Notes on a Scorecard - May 7, 1991

These are Darryl Strawberry’s options today in New York:

10--Pray for rain. . . .

9--Ask Pascual Perez for directions on how to drive from the hotel to Shea Stadium. . . .

8--Take a pregame jog in Central Park. . . .

7--Get traded. . . .

6--Play under an assumed name. . . .

5--Use earplugs. . . .

4--Borrow Juan Samuel’s bat. . . .

3--Borrow Brett Butler’s glove. . . .

2--Follow the advice of those who are saying your feet are too close together and you’re pulling your head and shoulders away from the ball. . . .

1--Hit a home run. . . .

Here it is the seventh day of May and we are still blessed with four tight divisional races. . . .

Willie Mays turned 60 Monday, making anybody who ever saw him strong-arm a fastball, steal a base or make a circus catch feel older. . . .

The Cleveland Indians’ 40-hit explosion at Oakland Saturday and Sunday raised their team batting average from .249 to .263. . . .

Thumbs up to umpire Ken Kaiser for ejecting Texas pitcher Gerald Alexander when he hit Pete Incaviglia with the first pitch after Rob Deer’s home run Sunday at Detroit. Good way to prevent a brawl. . . .

Nine of the top 10 hitters in Monday’s National League averages play for West Division teams. . . .

Pitching, not hitting, is the reason the Boston Red Sox have the best record in the American League. . . .

Cal Ripken Jr. is two-thirds of the way to Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak. . . .

Golden State Coach Don Nelson and guard Mario Elie are quite the pair--Nellie and Elie. . . .

The best thing about Laker blowouts is that we get to see Elden Campbell. . . .

Actually, the Lakers’ 126-116 victory Sunday was even more lopsided than the score. One of Larry Drew’s three-point baskets in the fourth quarter was recorded as a two-pointer. Referee Mike Mathis, who signaled three, refused to make a change. What if it had been a close game? . . .

I wonder if Larry Bird would have given the Boston Celtics the same kind of lift against the Indiana Pacers if he had come out for the start of the second half instead of making his dramatic re-appearance a few minutes later. . . .

The Dallas Mavericks refused to pick up their option on Alex English, 37, meaning his NBA career probably is over. . . .

Bill Cosby on the Evander Holyfield-George Foreman fight: “You know when you’re 16 years old and your father tells you to do something because ‘I said so.’ He’s got a big gut and he’s slow and you want to hit him in the face as hard as you can. But then you ask yourself, ‘What if he doesn’t go down?’ George answered that question in the seventh round.” . . .

O.J. Simpson is scheduled to undergo surgery on both knees this week. . . .

Bora Milutinovic, new U.S. national soccer coach, is doing a hell of a job. The United States scored one goal, one more than is often the case, in shutting out Uruguay Sunday at Denver. . . .

The crowd of 35,772 at Mile High Stadium was the largest ever to watch the national team on American soil except for the Olympic Games. . . .

Georgia Frontiere will be a guest vocalist of the Beverly Hills Pops orchestra Wednesday at Sybil Brand’s 89th birthday celebration at the Beverly Hilton. . . .

Richest horse race at Pimlico this month will be the Pimlico Special. Its purse is $750,000, or $250,000 more than the Preakness. . . .

Carl Lewis’ 27-10 long jump in an exhibition at Houston Sunday indicates that he will be tough to beat again in the world championships this year and the Olympic Games next year. . . .

After looking at tapes sent by the Kings, the NHL chose not to take action against Edmonton defenseman Craig Muni. Of course, he didn’t even get two minutes for chopping down Tomas Sandstrom and Bob Kudelski in Game 2 of the Smythe Division finals. . . .

Possible rule changes involving hits to the knee will be discussed at the Board of Governors’ meeting this summer. . . .

I nominate Nolan Ryan for sportsman of the year.