Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 12, 1994

There must be a joke about Whitey Herzog beating the Rams out of Anaheim, but, then again, he never lived there. . . .

It won’t be long before people forget that he ever served as general manager of the Angels. . . .

Bill Bavasi has a tough job ahead of him with the Angels, who today look like a last-place team in the American League West. . . .

Tom Lasorda was sleeping at the Pennsylvania home of friend Vince Piazza recently when he heard loud noises coming from the basement. . . .

“Pow. . . . pow. . . . pow. . . . pow.”. . . .

It was Vince’s son, Mike, attacking baseballs delivered by a pitching machine in the family batting cage at 1 a.m. . . . .

Thus, it came as no surprise that the National League rookie of the year was at Dodger Stadium Monday when optional winter workouts began. . . .

“He’s got tremendous work habits,” Lasorda said. “There won’t be any sophomore jinx for him. If anything, he’s going to work even harder this year than last.”. . . .

Before his .318, 35-home run, 112-RBI season, Piazza tore up the Arizona Fall League. . . . A year later, outfielder Todd Hollandsworth had a smoking bat in the desert. . . .

Hollandsworth is a longshot to make the varsity this season because he will be only 21 in April and has spent only three years in the minor leagues, but Lasorda saw the 6-foot-2, 193-pound left-handed batter and thrower hit a home run estimated at more than 450 feet. . . . Fred Claire said he has talked with a representative of Greg Hibbard, but expressed doubt that the Dodgers would sign the free-agent pitcher. . . .

“Ideally, we would like to have a lefty starter,” Claire said, “but we are happy with our starting five.” . . .

The fact is that none of the five right-handers--Pedro Astacio, Orel Hershiser, Ramon Martinez, Tom Candiotti or Kevin Gross--won as many as 15 games last season. . . .

Hibbard was 15-11 for the Chicago Cubs. . . .

A Piazza-autographed jersey will be among items up for bid at the third annual Hollenbeck Youth Center sports auction Jan. 18 at Dodger Stadium. . . .

My votes for the Amateur Athletic Foundation’s Southern California athletes of the year went to Piazza and former Thousand Oaks High track and field/basketball star Marion Jones. . . .

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UCLA wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who finished seventh, will be the highest Heisman Trophy vote-getter returning next season. . . .

Ted Turner, once considered among the worst, was voted the best major league owner in a readers’ poll conducted by Baseball America. . . .

Most lopsided category: 1,685 voters preferred grass fields, only 38 artificial turf. . . .

Those Chris Farley basketball commercials on ESPN, showing the hefty comedian trying to emulate the collegiate feats of Rumeal Robinson and Christian Laettner, are more enjoyable than some of the games. . . .

Every time I watch Kansas play, I realize why Roy Williams was Jerry West’s first choice to succeed Mike Dunleavy as Laker coach. . . .

Noting the poor free-throw percentages across the country, USC Coach George Raveling says: “We ought to put more emphasis on rebounding missed foul shots.” . . .

What makes the string of upsets at Santa Anita, where there is another Pick Six carryover today, so baffling is that the track is playing as fairly as it has in years. . . .

Gogarty finished third Sunday in his first race since being purchased by Bob Knight and Pete Newell, who are friends of trainer Wayne Lukas. Jockey Gary Stevens wore Indiana crimson silks with a Hoosier basketball emblem on the back. . . .

If there is a filly good enough to run in the Kentucky Derby this year, it could be Lakeway, who ran seven furlongs Saturday as fast as Breeders’ Cup sprint champion Cardmania did later in the day. . . .

Three thousand fans from Phoenix are expected to support hometown hero Michael Carbajal when he defends his light-flyweight title against Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez in a rematch Feb. 19 at the Forum. . . .

A relief pitcher named Todd was examined by Dodger physician Frank Jobe and advised to skip working out for two weeks because of an elbow problem--Todd Williams, that is.