Ken Dayley

They should have been asking him about the big bases-loaded strikeout of Gary Gaetti in the seventh. They should have been asking him about the miraculous comeback from the Tommy John memorial nerve-transplant surgery on his elbow. They should have been asking Ken Dayley about the 2 2/3 innings of one-hit relief, about his first World Series save, about a lot of things. But you have to understand. This was not your typical World Series game they played in Busch Stadium last night.

Johnny Podres and St. Louis receiver Ken Dayley could become a part of the Phillies' future, club president Bill Giles said yesterday. Podres, currently working in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system, has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the Phils' pitching-coach vacancy, which was created when Darold Knowles was demoted. Dayley has emerged as one of the free agents the Phils are actively pursuing. Giles said the Phils hope to name a pitching coach by next Thursday. "Podres is probably the leader in the clubhouse," he said, adding that general manager Lee Thomas and manager Nick Leyva will probably interview "two or three others" in the next few days.

For months, the Phillies have talked about using the free-agent market to speed the rebuilding process. Now it's time to stop talking and start doing. Yesterday was the first time teams were allowed were allowed to open negotiations with players who filed in the 15-day period following the World Series. "We would like to come up with a quality starting pitcher, although I don't know if we can," Lee Thomas said yesterday from the general managers meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Who would have thought that at this point in the season the Phils would be involved in a pennant race? Of course, the Phillies - planted firmly in last place in the National League East - aren't directly involved. But they can still help determine who wins the division. The Phils begin a crucial three-game weekend series at St. Louis tonight that could very well make or break the Cardinals' hopes of catching the first- place Cubs. St. Louis is trailing Chicago by four games with each team having nine games left.

The St. Louis Cardinals thought they had filled one of their few weaknesses this year when they pried catcher Tony Pena away from the Pittsburgh Pirates. It didn't work out that way. First, Pena got hurt. And after he came back, he batted only .214. That has changed in the playoffs. Not only is Pena batting .353, but last night he tripled and scored the only run in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. One reason: Pena started wearing glasses late in the season.

Another night, another win that kept the sky from falling, the sky from falling . . . The Phillies frittered away a 3-0 lead and an excellent start by lefthander Bruce Ruffin in the seventh inning last night against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Going into the eighth, they were down by two and the mournful obituaries were being composed. It would have been the seventh loss in ninth games. It would have dropped them further behind in the National League East. "To lose that one would have had the guys thinking that we were on a skid," said Von Hayes, who drove in what proved to be the winning runs in the Phillies' 9-6 victory with a two-run single in the eighth.

Way back when, the return of the first-place St. Louis Cardinals was to be something special at Veterans Stadium. But that was before the Vet became the Tomb of the Unknown Phillies. The pennant race, of course, passed the Phils by weeks ago, and so apparently did any semblance of professional play in the wake of a string of miserable Phillies efforts. But at least the sight last night of the Cardinals injected some life into a team caught in an endless series of nights of the living dead.

After the Phillies beat the Expos Saturday night, lefthander Terry Mulholland went home and watched a little television. There was a show on that he wanted to see. It was, of course, the replay of his no-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 15. "I watched it with my dad," he said last night. "It was a lot of fun, because I had never seen it from start to finish before. It was amazing the things that were running through my mind. I could remember what I was thinking on trying to throw certain pitches to certain batters.

Two former 20-game winners - Mike Boddicker and Danny Jackson - yesterday signed with new teams, and, on a busy day for free agents, home-run hitter Rob Deer signed with the Detroit Tigers and Vince Coleman's agent said the base- stealing outfielder had received a "very generous offer" from the New York Mets. The Cincinnati Reds lost Jackson to the Chicago Cubs, but did keep one of their top pitchers when they signed free agent Tom Browning to a four-year contract worth $11.9 million.

The Phillies, as expected, are battling to stay out of the National League East basement. The Cardinals, quite unexpectedly, are not. St. Louis, which tonight begins a three-game series against the Phils at Busch Stadium, is somehow in second place. The Cardinals' rise is as surprising as the Cubs' decline. After all, three key players - outfielder Vince Coleman, third baseman Terry Pendleton and reliever Ken Dayley - were allowed to take the free-agent route last winter.

You can't tell who's a member of your favorite team unless you've consulted the disabled list lately. In the first week of the season, there were more than 70 major-leaguers on the disabled list. That staggering figure includes players who were placed on the DL during spring training. The St. Louis Cardinals have been hit the hardest. In the opening week, they lost second baseman Jose Oquendo (dislocated shoulder), first baseman Andres Galarraga (broken wrist) and pitcher Bryn Smith (sore elbow)

The Phillies, as expected, are battling to stay out of the National League East basement. The Cardinals, quite unexpectedly, are not. St. Louis, which tonight begins a three-game series against the Phils at Busch Stadium, is somehow in second place. The Cardinals' rise is as surprising as the Cubs' decline. After all, three key players - outfielder Vince Coleman, third baseman Terry Pendleton and reliever Ken Dayley - were allowed to take the free-agent route last winter.

Two former 20-game winners - Mike Boddicker and Danny Jackson - yesterday signed with new teams, and, on a busy day for free agents, home-run hitter Rob Deer signed with the Detroit Tigers and Vince Coleman's agent said the base- stealing outfielder had received a "very generous offer" from the New York Mets. The Cincinnati Reds lost Jackson to the Chicago Cubs, but did keep one of their top pitchers when they signed free agent Tom Browning to a four-year contract worth $11.9 million.

For months, the Phillies have talked about using the free-agent market to speed the rebuilding process. Now it's time to stop talking and start doing. Yesterday was the first time teams were allowed were allowed to open negotiations with players who filed in the 15-day period following the World Series. "We would like to come up with a quality starting pitcher, although I don't know if we can," Lee Thomas said yesterday from the general managers meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Johnny Podres and St. Louis receiver Ken Dayley could become a part of the Phillies' future, club president Bill Giles said yesterday. Podres, currently working in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system, has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the Phils' pitching-coach vacancy, which was created when Darold Knowles was demoted. Dayley has emerged as one of the free agents the Phils are actively pursuing. Giles said the Phils hope to name a pitching coach by next Thursday. "Podres is probably the leader in the clubhouse," he said, adding that general manager Lee Thomas and manager Nick Leyva will probably interview "two or three others" in the next few days.

After the Phillies beat the Expos Saturday night, lefthander Terry Mulholland went home and watched a little television. There was a show on that he wanted to see. It was, of course, the replay of his no-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 15. "I watched it with my dad," he said last night. "It was a lot of fun, because I had never seen it from start to finish before. It was amazing the things that were running through my mind. I could remember what I was thinking on trying to throw certain pitches to certain batters.

Another night, another win that kept the sky from falling, the sky from falling . . . The Phillies frittered away a 3-0 lead and an excellent start by lefthander Bruce Ruffin in the seventh inning last night against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Going into the eighth, they were down by two and the mournful obituaries were being composed. It would have been the seventh loss in ninth games. It would have dropped them further behind in the National League East. "To lose that one would have had the guys thinking that we were on a skid," said Von Hayes, who drove in what proved to be the winning runs in the Phillies' 9-6 victory with a two-run single in the eighth.

Every 20 seconds, from the time they took batting practice to the time last night's game against the Phillies ended, the Cardinals were reminded of their mortality. Every 20 seconds, all evening long, the scoreboard flashed the same somber message. CHI 4, PGH 2 F The Cubs had beaten the Pittsburgh Pirates that afternoon at Wrigley Field to shrink their magic number to clinch the National League East to five. The second-place Cardinals, hopes barely alive, had to win to have any real hope of staying within range until the Cubs' visit for three games the last weekend of the season.

Who would have thought that at this point in the season the Phils would be involved in a pennant race? Of course, the Phillies - planted firmly in last place in the National League East - aren't directly involved. But they can still help determine who wins the division. The Phils begin a crucial three-game weekend series at St. Louis tonight that could very well make or break the Cardinals' hopes of catching the first- place Cubs. St. Louis is trailing Chicago by four games with each team having nine games left.

The style of the Minnesota Twins is as subtle as a sledgehammer, as straightforward as a poke in the eye. The St. Louis Cardinals kill you softly, winning with sleight of hand and mirrors and a thousand tiny nicks. Put the Cardinals in Minnesota's Homerdome, let them fall behind big and early as they did in the first two games of the World Series, and they are left in a thick-headed daze. Put the Twins in spacious Busch Stadium and they take their mighty swings and lift harmless fly balls into the Grand Canyon recesses of the outfield.