BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : NL PLAYOFFS : Schott Keeps Bottom Line in View

As players dumped champagne--lots of it--on owner Marge Schott after her Cincinnati Reds swept the Dodgers, she voiced a complaint:

“Why do you guys always have to sweep?”

It cost her at least one night’s paid admission, see.

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Schott sponsors an elephant--also named Schottzie, like her dog--at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The elephant was doused with champagne after the Reds clinched their division title. The elephant also delivered the first pitch to the diamond at Riverfront Stadium on opening day.

Manager Davey Johnson said of Schott and Schottzie: “That elephant has been to her house more than I have.”

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Ron Gant, former Brave turned Red, was asked if beating Atlanta would be the icing on the cake.

“No, it would be the cake,” Gant said. “The icing would be the World Series.”

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Rookie third baseman Chipper Jones of the Braves watched the American League playoff game Sunday between Seattle and New York, wide-eyed with excitement.

“I was glued to it, absolutely glued,” said Jones, 23. “Best playoff game I’ve ever seen. Good as it gets.”