Dodger Future Holds Promise If This Trio Keeps on Track

Do Dodger fans have cause for hope? Claire Smith of the Hartford Courant thinks so. Smith writes: “In June, the Dodgers plucked three prospects, using their choice as well as the New York Yankees’ first-round choice and a pick between the first and second rounds as compensation for losing free agent Steve Sax to New York last winter.

“Those three choices were pitchers Kiki Jones and Jamie McAndrew and outfielder Tom Goodwin.

“Jones and McAndrew were a combined 19-0 with a 1.62 ERA for the Dodgers’ short-season Class A Pioneer League in Great Falls (Mont.). Goodwin hit .308 with 60 stolen bases in 63 games for Great Falls.

“Those numbers have to be comforting to a team that went from the World Series championship to the slag heap in the last year.”

Add Dodgers: “Eddie Murray, who averaged 28 homers, 99 runs batted in and a .295 average in his dozen years in Baltimore, was unhappy and unproductive in his first season with the Dodgers, hitting only .247 with 20 home runs and 88 RBIs. Now there are hints that the unhappy camper wants to go back to the Orioles. The enigmatic Murray probably can’t, however, until he gets past that little problem he has with Frank Robinson.

“It seems Murray has carried on a lopsided feud with Robinson because Robinson did not give Murray’s brother a chance when Robinson was the San Francisco Giants’ manager and Murray’s brother was in the Giants’ minor league system. So Murray’s No. 1 ground rule when it came to Robinson was not to speak to the Hall of Famer.

“Even though Murray supposedly has had a change of heart, some believe it would take nothing less than a head transplant for the Orioles to ever consider letting Murray back in.”

Trivia time: When Cub General Manager Jim Frey was a coach for the Baltimore Orioles under Manager Earl Weaver, what five other future managers were Oriole coaches?

Something fishy: San Francisco 49er Coach George Seifert, on having his team kick an extra point before the instant replay official could nullify a touchdown by Jerry Rice, who dropped the ball before he got in the end zone:

“It’s in the books. It’s a touchdown. Often when I go fishing, I’ll catch a fish, and I get it right up to the boat and about that time the hook will come out of its mouth and the net will go under the fish and it’ll be in the box. I guess you could debate whether, in fact, I actually caught the fish or not, but it was in the box. And I ate it.”

Dollar defense: How to stop the University of Houston’s passing attack? Simple. Expect a Hail Mary pass on every play and use only one down lineman on defense. Said Texas A & M defensive coordinator Bob Davie after the Aggies beat the Cougars, 17-13, Saturday: “Every play we treated like the last play of the game.”

Trivia answer: Bill Hunter, George Bamberger, Frank Robinson, Ray Miller and Cal Ripken.

Quotebook: The Oakland Athletics’ Dave Parker on his leisurely home run trot: “I’ve hit over 300 of these. I deserve the opportunity to run them out any way I want to.”