BASEBALL MISCELLANY

NAMES AND NUMBERS

* Job Security: The firing of Bucky Dent as New York Yankee manager represented the 155th managerial change since Tom Lasorda became manager of the Dodgers Sept. 29, 1976. It is not likely to produce a miracle. Since the start of division play in 1969, through 1989 there were 37 managerial changes in the first half of a season. Ten of those teams went on to finish last and only eight finished higher than fourth, among them the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, who were 23-24 when they switched from Buck Rodgers to Harvey Kuenn and became the only one of the 37 to win a division title.

* Milestone: Baltimore Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. will appear in his 1,307th consecutive game today, tying Everett Scott for second on the all-time list and putting Ripken within 5 1/2 years of Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 games. Ripken has also played 53 consecutive games without an error.

* He Got the Message: St. Louis Cardinal Manager Whitey Herzog would like the Busch Stadium message board to quit reporting that Pedro Guerrero’s next home run will be the 200th of his career. “It’s been up there for 42 days,” Herzog said. Only seems that way. Guerrero hit No. 199 May 1.

* Pseudo Stopper: Each of John Tudor’s five victories has stopped a St. Louis losing streak. “All that means is we’ve lost a lot of games,” the always upbeat Tudor said.

* Nemesis: Hammered by the San Diego Padres in the Houston Astros’ 11-2 loss in San Diego Tuesday night, Jim Deshaies now has a 2-8 record against the Padres and is 50-30 against the rest of the National League. “They ought to allow you to put a clause in your contract where you can eliminate (pitching against) one club,” he said. “Come to think of it, they shouldn’t even have a franchise here. This climate isn’t meant for baseball. It’s meant for golf. You can’t even sweat here.”

* Nasty Nasty: Rob Dibble, one of the Cincinnati Reds’ Nasty Boy relief pitchers, was just that Wednesday after giving up his first home run and drawing his first loss in the San Francisco Giants’ 3-2 victory at Candlestick Park. “We played three games here, two when it was 30 degrees with 80-m.p.h. winds,” Dibble said. “Show me somebody who likes to play here, except for the Giants, and I’ll show you either a moron or a liar. Whoever built this place is an idiot.”

* Gate Crashers: The Toronto Blue Jays are on a pace to break the Dodgers’ major league attendance record of 3,608,881, set in 1982. The Blue Jays have drawn 1,491,295 through 33 dates, an average of 45,191, which projects to 3,660,451.

* Automatic: That’s what Baltimore Oriole relief star Gregg Olson has become in just two major league seasons. He’s 14 for 15 in saves this year, and has given up just two runs in his last 43 appearances. He has a 4-0 record and 26 saves in that span.