Split throttle levers, dramatically different engine indications left to right, yoke greatly displaced from the normal - all things that any pilot should be trained to notice (regardless of what they are flying).
Remember, we're talking a 737-500 - certified over 30 years ago at a time when the concept of "children of the magenta line' was just starting to form. Also a decade before Change Product Rule came into existence.
Pilots need to trained and capable of flying the model of aircraft they are going to fly - be it a 50 year old 737-200 or a brand spanking new, highly automated A320 NEO.