Ron Davis wonders how many pitches he has left in his weary right arm.
So do the Cubs.
”I`ve probably pitched in about 600 games in my career, and there were probably another 1,000 games that I warmed up for in the bullpen and didn`t pitch in,” Davis, 31, said before the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 4-3 in an exhibition game Tuesday.
Davis, whose price tag of $750,000 and pending grievance against the Cubs might hurt his chances of making the club, has a 15.19 earned run average. He has walked six and struck out three in 5 1/3 innings.
”I`ve just been going out there whenever they say,” Davis said. ”I`m kind of sore from pitching almost every other day. It`s just aching real bad right now. There`s nothing wrong with my arm except that it`s just hanging. I`m going to tell them that I`ve got to take a few days off to let it rebuild and get some strength back in it.
”I don`t worry about making the team or not making the team. I just go out and try to get people out.”
From 1979 through 1981 his record was 27-10 with 22 saves. After he was traded to the Minnesota Twins, he earned 106 saves in four seasons.
He was 2-6 with only two saves when he was dealt to the Cubs last August for relievers George Frazier and Ray Fontenot and two minor leaguers. He finished 0-2 with the Cubs with a 7.65 ERA and no saves.
”Last year was definitely my worst year ever,” Davis said. ”I went out to the mound every time thinking something bad was going to happen. Well, something bad did happen.”
Davis wants to pitch well enough that he might be able to spell Lee Smith on occasion.
”Lee Smith, with the bad knees, is going to be questionable a lot of times,” Davis said. ”So if I`m pitching good, that might give me a shot at short relief sometimes.”
Davis` grievance hearing against the Cubs comes up later this month. Davis claims he was owed $100,000 as a buyout of the no-trade clause in his contract with the Twins.
— Manager Gene Michael said he will go with a five-man pitching rotation during the first month of the season, when a team can expect rainouts and off days. ”With the make-up of our guys, they can`t do it,” Michael said of the four-man rotation. ”We don`t have that kind of ability to do it. I look at Scott Sanderson and Dennis Eckersley and I say, No way.”
— Sanderson was scratched from the ”B” game Tuesday morning.
— Jamie Moyer pitched five scoreless innings and allowed three hits during Tuesday`s 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Ho Ho Kam Park. Shawon Dunston socked a three-run homer.
— Here are the Cubs` individual leaders: hitting, Damon Berryhill, .444; runs, Chico Walker, 9; hits, Keith Moreland, 9; home runs, Leon Durham, 2;
RBIs, Ryne Sandberg, 7; stolen bases, Walker, 4; wins, Rick Sutcliffe, 2; ERA, starters, Steve Trout, 1.64; ERA, relievers, Frank DiPino, 0.00; innings pitched, Sutcliffe, 12; strikeouts, Greg Maddux, 11.
