A Tip for Baseball History: Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

Don Sutton was absolutely correct when he said recently that the Atlanta Braves have “quite possibly the four best pitchers ever assembled in one rotation.”

Quite possibly, they do.

But, as I’ve learned in discussing this subject in recent days with baseball people, it’s also quite possible they don’t.

A wonderful thing about baseball is that the meticulously recorded statistics make such discussions possible, even if we all know players from different eras can’t be compared.

All you need is a long memory or “The Baseball Encyclopedia.”

For accuracy, I’ve found the latter is preferable.

For instance, Tom Lasorda mentions Baltimore’s Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson, recalling them as the staff that shut out the Dodgers three times in sweeping the 1966 World Series.

In fact, it was the less stellar staff of Palmer, McNally, Moe Drabowsky and Wally Bunker that pitched so brilliantly, obscuring a more heralded foursome of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Claude Osteen and Sutton.

Palmer, McNally, Cuellar and Dobson all won at least 20 games in 1971, none with an earned-run average higher than 3.08, then lost the World Series to Pittsburgh.

For excellence over a period of years, Cleveland’s starting rotations in the early ‘50s resembled today’s Braves.

In 1951, Bob Feller, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia won at least 20 games, and Bob Lemon won 17. Three years later, when the Indians finally overcame the Yankees with 111 victories, Wynn and Lemon each won 23, Garcia won 19, and Art Houtteman and Feller combined to win 28 while sharing the fourth spot.

Everyone talks about the ’27 Yankees because of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. But they also had 22-game winner Waite Hoyt, 19-game winners Herb Pennock and Wilcy Moore and 18-game winner Urban Shocker. None had an ERA higher than 3.00.

I also like the ’31 Philadelphia A’s, whose four-man rotation of Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, Rube Walberg and Roy Mahaffey combined for 87 wins.

Of course, Grove won 31 of them. He also had five saves. I doubt if he ever missed a turn because of a blister.

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What’s it to us if Green Bay traded linebacker Wayne Simmons on Tuesday to Kansas City for a draft choice? . . .

Answer: It’s the first trading-deadline deal in the NFL since the Rams sent Eric Dickerson to Indianapolis in October 1987. . . .

Remember Dickerson’s famous parting words? “Let John Robinson run the 47 gap,” he said. . . .

J.R. won his 100th game at USC last Saturday, but he might still be stuck at 98 without R. Jay. . . .

Wide receiver R. Jay Soward has scored on pass plays of 33, 44, 65 and 78 yards in the Trojans’ two victories. . . .

What’s new? In his two seasons at USC, he’s touched the ball 63 times and scored 12 times. . . .

Robinson is so concerned about crowd noise for the Trojans’ next three road games--Arizona State, Notre Dame and Washington--that he has loudspeakers blaring for practices. . . .

UCLA has to worry about its visit Saturday to Oregon, if Washington State receiver Shawn McWashington is telling the truth about the Cougars’ experience in Eugene last weekend. . . .

He says the crowd showered the Cougars with spit. . . .

“I’m not going to dignify this charge with a comment,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said. . . .

Bob Baffert has only one horse running today at Santa Anita, giving other trainers a chance to win. . . .

In the first five days of the Oak Tree meet, he had nine winners. . . .

A tip for next year’s Kentucky Derby: Although Johnbill won last Wednesday for the first time in four starts, Baffert says, “I’ve never been so high on a 2-year-old.” . . .

Showtime was disappointed by the Yankees’ loss to the Indians on Monday night. Its movie, “Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way,” is scheduled for Oct. 17, the night before the World Series begins. . . .

Paul Sorvino, who plays Joe Torre, says: “Joe’s values are just like mine. We’re Italian kids from Brooklyn, who, I think, never quite grew up. We just got taller.” . . .

Torre wouldn’t dignify that charge with a comment.

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While wondering why Scottie Pippen didn’t find out he needed surgery during the off-season, I was thinking: The Broncos would win if the Super Bowl were played today, the 49ers or Packers will win it when it’s played in January, I guess Hale Irwin isn’t depending on Social Security.