Talking a Good Game in Seattle

Maybe it’s the water. In Seattle, sometimes there doesn’t seem to be much connection between what is being said and what the record shows.

Says Woody Woodward, new general manager of the Mariners: “What am I, the sixth general manager? Well, I prefer to look at it as the first one now for a long time to come.”

Woodward, after serving a year as general manager of the New York Yankees, was hired last October by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was fired seven months later.

Says Mariner pitcher Steve Trout: “I think I have a great future here. I love the area and love the people. I’m throwing the ball good right now but not getting any breaks.”

Trout is 4-7, including 1-5 in his last 6 starts, and his earned-run average is 8.12. The league is hitting .365 against him.

He said he thought he had pitched well against the Angels Tuesday night, even though he gave up 6 runs in 2 innings. When that was relayed to Manager Jim Snyder, he said, “He said what?”

Said Mariner President Chuck Armstrong: “It gave me a headache.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: A few years ago, when personnel director Gil Brandt of the Dallas Cowboys was asked to name the fastest football player ever, he said: “I checked our files the other day, just to see which college player was the fastest ever timed at 40 yards. It was Kirk Gibson, then a wide receiver for Michigan State. He was timed in 4.31, faster than Bob Hayes ever did.”

Trivia Time: Over the last five seasons, what school has the best record in the Big Ten in football? (Answer below.)

The Minnesota Vikings were working on their goal-line offense when Coach Jerry Burns spotted former tight end Stu Voigt among the reporters looking on. Voigt is now a radio announcer.

“When we had Stu, we used to run over the tight end,” Burns said. “And we used to get three to four inches a shot.”

Wait a minute: Carl Lewis, assessing his impact on track and field, told Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post: “Bob Beamon was forgotten. Who cared? I brought the event back. No one cared about Bob Beamon until ’84. No one remembered Jesse Owens. But in ’84 someone cared about both of them.”

With that, he may have set his first world record--for pomposity.

Said Kornheiser: “You sit there thinking if Lewis applauds himself any harder, his hands will fall off.”

They say that the New York Mets have missed the leadership of Keith Hernandez, but as he looks forward to his return, the first baseman told Newsday: “I’m not going to lead the seven tribes out of the desert. I’m not a 7-foot center.”

From Wallace Matthews of Newsday: “One obstacle has been cleared for an Oct. 8 Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno fight at London’s Wembley Stadium: The soccer game originally scheduled for that date has been moved out. Now, if Bill Cayton could find his fighter, they could talk some business. When last seen, Tyson and Iran Barkley were ripping up Los Angeles following Monday night’s Happy Lora-Albert Davila WBA bantamweight title bout.”

Trivia Answer: Iowa, with a 46-15-1 record. Next are Michigan, 44-16-1, and Ohio State, 43-16-1.

Quotebook

Tom Watson, on how he helped the golf game of former President Gerald Ford: “First, hitting the ball. Second, finding out where it went.”