It’s Not Unusual for Mets’ Leiter to Be Sent to Showers

New York Met pitcher Al Leiter has been dubbed “the Rainman” by his teammates this season for good reason. Most of his starts have been affected by the weather.

He pitched the second game of the season under cold and damp conditions at near-empty Shea Stadium.

His start at Chicago’s Wrigley Field featured a 1-hour 54-minute rain delay. His third scheduled start in Milwaukee was postponed because of rain. And last Sunday’s game in New York was rained out.

Ah, but he foiled the rain Tuesday night when he pitched against Houston in the Astrodome. The Astros won, but he wasn’t the losing pitcher.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NHL playoff record for the fastest goal from the start of a game?

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Wah, wah! Seattle SuperSonic owner Barry Ackerley seems to have thrown down the gauntlet for Coach George Karl, whose contract expires after the season.

“The Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sonics are the only teams in the NBA that have won 55 or more games a year for six consecutive years,” Ackerley told the Seattle Times. “Where are my rings? Boston’s got rings, L.A. has got rings Where are my rings? I didn’t get a ring.”

If Ackerley is referring to the last six regular seasons, the Celtics and Lakers haven’t won any rings either.

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Perspective: Sandy Alderson, president of the Oakland Athletics, told the San Francisco Chronicle after the A’s recently won two of three games from the Baltimore Orioles: “I was in Vietnam. A big payroll doesn’t always win.”

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In the right (left) place: San Francisco’s Barry Bonds, in an interview with Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“I know when they pick the all-time team, I’ll be the left fielder. That’s the advantage I have on Ken Griffey Jr. He’ll always be up against Willie Mays in center field.

“Roberto Clemente will be up against Hank Aaron in right field. But who’s even close to me in left field?”

Does the name Ted Williams ring a bell?

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FYI: Hale Irwin and Gil Morgan have combined to win 21 of the 38 senior golf events in which they have played together.

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Looking back: On this day in 1971, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Baltimore Bullets, 118-106, to become the second team to register a four-game sweep in the NBA championship series.

The Boston Celtics were the first, sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959. Others who swept finals were Golden State in 1975, Philadelphia in 1983, Detroit in 1989 and Houston in 1995.

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Trivia answer: Don Kozak of the Kings, six seconds, on April 17, 1977, against Boston at the Forum.

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And finally: Bob Kravitz in the Rocky Mountain News: “In the wee hours after Colorado’s Game 3 [NHL playoff] victory, I returned to my hotel room and hurriedly switched on CNN Headline News. The reason?

“After listening to the usually placid Edmonton Coliseum crowd boo down the American national anthem, I thought maybe we had gone to war with Canada.”