It's up
to you, you can quit.' So I said, 'OK, I'm
quitting' for a day I went back
because I missed it."
As might be expected, Riegel said his
parents, Larry and Mary, shared his
dream of making it to the Olympics.
"Now they're real excited. They've
been waiting 15, 16 years to go to the
Olympics," he said. That's their biggest
dream also, seeing me in the Olympics,
at the opening ceremonies."
With the Olympics only two months
away now, Riegel said he doesn't regret
the effort he's invested in his career.
, "I feel very satisfied that it's paid off
all the training and pain and hours
and sacrifice," he said. "It just makes
me work all that harder it's a really
good feeling."
A broadcasting major, Riegel said he
" intends to pursue some modeling of
fers in California when his collegiate
career is over.
But for now, he still has that ulti
mate goal to accomplish; about which
he's experiencing a variety of feelings.