Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 11, 1990

Terry Cooney, not Roger Clemens, should have been kicked out Wednesday in Oakland. . . .

Umpires have been suffering from an acute case of rabbit ears all season. . . .

Remember Philadelphia’s Von Hayes being ejected at Dodger Stadium after first base umpire Joe West overheard him complaining to his first base coach about a strike call made by Harry Wendelstedt? . . .

“I’m surprised about Cooney,” said “Bull Durham” writer-director Ron Shelton, who played in minor league games umpired by Cooney 20 years ago. “He was one of the coolest heads and greatest umps in the minors. I was always fighting with umps, but he let you argue with him without going berserk.” . . .

Leave it to a great team such as Oakland to capitalize on the situation, Mike Gallego hitting a two-run double off Tom Bolton immediately after Clemens was thrown out. . . .

How important is defense? The A’s didn’t hit a home run in the series but committed only one error. . . .

I would take Oakland over anybody in the World Series, including the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. . . .

The Reds would have been better off Wednesday night if Tim McCarver had been managing them instead of Lou Piniella . . .

Maury Wills used to say that if you get thrown out trying to steal third base once out of 100 times, it’s one too many. The same should apply to baserunners, such as Bobby Bonilla, trying to stretch doubles into triples. . . .

Almost everywhere you look, former Dodgers are doing big things in the postseason--Dave Stewart, Bob Welch, Willie Randolph and Rick Honeycutt for Oakland, Mariano Duncan for Cincinnati and Sid Bream for Pittsburgh. . . .

Willie McGee came within one hit of being the only player in the majors to reach 200 this season. . . .

Don’t look now, but Jay Schroeder is the top-rated passer in the AFC. . . . The Raiders’ advance sale for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum is bigger than it was for Denver but smaller than for Chicago. Estimates are for a crowd of 60,000. . . .

Art Shell asks Raider fans to do the wave only when the visiting team has the ball. I say don’t do the wave, period. . . .

Former USC tackle Dave Cadigan was developing into an outstanding player for the New York Jets before tearing up his knee Sunday. . . .

For their charitable endeavors, the Rams’ Jackie Slater and the Raiders’ Willie Gault have been named their teams’ nominees for the NFL man-of-the-year award. . . .

Cleveland Brown defensive back Thane Gash has a name for the game. . . .

Wonderful year for the New England Patriots, isn’t it? . . .

Thumbs down on CBS for billing its NFL schedule as “Sunday, bloody Sunday.” . . .

Several games have been close, but USC hasn’t lost to Stanford in Palo Alto since 1970 and only once since 1956. . . .

Which King team will show up tonight at the Forum to play Edmonton? . . .

Former Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle sportswriter Sally Jenkins has joined her father Dan’s alma mater, Sports Illustrated. . . .

Bet you didn’t know that John Adams leads the PGA Tour in eagles. . . .

Strategy is expected to play a big part in the world chess championships. . . .

It’s scary just listening to A.J. Foyt describe the pain he felt in his legs after his crash in Elkhart Lake, Wis. . . .

A filly, Go for Wand, ranks No. 1 in the National Thorougbred poll. Now the question is whether she will take on the boys in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. . . .

Some members of the Atlanta Olympic Committee have ridiculed the commercialism of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Fine, but let’s see what kind of a profit Atlanta reaps in 1996 and donates to good causes. . . .

Jerry Buss will be honored at a charity dinner Monday at MGM Filmland in conjunction with the following night’s Laker-Maccabi Tel Aviv game at the Forum. . . .

I’ll be shocked if Bo Kimble doesn’t win the Clippers’ guard spot that is open until Ron Harper returns. . . .

Michael Cooper is the highest-paid American playing basketball in Europe. . . .

An article in the Society for American Baseball Research newsletter uncovers the information that Branch Rickey originally wanted to bring not only Jackie Robinson, but several other blacks into the big leagues. . . .

The free-agent market could be bullish for that rare commodity, the left-handed pitcher: Dave Righetti, Teddy Higuera, Fernando Valenzuela, Danny Jackson, Ken Dayley, Dennis Rasmussen and Zane Smith. . . .

Herschel Walker had better hope that Bob Schnelker isn’t offensive coordinator for the U.S. bobsled team.