Between The Lines

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

?"I was so poor, my first contract was signed in dirt. My first Christmas present was shoelaces. We spelled poor with only one o, because we ate the other one. When I was growing up, my favorite food was ice. If we got past summer, we had it made—ice with flour, ice with salt, ice with sugar."—Indian outfielder Mel Hall

?"The only months I went without a homer were last November and December. If I liked failing so much, I'd have stayed in fifth-grade math."—White Sox DH Ron Kittle after a homerless May.

?"He wanted to sign it to 'the Can,' but they're pretty conservative at the White House."—Oil Can Boyd on an autographed picture he has from Ronald Reagan to "Dennis Boyd."

DESOLATION ROW

?Tiger pitcher Dave LaPoint allowed two grand slams in a span of six batters and one out.

?On June 2 the A's scored seven first-inning runs against the Tigers while putting three balls in play—thanks to seven walks. "Our scouting report was wrong," said Alan Trammel! "They were supposed to swing at a lot of bad pitches."

?The Tigers have been outscored in the first inning 55-20 through 49 games, and have allowed three or more first-inning runs in 10 of their 49 games.

YOU'RE MY IDOL
Before Dave Stieb broke his six-game winless streak on May 30, he patted and rubbed the belly of a Buddha that belongs to Mike Maunder of the Blue Jays' ticket department. The Buddha also helped stop the losing streaks of Jerry Garvin (10 games), Tom Underwood (9) and Dave Lemanczyk (7). Without the charm, Stieb lost his next start, giving up four homers and eight runs to the Twins.

NO SENSE OF HUMOR
When the Braves played an exhibition with their Richmond farm club, winning 6-3, Chuck Tanner allowed Dale Murphy to manage. Gene Garber played shortstop, Craig McMurtry and Jeff Dedmon played the outfield, batting practice pitcher Jim Guadagno caught (and stole a base), Rick Mahler pinch-hit and Ted Simmons pitched a one-two-three ninth. Two female flight attendants sat in the dugout. Since the tickets to the exhibition cost $10 apiece, the locals were upset, and The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran an editorial criticizing the Braves and suggesting that next year they play the game the day before the season opener "so they will take it a little more seriously."