Andre Dawson hit his 48th homer in the first game of Wednesday night`s double-header to tie Dave Kingman for second place on the Cubs` all-time single-season homer list. Dawson has a good chance to become the first major league player to hit 50 homers in a season since George Foster hit 52 in 1977. Pirates manager Jim Leyland said he believes Dawson has Most Valuable Player credentials, even though he is on a last-place club.
”I think Andre can win it. I don`t have any problem with that,” said Leyland. ”To me, Dawson is a great choice. I mean, how much more can you do? He stands out and he`s first-class all the way, the way he goes about his business.”
Cubs first baseman Leon Durham left the second game of Wednesday`s double-header in the second inning with a strained lower back.
The Pirates have announced a press conference for Thursday, reportedly to announce the re-signing of General Manager Syd Thrift and Leyland.
Pirates rookie second baseman Jose Lind drove in two runs in the first game Wednesday night.
”We had Lind playing at Triple-A and when we thought he was ready, we made the deal to send Johnny Ray to California,” said Leyland. ”He (Lind)
has a chance to be a real good player. You can hit-and-run with him and bunt.”
The Pirates are 37-33 since the All-Star break.
”We`ve been playing pretty good baseball now ever since the All-Star break,” said Leyland.
”We`ve laid a pretty good foundation. But you can`t build three floors and then all of a sudden try to skip four and five and get six. It doesn`t work that way.”
