Frey Says Lasorda Was Right on Clark

Tom Lasorda says a lot of baseball people have told him he was right in pitching to Jack Clark, but has anybody said it for publication?

Well, Jim Frey is willing to be quoted, and he backs Lasorda all the way.

Frey, manager of the Chicago Cubs, explains it this way: “You’ve got to ask yourself, ‘Who’s a better hitter--Clark, when the pitcher can throw exactly what he wants, or Andy Van Slyke, when the pitcher has some of his weapons taken away?’ The answer is clear--Van Slyke becomes more dangerous in that situation.

“With a base open, Tom Niedenfuer can throw what he wants to Clark, nibble at the corners. If he gets behind, 2-and-0, on the count, he can still throw for a corner. But what does he do if he gets behind Van Slyke, 2-and-0? He’s got to throw the ball down the middle, and that makes Van Slyke a better hitter.

“You learn about this when managing in the minor leagues. I’ve seen it so many times. You walk one guy to load the bases, then you watch the pitcher throw ball one, ball two, ball three, ball four, and the game is tied. So I think the correct decision was to go after Clark.”

Of course, that won’t stop Steve Garvey from telling it this way on the banquet circuit: “After Clark hit the homer, Tommy looked up at the Great Dodger in the Sky. And the Great Dodger in the Sky looked back and said, ‘You should have walked him.’ ”

Trivia Time: Pat Riley and K.C. Jones, the coaches for today’s NBA All-Star game, both were selected in the NFL draft. They were drafted by different teams but by the same general manager. Who is he? (Answer below.)

Add Riley: As coach of the West team, he has threatened to open with a skyscraper front line of Akeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Ralph Sampson, but said he has changed his mind.

“I’m going to put Sampson in the backcourt instead,” he said.

His critics called him a dump-off passer who couldn’t win the big one, but Bud Grant says: “Fran Tarkenton was the greatest quarterback who ever played by any measure you want to use. I don’t understand what took so long to get him into the Hall of Fame.”

In his first game as rookie in 1961, Tarkenton threw for four touchdowns and ran for another. In his final season of 1978, he threw 25 touchdown passes.

“Compare that to other recipients,” Grant said in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Johnny Unitas could hardly get off the field at the end. Joe Namath had two good seasons and then was a cripple. And Bart Starr, as great as he played, couldn’t throw the ball 15 yards at the end.”

Add Tarkenton: After watching the NFC championship game, he told the Atlanta Journal: “Dieter Brock is the worst quarterback in the National Football League. His performance in that game was hard to believe.”

After Miami basketball Coach Bill Foster complained bitterly about the officiating in a game with Florida State, Seminole Coach Joe Williams was asked his views.

“The Metro Conference has a rule that says I can’t discuss the officiating,” Williams said. “So I can’t tell you how poor it was.”

Trivia Answer: Tex Schramm. He was the Ram general manager in 1955 when Jones was drafted out of San Francisco on the 30th round as an end. He was the Dallas Cowboy general manager in 1967 when Riley was drafted out of Kentucky on the 11th round as an end.

Quotebook

Alexis Arguello, coming back from bankruptcy, asked what happened to the millions he amassed in winning three boxing titles: “I spent it.”