Notes on a Scorecard - July 18, 1995

Everyone on the roster is busting his butt trying to bring the California Angels their first division title since 1986. . . .

Now it is up to management to show that it is doing the same. . . .

As well as the Angels are playing now, the addition of a reliable starting pitcher would make them considerably tougher down the stretch. . . .

Bill Bavasi shouldn’t be afraid to deal. . . .

So what if it costs him a prospect, who might not be a factor until, say, the 1997 AL West race? . . .

If he pulls the trigger, Bavasi, who signed free agent Lee Smith and traded for Tony Phillips in the off-season, could find himself as the front-runner in another race--for American League executive of the year. . . .

Ramon Martinez, who prefers Carlos Hernandez as his catcher, no longer should have any qualms about having Mike Piazza as his batterymate. . . .

“Catching a no-hitter always has been one of my dreams,” Piazza said after he caught Martinez’s gem against the Florida Marlins on Friday at Dodger Stadium. . . .

The “Think Blue” sign on a hill behind left field at Dodger Stadium is nice, but someone should have thought harder. Most fans have an obstructed view of it because it is blocked by the DiamondVision board. . . .

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The Kansas City Royals’ four-man pitching rotation apparently is catching up with Kevin Appier, who has lost his last four decisions. . . .

The pretenders have had their day, but now Tony Gwynn is running away with the National League batting race. . . .

Tug McGraw was in town last week, recruiting members for the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Assn., which conducts community programs and clinics and has donated more than $2.5 million to charities since 1986. . . .

The Carolina Panthers’ front office won’t win any popularity contests among its NFL counterparts after signing rookie quarterback Kerry Collins to that gigantic contract. . . .

I can’t fathom why the Panthers gave Collins, the No. 5 pick in the draft, a $7-million signing bonus. . . .

Did they think they would be out-bid by a CFL team? . . .

Ticket sales for San Diego Charger games are booming, except for the luxury suites. . . .

Announcers will make the “L.A. Rams” mistake more often than the “L.A. Raiders” this season. . . .

USC football Coach John Robinson has returned from a vacation trip to Turkey, Greece and Italy. . . .

Theme on the Trojan football schedule posters is “USC Football: A Fall Classic.” . . .

Toronto Raptor General Manager Isiah Thomas says the NBA is a guard’s game, but it seems to me that it has been a center’s game--specifically Hakeem Olajuwon’s--the last two seasons. . . .

The Big Ten--make that 11--led the nation in college basketball attendance for the 19th consecutive season with an average of 12,708 a game. Syracuse of the Big East was the team leader for the 11th consecutive season with an average of 24,245 at the Carrier Dome. . . .

Laker guard Nick Van Exel has contributed $25,000 toward endowing a basketball scholarship at the University of Cincinnati, his alma mater. . . .

Tim Puller, the Israeli heavyweight whose broken thumb cost him a scheduled fight against Michael Moorer, faces unbeaten Chris Byrd in Flint, Mich., tonight on the USA network. . . .

Sign of the times: The start of the Michael Nunn-Terry Bee fight in Las Vegas on Friday was delayed 90 minutes because the results of substitute Bee’s mandatory testing for AIDS were late. The fight itself lasted less than nine minutes, Nunn stopping Bee in the third round. . . .

Long Beach Press-Telegram sports columnist Doug Krikorian has quit as co-host of the “McDonnell-Douglas” talk show on KMAX-FM radio. Krikorian plans to write a novel. . . .

Trainer Ron Stevens will saddle unbeaten Northwest 2-year-old Ask Pete in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship on Monday, but son Gary won’t be riding. The Kentucky Derby winner has a commitment to ride Hennessy for Wayne Lukas. . . .

Jockey Corey Nakatani is on pace to break the national purse record of $15,979,820 set by Mike Smith last year. . . .

Noureddine Morceli’s 3:27.37 in the 1,500 meters translates to a 3:44.37 mile, which is 0.02 seconds faster than his own world record. . . .

Anyone under 18 is invited to attend the “ATP Tour Smash Tennis” program, free of charge, July 28-29 at the Santa Monica pier. A tournament on 20 mini-tennis courts, and a question-and-answer session with pros headed by Michael Stich are among the activities. . . .

Attention Ben Wright: The four-day attendance for the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at Colorado Springs was a record 106,000.