Bad Habits

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Rule V draftee Darrell Sherman apparently has dropped out of the leadoff competition, but manager John Oates says that a bad habit he developed at the plate may have kept him from showing the club what he can do.Sherman, who has two singles in 24 exhibition at-bats (.083), recently made an adjustment in his batting stance, moving his hands farther from his chest, but it's probably too late to persuade the Orioles to keep him on the major-league roster."I don't think we've seen Darrell Sherman at his best," Oates said.

Old habits die hard, especially bad ones. Racialdiscrimination in America is older then the Republic, so it is not surprising that it lingers long after the Civil War, Reconstruction and the grisly decades of Jim Crow oppression.What is surprising is that so many opponents of progress expect anyone to believe the whole fight can be terminated by mere expressions of good will. One example, and there are many, is a letter from Samuel Podberesky, written in response to last week's column on his son's attempt to derail the Banneker scholarships at College Park.

Lately, we have gotten crankier about seeing advertisements that promise slimness and beauty with neither sweat nor effort. Sorry, we don't buy any of it. In fact, we're sick of all those promises. One of our loyal trend watchers says all of those suspicious promises are the result of a social disease. We all want instant gratification without having to pay the consequences.So when the press kit from Slimsuit appeared on our desk, we simply were pushed over the edge. Slimsuit, designed by Carol Wior, is a swimsuit that guarantees it will "remove" through compression and redistribution an inch or more from the waist and stomach of the average or full-figured woman.

"The smell of cigarette smoke annoys me. But not nearly as much as the government telling me what to do." So says Marta Kramer of Cedar Crest, N.M., in the R. J. Reynolds tobacco company's latest full-page ad.I helped write this ad.Earlier this year, I was called by a research firm doing a survey of "opinion leaders." I agreed to answer questions, partly because I have a professional interest in people answering questions, partly because I once had a summer job for a market-research firm and feel sympathy for survey-takers.

Nervous. That's how I'm beginning to feel about tonight's game.No, not tonight's Orioles game. I'm talking about our Little League game. I'm the manager and I'm starting to worry.My concern is not over whether we win or lose, even though this is a playoff game and the season is over for the loser. It's certainly not about my own kid and how he plays.Hey, I learned a long time ago that losing is part of life.I was there when the Colts were shocked by the Jets in the Super Bowl. I was there when the Mets embarrassed the Orioles in the World Series.

DRIVERS PASSING her illegally really put a kink in Dale Atkinson's crankshaft. Atkinson noted that starting at Severna Park High School and continuing toward Chartwell, there is a center "turning lane" on Benfield Road. "I can't tell you how many times I've seen this lane being used illegally as a passing lane," she said. She said this happens no matter what speed she is traveling. "This can definitely be very dangerous, especially if someone swings in that lane at a place where someone is correctly using it [as a turn lane]

CAN BLACK Americans find no fault with the now mercifully departed President Bill Clinton? Clinton spent his last days in office determined to see how much he could purloin (the ex-president would, as the saying goes, steal the eyes out of your head and then tell you you could see better without them) and how much damage he could do. After making off with White House furniture and pardoning accused tax evader and fugitive Marc Rich, Clinton tried to get taxpayers to foot the bill for an $850,000-a-year office in Manhattan.

A woman is driving along a hilly, curving, two-lane road one night in Baltimore's outer suburbs. It is rainy and the fog severely limits visibility. The speed limit is 30 mph. She is going 30 mph. She is driving particularly carefully because she is aware that deer abound in the area and does not want a side of venison to land in her lap. Model Maryland Motorist comes driving up the same road behind her going about 50 mph. MMM is driving an oversize SUV. MMM proceeds to tailgate the woman while flashing brights repeatedly.

I hear this all the time: "I never salt anything anymore, so I know my diet is low in sodium."If you're subject to high blood pressure, congestive heart failure or even fluid retention, tossing the shaker instead of shaking the salt is a great beginning for a low sodium diet. One teaspoon of TC salt contains 2,000 milligrams of sodium, the recommended limit for low-sodium diets.If we lived in simpler times and prepared natural foods from scratch at home, shaking the salt habit would be enough to bring a well- balanced diet into line with the 2,000 milligram recommendation.

Well, I'll be. Here we are thrilled with the Soviet Union's glasnost, yet our current love affair with that nation may not mean much. We may blow it, as in smoke!Have you heard? We're sending our new friends a dangerous weapon. We are selling them cigarettes.The Wall Street Journal says the Soviets have said "Da" -- "yes" in Russian lingo -- to Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco Inc."To help alleviate the Soviet Union's worst cigarette shortage in decades, Philip Morris Cos. and RJR Nabisco Inc. have been asked by Moscow to supply 34 billion cigarettes, the largest export order in either company's history.