Lasorda Isn’t Done In by Team’s Trying Times

While the Dodgers were gradually sinking out of sight in the National League West, an Eastern writer wondered if Tom Lasorda’s troops were giving 100%. Lasorda considered the question academic.

“Trying’s not important.” he said. “Truck drivers could try. If I brought truck drivers in, sat them down and told them I was going to pay them $800,000 a year, they’d try from 3 a.m. until midnight.

“I don’t want tryers. I want doers. Try, hell. For $800,000 a year, I’d wrestle piranhas.”

Signals over: From New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, a former assistant football coach at Purdue and Northwestern: “When the bases are loaded and there’s nobody out, you’ve got to bring the run in. It’s like you’re on the goal line and it’s first and 10. You’ve got to get the ball in.”

Trivia time: What do Montreal Expo coaches Jackie Moore and Steve Boros have in common? (Answer below.)

For the record: A reader, correcting a trivia item on World Series that matched batting champions, submitted the 1931 Series that matched Al Simmons of the Philadelphia Athletics and Chick Hafey of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tough sell: From the Denver Post: “Is Ray Perkins’ fame fading in Tampa? The Tampa Bay coach is looking for a radio station for his weekly talk show, but is finding no takers. Geez, all Ray wants is $5,000 a week for five three-minute morning spots and an hour-long weekend show.”

Senior senor: From Lee Trevino, vowing to abandon the regular tour to join the seniors when he turns 50 in December: “I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night, believe me. There’s no sense in playing the flat bellies when you can play the round bellies.”

Add seniors: Walter Zembriski, 54, a former construction worker who has won more than $600,000 on the Seniors tour, told the Sporting News of the dangers he faced as a steelworker: “I saw 10 guys fall to their deaths. I’d like to forget it.”

How-times-have-changed Dept.: From Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller: “I was a bonus baby. I got two autographed baseballs and a scorecard from the 1935 All-Star game.”

Here’s a switch: More often than not you hear famous people say, “If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Not Red Grange. The Galloping Ghost, living in retirement in Florida, told Bob Dolgan of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “If I had it to do over again, I’d probably live my whole life different. I’d work harder, make more money.”

Trivia answer: Both are former managers of the Oakland Athletics.

Quotebook: Pittsburgh Steeler kicker Gary Anderson, on how he’s been able to handle pressure from crowds: “I’m the son of a Baptist minister, so I’ve had people watching me all my life.”