Notes on a Scorecard - May 14, 1991

Jerry West got a bargain when he signed free agent Sam Perkins for $3.2 million a year. . . .

In the case of Perkins, statistics lie. . . .

He had the fewest rebounds and the second-lowest scoring average of his seven-year NBA career, but the Maverick-turned-Laker showed his value in the regular season and is even better in the playoffs. . . .

Leave it to West, the shrewdest general manager in basketball, to know that the 6-foot-9 1/2 forward would fit perfectly into the system of new Coach Mike Dunleavy. . . .

What a difference it makes when Byron Scott is physically fit and able to jump. . . .

Attention Clipper fans: The NBA lottery draw is Sunday. . . .

The difference in Game 4 of the Chicago-Philadelphia series was that Michael Jordan had a better supporting cast than Charles Barkley. Jordan and Barkley each scored 25 points. But the rest of the Bulls scored 76 and the rest of the 76ers only 60. . . .

Miami Heat owners Lewis Schaffel and Billy Cunningham want Doug Moe, a fellow alumnus of Erasmus Hall High in Brooklyn, to succeed Ron Rothstein. By the way, other Erasmus graduates include Al Davis and Barbra Streisand. . . .

There has to be some place in some starting lineup for a hitter as talented as Dodger reserve outfielder Chris Gwynn. . . .

I hope it didn’t take the last few days for the Montreal Expos to realize that Buck Rodgers isn’t such a bad manager. . . .

Mike Port’s last Angel trade, Dante Bichette to Milwaukee for Dave Parker, won’t be remembered as his best. . . .

Repeaters are rare in baseball, but, at this early date, three of the four defending division champions are in first place. . . .

Here’s how badly things are going for the Kansas City Royals: They signed southpaw pitcher Dan Schatzeder to get left-handers out. Five of the first 10 lefties he faced got hits. . . .

The Toronto Blue Jays have offered outfielder Glenallen Hill to Kansas City for pitcher Tom Gordon. The Royals have countered with pitcher Kevin Appier for outfielder Mark Whiten. . . .

One reason Dennis Eckersley hasn’t been his usual self is that the A’s middle relief pitching is poor and he has had to come out of the bullpen earlier. . . .

Don Mattingly must have a short memory if he wants George Steinbrenner back. . . .

The major league leader in saves is Toronto’s little-known Duane Ward. . . .

When he’s pitching to the plate, not the stands, Rob Dibble reminds me of Goose Gossage. . . .

Winner of a Chicago-area high school baseball league was Sandberg High. . . .

Hottest golfer on any tour is Chi Chi Rodriguez. . . .

It was nice to see Hollis Stacy, who lives in Los Angeles, win her first LPGA tournament in six years. . . .

Beg to differ with the Women’s Tennis Assn. computer, which ranks Gabriela Sabatini as low as third. . . .

Bobby Knight, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Monday, will return to Springfield, Mass., with his Indiana team to play UCLA Nov. 15. . . .

Welterweight Terrence Alli, who handed Charles Murray his first defeat Sunday, is the type of old pro who would have found regular work on the Wednesday and Friday night fights in the heyday of boxing. . . .

James Toney, the new International Boxing Federation middleweight champion, must make a mandatory defense against No. 1 challenger Reggie Johnson of Long Beach within six months. But Toney first could fight a rematch with Michael Nunn, the winner to face Johnson. . . .

Nunn is another fighter who left his trainer and lived to regret it. . . .

Strike The Gold doesn’t strike me as a Triple Crown winner. . . .

Marcus Whitfield, the 6-3 junior college guard who signed a letter of intent to attend USC, was the second-leading high school scorer in the nation behind Tracy Murray three years ago. George Raveling outrecruited Florida State, Clemson and Dayton for Whitfield’s services. . . .

If you can name half a dozen players in the Stanley Cup finals between Pittsburgh and Minnesota, you’re a knowledgeable hockey fan.