Dissenting Opinion on Lasorda

While conceding that Bobby Valentine is doing a big job, Skip Bayless of the Dallas Times Herald said he’s not exactly a fan of the Texas manager, whom he sees as another Tom Lasorda.

Of Lasorda, whom he calls a godfather figure to Valentine, Bayless said: “On TV, Lasorda can turn on his phony-baloney personality and convince millions of viewers that he’s the kind of funny, lovable manager who made baseball our national pastime.

“Lasorda is so full of it they barely can find a uniform to fit him or his ego.

“He’s often not very funny or lovable during postgame press interviews. He can be condescending and spiteful. I speak from three years experience in L.A., often writing about the Dodgers. Lasorda has probably the foulest mouth and quickest temper I know . . . Lasorda often will rip into newspaper reporters because he knows they can’t really portray his dark side to the world. I know lots of writers who have covered the Dodgers, and most have come away without much love for him.”

Of Valentine, he said: “Like Lasorda, Valentine knows how to click on the charm for those minicams. Soon, he’ll be smiling his made-for-kids smile and going on in his Alan Alda voice about bleeding Ranger Blue and trusting the Big Ranger in the Sky.”

Trivia Time: Name a couple of things that Angel Manager Gene Mauch and Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Doerr have in common? (Answer below.)

Coach Ray Perkins, whose Alabama team meets Earle Bruce’s Ohio State team in the Kickoff game Aug. 27, was an assistant to Bruce in the East-West Shrine game last season.

Jerry Sullivan of Newsday says that Bruce hadn’t met Perkins before, so he called an old friend, Syracuse Coach Dick MacPherson, to get some background on him.

Said MacPherson: “He’s a quiet guy at first, but don’t let that bother you. Once he gets to know you, he’s a helluva liar.”

30 Years Ago Today: On Aug. 7, 1956, a crowd of 57,000, the largest in minor league history, saw 51-year-old Satchel Paige of Miami beat Columbus in an International League game at the Orange Bowl.

Hubert Green, on the conditions at Inverness, where today he opens defense of his PGA title: “The greens are as small as my brain.”

Mike Rozier, who played for two USFL teams before joining the NFL, said he has finally found a home after signing a four-year contract with the Houston Oilers.

Calling it a big relief, he said: “I’m tired of press conferences and holding up another jersey.”

Rod Dedeaux, retired USC baseball coach, on Casey Stengel: “I always understood everything Casey Stengel said, which always worried me.”

The race in the American League East has tightened up so much it’s become confusing.

The other day, Baltimore Manager Earl Weaver asked if anybody had heard the score of the Yankees-Indians game. Told that the Indians were leading, Weaver scratched his head.

“Who am I rooting for, New York or Cleveland?” he said.

Trivia Answer: Both went to Fremont High School and both played second base for the Boston Red Sox.

Quotebook

Ken Dunek, Baltimore Stars tight end, on the uncertain future of the USFL: “My career has been pretty checkered. This may be checkmate.”