Hal Mcrae

After Al Campanis, then Dodgers general manager, said in 1987 that blacks lacked "the necessities" to hold high-level jobs in baseball, many thought the furor caused by that disgraceful remark would end the barriers that, for the most part, had kept minorities out of on-field and front-office management positions.

Pitcher Neal Heaton, a member of the 1990 All-Star team, was among three players cut from the Pittsburgh Pirates' postseason roster. Manager Jim Leyland also dropped pitcher Vicente Palacios and catcher Tom Prince as the Pirates began preparations for the National League playoffs against the Atlanta Braves. Shortstop Tony Fernandez of the San Diego Padres will undergo surgery on his right thumb today.

Rick (Elvis) Parker, an Orlando, Fla., boxing promoter, has been accused by one of his fighters of fixing up to a dozen bouts for such heavyweights as Randall (Tex) Cobb and Mark Gastineau, the former pro football player. According to a story in this week's Sports Illustrated, among the fights fixed by Parker were Cobb's first-round knockout of journeyman Sonny Barch on Sept. 15, 1992, and Gastineau's first-round defeat of Rick Hoard on the same card. Barch made the accusation.

Texas Ranger Manager Kevin Kennedy, whose team led the American League West despite a losing record when the strike started, was fired Wednesday, two days after the hiring of a general manager. "My gut feeling was that I wanted to start with a clean slate in preparation for next season," General Manager Doug Melvin said. "I'm hoping to heck that Kevin lands somewhere. He shouldn't have to go back to the minor leagues."

Free-agent pitcher Chuck Finley made his second visit in three days to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dana Point Tuesday, and this one, unlike Sunday's, wasn't for breakfast. Nor was it to visit the Angels, whose period for exclusive negotiating rights to the left-hander expires Thursday. Finley met with officials from several teams, including the Cleveland Indians, but the Angels were not on his agenda.

Sooner or later, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays figured a close game had to go their way. Ben Grieve singled through a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Saturday night, giving the team with baseball's worst record a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. The win also ended an eight-game losing streak for Tampa Bay.

With the Oakland Athletics now out of the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to include A's bench coach Ken Macha--a one-time Pirate player--on their short list of managerial candidates. Pirate owner Kevin McClatchy and General Manager Cam Bonifay will begin interviewing candidates later this week to succeed Gene Lamont, fired Oct. 2 after a fourth successive losing season.

Kurt Stillwell has regained his starting job with the Kansas City Royals because of his offense, but he came up with the key defensive play Thursday night. Stillwell saved the tying run in the eighth as the Royals held on for a 3-2 victory over the Angels behind Jim Eisenreich's two-run single and seven walks by California pitching. Junior Felix and Dave Winfield were on with two out in the eighth when Gary Gaetti hit a grounder into the hole at short.

The Angels got standout pitching from Chuck Finley Saturday night but also committed three errors before beating the Kansas City Royals, 4-3. Finley (18-9) struck out five and walked four through 7 1/3 innings, beating the Royals a third consecutive time and becoming the fourth American League pitcher with at least 18 victories. Bryan Harvey pitched the ninth inning for his league-leading 44th save, allowing one unearned run.