Stieb Is Perfectly Awful in Angel Win

Long before he was 2-9 with an earned-run average approaching his shoe size, Dave Stieb sat down and wrote a book about his life. Once the final period was in place, Stieb shipped the manuscript off to the printer along with an appropriately cheeky title--”Tomorrow I’ll Be Perfect.”

And those who knew Stieb merely nodded. Coming from a guy who spiked baseballs on the Astroturf, threw resin bags and viewed the rest of the American League by looking down his nose, it was the perfect title. As Angel Manager Gene Mauch once said of Stieb: “Nobody is as good as the way he acts.”

Well, break open the Harder-They-Come, the-Harder-They-Fall file and enter the name of Stieb. After allowing five runs to the Angels in four-plus innings at Exhibition Stadium Friday night, en route to a 9-1 Angel victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, Stieb lost for the ninth time in 11 decisions this season. His earned-run average--a league-leading 2.48 in 1985--has spiraled to 5.78.

Before he was through for the evening, Stieb had allowed a total of five hits. Two were home runs by Jack Howell, who was previously homerless in 1986. Another was a triple by Gary Pettis, the No. 9 hitter in the Angel lineup.

Stieb left with no outs in the fifth inning, just after a three-run home run by Howell, exiting with a 5-1 deficit that enabled Don Sutton (7-5) to become a winner for the 302nd time in his career.

There wasn’t much sympathy for Stieb emanating from the Angel clubhouse in the aftermath, although Sutton, who threw a complete-game four-hitter, said he might be able work some up if you could give him a few days.

“Monday, I’ll feel badly for him,” said Sutton, whose teammates open a new series at Milwaukee Monday. “When we leave here, I’d like to see him get on a roll. I don’t like to see anybody be embarrassed.

“I can identify with what he’s going through. Once, with the Dodgers, I went 10 weeks without getting out of the fifth inning. Right now, Dave is looking to find himself.”

Stieb is still searching. And in the process, he contributed to the self-discovery of Howell, who had the two home runs and a single in three at-bats against Stieb.

Howell has long been regarded as the Angels’ third baseman of the future. The only question was when.

Some figured the time had come this spring--Howell included. He arrived at the Angels’ training camp in hope of wrenching the starting job away from longtime incumbent Doug DeCinces. He wound up in Triple-A, worrying himself off the 24-man roster.

“I was trying to take away a job from a superstar, and Doug was in the final year of his contract. There was no job available for me,” Howell said. “I started to worry about things I couldn’t control.

“When you don’t have a position, you have to go into spring training hotter than heck. I wasn’t.”

Howell batted .206 in the spring. He began the season at Edmonton.

DeCinces’ shoulder problems led to Howell’s recall on May 30, and since then, Howell has platooned at the position--starting there on artificial turf or against an occasional right-handed pitcher.

But before Friday night, Howell was batting just .205 with 7 RBIs in 44 at-bats.

That, however, was before Stieb.

In the second inning, Howell singled to right. In the fourth inning, he homered to center. And in the fifth, with Wally Joyner and Reggie Jackson on base, he homered again--putting the ball in the end zone of the football field that extends 20 yards beyond the right-field fence.

“He did some serious hitting tonight,” Mauch said. “It’s just a matter of time until he’s an exceptional player.”

And what of Stieb, who was 8-4 in his career against the Angels? Mauch, who managed against Stieb at Minnesota before joining the Angels, said: “I’ve never seen him hammered like he was here.

“What did he do in the fifth inning? Two walks and a home run? Do that and you’re asking for trouble, whether your name is Stieb or Schwartz.”

Mauch also noticed that Stieb’s usual glare-and-glower routine on the mound was noticeably absent.

“It’s kind of hard to show confidence when you’re 2-9,” Mauch said.

Stieb kept to himself afterward, seeking the sanctuary of the trainer’s room. But elsewhere around the Toronto clubhouse, there was wonderment over whatever became of the Blue Jays’ five-time All-Star pitcher.

“It’s a mystery,” catcher Ernie Whitt said. “It’s just like a hitter in a slump. It eats away at him, and we have to try and keep his confidence up.”

Said pitching coach Al Widmar: “There is nothing wrong with his arm; I guess it’s his confidence. I keep talking to him, trying to impress upon him what ability he has. It’s like Tug McGraw said, ‘You gotta believe.’ ”

Tomorrow I’ll Be Perfect? The way 1986 is going, Dave Stieb would gladly settle for adequate.

Angel Notes

Of the seven major league home runs hit by Jack Howell, four have come in two games. Howell also hit a pair of homers last Aug. 27, when he drove in five runs against the Baltimore Orioles with a grand slam and a solo homer. “That was a lot more exciting game, with the grand slam mixed in,” Howell said. “But this one was on the Fourth of July and it was my son Joshua’s second birthday. It’ll be nice to call home tonight.” . . . Don Sutton missed a bid for his 59th career shutout when George Bell hit a solo home run in the second inning. “That was an invention,” Gene Mauch said. “Sutton and (Bob) Boone were watching videotapes of Bell and invented a new pitch for him. And Bell patented it.” Said Sutton: “We wanted to take a little off the pitch and sink it down and in. He sunk it out of here. I guarantee that’s one he’ll never see again.” . . . Mauch on Dave Stieb: “When we used to see him before, he’d throw 125 pitches--75 fastballs and 50 sliders. Tonight, he threw a lot of changeups. I mean, a lot . Sometimes, you’ll see a pitcher go to a changeup because he’s not real sure of his stuff.” . . . Gary Pettis had an infield single, a double, a triple and his 17th stolen base in five at-bats.

Reggie Jackson was neither surprised nor enthralled by the announcement that he will not have to face criminal charges for his May 3 altercation with a fan in a Milwaukee pub. Milwaukee County district attorney Michael McCann ruled that there was insufficient evidence that Jackson had actually struck Donald Weimer of Racine, Wis., the man making the complaint. “That makes me look good,” Jackson said. “I know the guy (McCann) did a thorough investigation; I was impressed with that. (But) now I’m sure they’ll try a civil charge. They try to keep harassing you to see if you’ll settle for less than it would cost to represent yourself in court.” The Angels play three games at Milwaukee next week, but Jackson said he doubted he would have to make a court appearance. . . . Terry Forster on former Dodger teammate Steve Howe, who has received permission from Commissioner Peter Ueberroth to negotiate a major league contract: “I’m happy for him, he’s a good kid. I know some people say he’s already had his chances, but the people who say that are people who have no idea what he’s gone through. How do you know what it’s like to be an alcoholic unless you’ve been an alcoholic? Go to anybody who’s had a drug problem and ask them if they think Steve Howe has had too many chances.”