BASEBALL MISCELLANY : NAMES AND NUMBERS

No relief: How much do the Pittsburgh Pirates miss relief ace Jim Gott, out for the season after having arm surgery? Well, the Pirate bullpen has a 5-14 record, has blown 10 of 19 save opportunities and has a 4.67 earned-run average. Thus, Pittsburgh is 4-16 in games decided by one run.

Home sweet home?: The Chicago White Sox are 8-21 on their own turf, where they have been outscored, 161-86, and have a 5.24 ERA. Which raises a question. Shouldn’t the team be dismantled instead of the ballpark?

Milestone: All-time leader Bob Boone caught his 2,100th major league game Wednesday night in Seattle. Kansas City teammate George Brett, on the disabled list for the seventh time in his career as he recovers from a knee injury, limped over later and said: “Congratulations Boonie. I’m a member of the 2,100 club, too--2,100 days on the disabled list.”

Powerless: Center fielder Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins had gone 161 at-bats, through Saturday, since his last home run. And during a recent series in Chicago he was one for 17, hitting only one ball out of the infield. “I haven’t seen too many $2-million swings,” Manager Tom Kelly said, alluding to Puckett’s salary.

Gophers: Left-hander Bob Ojeda of the New York Mets has given up seven home runs in 65 1/3 innings, contrasted with six in 190 1/3 innings last year, but no one is suggesting that Ojeda take up hedge trimming for a living.

To err is ... : Milwaukee Brewer center fielder Robin Yount has already made five errors, after having made only two last year. “I’ve played pretty bad defense,” Yount acknowledged. “I don’t know if it’s psychological or what.”

Exhausting: After the Boston Red Sox had blown a 10-run lead in losing to the Toronto Blue Jays last Sunday, Detroit Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson said: “If I had been involved in that, I’d have had to take another two weeks off.”