Brewers Need a Little More Zest on Road

It was the Colorado Rockies with the split personality last year. This year, it’s the Milwaukee Brewers. Through Friday, the Brewers had baseball’s best home record, 24-9, and the AL’s worst road record, 10-25.

“We look like a minor league team on the road and a big league team at home,” Manager Phil Garner said. “It’s got to be the uniforms.”

Anything else?

Like late-night carousing?

“We don’t have a bunch of guys who get out on the road and hit the streets,” Garner said. “I’d have to wake up 90% of the guys on the road to check curfew.”

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The Angels have applied to the league to hold the 1999 All-Star game to help inaugurate renovated Anaheim Stadium, but the ’99 game is almost certain to go to Chicago’s Comiskey Park, with the ’98 game at Coors Field in Denver.

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The knee surgery that has Mo Vaughn out of the Boston Red Sox lineup for six weeks was done with the first baseman at his hottest. He was batting .415 with six home runs in 15 June games and .365 with 14 homers since May 1.

The loss of the automatic all-star also means rookie shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, still the league’s runaway leader for the rookie award, probably will represent the club in Cleveland on July 8.

Garciaparra, of Whittier, is only the sixth Red Sox rookie and first since Ellis Burks 10 years ago to reach double figures in homers and stolen bases. He already has at least 10 homers, doubles and steals, and he leads the league in triples with five.

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With the San Francisco Giants rolling in first place in the National League West, largely because of the winter trade that had fans screaming, Matt Williams is in the worst slump of his career.

The Cleveland third baseman began the weekend batting .225 overall and .103 since May 31. He had one homer and two RBIs since May 18 and was pinch-hit for by Casey Candaele with Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds on the line in the ninth inning.

Even so, Manager Mike Hargrove said he would keep Williams in the cleanup spot.

“His numbers [14 homers and 38 RBIs] are still productive,” Hargrove said. “His stature in the game, plus his ability, demands that you stick with him.”

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Chicago White Sox Manager Terry Bevington, who got a May reprieve, is said to be back in trouble, with third-base coach Doug Rader the probable interim choice.

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John Burkett, scheduled to pitch for the Texas Rangers against the Seattle Mariners today, has become the hitters’ best friend. He leads the majors in hits allowed, has matched his career high for hits allowed (12) in three of his last four starts and has pitched 17 consecutive innings without retiring the side in order.

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No AL team is hurt more by the loss of the designated hitter in National League parks than the Mariners. Two-time batting champion Edgar Martinez was six for 12 with two home runs and five RBIs as the Mariners scored 35 runs and swept four games from Colorado and the Dodgers in the Kingdome. The Mariners then went 0-2 in San Francisco, scoring three runs, as Martinez sat out one game and started the other at first base.

“We build our offense around the DH,” Manager Lou Piniella said. “When you can’t use it, it leaves a hole that we struggle to work around.”