Why Isn’t Lasorda Giving Some Young Prospects a Chance?

Sitting next to a young West Coast professor last week on the plane back from the Soviet Union, my thoughts were on how odd Russia was for the first-time visitor.

I pointed out that on one hand the land offered exquisite ballet, Leningrad’s stunning Hermitage and Moscow’s elegant subway. Yet, on the other hand were those horrible public restrooms, trashy streets, broken windows and no smiles anywhere.

“How in the world,” I asked my seatmate, “could anything look so wonderful early on, yet look so sad later?”

Said the professor: “Easy. You said you were a Dodger fan, didn’t you?”

MIKE WELDS Laguna Hills