THE SET-UP

PITTSBURGH, Penn., April 29--It's generally accepted in baseball circles that a pitcher sets up a batter. They mean the pitcher knows how to get a hitter off balance in order to dispose of his with a pitch thrown to his weakness.

That's not always the case, however, for the Braves have one hitter who sets up the pitcher. He is Walker Cooper, the veteran catcher.

"You bet he sets up the pitcher," said manager Tommy Holmes. "Notice how many times Coop goes to the plate and lets the first pitch go by as if it had never been thrown? That's part of his strategy. Later in the game the pitcher will throw the first one in there thinking he'll let it go and wham: it's out."

"Remember what he did to Preacher Roe in the first series with the Dodgers?" asked a bystander."

Holmes chuckled. He recalled right off that Cooper gave Roe the decoy by snubbing the first pitch three straight trips to the plate. The last time up with the Braves trailing by a run, he swung with all his power and sent one high and far towards the left score-board. The only trouble was that a howling wind turned the blast into an out. Boston Globe, April 29