Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 43

Section 4 (fhicaa.o (Tribune Wednesday, March 28, 1984 1 i'" 1 a. )' Bob Dernier Gary Matthews The deal that was I Cubs send pitcher Bill Campbell and catcher Mike Diaz to Philadelphia for outfielders Gary Matthews and Bob Dernier and pitcher Porfirio Altamirano. The deal that wasn't Cubs send first baseman Bill Buckner to Philadelphia for outfielders Gary Matthews and: Bob Dernier and pitcher Porfirio Altamirano. I jSPiumf AMaa-was-r Mri.wM aiMNaMH jininniBi gfci If f-f. Tribune photo by Ed Wagner Jr.

i The Cubs' five-player deal with the Phillies means Bill Buckner either will be one of the next to go, or will spend an unhappy season on the end of the bench. In the wake of the news Cubs find Phils looking other way Five-player deal sheds excess baggage for badly needed outfield help ACp Bob )V Verdi Bitter Buck stops on Cubs' bench who was the Most Valuable Player in the" National League Playoff Series against the Dodgers last fall. He has 183 nome runs and 787 RBIs in 11 seasons. Manager Jim Frey immediately anoin ted Dernier and Matthews his starting center-fielder and left-fielder, respectively. Dernier, who was on the verge of being sent down to the4Phillies' Triple A club in Portland, because of poor hitting, will be the Cubs' new leadoff man, Frey said.

MEANWHILE, BACK at the ranch, incumbent Cubs outfielders namely Mel Hall and Joe Carter were befuddled and blue. General manager Dallas Green said the only catch is that the new Cubs outfielders can catch the ball. "I DON'T THINK any of us was happy with the balls that weren't caught this spring in the outfield," said Green. "It got so one or two were dropping every day out there. But the problem right now; is that we've got eight or nine outfielders.

No question that complicates things." "I glad Dallas thinks enough of me to bring me in," said Matthews from the Phillies' training base in Clearwater, Fla. "I played for Dallas in 1981, and he's a tough competitor." Matthews, 33, is a lifetime .282 hitter By Fred Mitchell Chicago Tribune MESA, Ariz. What in Dallas Green's name is going on here? The Cubs, laughable losers in 18 of 21 exhibition games this spring, fleeced the National League champion Philadelphia! Phillies Tuesday in a five-player trade. There has got to be a catch. The Cubs acquired veteran left-fielder' Gary Matthews, speedy defense-minded center-fielder Bobby Dernier and pitcher Porfirio Altamirano in exchange for ace reliever Bill Campbell and slugging rookie catcher-infielder Mike Diaz.

Tuesday's trade effectively moves Leon Durham to first base, Bill Buckner to the bench and Hall, last year's starting center-fielder, to part-time duty in center and right. Rookies Carter and Henry Cotto, who thought they were battling for the starting left-field job all spring, are suddenly out in left field, figuratively. "It will be tough for Carter to break into the lineup now," Green conceded. "We've added two more quality players with experience. "There could be some touchy times in the dugout now," Green said, barely Continued on page 6, col.

1 Fan reaction: OK to Oh, no 1 'Jl V. I By Ed Stone CHICAGO FANS who aired their opinions on local radio shows Tuesday night were not enthralled by the trade the Cubs made with the Phillies. But they weren't nearly as upset about it as Philadelphia fans were. Fans here didn't object too much to the players the Cubs acquired, or to the ones they unloaded, but the consensus was that general manager Dallas Green created more problems than he solved by muddling the outfield picture without strengthening the club's weak pitching staff. Most expect Green to keep trading until he gets it right.

The deal that sent Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz to the Phils for Gary Matthews, Bob Dernier and Porfirio Altamirano was summed up this way by a Cub diehard on the Bill Gleason show: "It can't hurt. The worst that can happen is that they got three bums for two bums." Another fan said: I don't see what the Cubs are trying to do. Why does Green always deal with Philadelphia? He's in love with them. Matthews will probably help, but Dernier's a .231 hitter. And Altamirano's 31 tney've got a senior citizen's team." BUT THOSE COMMENTS were tame compared to what Phillie followers had to say to the Philadelphia Inquirer and on a Philadelphia radio show.

"It's the worst trade in a long time," one fan said. "I mean, who did they get? A couple of days ago, they had a good relief pitcher in Willie Hernandez. So they trade him and have to replace him, and they get this guy Campbell. I think Hernandez was better. And Gary Matthews? Geez!" From another Philly critic: "I can't believe it.

They trade for a 35-year-ola reliever whose arm has blown up before." And this: "I think the Phillies painted themselves into a corner when they traded Hernandez, and Dallas Green took advantage of them." The Phils now have two catchers named Diaz, Mike and Bo, prompting one fan to say: "I heard the name Diaz, and I said to myself, 'It finally happened. They got talked into trading for somebody they already have. IN CHICAGO, callers to Jimmy Piersall's show on WIND and Gleason's show on WCFL wondered what the Cubs would do with Bill Buckner and all their outfielders. "I think Dallas Green came out pretty good," one fan said to Piersall. "Matthews is a long-ball hitter who loves Wrigley Field, and Dernier adds speed.

Porfi was a throw-in. What worries me is that they're going to dump Mel Hall because Green doesn't think he fits in, and that would be a mistake." A caller told Gleason: "The Cubs didn't give up anything, but they've got a problem with Hall, Buckner and Keith Moreland. There will probably be another trade. With Leon Durham on first base, what are they gonna do bench Buckner and Moreland? I don't think they gained much. When all is said and done, their problem is pitching." Buckner's demands, which ruled him out of the Phillie deal, brought this response from Cub shortstop Larry Bowa on Chet Coppock's WMAQ show: "I think Bill Buckner is a great hitter, but he probably should realize it's time to go.

He should have accepted the deal. It's just time." Chicago Tribune MESA, Ariz. Bill Buckner figures it this way: The Cubs have made life miserable for him, so why not return the aggravation. "I just got a new set of clubs maybe I'll take up he said. "I'll collect my paycheck and sit on the bench.

I'm not about to do them any favors. Not after the way they've screwed me and lied to me." Monday, Cubs general manager Dallas Green told Buckner he'd been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Buckner went to his spring training home nearby, told the news to his wife Jody, and then packed his bags. Tuesday morning, Buckner reported to the ballpark. He noticed Leon Durham's name at first base on the lineup card for that afternoon's game against the Oakland A's.

Buckner iigured the deal was fait accompli. But, then, about noon, Green informed Buckner that the transaction was off. Buckner figured he was still the Cub first baseman. Later, he learned that only half of that proposition was true. GREEN WENT AHEAD and swung a five-player trade with Philadelphia, anyway.

He acquired a new left-, fielder, Gary Matthews, a new center-fielder, Bob Dernier, plus pitcher Porfi Altamirano. "The party line is that the Phillies changed their mind on Buckner," Green said. But that didn't change the Cubs' mind on Buckner. Durham is the new first baseman. Buckner is an unhappy member pro tern of the Cubs' new and improved bench.

"If all "they need me for is pinch-hittfng," Buckner howled, "that means this team must be a pennant--winner." "Tell 'em, Buck," said catcher Jody Davis, in a rather confused clubhouse following the Cubs' 3-2 loss to Oaklandtheir 11th straight and 18th in 21 exhibition games. Green speaks truth when he says the Phillies backed off Buckner. Monday night, Buckner told his lawyer-Peter Stahl of Chicago that he would approve the trade if the Phillies would add a year to his contract. Buckner said if the Phillies wanted to toss in a little traveling, money as a sweetener, fine. Buckner brands as "crazy" a report from Clearwater, Fla.

spring training headquarters for the Phillies that he asked them for a four-year contract extension and a $400,000 bonus. "THIS IS MY LAST hurrah, so I wanted something, but nothing like that," Buckner said. "Everybody else in my position gets something when they go through this. Isn't that the least I could ask? I'm sure we could have worked out something with Philadelphia if we'd been given a little time. "But, this morning, Dallas calls me in and says about 10 words to me.

He says I killed the deal and made it sound like I'm the bad guy. Well, I'm allowed to use the leverage I have, I did, and like I say, if I had more than three hours to think about it, it probably would have worked out. "Meanwhile, I'm sick of this. After the winter meetings, the tells me I probably won't be traded. Then, after he almost trades me to the Giants three weeks ago, he tells me the same thing again.

Now, yesterday, he tries to trade me again. "The man just keeps lying to me. And I'm supposed to be loyal to him? I've got three years left on my contract. If he doesn't trade me in the next three days, screw him, I'll sit on the bench for the next three years and take his money." THE ORIGINAL Cub-Philadelphia swap involved the same three Phillies in exchange for Buckner, whose contract will pay him $2.13 million through 1986. When the Phillies balked at Buckner's suggested revisions, the trade was all but dead until the Cubs substituted catcher Mike Diaz and pitcher Bill Campbell.

Surprisingly, Philadelphia went for it. The result could mean that Cub outfielders needn't wear hard hats anymore. It also fortifies Cub depth, except for pitching. But it also means the Cubs have a disgruntled and expensive luxury in Buckner. "We're not going to give him away, but we'll continue to explore the possibilities of trading him," Green said, pointing to his telephone.

"You don see it ringing off the hook, do you?" "On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest to get rid of, Buckner is a 9," said Charlie Fox, the Cub executive vice president. "And I'm not giving him a 10 only because I'm a nice guy." THE CUB BRASS expressed surprise that Buckner, In effect, rejected such a potentially rewarding situation at Philadelphia. The Phillies, who won the National League pennant last season, apparently were prepared to install him as their regular first baseman. Buckner, meanwhile, wonders why he has been treated so shabbily in Chicago. "What have I done to deserve this?" he asks.

"I play hard for them. I play in pain, but they just want to mess with my mind. I guess I'm gonna wind up like Reggie Theus and Tony Esposito. "Fox is behind it. I haven't talked to him in months, but I'd like to.

I went in to talk to Dallas after the deal, and it was a worthless exercise. He says he doesn't care about paying me all that money to sit on the bench, so I don't know what's going to happen. I just wish the Cubs would stop playing games with me." Apparently, the Cubs have. Tribune photo by Charles Cherney Bulls' Steve Johnson left and Mitchell Wiggins maneuver for a rebound Tuesday against Detroit. Pistons steam by Bulls UCLA taps Walt Hazzard Bill Laimbeer sparks a 111-83 triumph that gives Larry Farmer changes his mind, quits am Detroit a tie for first with Milwaukee.

Page 3. replaced by the former UCLA star. Page 3. Oklahoma St. millions can't pin down Gable if America's Olympics I mi mi i i (ft ijv second," Roderick said in an interview.

"Now, people in Chicago might be sa-tisified ana think it's a good deal to get second in wrestling at Oklahoma State, but we don't because that's not our tradition and not what we're capable of doing year-in and year-out." Roderick is a former three-time NCAA champ at OSU who coached wrestling there for 13 years, winning seven national titles. He went into private business in 1970 replaced by Chesbro then landed the athletic director's job in 1983. Overall, the Cowpokes have 27 national mat titles, but none in the last 13 years. Gable probably fueled the fire before this season, saying his Olympic duties would detract from Iowa's chances and that, if Oklahoma State was going to win the title, this would be its best shot. Chesbro's doom was sealed when Gable By John Husar OKLAHOMA STATE athletic officials were caught with their ethics down when word leaked last week that Olympic wrestling coach Dan Gable of Iowa had been offered $2'A million to switch schools.

Gable, whose Hawkeye dynasty has won the last seven NCAA titles, talked of being "flattered," if not particularly interested. But red-faced OSU athletic director Myron Roderick lamely tried to deny the story when it turned out that he had not yet disposed of his existing coach, 14-year veteran Tommy Chesbro. Chesbro was stunned and embarrassed. The situation smacked of the fiasco at Texas two years ago when Jackie Sherrill was hired as head football coach right after Tom Wilson's contract had been extended another year. Sherrill receives a reported $1.7 million for six years, while Gable's $2V4 million would be stretched over 10.

Wilson, at the was earning $50,000. Gable's salary at Iowa is $35,000, with another $40,000 estimated from camps and endorsements. Chesbro has been anything but a slouch at one of the top wrestling hotbeds in the country. His OSU teams took a national title in 1971 and have a 227-26 record in dual meets, winning their last 44 plus eight straight Big Eight titles. His crime, it turns out, was finishing second in the last two NCAA meets to Iowa, which OSU beat in dual competition.

"WE'RE NOT SATISFIED with getting 'Continued on page 6, col. 1 Dan Gable 1.