Rose Lowered His Expectations After a Couple of High Throws

Boston Red Sox reliever Rob Murphy, who broke in with Cincinnati in 1985, told Steven Krasner of the Providence Journal about his first appearance for the Reds.

“Pete Rose was the manager, and he was still playing at the time,” Murphy said. “So he came over from first base and said to me, ‘Get us a grounder, and we’ll turn two for you.’

“So the next batter hits a grounder to short. They get the out at second, and the second baseman fires the ball over Rose’s head. But the ball hit a screen and came back, so the runner had to stay on first.

“Pete comes over again and says, ‘Get us another grounder like that, and we’ll get you out of this.’

“So the next guy hits a grounder to second. They get the out at second, and the shortstop fires the ball over Pete’s head.

“Now Pete comes over again. He says, ‘Hey, we did our best to mess you up. Now you’re on your own.’ ”

Trivia time: Who did Pete Rose replace as manager of the Cincinnati Reds?

Big of them: The Chicago White Sox recently offered at free ticket to a game to anybody with a ticket stub from opening day at Comiskey Park 50 years ago, when Cleveland’s Bob Feller threw a no-hitter.

Said Hubert Mizell of the St. Petersburg Times: “Next, they’ll be giving free beer and hot dogs to anyone from Illinois who knew Abe Lincoln personally.”

Being honest: The Detroit Lions are happy to have landed Houston quarterback Andre Ware in the draft, but they still have a lot of admiration for Indianapolis draftee Jeff George.

Said Lion quarterback coach June Jones: “He has a very good arm and a quick relase. He also can move as well as any player we’ve had. I heard an unbelievable stat the other day. He completed almost 90% of his fourth-quarter passes last year. A regular-type guy doesn’t do that.”

Flip side: Mike Hickey, former New York Jet personnel director, said of George: “I call him a wimp. He has the size and the arm, and he’s smart enough. But John Wooden’s ‘Pyramid of Success’ says one of the real building blocks to be a champion is the love of a good fight. I don’t think Jeff George has that.”

Don’t tell it to Larry Smith. In the USC-Illinois game last season, he watched George overcome a 13-0 deficit with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to beat the Trojans, 14-13.

Would-you-believe-it dept.: When the Houston Astros learned that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be at the Astrodome for a promotion of his book, outfielder Gerald Young, a lifelong fan, brought a basketball for Abdul-Jabbar to sign.

“He was turned down,” said Neil Hohlfeld of the Houston Chronicle.

Hockey homicide: The following headline appeared in the China Daily, an English-language paper in Beijing, during the World Hockey Championships: “Soviet puck-pushers murder Americans 10-1.”

Trivia answer: He replaced Vern Rapp during the 1984 season.

Quotebook: Philadelphia forward Charles Barkley, on why he resisted Coach Pat Dye’s suggestions that he play football at Auburn: “I’m on the gutless side when it comes to pain.”