Evening star., 1961-01-04
WIN, LOSE OR
UkAW s FRANCIS s1AAA
End of q Pipeline

1T is LOGICAL to assume that Frank Lanes new as
ISOLATION with the City Athletics was duly noted by
the New York Yankees What the Yankees going
for farm club now? 1t doesn't figure that Lane gen.
era manager is going to keep shutting the AS most useful
talent to New York
Ever since Lane first became a general manager-this
was in 1s48 at Chcagohe has hated the Yankees as
haps no other individual in baseball Two Of his proud
boasts are Cd that he made trades than anybody in
the game over similar period of time and (2) that he
never dealt with the Yankees.
Not only Lane but neaFy everybody else was critical Of
the Yankees trades too to list with the Ath
letcs The tein blasted unhealthy but the player
exchanges continued and invariably the AS got the
of the transactions If the Yankees needed experienced
hand in crisis they knew where to look And City
would send along Bobby Shanz Bob Cerv Roger Mars
Art Ditmar.
Now, with new owner who presumably will stand still
for it, Kansas City has just the to cut the pipeline
New York
ASIDE FROM REFUSING to deal with the Yankees
Lane waged another kind Of fight against the perennial
American League champs He ceased to all rival
clubs to wage allout against the hated Yankees
I'VE should all have one common objective" frankie
declared notably in the spring Of 1889 That to do
everything In our power to prevent the Yankees from
winning.
IT feel we can do it If we get together and make up
our minds to throw only the best pitchers against the Yam
KEGS If we all concentrate that I'm willing to bet this
season will be remembered the year the Yankees did
win the pennant
The trouble with OF the other clubs is that they
have draped cloak of nvincbility the Yankees We
must destroy this illusion. >"
Lane had personal motive behind his exhortaton in
So He was hoping that while everybody gangng up
on New York his Cleveland Indians would take it
all They didn't, but the White Sox whom Lane used to
boss did
AND WHAT OF POOR Joe Gordon, Lanes old sparring
partner at Cleveland? They at each others throats
when frankie general manager and Gordon the field
boss of the Indians.
In mid-september of 50 Gordon formally announced
that he wouldn't work for Lane another year. Six days
later after Lane had contacted Durocher view
toward making him the manager, Lane announced that
Gordon had been resigned to a two-year contract.
He must think I'm a better manager than he some
times says am, Joe grimy remarked. The twoyear
tract was Franks idea"
But on the last day Of the Gordon found let
ter announcing his own resignation his desk in the
clubhouse He signed 1t raey but "a hours later Joe and
Lane had patched up matters again.
Only temporarily however, because early last summer
Lane switched from trading players to swapping managers
He dealt Gordon to Detroit for Jimmie Dykes
LANE is MAN with low boiling point and admits
It, Gordon wears mans collar Frank says 1--WE had
our differences Gordon is gambler and I'm more Of
percentage man. But think Joe works we'll with younger
players and that's what we'll have when we get our re-
building program started"
1t still isn't clear however why Gordon should please
him In Kansas City when he couldn't at Cleveland
newspaper guess in Kansas City is that the annual
salary promised by Charles o. Finley, So per cent
owner of the AS is in the neghborhood of $1O0OOOfor
four years This may be reasonably approximate because
at Cleveland where he had contract, he
to draw 100000 in salary for the 1862 seasons plus five
cents for every customer over 100000
This was tidy arrangement that enabled Lane to COL
lect more than 100000 in 1852 probably quite as much
last year The other five years of the Tribe contract called
Tor $4,000 per annum in an advisory capacity.
1t figures that he came high to Kansas CITY, While
Pete Quesada was in the process of acquiring the WASH
ington franchise last November he conferred with Lane
presumably about taking the Senators frankie ind
Gated that he was available provided Quesada could pay
the price Significantly perhaps he stayed with Cleveland
until yesterday.