George Foster`s White Sox career came to an end Sunday. Is a similar fate about to befall Luis Salazar and Julio Cruz?
The Sox gave Foster his unconditional release after their 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Comiskey Park. They also placed Salazar and Cruz on the disabled list, sending them home for the rest of the season.
It could ultimately be a final farewell for the pair. When asked if Salazar and Cruz figured in the Sox`s future, manager Jim Fregosi said, ”It`s a gray area.”
Sources indicate the Sox seem to be willing to eat the final three years of Cruz`s six-year, $4.5 million contract. Ever since Cruz, 31, signed the pact, he has been a big disappointment. This year, he hit .215 in 81 games. He missed the first part of the season with an injured calf, and has been hampered lately by a sore toe that has plagued him for the last couple of years.
”He wanted to go see a doctor out in Seattle,” Fregosi said. ”We`re going to give him the opportunity, if that`s what he wants to do.”
Salazar, 30, has been struggling to come back after a serious knee injury last September. He was expected to miss the entire 1986 season, but through hard work he was able to return early. He played in four games, getting one hit in seven at-bats. Fregosi said Salazar will play winter ball in Venezuela, which should go a long way toward determining if he will be with the Sox in spring training.
Foster had hoped to be there, but he won`t get that chance. He was signed by the Sox Aug. 15, and hit a homer in his first game. But he`s been a bust since, hitting .216 in 51 at-bats. He had been used sparingly.
”Realistically, I thought his bat had slowed down a bit,” Fregosi said. ”We took a chance in signing him, hoping he`d help our offense. He hasn`t given us that help. Why spin our wheels?”
Foster, who was released by the Mets Aug. 7, thinks he`s still capable of producing, even though it appears his career is over at the age of 36.
”Part of my coming here was to showcase myself,” Foster said. ”I know deep down that I can still play. Things didn`t work out like I wanted them to. ”I just appreciate the White Sox for giving me the opportunity that they did. I knew it was important for me to produce right away, but I also knew that I hadn`t played in a while. Things didn`t work out like I wanted them to.”
Steve Carlton, 41, seems to be on firmer ground, even though he didn`t have a good outing Sunday after putting together four strong games in a row. After the Sox took a 2-0 lead in the third on Ron Hassey`s double, the Blue Jays touched Carlton for three runs in the fourth. He was replaced by Dave Schmidt.
”He didn`t have as good control of his fastball as he did in his past few starts,” Fregosi said. ”He threw a few too many sliders.”
As usual, the Sox bullpen bailed them out of another jam. Schmidt had to leave the game with a slight hamstring pull in the fifth, giving way to Gene Nelson. Nelson pitched three scoreless innings and got credit for the win when the Sox scored twice in the seventh. The winning run scored when Mark Eichhorn delivered a bases-loaded walk to Jerry Hairston that scored Daryl Boston.
Fregosi then gave the ball to Bobby Thigpen to start the eighth, and the the rookie continued to be spectacular. He gave up a leadoff double to George Bell but battled back to get out of that inning, and then worked a perfect ninth to pick up his fifth save. Thigpen hasn`t allowed a run in his last 12 games, covering 20 2/3 innings.
”He`s a young man with a lot of character,” Fregosi said. ”I`m happy with the job he`s done.”
