Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 23, 1991

Until the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, the Atlanta Braves appeared to be a team of destiny. . . .

Now they seem destined to finish second in the National League West. . . .

If the Braves hadn’t blown a 1-0 lead in the second game of the series, they would have left Dodger Stadium Sunday in first place, no matter what transpired. They would have proven that they could win without Otis Nixon after having won without David Justice and Sid Bream. . . .

Instead, the Dodgers have a 1 1/2-game lead and are secure in the feeling that Orel Hershiser and Ramon Martinez have regained their pitching form. . . .

Overshadowed by the late-inning excitement Saturday night was a third consecutive vintage performance by Hershiser, who gave up only one run and three hits in six innings. . . .

Hershiser did something else right. He stayed in the dugout for the rest of the game instead of going to the showers. He showed his teammates how important the outcome was to him although he would not figure in the decision. . . .

His attitude proved to be contagious Sunday. Mike Sharperson stretched a single into a double. Darryl Strawberry got a triple instead of settling for a double. Martinez took an extra base. Brett Butler also tried to, but was thrown out at second. . . .

Shucks, you really could have called them the scrappy Dodgers this day.

It was a nice 64th birthday present for Tom Lasorda who had been second-guessed--actually, first-guessed--for starting the slumping Martinez instead of the streaking Bob Ojeda. . . .

The first-guessers tapped their skulls knowingly in the first inning when Martinez got into trouble and there was activity in the Dodger bullpen. But Martinez got out of the jam and then Sharperson got the crowd roaring. . . .

After it was suggested in TBS promos that Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine owned him, Strawberry got six hits in two games off Glavine. . . .

It’s no coincidence that the Dodgers have gone 16-6 since Sept. 1, when Alfredo Griffin returned to the lineup. The Phantom of the Dominican has been a steadying influence at shortstop. . . .

Pittsburgh Pirate Manager Jim Leyland will have this advantage over the NL West champion in the playoffs--he can rest his bullpen the last couple of weeks of the season. . . .

The other tight divisional race will be affected by events in the Southland beginning tonight when the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game series against the Angels at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

There isn’t a major football team in the Los Angeles area with a winning record. . . .

The Raiders need Marcus Allen, not to be confused with Marcus Wilson. Rookie running back Nick Bell might help, too. Not that the vaunted offensive line has been opening many holes for workhorse Roger Craig. . . .

At least, the Raiders broke their interception drought. One of these Sundays, the Rams will throw a touchdown pass. . . .

If the Jets weren’t a New York team, I don’t think we would be seeing them on ABC tonight. . . .

USC should make Curtis Conway its regular quarterback and go to the option offense. During a 73-yard touchdown drive late in the second quarter against Arizona State Saturday at the Coliseum, Conway was terrific. If given the opportunity, he might be able to do for the Trojans what Jamelle Holieway did for Oklahoma and Darian Hagan is doing for Colorado. . . .

Conway, Hagan and Holieway are graduates of the same Pop Warner League in Los Angeles. . . .

It might not have made any difference in the outcome, but the Trojans puzzled the Coliseum crowd by letting the clock run instead of using their final timeout late in the game when the Sun Devils were lining up to punt. In college football, where the clock stops after every first down, a team can move the ball long distances quickly without the benefit of a timeout. . . .

If you don’t think the blitz is a gambling tactic that can win or lose games, you weren’t paying attention while USC was beating Penn State and losing to Arizona State. . . .

The best college football team in the nation is probably from the state of Washington or the state of Florida. . . .

Washington, which may be even better than last year, manhandled Nebraska in the second half. . . .

Among the most wide-open races in America is the one for the Heisman Trophy. Two of the emerging candidates, Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon and Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard, will meet in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday. . . .

Remember David Klingler and Ty Detmer? Their teams are a combined 1-5 and scored a total of 17 points Saturday. . . .

Among Saturday’s standouts were J.J. Joe of Baylor, Kirby DarDar of Syracuse and Butler By’not’e of Ohio State. . . .

If a Detroit Piston belongs on the U.S. Olympic team, it’s Joe Dumars, not Isiah Thomas.