BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AMERICAN LEAGUE : Blue Jays’ Stottlemyre Has an Edge

When Blue Jay right-hander Todd Stottlemyre was growing up, Yankee Stadium “was a back yard for us,” a place for him and his brother to frolic while their father, Mel Stottlemyre, pitched for the New York Yankees.

He still gets tips from his father, now the pitching coach for the New York Mets.

“We talk generally after every start, if I can catch up to him; and a lot of times we’ll talk before, if I’m struggling,” said Todd, who will start Game 4 of the American League playoffs tonight at the SkyDome. “He helps me, not so much with mechanics as with my approach to the game.”

A calmer approach helped him improve from 13-17 in 1990 to 15-8 this season. “I control myself out on the mound, where before, if it was (runners on) first and third and nobody out, I would worry more about the situation than how I was going to pitch to the next guy,” Stottlemyre said. “I’ve learned to concentrate and focus on the next pitch, rather than what has happened.”

The Stottlemyres are one of two father-son combinations to have pitched in the postseason, after Jim Bagby Sr. and Jr.

The Twins’ starter tonight, Jack Morris, is still bothered by the respiratory infection he had in Game 1. However, he said it shouldn’t be a factor tonight.

Morris also said working on three days’ rest instead of four shouldn’t be a problem. “I don’t usually have quite as good velocity, but I have better control and movement, so it’s a wash,” said Morris, who gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings of the Twins’ series-opening 5-4 victory Tuesday night.

Former Angel manager Doug Rader has been contacted by several clubs about managerial openings, but the New York Yankees apparently are his most ardent pursuers. Speaking from his home in Stuart, Fla., Rader would say only that he would listen to all offers.

Don Baylor will interview for the Milwaukee managing job next week, as will Tony Muser and Phil Garner, but Toronto coach Gene Tenace remains the overwhelming favorite to succeed Tom Trebelhorn. Tenace, who has been reluctant to discuss his candidacy, sounded a lot like a manager Friday as he discussed his managing philosophy.

“You’ve got to handle players different than 10 years ago,” said Tenace, who was a roommate of Milwaukee General Manager Sal Bando when both played for the Oakland Athletics. “They’ve got long-term contracts, and you can’t rip them in the papers. Publicly, you can’t insult them. . . . You’ve got to find ways to make the adjustment, to communicate. You’ve got to get players to believe in you, play for you and respect you.”

Expo bullpen coach Ken Macha might be hired in the same capacity by Angel Manager Buck Rodgers, his former boss in Montreal.

Blue Jay left-fielder Candy Maldonado is playing in his fifth playoff series--all in odd-numbered years. He was with the Dodgers in 1983 and ’85 and with the Giants in 1987 and ’89. “I guess I’ll take next year off and be back in ‘93,” Maldonado said. “I seem to be the lucky charm.”