After interim manager Frank Lucchesi ran onto the field Tuesday to congratulate pitcher Rick Sutcliffe for winning his 18th game, Lucchesi got a phone call from someone identifying himself as National League umpire chief Ed Vargo.
Lucchesi was serving a two-game suspension for bumping an umpire Sunday. He figured the suspension was over after Tuesday`s game. The caller said he had seen Lucchesi on the field after the game and that he might be suspended again for his ”violation.”
”It scared the hell out of me,” said Lucchesi, who returned to the dugout for Wednesday`s game. ”I found out by accident it was just a joke. I was walking down the hallway and ran into a security guard who was laughing. He told me Vargo wasn`t at the game or in town.”
Apparently, that security guard watched ”Vargo” place the call. Lucchesi said he suspects a member of the umpiring crew from Tuesday`s game made the phone call.
Sutcliffe wants the Cubs to enter the free agent market to improve the club. Speaking on Chuck Swirsky`s WGN radio show, Sutcliffe said, ”I think the Cubs` organization owes it to their fans for the support the organization has received over the years. We need pitching in the worst way. I don`t think we can do it from within. There`s collusion, but we might be the organization to say, `All right, we`re going to do it. We need help to be a competitive team in the National League East. We need to get into the free agent market.` ”
Jeff Murray, an 11-year-old Cub fan, made a good friend when he hollered,
”Frank, Frank,” to Lucchesi after a game early in the season. While most fans couldn`t identify Lucchesi, Murray recognized him immediately. ”You`re the spy in the sky,” Murray said, referring to Lucchesi`s previous job as
”eye in the sky.”
Murray told Lucchesi he wanted to attend every game, but his $6.25 weekly allowance only gets him into two games a week. So Lucchesi ”adopted” Murray, and the lucky youngster has been Lucchesi`s guest all summer.
During one game, Lucchesi looked at his TV monitor and saw Murray walking around the ballpark with a poster that read: ”Frank Lucchesi Fan Club.”
The Cubs lead the NL in home runs and need two more to become the eighth team in league history to hit 200 in a season. The NL record for a 162-game season is 207 by the 1966 Atlanta Braves. The 1947 Giants and 1956 Reds each hit 221 in a 154-game season.
