THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408070230
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
The Charlotte Knights might have done irreparable damage to the Tides' playoff drive with their four-game sweep last week. The Knights' continued dominance of the Tides helped push Norfolk seven games behind second-place Richmond as play began Saturday.
Before Saturday's doubleheader against Syracuse, the Tides had 29 games left, Richmond 30. If Richmond splits its games, the Tides will require a 22-7 finish to surpass the Braves for second place and the final playoff spot in the West Division. The Tides were as close as four games before Charlotte wiped them out.
``We've got to beat the hell out of Richmond, basically, and we've got to go on some long winning streaks,'' outfielder Jim Vatcher said. ``We've got to take more than three out of four, really. We can do it.''
The Tides play the Braves five more times, Aug. 18-22. Norfolk also has a wild card, of sorts, at the end of the schedule. The Tides end their season with six games against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the worst team in the league. The last three will be at Harbor Park.
Meanwhile, Richmond must play Pawtucket, Columbus and Charlotte in its final 12 games.
If the Charlotte sweep indeed was a decisive blow, it would figure. The Knights have been the Tides' major nemesis since they moved into Triple-A last season. Charlotte, the Cleveland Indians' affiliate, was 14-4 against the Tides this year, on top of their 12-6 advantage last season.
One other hurtful trend has continued. The Tides are on their way to a losing record against West Division opponents. They are 24-33 against the West. They were 29-42 a year ago.
ONE-RUN WOES: The Tides' horrendous 8-24 record in games decided by one run not only is the worst in the league, it is the worst mark in all the minor leagues.
The Tides have won just two of their last 10 one-run games.
AIR TIME: Tides general manager Dave Rosenfield said that WWOR-TV, the cable station that telecasts Mets games, has shown no interest in doing Tides games in the event of a big-league strike.
But Rosenfield said the Tides are working out details with SportsChannel and WFAN radio in New York to do selected games. Rosenfield said the Tides would try to have any games produced for SportsChannel broadcast here.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Charlotte's David Bell has hit three grand slams this season. The Tides' Jim Vatcher has two. . . . The advantages of playing for a good team: Charlotte's Julian Tavarez is 5-0 in his last eight starts despite a 4.64 ERA in that time. . . . Jeff Manto, whom the Mets traded from the Tides to Baltimore in May, is tied for the league lead with 20 home runs and leads with 75 RBIs at Rochester. . . . Richmond's Bobby Moore led the league in hitting in July with a .398 average, though in 35 hits he had only four RBIs. has hit 25 points higher than the Tides, with 25 more home runs. Yet the Tides have scored 526 runs to Syracuse's 523. by CNB