BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : NAMES AND NUMBERS

* AGELESS: Fernando Valenzuela returns to the Dodger Stadium mound today at 33. An alleged 33. Charlie Hough, who was sold by the Dodgers to the Texas Rangers about a month before Valenzuela made his debut in 1980, doesn’t buy it.

“You mean he was 19 when he broke in, and he could throw one of these?” the 46-year-old Hough said, pretending to throw a screwball. “Plus he had outstanding command and a great pickoff?

“Thirty-three? Sure, he broke in the majors when he was 11 after 10 years in the Mexican League.”

* ADD FERNANDO: Why the Phillies move? Four pitchers who opened the season in their rotation--Curt Schilling, Tommy Greene, Ben Rivera and Jeff Juden--are on the disabled list; General Manager Lee Thomas was unable to make a trade at a time when it is difficult to trade for pitching and difficult to trade, period, because of the strike threat; and Tyler Greene, their No. 1 draft choice from Wichita State in 1991, continues to disappoint. He was 6-10 in triple-A last year and was 2-9 there this year when Valenzuela was signed.

* BACK TO THE FUTURE: Ryne Sandberg, who lives in the Phoenix area, said in a Chicago Tribune interview he will not play again but wouldn’t rule out joining a Phoenix expansion franchise in some front-office or field capacity.

He conceded the instability of the Chicago Cub organization was a major factor in his premature retirement. Sandberg played for 13 managers, counting interim skippers, in 11 years.

The Cubs had only their third winning season in the last two decades under Jim Lefebvre in 1993, but Lefebvre was fired by General Manager Larry Himes and replaced by Tom Trebelhorn.

“We played hard at the end of last season,” Sandberg said. “We supported Lefebvre and finished with the third-best record since I’ve been with the Cubs. And for what? In the last few years I could see the way things were going, and it didn’t look good.”

* BAD PITCH: The Texas Rangers continue to lead the American League Worst despite the worst earned-run average in the league, almost 5.7. The Rangers, through Thursday, had given up 818 hits in 693 innings.

They moved to ensure that pattern by signing former Dodger Tim Leary, who was released by the Seattle Mariners last year after giving up 202 hits in 169 1/3 innings and quit the Montreal Expos’ triple-A affiliate June 4 because he was not promoted to the majors with a 2-4 record, 5.40 ERA and a yield of 70 hits in 50 innings.

Said Texas pitching coach Claude Osteen: “The type statistics we’re putting up are mind-boggling. I’ve never faced this in my entire career as a pitching coach.”