BASEBALL / STEVE HENSON : Cardinal Catcher Zeile Refuses to Be Backed Into a Hot Corner

Joe Torre looks at rookie Todd Zeile and sees himself 30 years ago.

Zeile appreciates the comparison but says he would just as soon be Todd Zeile, thank you very much.

Torre was named Aug. 1 as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, the last-place team in the National League East. Not a bad time and place to shake things up a little. So Torre announced that Zeile, the Cardinals’ prized first-year catcher, would play some third base the rest of the season.

Torre, perhaps not coincidentally, was a National League all-star as both a catcher and third baseman during an 18-year career that began in 1960.

“I have no desire, at this point at least, to be a full-time third baseman,” said Zeile, who attended Hart High and UCLA before signing with the Cardinals in 1986. “I hope I don’t have to stay there long.”

His hopes have been realized--so far. Zeile has yet to play third and Torre reassured him Friday that he still is the team’s No. 1 catcher.

The reason Torre is contemplating the move, in fact, has little to do with Zeile’s catching. Third baseman Terry Pendleton won a $1.85-million contract in arbitration in February and likely will sign as a free agent elsewhere after this season. The Cardinals also have been pleased with backup catcher Tom Pagnozzi, who has a better arm than Zeile.

“At the start of the year I struggled, but I’ve caught and thrown well over the last couple of months,” said Zeile, who is batting .238 with 11 home runs. “I don’t think I’ve had any problems that I know of. It’s a matter of getting some time behind the plate, some experience.”

Translation: The only time Zeile wants to be near third base is as a baserunner.

King for a day: With Eric King on the 15-day disabled list, Wayne Edwards of the Chicago White Sox made his first major league start Friday night in the second game of a doubleheader against Texas.

Edwards (1-2), a Village Christian graduate, outpitched Nolan Ryan, going 5 2/3 innings for the win as Chicago swept the Rangers, 5-2 and 5-1. Scott Radinsky, a rookie left-hander from Simi Valley High, preserved Edwards’ victory by shutting out the Rangers over the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up his fourth save.

Jack McDowell (8-6), formerly of Notre Dame High, won the opener for Chicago, allowing one run over seven innings.

Edwards, who had a 3.32 earned-run average in 32 relief appearances, started throughout his minor-league career. He was 10-4 with five complete games in 19 starts last season with Birmingham of the double-A Southern League.

King, a Royal High graduate, has a sore right shoulder. The injury is not serious, according to a White Sox official, and King is scheduled to come off the disabled list Wednesday. The right-hander has been a major factor in the White Sox’s success, posting an 8-4 record and 3.39 ERA in 20 starts.

Add injuries: Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Chuck Crim was activated Friday after being sidelined 19 days because of a torn rib muscle. Crim pitched one inning Monday in a rehabilitation assignment at Beloit (Wis.) of the Class-A Midwest League and allowed two runs.

Despite the absence, Crim, a right-hander from Thousand Oaks High, is second on the Brewers in appearances (44) and saves (six).

Healthy change: What could Danny Gil and Andre Ware possibly have in common? Gil is a Class-A catcher toiling in Boise, Ida., Ware a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback holding out for a multimillion-dollar contract with the Detroit Lions.

Both know the feeling of trying to unseat Rodney Peete, a Lion quarterback who played football and baseball at USC.

As a Trojan freshman out of Poly High in 1987, Gil tried out at third base. That was Peete’s domain, however, and Gil quickly did something that the Lions might ask of Ware: He changed positions.

“The coach asked me if I wanted to play,” Gil said. “I said, ‘Of course,’ and he handed me a catcher’s mitt.”

Gil, 21, has been catching ever since. Drafted in the eighth round in June by the Angels, Gil (6-foot, 194 pounds) is doing some hitting as well at Boise. After 35 games, he is second on the team with a .300 batting average and 25 runs batted in.

Although hitting always has been Gil’s strength (he batted .539 in his senior year at Poly), he is putting wood on the ball for the first time.

“To me, it seems easier to hit with a wood bat. It comes a little more naturally,” said Gil, who is using a 35-inch, 33-ounce bat after using a 34-inch, 31-ounce aluminum bat in college. “I can get it around just fine. I thought it would be a problem at the beginning. People said, ‘Hey, that’s a big bat. Can you get it around?’ ”

His answer is reflected in his numbers.

Add Gil: Two weeks ago, Gil faced Todd Van Poppel, the Oakland Athletics’ first-round draft pick who signed out of high school last month for a record $1.2 million over three years. Van Poppel, playing for Southern Oregon, was making his second start as a professional.

“He’s legit,” said Gil, who popped out and struck out against Van Poppel. “He’ll be in the show pretty soon. He throws extremely hard but effortlessly. I was thinking, what if he really wanted to throw hard.”

He has a name: The player to be named later by the Philadelphia Phillies in their acquisition of Dale Murphy from the Atlanta Braves is none other than Jim Vatcher, the small, scrappy outfielder from Cal State Northridge.

The Braves contemplated sending Vatcher to their triple-A team in Richmond (Va.), but a spot was opened on their roster when Andres Thomas was placed on the disabled list. Vatcher is the team’s fifth outfielder behind Lonnie Smith, David Justice, Ron Gant and Oddibe McDowell.

Vatcher split time between Philadelphia and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) of the triple-A International League before the trade, batting .261 in 46 at-bats for Philadelphia.