Aches And Pains

A number of teams, including the Washington Bullets, could be kicking themselves for passing over Stanley Roberts, the 7-foot, 265-pound center from LSU who was finally claimed by the Orlando Magic with the 23rd pick in the 1991 NBA draft.After several crash diets, Roberts, who played in Spain last season, is finally beginning to show signs of his potential. In a recent 10-game stretch for the Magic, he averaged 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds.With his strong inside game, Roberts might have served as a perfect frontcourt complement to the Bullets' Pervis Ellison, a strong forward masquerading as a center out of necessity.

You can call me . . .The Elias Sports Bureau does more than keep up with batting averages and ERAs.The agency, after lengthy research, announced Thursday that New York Mets infielder Keith Miller has 32 nicknames, the most of any active major-league player. He surpasses Roger Clemens' 29. Among Miller's nicknames are "Oliver," "Fresh," "Goggles," "The Igniter," and "Mills" and "Millsie."Hot-dog vendor takes money, runsOakland Athletics fans got their red hots, and Thomas Hagins apparently hot-footed it out of town.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Jim Palmer comeback entered a new stage yesterday, when he threw batting practice for the first time since 1985.Palmer pitched for 15 minutes to Bill Ripken, Bob Melvin, Cal Ripken and Dwight Evans, who did not spend a lot of time swinging and missing, but didn't pepper the parking lot, either. The results were mixed, about as mixed as the signals coming from Palmer after he left the mound."I felt good, and the guys said I threw good batting practice," Palmer said, "but whether that translates into getting hitters out, find that out in 10 days or so."