Notes on a Scorecard - April 6, 1992

I am certain the Dodgers will finish first, second, third, fourth or fifth in the NL West. . . .

Rarely have they gone into a season with so many pertinent questions to be answered. Can Kal Daniels play first base? Can Jose Offerman play shortstop? Is Orel Hershiser all the way back? Can Eric Davis avoid injuries? Will Roger McDowell regain his form and become a reliable closer? Does Ramon Martinez have it again after a dismal finish? Will an everyday player emerge at third base? . . .

The Dodgers are 2-7 in home openers, including three losses to the San Francisco Giants, since 1983. . . .

This time, a quick start is recommended. Sixteen of the Dodgers’ first 26 games are at home. Twenty-three of their last 35 games are on the road. . . .

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers on the AL West: “Everyone in the division is improved. We’ll have to improve just to finish .500 again.” . . .

During most of his playing career, Rodgers was known in the newspapers as Bob. “I decided that Buck the manager might do better than Bob the catcher,” he said. . . .

During his years managing El Paso, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Montreal, Rodgers maintained an off-season home in Yorba Linda. Tuesday, the drive to Anaheim Stadium for the opening game against the Chicago White Sox will take him 10 minutes. . . .

Clearly, the Dodgers are a bigger draw at Anaheim Stadium than the Angels are at Dodger Stadium. . . .

Sportswriters should refuse to talk to the Mets. . . .

The East is least in both leagues. . . .

Which team of destiny do you like at the Metrodome tonight, the one trying to become the first to repeat as national champion since UCLA in 1973 or the one trying to become the first to win the title with an all-freshman lineup? . . .

The first Duke-Michigan game was played Dec. 14. For five freshmen, that’s a lifetime ago. . . .

Christian Laettner, who has had a long season that began with the Pan-American Games, looks tired. So he will probably get only 25 points and 15 rebounds. . . .

The semifinal games had their moments, but the Duke-Kentucky classic spoiled me. . . .

As Indiana showed late in the first half against Duke, even Bob Knight-coached teams don’t always play intelligently. . . .

Now overbearing college basketball referees are telling players what they can or can’t say to each other. . . .

I never thought I would see the day when the end of the women’s Final Four would force a delay in the start of the men’s Final Four. . . .

It turned out that the 9:30 a.m. start for the Western Kentucky-Southwest Missouri State game Saturday was too late. . . .

Bill Walton, who picked Michigan at the start, is having another great NCAA tournament. . . .

UCLA and Indiana might meet again in the preseason NIT. . . .

Who said the Lakers couldn’t win it all? The Lake Superior State Lakers won the NCAA hockey championship. . . .

Danny Young was a good pickup by Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor. . . .

Trainer Neil Drysdale is bringing A.P. Indy along smartly on his way to the Kentucky Derby. . . .

A.P. Indy is doing just enough to win his prep races and should be at his best May 2 at Churchill Downs. . . .

However, Drysdale needs a course in public relations from Wayne Lukas. Although Drysdale was at the track Thursday morning, he refused to appear at a brief Santa Anita Derby press conference in front of the grandstand. Something is wrong when the trainer of the favorite does nothing to promote a $500,000 race. . . .

If flak jackets were mandatory and not counted against a jockey’s weight, Laffit Pincay might not have suffered his 11th collarbone injury. . . .

Less than 24 hours after his fall, Pincay was back at Santa Anita signing hundreds of posters. . . .

Look-alikes, courtesy of George Foreman: Shaquille O’Neal and Buster Douglas. . . .

All four of the Rams’ Plan B free agent signees played for Chuck Knox at Seattle. . . .

The first ever Ram-L.A. Raider exhibition game will be played Aug. 15 at Anaheim Stadium. . . .

Cable television has come this far: HBO will have first call on the services of Jim Lampley, who just signed a contract with NBC. . . .

Biggest cinch of the weekend was Oxford over Cambridge in the Boat Race.