Rose Finds Pitcher He Can Hit in Camp

“This is more like an old-timers game,” said pitching coach Jim Kaat, 46, as he threw to player-manager Pete Rose, 43, at the Cincinnati Reds camp in Tampa, Fla.

“What’s this, 50 years of experience?” Rose asked.

Close. Kaat was the only pitcher in big league history to work in 25 seasons. Rose is entering his 23rd season.

Rose lashed a line drive to left and yelled at Kaat, “I think the last time I faced you I got a knock just like that.”

Kaat didn’t argue. He knows that Rose can remember just about all of his 4,097 hits.

“Fun, that’s what this game is,” Kaat said. “You have to keep things moving. That’s one reason Pete hired me as pitching coach. He and I have the same approach to the game. Obviously, I don’t have 4,000 hits, but I’ve given up 4,000 hits.”

He’s not kidding. The actual figure is 4,620.

Add Reds: Cesar Cedeno was in for a lot of ribbing after returning from Houston where he pleaded no-contest to a charge of intoxication and running his car into a tree. He had to pay $7,000 in property damage.

Said Dave Parker: “If I’d paid $7,000 for a tree, I’d have at least gotten the wood for my fireplace.”

Wait a Minute: Former Dodger outfielder Carl Furillo said the players “hated” to see pitcher Tom Lasorda sent down in 1955 for a prospect named Sandy Koufax.

“We knew Lasorda could get the ball over,” Furillo said. “Sandy was wild.”

Following are some of Lasorda’s records: Tied National League record for three wild pitches in an inning, May 5, 1955; led International League in wild pitches with 14 in 1953; led Canadian-American League in wild pitches with 20 in 1948.

Add Lasorda: Even though he finished the 1955 season in the minors at Montreal, the team voted him a half-share of their World Series money. He used it to send his father, Sabatino, to Italy.

For Doug Flutie, the move from college to the pros was a difficult one. For Luis Zendejas, it was a piece of cake.

Said Zendejas after kicking three field goals to give the Arizona Outlaws a 9-7 win over the Portland Breakers at Sun Devil Stadium: “It was the same field, the same locker room, even the same side of the field. There was nothing to adjust to.”

Zendejas spent four years kicking for Arizona State.

Add Flutie: His debut Sunday on ABC got a 7.9 overnight rating and a 21 share, according to the USFL. At the same time, CBS got 5.6 and 14 with the Doral Open and NBC got 2.1 and 6 with NCAA basketball.

“That’s not bad, that’s not bad at all,” USFL Commissioner Harry Usher said.

However, ABC affiliate WKRN-TV in Nashville, Tenn., has dumped the USFL and didn’t carry the game.

“We can make more money showing movies,” station manager Art Elliot said. “Over a three-month period last year, the league had a 2 rating and an 8 share, which tied us for last place among the six stations here. There’s just not a demand for the USFL in Nashville.”

The Denver Nuggets, after trailing, 66-49, at halftime, defeated the Phoenix Suns, 117-107, Sunday.

Asked what Doug Moe told the Nuggets at halftime, Alex English said: “If I was to repeat what Doug Moe said to us, I would be struck down right now.”

Quotebook

Todd Phipers of the Denver Post, on the Denver Gold’s 31-10 loss to the Oakland Invaders: “With quarterback Vince Evans and his receivers taking turns pulling the trigger, the Gold turned its new run-and-shoot offense into a form of Russian roulette--with all the cylinders loaded.”