Nothing Quite Like the Sounds of the Game

TBS producers asked outfielder Ryan Langerhans of the Atlanta Braves to wear a wireless microphone during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Backup catcher Eddie Perez could be heard on the bench talking to Langerhans, saying, “You know, you’re the worst guy to wear a microphone, because you don’t talk at all.”

Langerhans: “I know. That’s what I told them. I’m boring.”

Perez: “No, you don’t talk enough to be boring.”

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Trivia time: Who was the first Dominican player in the major leagues?

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Dad does have a job: Lance Armstrong, a guest of David Letterman on Monday night, said it was important to have his children, son Luke and twin daughters Grace and Isabelle, in France this year to see him win the Tour de France for a seventh time.

“They could relate to what Daddy does for a living,” Armstrong said, “because every day I go for a bike ride, and the girls are like, ‘He’s going for a bike ride. With his friends. My dad doesn’t do anything.’ ”

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A different perspective: Letterman, pointing out that some people were concerned that No. 7 would be a problem, told Armstrong, “It didn’t seem to be a problem. Granted, I wasn’t pedaling.”

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One job possibility: Of Armstrong’s next stage of life, Letterman said: “Now that he’s retired, he still loves riding a bike. He’s going to start delivering Chinese food in New York. You can make a fortune in tips.”

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Be like Lance: Armstrong earlier was quoted as saying all he wants to do now is lie around the house and drink beer. Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg thanked him for that, saying, “Now, when your wife asks you what you are doing all weekend, you can say, ‘I’m going to work out like Lance Armstrong.’ ”

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Another possibility: Of Armstrong’s supposed plans to lie around and drink beer, Jay Leno said, “So, he’s taking up professional bowling?”

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He should know: Pete Rose, on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” said of Rafael Palmeiro’s testing positive for steroids and subsequent suspension: “I’d still vote for him for the Hall of Fame, but I don’t necessarily agree with the 10-day suspension ... 10 days is nothing.”

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The whole truth? Jose Canseco, on Sporting News Radio, said, “I think people are realizing, or starting to realize, that every word, more or less, I said in the book is the absolute truth.”

More or less? It’s either the absolute truth, or it isn’t.

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Looking back: On this day in 1949, the NBA was formed by a merger of the National Basketball League and the Basketball Assn. of America.

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Trivia answer: Ozzie Virgil Sr., who made his debut with the New York Giants in 1956.

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And finally: “Old Tour de France riders don’t try to salvage their careers,” wrote Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, “they simply recycle.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.