No way Dennis Eckersley gets into the Hall of Fame before Goose Gossage.
No. Way.
Nobody after Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers–not Eckersley, not Bruce Sutter, not Lee Smith, not every other ex-Cub closer (gawd, they’re all ex-Cub closers)–deserved to get in before Gossage.
Gossage and Fingers set the standard. Gossage and Fingers dominated the 1970s. Gossage and Fingers owned the ninth inning, and frequently the seventh and eighth as well.
Here’s the deal: They threw more manly man outings than Eck (not these one-inning diva deals), they did it first, and they had better mustaches.
WISE UP: Eight of the 12 coaches from this year’s NFL playoffs have been to the Super Bowl. Six of the eight won it. Four of the six were offensive-minded.
Jim Fassel is an offensive-minded coach and has been to the Super Bowl. Naturally, he’s off Jerry Angelo’s radar.
So many defensive coordinators, so little imagination.
NO, WAIT: The guy the Bears really like is the offensive mastermind from the big-time college program that lost to Northern Illinois.
TELL YOU WHAT: Nick Saban is Steve Spurrier without inspiring the burning desire to inflict a wedgie.
SCOUTING REPORT: College coaches are the most overhyped, overpriced, underwhelming item on the NFL market. You know, like college educations themselves.
TRUTH ACHE: Pete Rose said he was telling the truth before. But now he’s saying the truth is, he lied before. Oh, and he has a book to sell. Putting the con in convenient. Connect the dots, people.
MONEY TALKS: Rose’s book goes for $24.95 (plus the 10 percent vig).
SAM’S CLUB: In an interview for its new Spanish channel that debuts Wednesday, ESPN billboarded Sammy Sosa as holding back “nothing.” So, when the topic of cheating with a corked bat came up, Sosa said, “People should be responsible for their actions” and “I won’t hide from anyone.”
Yep, “nothing” was held back except Sosa hiding the answer to the ongoing question of whether he was the one who ordered the bat corked in the first place and used it intentionally because his swing was slow and bad and he couldn’t turn on a fastball in the Houston series.
BUT WAIT: There’s more. Also during this ESPN Deportes sit-down with subtitles, Sosa absolved Steve Bartman on that famous foul ball in Game 6 of the NLCS when the Cubs were five outs from the World Series.
Sosa pointed out there was a “ground ball to short” that Alex Gonzalez botched.
But the Cubs right-fielder who believes “people should be responsible for their actions” failed to mention how he overthrew the cutoff man to set up the Marlins for the killer double in that eight-run rally.
How do you say “I confess, he did it” in Spanish?
LOST CAUSE: The Hawks lost again at home, but Brian Sutter said you can’t judge the team by wins. Wonder how that idea plays with the people whom Billfold Wirtz sticks $250 for a ticket.
SUNS SET: About time the Bulls beat a Western Conference team. Even half of one.
JUST ASKING: What part of interior defense don’t the Bulls understand?
JAM IT: Jake Voskuhl had more dunks than Eddy Curry. Just to clarify: Not a good thing.
HEL-LO: Anytime Curry wants to get it, fine by me.
SCRAPBOOK: What’s your favorite memory of the Linton Johnson era?
THE END: Former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis, while packing up his possessions at Arizona’s headquarters: “I’m packing up Jim Fassel’s office.”
AND ANOTHER THING: LSU quarterback Matt Mauck is a former Cubs farmhand. So there you go. The Cubs even win a national championship before a World Series.
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srosenbloom@tribune.com
