Jeffrey Also Gets a New Nickname

Last season, outfielder Jeff Leonard of the San Francisco Giants was nicknamed Penitentiary Face by Bay Area reporters.

This year, Leonard requested that he be called Jeffrey instead of Jeff. According to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, the reporters not only acceded to his request, but at the same time they changed his nickname.

He’s now called Correctional Institute Face.

Doug Moe, whose Denver Nuggets lost to the Houston Rockets in six games in the playoffs, told David Kahn of the Portland Oregonian: “I really felt the winner of our series would beat the Lakers. The Lakers aren’t quite the same as they were last year. I don’t know if the Lakers ever will reach that level again. Our players, to a man, felt Houston was better than the Lakers.

“Houston rebounds as well as the Lakers, then can run as well as the Lakers, and the Lakers don’t force turnovers--and the Lakers cause their own turnovers. Houston’s just better than they are.

“Akeem Olajuwon is just awesome, and their guards are so underrated it’s a joke. You hear a lot about their guards not being as good as the Laker guards. I think they’re better than the Laker guards.”

Add Olajuwon: Said the Boston Celtics’ Kevin McHale, when told that Akeem used to be a soccer goalie in Nigeria: “I’ll bet he blocked a lot of shots.”

Add Rockets: When someone suggested that Boston might be complacent tonight, Houston forward Robert Reid shook his head.

“They’re not going to take the Lakers’ approach,” he said. “I’m sure they watched that series and know that we’re still deadly.”

Trivia Time: When Tommy John won his first major league game in 1964 and Don Sutton won his first in 1966, the losing pitcher both times was Robin Roberts. In the two games, what teams were involved? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: Outfielder Daryl Motley of the Kansas City Royals told The Sporting News that rumors he would be traded to the San Francisco Giants were causing him headaches during spring training.

“It seemed like every time ESPN came on they talked about Chili Davis coming to Kansas City,” Motley said. “I remember one night I was at the hotel bar with a couple of guys and ESPN came on and said the trade would be made. I told the guys, ‘I’ve got a migraine headache.’ So I went back to the hotel room, turned on the TV and they were having a story on San Francisco when a guy said the coldest winter he spent was the summer he spent in Candlestick.

“I said, ‘Man, that’s all I need.’ ”

Trivia Answer: John was pitching for the Cleveland Indians, Sutton for the Dodgers. Roberts was pitching for the Baltimore Orioles against John, and for the Houston Astros against Sutton.

Quotebook

Ray Knight of the New York Mets, asked how he could be sure Tom Niedenfuer was throwing at him Tuesday night: “I read Tommy Lasorda’s book, ‘The Artful Dodger.’ I know that’s how he plays the game.”