Stars sink to 15-year low point

Tim Graham

Tuesday, June 3, 1997 | 11:32 a.m.

All around Cashman Field these days, critics are voicing their opinions.

They come from the field. They come from the seats. They come from the front office. They come from the press box.

None of them are good.

In their 15-year history, this could be the worst Las Vegas Stars team of all.

"Everything looks extremely bad right now not only to us, but also the fans," Stars manager Jerry Royster said after watching his men get bombed 18-2 by the Tacoma Rainiers Monday night. "It is bad. It's as bad as it can get."

Even with a Pacific Coast League-worst 20-38 record, the Stars have performed even more miserably than that. During their current homestand against Colorado Springs and Tacoma -- with six games played and two to go -- the Stars have been outscored 86-22 and outhit 106-55.

In the month of May, the Stars posted a 9-21 record and were outscored 219-121.

They are on pace to lose 93 games this year, six more than the team record set in 1994.

"I've been through slumps, team losing streaks, everything. But nothing like this," said right fielder Jim Tatum, a veteran of 13 pro seasons. "We're not even close."

There are several factors for the Stars' struggles. Many, however, cannot be fixed.

The main reason has been the decimation of Las Vegas' roster by the parent San Diego Padres. With ambulances virtually parked outside the Padres' clubhouse, the Stars have had an unusually high amount of call-ups.

"There's been an ungodly amount of injuries in San Diego," Las Vegas general manager Don Logan said. "Guys perform well here and they're gone."

Logan claims this year's opening day lineup was better than the one that claimed the second-half PCL championship last year.

Five players from the Stars' opening roster -- pitchers Heath Murray, Pete Smith and Terry Burrows and outfielders Phil Plantier and Trey Beamon -- now are with the Padres. A sixth, infielder Terry Shumpert, has been optioned back to Las Vegas, but has yet to return because of an injury.

"All those injuries have created a nightmare," Logan said. "When you play teams like Colorado Springs and Tacoma, you better have your guns loaded. When we go out to play them, we're in a gunfight with knives."

Making matters worse was the Homer Bush situation. The former Stars second baseman played a month without a team as a component of the Hideki Irabu deal between the Padres and New York Yankees. The trade, however, wasn't official until the well-hyped Japanese hurler signed Thursday.

"He was handled very poorly," Logan said of Bush, whose average plummeted from .357 to .277 since the trade. "It ruined him and it killed our ballclub."

Then there's the strained pitching staff. Virtually every game, starters are forced to pitch through rough stretches because of an overworked bullpen. Also, stopper Marc Kroon's sore arm has him on the disabled list.

"The pitching may or may not get better, but it can't go on like this," Royster said.

The Stars rank at the bottom of the PCL with a 6.35 team ERA. Royster hopes new additions Bobby Munoz and Bob Scanlan get in pitching shape soon, but that will take time.

Munoz was Monday's starter. In 4 2/3 innings, he tied team records by allowing 11 runs and 10 earned runs, lowering his ERA to 27.00. Scanlan has two relief appearances under his belt, but has recorded just three outs against four runs for an ERA of 36.00.

"I'm counting heavily on those guys," Royster said.

Meanwhile, the offense has sputtered with 10 runs in the last four games, including a shutout Sunday.

"That's very frustrating when you don't even have an opportunity to battle back," Royster said. "You try to convince the hitters that they still have a game to play and convince the pitchers that that inning that just went by is over with."

With few options until the Padres return some talent, the only recourse, according to Tatum, is taking solace in the fact that the PCL is divided into halves.

"You gotta play out the first half, but you can see the light at the end of the tunnel," Tatum said. "It's not like the majors where if you're 30 games out, you're stuck.

"We get to start over again and make sure we don't repeat what we've done so far. This can't happen in the second half, or we'll have problems. Somehow, someway, this can't go on."