On Rams, Dating a Firing Offense

Ram Coach John Robinson, at Friday’s 14th annual luncheon for the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club, said that players seem to be getting younger every day.

“Some of my team,” he said, “looks young enough to date my 18-year-old daughter. But if they do, they’re fired.”

Add Robinson: Commenting on the holdout of guard Tom Newberry, Robinson looked out into the audience and said, “He’s gonna be a waiter here soon.”

Said veteran Washington Redskins guard R.C. Thielemann, explaining why he accepted a cut in pay: “There’s a time to gamble and a time to fold. If I had played my hand out, and they’d have waived me, I would have wound up in one of the Bays.”

As in Green or Tampa, that is.

Jim Plunkett’s release by the Raiders came as no surprise to Dallas Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls.

Said Walls after facing Plunkett last Saturday at the Coliseum: “It was pretty easy once he got in there. I stopped backpedaling.”

Trivia Time: What are the first names of Butch Reynolds, Butch Wynegar and Butch Lewis? (Answers below.)

From Rod Beaton of USA Today: “The St. Louis Cardinals better hope Pedro Guerrero hits. He can’t (or won’t) run. He’s a butcher at first. He was not well-liked by many of his Los Angeles teammates.

“Guerrero will inevitably be compared to Jack Clark. Both are 32. Clark played hard. Guerrero doesn’t. Clark made everyone around him a better hitter. Guerrero hasn’t done that for years.

“It will be interesting to see how Whitey Herzog and the sophisticated Cardinal fans react to Guerrero’s slow jogs to first on grounders.”

Bad Timing Dept.: A Z Channel ad in Friday’s editions of The Times had a picture of Dodger pitcher Ken Howell. A CBS Sports ad on the next page had a picture of John Cook, defending champion in the International golf tournament.

Howell was sent down Wednesday. Cook was eliminated Thursday.

14 Years Ago Today: On Aug. 20, 1974, Nolan Ryan struck out 19 batters but the Angels lost to the Detroit Tigers, 1-0, in 11 innings. It was the third time in 1974 Ryan struck out 19 in a game.

Cookie Rojas apparently didn’t take kindly to questions in New York about his managerial future with the Angels.

Michael Silver of Newsday said Rojas snapped at reporters, saying, “I have a 25-year contract with an option for a 35-year extension.

“That’s none of your business,” he added.

Trivia Answer: Harry Reynolds, Harold Wynegar, Ronald Lewis.

Quotebook

Texas Rangers pitcher Charlie Hough, asked by USA Today what he would change if he were named commissioner for a day: “Move the mound in, raise it, dim the lights and play all night games.”