Baseball not always larger than life

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Red Sox in 11.

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Pedro Martinez’s attachment to 28-inch Nelson de la Rosa, the Dominican actor who has become the Sox’s “lucky charm,” is reminiscent of John McGraw’s relationship nearly a century ago with Charles Victor “Victory” Faust.

McGraw credited Faust with winning the 1911 National League pennant for the New York Giants, though Charlie wasn’t much of a ballplayer. He was just a nut who approached the legendary skipper before the season and, according to BaseballLibrary.com, “explained that a fortune teller told him if he pitched for the Giants, they would win the pennant.” McGraw decided to carry him on the club as a mascot and even let him pitch a couple of innings late in the season.

On the final day against the Dodgers, Victory “also reached base by getting hit by a pitch, and was allowed to steal second and third, and score. ’Who’s loony now?’ he asked teammates as the crowd cheered.”

Faust, as it turned out. He was admitted to a hospital for the insane in 1914 and died six months later of tuberculosis.

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It would be a lot easier to make excuses for Mark Brunell if Ben Roethlisberger, a rookie, weren’t 3-0 as a starting quarterback for the Steelers.

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If the Redskins could wear “GSS” patches on their jerseys in honor of Dan Snyder’s late father Gerald (one of the club’s minority owners), seems like Jake Plummer could be allowed to wear a No.40 decal on his helmet in honor of Pat Tillman.

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The fact that he can’t, though, kinda tells you who runs the shop, doesn’t it?

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John Hall’s two pulled hamstrings are unusual, I’ll admit, but the simultaneous blown-out knees suffered by the Bears’ Wendell Davis at Veterans Stadium in 1993 still take the prize.

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Neal from Gaithersburg e-mails: “Now that we’ve got a baseball team, when do we get an NFL team?”

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More from Neal: “And look who’s No.2 in the NFL in scoring.

“Hint: They’re playing Martyball.”

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Most media outlets duly noted that the Redskins’ 107 offensive yards against the Ravens last week were their fewest since Nov.26, 1961 — almost 43 years. Actually, it’s even worse than it sounds, because the ’61 club was in the throes of a franchise record 23-game winless streak (that would finally end in the season finale versus Dallas).

It was another Baltimore team that shut them down on 11-26-61 — the Colts of Gino Marchetti, Art Donovan and Bill Pellington. The Redskins, playing at home at brand-new D.C. Stadium, managed a mere 97 yards that afternoon. Their only scores in the 27-6 loss were two field goals by John Aveni.

But at least they had an excuse — sort of. They were quarterbacked by a rookie, Norm Snead. They also had very little talent. Their leading rusher, Dickie James, gained only 374 yards; their leading receiver, Fred Dugan, caught a modest 53 passes for 817 yards; and their kicker, Aveni, was successful on just five of 28 field goal tries.

The current Redskins, of course, are blessed with Brunell, Clinton Portis and Laveranues Coles, all former Pro Bowlers. What on earth are they doing gaining only 107 yards — against anybody?

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The ’61 Redskins — talk about the pits. Not only did they finish 1-12-1, they lost games by scores of 35-3, 31-7, 20-0, 24-0 and 53-0 and were held to a touchdown or less eight times.

On the plus side, one of their defensive backs was Ben Scotti (Maryland ’59), who later gained fame as the producer of “Baywatch.”

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Also on the team was a receiver named Tom Osborne — now the congressman from Nebraska’s Third District.

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Trivia question: It was in 1981 against the Bears — today’s opponent — that Joe Gibbs got his first NFL victory. What Redskins player, better known for his defensive work, saw action at right offensive guard in that game? (Answer below.)

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This shoulder injury that ended ex-Terp Kris Jenkins’ season in Carolina scares me. After all, Jim Lachey’s career was cut short by a shoulder injury. So was Tony Boselli’s. If I were a lineman, I think I’d rather have a blown-out knee or a torn Achilles’ than a shoulder injury (a lot of which never really heal totally).

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Jenkins has plenty of company on IR — unfortunately. In fact, if guys keep dropping the way they have been, the NFL will be playing seven-man by Thanksgiving.

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Speaking of the Panthers, before defensive end Julius Peppers returned an interception 101 yards last week — and didn’t make it to the end zone — the longest nonscoring INT return in league history was 96 yards by the Cowboys’ Dennis Thurman … against the Redskins. The date was Sept. 6, 1981 — Joe Gibbs’ first game as coach.

At least Carolina eventually scored a touchdown (on a 1-yard run by Jake Delhomme). Dallas had to settle for a field goal (an 18-yarder by Rafael Septien).

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So I’m reading about this scandal involving inflated circulation figures at several major newspapers, and I’m thinking: Stuff like that never happens in sports. When the Falcons beat the Cardinals 6-3 in a field-goalfest, that’s exactly what the scoreboard says.

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David Letterman didn’t mention Ralph Friedgen by name (or his Under Armour commercial, for that matter), but he got plenty of laughs the other night by shrieking, over and over again, “We must protect this house!” (He even got Paul Shaffer to say it.)

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Vijay Singh has won a record $9,455,566 on the PGA Tour this year. And how much money, exactly, is that? Answer: More than any golfer had won on the tour — in his entire career — until 1995, when Greg Norman reached $9,592,829 in lifetime earnings.

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Quote of the Week (from Britain’s Independent newspaper): “I think they need to understand the golfing world has changed. There’s a world outside America, and I’m part of it. You can’t start telling me, ’Hey, come over here and leave the rest of the world.’ It’s not going to happen that way. I’m not hurting their tour by playing all over the world.”

— Ernie Els on the PGA Tour’s attempt to get him to play “over 20 events” in 2005. (The minimum is 15. Els will play 17 this year.)

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Memo to Dale Earnhardt Jr.: The correct term is diddley, “don’t mean diddley.”

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Squat is also acceptable.

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Another option: “Don’t amount to a hill o’ beans.”

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Is it just me, or was Tiger Woods detained longer by the U.S. Coast Guard in Puerto Rico than Kobe Bryant was by police in Eagle County?

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Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne is selling a bunch of memorabilia at classicauctions.net, the Los Angeles Times reports. “The first thing people think is you have no money,” Dionne told the newspaper. “But [not] in my case.”

No, he probably decided it would be wise to unload the stuff while there were still hockey fans.

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Answer to trivia question: Darryl Grant played right offensive guard for the Redskins in Joe Gibbs’ first victory in 1981. Late in the season he was switched to defensive tackle, where he plugged up the middle with Dave Butz for years. (Thanks to Rich Tandler, author of “Gut Check,” a history of the first Gibbs era.)