Notes on a Scorecard - Sept. 24, 1991

It was once said of Fred Claire that no deal is too small for him to make. . . .

Well, if the Dodgers win the National League West title, part of the credit should go to the general manager for making two deals that seemed minuscule at the time. . . .

On July 3, Claire traded a reserve outfielder who was zero for 1991, Jose Gonzalez, for another who wasn’t hitting too many points higher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mitch Webster. . . .

Webster has hit .317 in 63 at-bats for the Dodgers and contributed heavily in the clutch. Gonzalez is now employed by the Cleveland Indians. . . .

On Sept. 6, Claire traded starting pitcher Jeff Hartstock to the Chicago Cubs for relief pitcher Steve Wilson. Hartstock had spent the year in the minors and Wilson had divided his time between Chicago and triple-A Iowa. . . .

Wilson has given up only one hit in 4 2/3 innings for the Dodgers and saved two games. Hartstock’s season is over. . . .

Claire on the Webster trade: “We thought Webster would be a great fit for the job we had in mind for him. Gonzalez was unhappy. Mitch understands his role.” . . .

Claire on the Wilson trade: “We needed another lefty reliever to take some of the load off John Candelaria. When you seek a lefty, you discover that there aren’t many available. We zeroed in on Wilson and scouted him for some time. The Cubs made him available because they had two lefties in their bullpen.” . . .

Former sports columnists David Israel and John Schulian hope their former colleagues see the light and vote for Cal Ripken Jr. as American League most valuable player. Ripken is having the finest season of any shortstop since Ernie Banks. . . .

The Sporting News rates Royce Clayton of the San Francisco Giants’ organization, a shortstop from St. Bernard High, and Ramon Martinez’s brother Pedro, a pitcher in the Dodger organization, as the Nos. 1 and 2 major league prospects. . . .

Pedro Guerrero has nearly 400 at-bats this season for the St. Louis Cardinals but only seven home runs. . . .

The liberalization of the NFL anti-celebration rules is to be applauded. But what the NFL needs now is more reason to celebrate. More than 40 points were scored in only three of the 13 games Sunday. . . .

Those who listened to Bo Jackson’s physician, James Andrews, on the TNT postgame show Sunday doubt very much that Bo will ever play football again. . . .

The linebacker-oriented, injury-plagued New York Giants had only four defensive linemen in uniform for their game against the Cleveland Browns. . . .

It was a great weekend for past and present Syracuse coaches. Dick MacPherson’s New England Patriots shocked the Houston Oilers the day after Paul Pasqualoni’s Orangemen upset Florida. . . .

There might not be a better college running back in the nation than Russell White of California. . . .

Look for former pro football executive Don Klosterman to become general manager of the first Los Angeles International Triathlon, which will be run, swum, and bicycled in June. . . .

What made Saturday unusual was that the three top-rated college teams--Florida State, Miami and Michigan--were idle. . . .

Boston Celtic forward Kevin McHale will make a return trip to “Cheers” this season. . . .

If Wayne Gretzky’s back spasms prove not to be serious, they might actually be a blessing for the Kings. His season that began with the Canada Cup won’t be quite so long and he might be fresher for the playoffs. . . .

The Edmonton Oilers did themselves no harm by trading for young talent in the deal that sent Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson to the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . .

The St. Louis Blues’ trade with the Philadelphia Flyers means that Brian Sutter will be coaching brother Ron as well as brother Rich this season. Now if the Blues can only make a deal with the New York Islanders for Brent Sutter. . . .

This is the year of the Gant--Harry and Ron. . . .

Lite Light’s sixth-place finish in the Louisiana Super Derby was another example of how tough it is for fillies to beat colts. . . .

The New England Patriots have as many victories as the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Raiders.