Notes on a Scorecard - May 30, 1990

Davey Johnson is no genius, but he lost his job with the New York Mets because of the mistakes of other people. . . .

The management duo of Frank Cashen and Joe McIlvaine traded away Kevin Mitchell, Len Dykstra, Roger McDowell and Mookie Wilson and created a team that can pitch, but not field or hit. . . .

George Steinbrenner must be envious. . . .

If the playoffs were included, I think Michael Jordan would be MVP in the NBA. . . .

Shouldn’t the Raiders, not the Rams, be signing all those quarterbacks? . . .

This year’s Indianapolis 500 lasted about half an hour less than an average NFL game. . . . The slow clay courts of Roland Garros are an equalizer as Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg again learned Tuesday. . . .

I don’t see many people keeping score at ballgames anymore. . . .

The NCAA complains that the basketball season is too long, but doesn’t seem to mind that some teams in the College World Series at Omaha, Neb. will have played more than 70 games this season. . . .

If it weren’t for Cecil Fielder, nobody would be paying the Detroit Tigers any attention. . . .

I don’t expect to see a better-pitched game this year than Dave Stieb’s three-hit shutout of the Athletics in Oakland on Memorial Day. . . .

After all those years of watching Steve Garvey try to throw to second base, Dodger fans deserve Eddie Murray. . . .

The deal that brought Kal Daniels and Lenny Harris to the Dodgers from Cincinnati for Tim Leary and Mariano Duncan may go down as Fred Claire’s best. . . .

Without Wade Boggs’ name, the American League Top 10 looks like a typographical error. . . .

A pitching staff is considered deep these days if it has three reliable starters. . . .

The first player taken in baseball’s first free-agent draft was Rick Monday, a sophomore out of Arizona State, by the Kansas City A’s in 1965. The third pick in 1979 was a UCLA catcher named Jay Schroeder, by the Toronto Blue Jays. . . .

Is it my imagination or do batboys look older every year? . . .

What a crazy season for Cub pitcher Mike Harkey, who is 5-1 with a 4.41 earned-run average and has just been placed on the disabled list. . . .

Give me Laffit Pincay, who has won more money than any other jockey, in a big race any day. . . .

The Belmont Stakes may not be even the best race on the card June 9 at Belmont. . . .

There’s still no reason for A.J. Foyt, who made $184,804 for finishing sixth at Indy, to retire. . . .

The Kings have a first-round pick this year, No. 7 overall in the draft that will be held June 16 in Vancouver. . . .

Every day that Buster Douglas stays out of the ring, his value goes down. . . .

I keep waiting for Roberto Duran’s next comeback announcement. . . .

Jerry Quarry’s biggest mistake was quitting a promising career as a TV boxing analyst to return to the ring briefly several years ago. His second biggest mistake will be fighting again if somebody licenses him.

The drive and intensity of returning offensive coordinator Homer Smith were noticeable during spring football practice at UCLA. . . .

At least 11 of USC’s 12 football games will be televised live by ABC, Prime Ticket or ESPN. They’re still working on the Nov. 10 game at Oregon State. . . .

Syracuse’s victory over Loyola (Md.) for the NCAA lacrosse championship is a reminder that former Orangeman Jim Brown was as great in that sport as he was in football. . . .

Al Davis will induct another former Raider into a hall of fame--Pete Banaszak into the Polish-American Hall of Fame June 7 in Orchard Lake, Mich. . . .

Richard Steele is good, but the best referee I’ve ever seen is John Thomas. . . .

Promoter Don Chargin wants to match International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion Tony Lopez against featherweight champion Jorge Paez Sept. 8 in Sacramento, where he thinks hometown boy Tony would sell out the 18,000-seat Arco Arena. . . .

In preparation for his fight against Henry Tillman June 16 at Caesars Palace, Mike Tyson is sparring six rounds and running three to five miles in the Las Vegas heat six days a week. . . .

KMPC is looking for someone to do Ram play-by-play for the exhibitions and the first three regular-season games before Bob Starr finishes his duties with the Boston Red Sox. . . .

The Lakers may be overrating the value of Byron Scott and A.C. Green on the trade market. . . .

Chuck Daly is still headed for the NBC broadcasting booth, no matter what happens to the Detroit Pistons in the remainder of the playoffs. . . .

It finally hit me Tuesday. I threw away my Laker season credential.