St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 30

Overslept or defected? Just hours after a homer by Andy Morales ,45. pAW A Tying up trade talks 111 It i lv In his matchup Sunday agai In his matchup Sunday against the Dodgers, frinhH holnoH lift Piiha nuar Raltimnr. nn UnnHou Su. I Dhifarfalnhia nitrhar Purl Cnhillinnr chnumt uhu ha will i iiiiauuipiiia piibiibi vui vviiiiiiii diivnuu niij iiv nni VIILIIIf IIWIUVU IIIIVUMUV1VI WgiUIIIVIW VII IIIVIIUHI. "Tfc.

I Wff a Cuban baseball coach is reported to have defected. D5 be a popular trading topic. Inside Baseball. D3 A Wednesday, May 5, 1999 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 4 Marker's message Pitchers brushback mo have mettle in '99 flllflH -p uuu Jr Section (SSI Blues vs.

Coyotes Turgeon's tip-i fA MC Hi a. 'TLANTA No punches were thrbwn, but the Cardinals registered a technical knockout on Tuesday night at Turner Field. They' blasted the Braves 9-1, all but taRjng their bats to flatten Greg Maddux's Cy Young trophies. ttjfas a rude demonstration by the' 'Cardinals, who merrily took on- the National League's elite franchise and clinches victory; iWJWW Dallas is next Blues 1, Coyotes 0 tBernie IMasz won big. Mark McGwire's second-inning grand slam all but turned the lights out in Georgia.

But Mac's massive shot across the bow of the Braves bullpen in right field wasn't the game's most i important event from the Cardinals' perspective. Kent Mer- Game 1: Blues 3, Phoenix 1 Game 2: Phoenix 4, Blues 3, OT Game 3: Phoenix 5, Blues 4 Game 4: Phoenix 2, Blues 1 Game 5: Blues 2, Phoenix 1, OT Game 6: Blues 5, Phoenix 3 Game 7: Bluest, Phoenix 0 Blues vs. Stars The Blues' playoff schedule fbr the second round (game times tentative): Game 1: Thursday, at Dallas, 7 p.m. Game 2: Saturday, at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. Game 3: Monday, at Kiel Center, 6:30 p.m.

Game 4: May 12, at Kiel Center, 6:30 p.m. Game 5: x-May 15, at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. Game 6: x-May 17, at Kiel Center, 6:30 p.m. Game 7: x-May 19, at Dallas, 8 p.m. x-J necessary fg i cker retaliatory brushback pitch ml in fji bottom of the inning was yet T'J I flrinthpr nnmictnlrahlA cicrn that BYDAVELUECKING Qf the Post-Dispatch PHOENIX Pierre Turgeon deflected defenseman Rico Persson's shot past Phoenix goalie Nikolai Khabibulin with 2 minutes 1 second remaining in the first overtime, giving the Blues a 1-0 victory over the Coyotes Tuesday in Game 7 of their first-round series and clinching a playoff date for the Blues with the Dallas Stars.

The game ended at 1:05 a.m. St. Louis time, with Turgeon jumping up and down in celebration as the Blues rushed out onto the ice to celebrate. The sellout crowd at America West Arena cheered both teams during the traditional post-series handshake. The victory was the sixth in 12 Game 7s for the Blues in franchise history and sent them to the second round for the second successive season under coach Joel Quenneville.

Dallas, which swept Edmonton in the first round, will be the opponent in an intriguing matchup featuring Brett Hull. The Stars signed Hull as a free agent in the offseason after the Blues allowed him to leave. Phoenix also had been looking forward to a playoff matchup with Dallas, which will be without captain Derian See BLUES, Page D7 this year's team is dramatically different from last season's. "That was tremendous," said outfielder Willie McGee, the Cardinals elder statesman. "That was just tremendous.

That makes a big difference on your team when you get a response lice that from your pitcher." The Cardinals care about each other. They are unified. They will win together, lose together, and scrap together. And this is a substantial change from 1998. There were so many unhappy players last year that you didn want to I 1 i ASSOCIATED PRESS Blair Atcheynum deflects the puck away from Phoenix's Jeremy Roenick, who returned to the lineup Tuesday night for the first time since suffering a fractured jaw.

Roenick was expected to miss the entire playoffs. see a uuguui-cieanng scrum. Why? Because the Cardinals might mug each other instead of the opposing team. "This is a nice team, and we have a nice situation in this clubhouse," McGwire said. "What happened tonight I liked it." Background: Maddux, burned by McGwire's slam, responded by plunking Ray Lankford, the Cardinals' next hitter.

Lankford indicat- ed that he wanted to get to Mad- Cards find knockout punch on-field charge from the dugouts and bullpens. Lankford wasn't going to accept a gratuitous bruise just because Maddux turned' grumpy after the Cardinals' humiliating six-run second inning. You had to like the way the Cardinals refused to cower to the Braves. We respect the Braves and their winning tradition. But the Braves also are arrogant.

They strut around with a sense of entitlement, seemingly offended when the other team dares to challenge them. Well, Mercker and the Cards 1 1 bench-clearing incidents in what would become a 9-1 Cardinals victory over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Cardinals starter Kent Mercker, after being warned by home-plate umpire Larry Pon-cino before the start of the bottom of the second, threw behind Atlanta's Andruw Jones on the first pitch, and he was ejected from a game he probably would have won. Manny Aybar (2-0), enjoying his best outing of the season, relieved to gain his second victory by working six scoreless innings of three-hit relief. The Braves had a winning streak snapped at six.

The lower part of the Cardinals order attacked Maddux (4-1) for two runs in the second before McGwire took care of the rest with the 12th grand slam of his career and his first homer in 41 at-bats, his longest dry spell as a Cardinal. Fernando Tatis singled to center and Darren Bragg grounded to second baseman Bret Boone, who missed Tatis on a tag attempt but threw out Bragg at first. Alberto Castillo, who had a career-high three hits, fouled off two difficult 1-2 pitches before doubling to right center to score Tatis. Joe McEwing, who had his second consecutive three-hit night, singled up the middle but Castillo, not sure what to do, broke back to the bag and could only make third base. But Mercker lined a ball to left where Gerald Williams failed to make a diving catch as Castillo scored.

Placido Polanco was called out on strikes but Edgar Renteria was safe when Boone lost control of See CARDINALS, Page DS McGwire's slam keys a tension-filled rout Cardinals 9, Braves 1 BY RICK HUMMEL Of the Post-Dispatch ATLANTA Greg Maddux's control probably wasn't what he is used to having, considering he gave up six runs, including a grand slam, to the Cardinals' Mark McGwire in the second inning Tuesday night. But the Cardinals were kind of curious about what Maddux meant to do with the next pitch after the slam. That pitch hit Ray Lankford in the right arm and set off one of two weren going to back down. Lankford proved that by refusing to genuflect after Maddux pasted him. Maddux was angered that Ijihkfnrd nrntested the nainfnl ASSOCIATED PRESS Cards pitcher Kent Mercker sparked a bench-clearing scuffle Tuesday night in the bottom of the second inning after apparently throwing at Atlanta's Andruw Jones.

Mercker was ejected. pitch; the Braves apparently thought Lankford should feel hon- 'I ord to get drilled by the illustrious Maddux. And then Mercker stood guard by whistling his first pitch of the bottom of the second behind Braves' center fielder Andruw Jones. Mercker was ejected. It didn't matter, he but received a standing ovation in the Cardinals' dugout.

it was the proper thing to do. Wdre not advocating violence here. And remember, Mercker i didn't hit Jones, only made him After landing Rush, Tigers are turning their focus to Kapono, Kroenke I bay out. When an opposing pitcher trias to hurt a teammate, you have I a mitv to let the other side know Snyder's first recruit at Mizzou is a prize: "Mr. Show-Me versatile player who has expressed to me a strong desire to develop as a player and a person.

We feel it's an excellent fit." Rush said Snyder, successor to the recently retired Norm Stewart, landed his first recruit for Mizzou on Tuesday when 6-foot-6 guard-forward Kareem Rush of Kansas City signed a national letter of intent with the Tigers. "I'm personally thrilled that Kareem has decided to become a part of our program," Snyder said. "He exemplifies the ability and character of the young men we hope to attract. Kareem is a assistant at Duke. "Coming from a great program like Duke, I know he can really coach," Rush said Tuesday at a news conference in Kansas City.

"Being so young, I know he can relate to his players. He had a fire in his eyes that he wants to do well down at MU. I went along with that." Rush averaged 27.8 points and 12.4 rebounds this past season while guiding Pembroke Hill High to its third straight Missouri Class 2A championship. Rush, who netted 66 3-point field goals and shot 58.5 percent from the floor, was named "Mr. Show-Me Basketball" as the state's top player.

Rush averaged 20.3 points and 8.3 rebounds as a junior, 18.8 points and 7.5 rebounds as a sophomore, and 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds as freshman. Pembroke Hill went 121-5 in his four seasons See MIZZOU, Page D8 that you won't tolerate the cheap intimidation tactics. The Braves actually got this started on Monday night in the first game of the series when pitcher Tom Glavine By Bill Coats Of the Post-Dispatch One down, two to go for new Missouri basketball coach Quin Snyder. (i hit'Cardinals rookie J.D. Drew.

I 'llf you let that go, then teams get, comfortable against you," McjGee said. "The other team the 32-year-old Snyder, a former ORES Holdsclaw is top WNBA draft pick Chamique Holdsclaw, a four-time Ail-American who led Tennessee to three consecutive national titles, was the No. 1 pick by the Washington Mystics in Tuesday's WNBA draft. Holdsclaw, a two-time national player of the year, was selected first even though pro players from the defunct American Basketball League were also included in the draft. Holdsclaw was the only college player drafted in the first round.

D2 HI Cardinals 9, Atlanta 1 Chicago 13, Colorado 12 Montreal 2, Los Angeles 1 AL Baltimore 9, Chicago 5 Kansas City 5, Tampa Bay 3 Oakland 13, Toronto 4 keep doing it Because they don feajr that you'll do anything to make them stop it." Exactly. And Mercker observed baseball's longtime honor code. Hej let the Cardinals know that he'd protect them. "For six months a year, the guys in this clubhouse ard, my family," Mercker said. And this closer, tighter Cardinals' family appreciated Merck-er'fc gesture.

's a teammate, you have to take care of your players, your teafri," catcher Alberto Castillo said. "You don't have to hurt anybody. That's not right. But you hata to be there for your teammates in a situation like that." ijlercker pitched only one inning, but this was his best perfor--fmaice of the season. Philadelphia 3, San Diego 2 Detroit 2, Anaheim 1 Driver suffers concussion after crash at Gateway England's Mark Blundell, a veteran driver in the Championship Auto Racing Teams Indy-car series, spent the night at St.

Elizabeth Medical Center in Granite City after his car slammed against the third-turn wall Tuesday afternoon near the end of a testing session at Gateway International Raceway in Madison. Blundell, 33, was among a group of drivers who were practicing for the May 29 Motorola 300 at Gateway. He suffered a concussion and was being examined for further injuries. -Bill Coat Milwaukee 8, Florida 1 San Francisco 7, Pittsburgh 4 Cincinnati 6, Arizona 4 Houston 6, New York 1 Minnesota 8, New York 5 NHLPmoFES Pittsburgh 4, New Jersey 2 Penguins win series 4-3..