EL HOMBRE KNOWS SPORTS

One of the great baseball trivia questions to ask while enjoying a couple Dr. Peppers with friends is, “Name the four pitchers on the 1971 Baltimore Orioles who won 20 games apiece.” For those who know their stuff, three of the names usually roll off pretty fast. The problem comes with number four.

Some get caught on Pat Dobson, for good reason. Though he won 19 games for the Yankees in ’74, he finished his career with a nondescript 122-129 record. Others stumble on Mike Cuellar, the Cuban screwballer who hit the 20 mark four times during his career and was the first Latino to win the Cy Young (’69, tied with Denny McLain). Rare is it that Dave McNally’s name isn’t offered immediately. And if someone whiffs on Jim Palmer, move on to football. Dobson, Cuellar, McNally, Palmer. Quite the staff. Combined to win 81. Perhaps more impressively, they threw an aggregate 70 complete games, just about half of their 142 starts. They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore, not in the days of the “quality start” and overworked bullpen.

Not going to see another staff like the Braves’, circa 1993-03, either. After hearing the news Wednesday that John Smoltz was having season-ending – and perhaps career-derailing – shoulder surgery, it was impossible not to think back to Atlanta’s 1990s heyday and its mound stalwarts, Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who comprised the best trio of starters baseball has seen in several decades.

In fact, the Braves’ trio is good enough for second best of all time. Not too shabby.

Their resume is impressive, indeed. The three pitchers have combined for 865 wins, had 33 combined seasons of 15 or more triumphs (eight of 20 or better), seven Cy Youngs and nearly 9,000 strikeouts. They were the nerve center of a Braves team that won nine straight NL East titles (11 in a row). And though they didn’t exactly shine in the post-season – the Braves were 1-4 in World Series with them – find another team, besides the Yankees, that has played in that many Fall Classics since ’95. They were great all right. Great enough to be lauded for their substantial accomplishments and held near the top of the list. Great enough to look down on some giants of the field.

But not great enough to be number one. That distinction goes to the 1949-56 Cleveland Indians trio of Bob Feller, Early Wynn and Bob Lemon. That crew could really deal and deserves to be at the top. When you see their credentials, you’ll know why.

Some people are going to have trouble with this ranking, because a group that finished pitching together more than 50 years ago is on top. “The game’s changed!” they’ll shout. They’ll roll out the same, tired arguments, like “The athletes are better,” and “The ballparks are smaller,” and “The sun got in my eyes.” Okay, maybe not that last one. But you know the drill. This is the new-jack bunch, which has been overcome by the here-and-now epidemic that has afflicted the sporting public over the past decade. You know the symptoms: “instant” classics, the “best ever,” best in “the modern era.” Blame Fox and its refusal to mention anyone who is dead on their baseball broadcasts. Blame espn, and its desire to make everything that happened during its existence seem like the standard. And blame an audience that’s too narcissistic and just plain lazy to realize the greatness that came in previous generations.

As you might expect from El Hombre, the declaration of supremacy conferred upon the Indians comes within an historical context that has been carefully considered and investigated. It has been weighed against the best of the best, including trios from many other teams.

And it wasn’t a runaway. Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux stayed together for 11 seasons and were literally the scourge of the National League. Even when Smoltz went to the bullpen, in 2002, the Braves remained dominant. This was a confluence of three tremendously talented pitchers fueled by competitive conflagrations that allowed them to excel. Few other trios are comparable

The first thing to remember with Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux is that two of them are 300-game winners. Maddux has 350 triumphs, while Glavine has won 305. That alone puts them in rare air. Only one other pitching staff in history has had two 300-gamers. In 1968 and ’71, the Mets had Tom Seaver (311) and Nolan Ryan (324) starting for them. (In ’69 and ’70, wild-man Ryan was a hair-raising reliever.) Since Ryan won but six games in ’68 and 10 three years later, it’s not as if he was a stalwart in Queens. Plus, he was gone after ’71, so he and Seaver didn’t’ team to throttle the NL. Still, when you throw in strong lefty Jerry Koosman, who won 222 games, you have a pretty impressive trio that combined for 857 victories. It wouldn’t be a bad candidate, were it not together for such a short time and had it not included such a weak showing from one of its members. (Ryan was a combined 16-23 in ’68 and ’71.)

Another worthy bunch is the Dodgers’ triumvirate of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres, who were together from 1958-63. The group can’t approach the Tribe or Braves when it comes to career wins (just 522), but Koufax was the majors’ best pitcher through the mid-1960s, and Drysdale was one of its most intimidating. Still, it doesn’t measure up.

The Yankees have some pretty impressive entries, beginning with the 1931-32 trio of Lefty Gomez, Herb Pennock and Red Ruffing. For those of you who weren’t around then, Ruffing won 273 games, despite having lost four toes on his left foot as a youth. Pennock was a big-time performer in the ‘20s and won 240 games, while Gomez went 189-102 and was a post-season money player. All three are in the Hall of Fame, but their aggregate performance doesn’t match the Tribe trio’s, or the Maddux/Smoltz/ Glavine group, either. A pair of latter-day Yankee threesomes makes the cut. In 1999-00 Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Cone were outstanding. Mike Mussina replaced Cone in ’01, and teamed with the others for three seasons in a mighty impressive combination. Of course, the recent steroid allegations against Clemens cloud this candidacy, as does the fact that Pettitte and Cone aren’t near 300 games. Mussina does have 259, but the Clemens imbroglio makes this entrant shaky.

So, it’s on to the Tribe trio. Now that was a pitching staff. Feller, Wynn and Lemon are three Hall of Famers. Feller, you know about it, or at least you should. Rapid Robert hit 100 mph with his heater and remains and outspoken critic of those who fail to respect their elders or northeastern Ohio. He’s still dealing hard cheese, at 89 years old. Feller won 266 games but missed three-plus seasons during WWII. Had he had the benefit of that time, he would have passed 300 for sure and could have reached 340, considering he had won at least 20 games from 1939-41 and won 26 and 20 in 1946 and ’47, after the war. Maddux is good, but Feller was better.

Few current fans know how good Early Wynn was. A nasty fireballer who delighted in throwing hard and inside, Wynn was once asked if he would throw at his own grandmother. “I’d have to,” he said. “My grandma could really hit the curveball.” Wynn was durable (290 complete games) and stingy (49 shutouts). Lemon was a consistent standout who won 207 games. During the trio’s eight-year run with the Indians, Lemon won 20 or more games six times. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had he not begun his big-league career as a second baseman or if he hadn’t spent three seasons in the service during World War II.

So, there you have it. Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine are great. All three will be in the Hall of Fame. But the Indians’ trio was better. Sorry about that, youngsters. But, hey, at least you can amaze your friends with knowledge of some great pitchers from the ‘50s.

And remember: Palmer, McNally, Dobson, Cuellar.

EL HOMBRE SEZ: Pacman Jones. Tank Johnson. T.O. Jerry Jones’ plastic surgery. Is the Cowboys’ owner trying to out-Raider Al Davis?…Speaking of bad behavior, how ‘bout Pats’ tackle Nick Kaczur, who was caught with the opiate painkiller Oxycodone and had to wear a wire in a sting operation? It’s just the latest off-field embarrassment for the Pats, who started 2007 18-0 and have gone about 0-6 since. At least David Tyree was nowhere to be found…Big Brown has drawn the rail for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes and will probably break from the gate a 1:4 favorite, or something like that. Let’s just hope he’s even better than that to finish the race without any further injury. Triple Crown? How about Not Fall Down?