Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 28, 1991

News item: Manager Tom Lasorda says the Dodgers won’t take Darryl Strawberry to Port St. Lucie, Fla., for either of their spring training games against the New York Mets. Reaction: I hope the Dodgers don’t chicken out again during the regular season and keep Strawberry away from Shea Stadium, which is a lot more hostile than Port St. Lucie. . . .

Except for Port St. Lucie, the Dodgers might actually put some emphasis on winning exhibitions this year. You know, get the new look off to a good start. . . .

Among those Jim Palmer consulted before deciding to report to the Baltimore Orioles’ camp was his former ABC broadcasting partner, Al Michaels. . . .

“I told Jim that he might have some regrets if he didn’t give it a try after spending four or five months getting into shape,” Michaels said. “This way, no matter what happens, he can say he gave it his best. He might become a spot starter or a long reliever. But I don’t know if even that would be enough to satisfy him.”. . . .

Michaels says his friend’s attempted comeback at 45 is not a publicity stunt, pointing out that the Orioles draw well, anyway, and could be a contender for the American League East championship. . . .

Palmer left ESPN after being asked to take a 40% pay cut by the cable network. But nobody will have to stage a benefit for this Baltimore Hall of Famer, who has made more money and invested it more wisely than John Unitas or Brooks Robinson. . . .

The most Mike Epstein ever was paid for a season was $65,000, but the former home run hitter for the Orioles, Washington Senators, Oakland Athletics and Angels isn’t bitter about the multimillion-dollar contracts being waved at ballplayers. . . .

“I’m happy for them,” said Epstein, who retired from baseball in 1974 and owns a restaurant in El Toro. “It’s about capitalism and supply and demand. And I think free agency is good for the fan, too. It creates a lot of excitement.” . . .

Epstein is putting together the Orange Crush, a team that will compete in the Sandy Koufax division of the American Amateur Baseball Congress and says he has a couple of 13-year-old pitchers who can throw the ball 80 m.p.h. . . .

The former University of California first baseman and fullback spends a few days in Florida every spring talking about the fine art of hitting with his old Washington manager, Ted Williams. . . .

“Ted is appalled that you can go into a library and find a thousand books about how to hit a golf ball, but not one about how to hit a baseball, which is the toughest thing to do in sports,” Epstein said. . . .

The most exciting team in town is the Kings. . . .

Critics, including Michael Jordan, keep rapping the Chicago Bulls’ management for standing pat, and the Bulls keep winning. . . .

San Antonio stamped itself as a legitimate NBA championship contender by beating the Portland Trail Blazers twice in three nights without Rod Strickland. . . .

Dwayne Schintzius has shed his bad-boy image by doing everything Coach Larry Brown has asked of him and could bring a first-round draft choice if the Spurs decide to trade David Robinson’s backup after the season. . . .

Robinson is a candidate for the NBA’s most-valuable-

player award. The last center to win it was Moses Malone of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1982-83 season. . . .

The crowd of 54,320 at Riviera Country Club Sunday was an L.A. Open record. . . .

I’m picking Penn State to win the 1993 Big Ten football championship. . . .

Plan B free-agent signings are being delayed while NFL teams bring in the players for workouts. The signing deadline is April 1. . . .

Mexican fighters Ruben Olivares and Salvador Sanchez and promoter George Parnassus were among those inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. . . .

George Foreman has dropped below 275 pounds after running in the mountains of hot, humid St. Lucia, which is 1,500 miles south of Miami. . . .

Ambitious Michael Carbajal has International Boxing Federation junior flyweight title defenses lined up for March 17 in Las Vegas, May 10 in Davenport, Iowa, and June 29 in his hometown of Phoenix. . . .

If 1 1/4 miles is the classic American distance for thoroughbreds, why are so few races contested at that distance? . . .

No news about plans to build a local auto racing track is bad news. . . .

Duke-bound Cherokee Parks, who has led Marina to the Southern Section Division I-A final, is the best big man since Bill Walton to play high school basketball in Southern California. . . .

Major league baseball is worried enough about its fiscal future to form a fact-finding committee that includes former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker. . . .

Seventy-three of the players Lasorda managed in the minor leagues went on to play in the majors. . . .

It was nice to see the Hall of Fame do something right--enshrine maverick Bill Veeck. . . .

Whenever Benoit Benjamin is on the court, chances are the Clippers will lose.