Notes on a Scorecard - May 11, 1995

A lot of major league teams, including the Dodgers, could probably use a left-handed pitcher the caliber of Fernando Valenzuela. . . .

A few more performances like Wednesday’s at San Diego and Valenzuela will be described as a crafty southpaw again. . . .

Announcer Ross Porter is criticized for relying too much on statistics, but he came up with a dandy--the Dodgers haven’t started a left-handed pitcher since Bobby Ojeda in September of 1992. . . .

The Dodgers must believe there is tremendous interest in Hideo Nomo’s Los Angeles debut Friday night against St. Louis if they are going to televise it on Channel 5 opposite the Laker-San Antonio telecast on Prime Sports. . . .

Eric Karros, who is batting .475, averaged .259 during the first month of his previous three National League seasons. . . .

Eddie Murray, 39 and off to a great start with the Cleveland Indians, would have been Jack Benny’s favorite baseball player this season. . . .

Carlos Baerga, not Roberto Alomar, might be the best former Padre organization infielder in the American League. . . .

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USC right fielder Geoff Jenkins, a cinch to be selected on the first round of the June draft, is leading the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division in home runs (18) and batting average (.396) and is second in runs batted in (55). . . .

The Trojans, who conclude their regular season at Arizona Saturday through Monday, have a one-game lead over Stanford. The champion will play the Northern Division winner next week in a best-of-three series for the conference title and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. . . .

If ever a team seemed content with a split on the road, it was the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. . . .

Anthony Mason’s 13-point, eight-rebound performance off the bench for New York showed why he was voted the NBA’s best sixth man. . . .

Phoenix got more points in the second quarter against Houston, 43, than the Clippers did in a lot of halves this season. . . .

The Lakers and Spurs played Monday at San Antonio and won’t return to the court until Friday at the Forum, but the Pacers-Knicks and Phoenix- Houston are on a Tuesday- Thursday schedule. . . .

Most players don’t want much time off between postseason games. . . .

If the Lakers don’t get more than nine points from Cedric Ceballos during the next two games of the series, those probably will be the last two games. . . .

Lawrence Taylor should realize that professional wrestlers don’t make good football players. . . .

Promoter Bob Arum, who will meet with Axel Schulz’s representatives next week, says it appears that a George Foreman-Schulz rematch will be this fall in Germany. . . .

Oscar De La Hoya’s next opponent will be James Leija or Genaro Hernandez in September at Caesars Palace. . . .

Official figures show that 9,472 paid $1.8 million to watch the De La Hoya-Rafael Ruelas card Saturday at Caesars’ outdoor stadium. . . .

The pay-per-view event was seen in more than 100,000 homes in Southern California for a buy rate of 7%, which exceeded promoter Bob Arum’s expectations by a percentage point. . . .

Gabriel Ruelas is so distraught about the brain injury suffered by Jimmy Garcia in their bout that he turned down a chance to headline an HBO show on July 29. . . .

That spot has been given to newly crowned International Boxing Federation flyweight champion Danny Romero. . . .

Unbeaten middleweight Dana Rosenblatt, who knocked out Chad Parker with a picture-perfect right hook in the first round, will appear on ESPN in June and CBS in August. . . .

Johnny Tapia has the July 2 date on ABC. . . .

Lou Ambers, one of the all-time great lightweight champions, died recently in Phoenix at 81. . . .

Born Louis D’ Ambrosio in Herkimer, N.Y., and known as the Herkimer Hurricane, Ambers won the crown from Tony Canzoneri and split two title fights with Henry Armstrong. He retired in 1941 with a record of 88 victories, eight defeats and six draws. . . .

It’s never too early to think about the 1996 Kentucky Derby, and Wayne Lukas says he might have a good shot with Dr. Caton. The colt is named after Bill Caton, the neurologist who treated Jeff Lukas after his accident. . . .

Vin Scully on the timing of Tom Candiotti’s knuckleball: “I don’t know whether they use a speed gun or a sun dial.”