Angel Notebook : Garvey and Sutton--It’s Just Between Friends

PALM SPRINGS —  As is their custom every March, Don Sutton and Steve Garvey renewed acquaintances on the diamond Sunday afternoon.

In the self-contained little world of baseball, this is still perceived by some as tantamount to a meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev. Didn’t these guys once roll around on the floor of the Dodger clubhouse eight years ago? Do teeth gnash and eyes redden when they dig in against each other? Do they still talk? Will Sutton vote for Garvey in his bid to become Senator Garvey in 1992?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes, they do talk. Sutton stepped off the mound to jaw with Garvey in the second inning, two outs after San Diego’s Tony Gwynn nearly postponed the reunion by drilling a line drive at the pitcher’s kneecap. Sutton saved himself by snagging the ball in a split-second act of self-defense.

“I told him, ‘Don’t you hit one up the middle like Gwynn,’ ” Sutton said. “Sure enough, he pulled it. He took a load off my knees.”

Garvey greeted Sutton with a single to left-center field. Two innings later, he drove a two-run home run over the left-field wall. Two innings after that, he singled again, eventually scoring in front of Terry Kennedy’s two-run home run.

Three confrontations, three base hits. Score it: Garvey 1, Sutton 0.

“I notice he’s continuing to do to me what he did when I was in Houston,” Sutton said. “He still hits breaking balls.

“I still throw ‘em and he still hits ‘em. Neither one of us has changed much.”

Only the uniforms. The last three years, Garvey the Padre has faced off against Sutton the Milwaukee Brewer in 1984, Sutton the Oakland A in 1985 and Sutton the California Angel in 1986. He has hit them all, going 4-for-5 according to Garvey’s calculations.

And Sutton has hit Garvey. In 1984, Sutton struck Garvey in the back of the head with a pitch. The next at bat, Garvey lined the ball through the box, barely missing Sutton for a single.

A coincidence? “Probably,” Garvey said with a grin.

For the record, both sides say their relationship has mellowed over the years.

“Time and history have long since dried the ink on the stories Don Sutton and I have had,” Garvey said. “There’s no animosity. Last year, we sat down and talked and both of us have probably come to a better realization of what has happened over the years.

“Once, there was a polarization of personalities and ideals. Now, both of us have come to a better understanding of what the other fellow is about. The bottom line is, we both respect each other.”

Sutton prefers not to discuss the old feud. When Barry Bloom of the San Diego Tribune brought it up, Sutton snatched the pen out of his hand. “Why don’t you join the other circle of people who have moved forward?” Sutton told Bloom. “I’ve done other things in my career besides hitting a first baseman in the eye.”

Sutton lays claim to no special motivation when he is on the mound and Garvey is at the plate.

“We’re all doing the same thing,” Sutton said. “Whether it’s Willie Mays or Willie Horton, you’re still trying to get them all out.”

So, it appears, the rivalry has turned bland. Oh well, nothing lasts forever.

“He’ll win 300 games,” Garvey said in summation. “I’ll applaud him for that and I’ll continue doing my best job possible. Today was just my day.”

Angel Notes

Don Sutton pitched five-plus innings and received credit for the loss in the Padres’ 9-4 victory over the Angels. Sutton allowed four runs on nine hits, including a pair of home runs. Of Tony Gwynn’s first-inning line drive, Sutton said: “It landed in my glove; I didn’t catch it. Rob Wilfong can take credit for preparing me for that one.” A month ago, Wilfong hit Sutton’s first pitch in an intrasquad up the middle, bouncing the ball off Sutton’s stomach. Sutton has since refined the art of covering up. That’s what spring training is for. . . . Stewart Cliburn struggled in his two innings of work: 4 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk. “He has no idea of where he’s throwing the ball,” Manager Gene Mauch said. “He can’t get the ball anywhere except at somebody’s belly button.” Slowed by arm ailments, Cliburn has been limited to three appearances this spring, but Mauch said he expected the reliever to be further along in his progress. “Control-wise, yeah,” Mauch said. “I kinda felt he’d be thinking ‘down, down,’ when he’s pitching now. Hell, you can think that while you’re not pitching. He’s still getting the ball up too often.” Mauch expects Cliburn to pitch in three more games before opening day. . . . Players’ association director Donald Fehr met with the Angels for two hours before Sunday’s game as part of his tour through major league training camps. On the agenda: next week’s hearing on the drug-testing grievance filed by the association and the 24-man roster limit. The Angels are among those clubs planning to open the season with 24 players, despite protestations from Mauch. “It’s against what I think is best for the Angels,” Mauch said. “I’ve had some teams where 25 players were too many, where I had to get up to 23. But with this team, considering the age of some of our players and the competition we’ve had at some positions, we’d have trouble getting down to 25, let alone 24. Last year, we needed every ingredient we had. We had 25 pieces and needed them all to win 90 games.” . . . One player who apparently won’t make the Angels’ opening day roster is Gary Lucas, who is moving closer to starting the season on the disabled list. “That’s an increased probability,” General Manager Mike Port said. “The past couple of days have been up and down for Gary. We still hope we can get on top of it, a la last year, when he missed some time but came back to pitching strongly. Hopefully, this time he won’t be out until May 17 (when Lucas returned from the Montreal Expos’ disabled list).” . . . Pitching matchups for next weekend’s Freeway Series between the Angels and the Dodgers: Friday--John Candelaria vs. Bob Welch; Saturday--Ron Romanick vs. Rick Honeycutt; Sunday--Kirk McCaskill vs. Jerry Reuss.