Dave LaPoint won some money Wednesday but lost his status as the elder statesman of the White Sox pitching staff.
LaPoint received a favorable judgment in his arbitration case against the Sox. He will get $425,000 for 1988; the club`s offer was $265,000.
LaPoint was the veteran of the staff until the Sox announced that they will invite ex-Dodger pitcher Jerry Reuss to training camp. As expected, the Sox also informed reliever Bob James that they will not offer him a contract.
The Sox are hoping Reuss, 38, can make the team as the fifth starter.
”Jerry is a lefty with some experience,” said Sox General Manager Larry Himes. ”We`re hoping he can be a Tommy John-type pitcher for us. We were looking for a veteran player who still has the ability to make hitters hit the pitches he wants.”
Reuss struggled last year. He was cut loose early by Los Angeles and then cut again in June after he went 0-5 with Cincinnati. The Sox offered him a contract then, but Reuss opted to go out to California, where he was 4-5 with a 5.25 earned run average in 16 starts.
However, he made an impression on the Sox with a complete-game victory against them in his first start. Reuss has 198 career victories.
”Hopefully, he can make our club,” Himes said. ”If he does, it`ll give us the opportunity to use Bill Long as a long man. It`ll make our pitching staff that much better.”
With the subtraction of Floyd Bannister, Richard Dotson and Jose DeLeon, LaPoint is the leading candidate to be the Opening-Day starter. He viewed Wednesday`s victory as a challenge to justify it this year.
”The last time I won one of these things I celebrated for three days,” LaPoint said. ”This time, I went out and ran four miles and played an hour of basketball. I`m anxious to get to spring training and show the White Sox that I`m worth every penny. I don`t want to leave a bad taste in their mouths.”
The Sox were upset with the decision, although they declined to comment. It was the first arbitration loss they`ve suffered since Rudy Law beat them in 1984.
LaPoint, who made $165,000 last year, came over to the Sox in a July trade with St. Louis. He was impressive, compiling a 6-3 record with a 2.94 earned run average.
”We had a good case, because Dave pitched so well,” said LaPoint`s agent, Jim Bronner. ”The Sox went in at a figure that was quite low for a six-year player. They underbid. Unfortunately, they never made any effort to settle the case.”
Bronner and the Sox will meet again Thursday when an arbitrator listens to Gary Redus` case. Redus, who made $400,000 last year, is seeking $460,000; the Sox, meanwhile, want to cut his salary to $370,000.
LaPoint said his left shoulder, which bothered him at the end of the season, is back to 100 percent. He`s been throwing every day for a month.
”Arbitration cases get me in good shape,” he said.
The Sox lost complete interest in James after reports circulated back to them that the reliever was not in the best physical shape.
James` inability to keep the weight off partially resulted in his spending long periods of time on the disabled list the last two seasons. James was 4-6 with 10 saves and a 4.67 ERA for the Sox last year.
”It came to a point where we decided that we didn`t need Bob,” Himes said.
