Here’s a Way to Put Runner in Foul Mood

In a recent game at Coors Field, Florida’s Gregg Zaun was at the plate with a 3-2 count, two out and runners on first and second.

That meant the runners were moving on the next pitch--and 10 pitches after that. Zaun fouled off 11 straight, and Cliff Floyd sprinted from second to third on each one, a strenuous effort in the thin air of Colorado.

Finally, Zaun got a hit, scoring Floyd. “He [Floyd] got home and collapsed--right on his back,” Marlin coach Rich Donnelly told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think the trainer had to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NFL record for most fumbles in a season?

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Whatever you say: New York Giant tight end Alfred Pupunu, a native of the Pacific island of Tonga, plans to celebrate his touchdowns by pretending to rip the top off a coconut and drink its milk.

“Actually, not a coconut,” Pupunu corrected. “It’s a kava.”

A kava by Webster’s definition is an Australasian shrubby pepper from whose crushed root an intoxicating beverage is made.

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No competition: The six children of Roger Maris were a little nervous about leading the Wrigley Field crowd in singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on “Sammy Sosa Day” last Sunday.

They did fine, though, possibly because Cub director of marketing John McDonough showed them tapes of several other renditions of the song and said: “The bar is set very, very low.”

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More Sosa: Bob Verdi in the Chicago Tribune: “Some athletes make $10 million a year and figure out how to spend it. Some athletes, such as [Sosa], make $10 million a year and figure out how to earn it. He’s all about joy.”

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I’m out of there: Syndicated columnist Norman Chad on windy Fox baseball commentator Tim McCarver: “If McCarver sat next to me in first class, I’d downgrade to coach quicker than you could say ‘honey-roasted peanuts.’ ”

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Nickels and dimes: Steve Rosenbloom in the Chicago Tribune: “Stunned by the Far East financial crisis and criticism over its labor practices, Nike announced that first-quarter earnings fell 35%.

“In response, Nike announced it will lay off 300 employees in Asia, so there’s a salary savings of $10 right there.”

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Cellar doldrums: Pittsburgh backup catcher Keith Osik on the struggling Pirates: “It’s a living hell. Everything just drags on. Everybody’s short-tempered. Little things start bothering you.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1981, Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros became the first player to pitch five no-hit, no-run games. This one was a 5-0 victory over the Dodgers at the Astrodome.

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Trivia answer: Quarterback Tony Banks of the St. Louis Rams, 21 in 1996.

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And finally: After getting a hole in one at a course in Cour D’Alene, Idaho, last Sunday, Bill Kachelmier drove 50 miles to St. Maries to tell his wife, Rae, of his accomplishment.

Surprise! She informed him that she also had a hole in one at a course in St. Maries about the same time.