Takes? No, thanks: The situation: Houston`s Mike Scott pitching. The Cubs, a run or two down, have a nonpower threat (that sure narrows it down) at the plate. They need a baserunner.
The batter swings at the first pitch and grounds out.
Fans groan. Broadcasters groan. Even some writers-violating the ”No groaning in the press box” rule-groan.
Why not take a pitch?
Forget it. It`s the question, not the swing, that makes Don Zimmer groan. ”I hear it all the time,” Zimmer said. ”I`m not a `take` man. That`s been my thinking all my life. That`s all there is to it.
”You`ve got Mike Scott pitching. How many people is Mike Scott going to walk? None. The minute I give one of my hitters a take sign, here`s a fastball right down the middle. It becomes strike one. He`s only got two strikes left. ”Now Mike Scott makes a tough pitch, and he fouls the ball off, then he goes to the forkball and strikes the guy out. And I`m sitting back and thinking: `Why didn`t I let him hit the first pitch? Maybe he`d have a chance to get a base hit.`
”If I`ve got a Drew Hall pitching, I might have everybody take one, because there`s a chance he might walk the ballpark. But I`m going to wait for Mike Scott to walk three men? You`ll wait forever.
”So why should I put my hitter in a hole?”
– Waiting for Andre: One of the more important decisions of the year was conceding the need for Andre Dawson to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee.
But that decision was easy: When the tests showed cartilage damage, there wasn`t much of a choice.
The next one`s a little trickier.
”The only way I can tell is how I feel,” Dawson said when asked when he`ll know that he`s ready to play again. But Dawson, with his ability to play through pain, isn`t a very good judge of healing.
So trainer John Fierro and the Cubs` doctors will be careful. And though there`s reason to believe Dawson could be back as soon as early June, they won`t set a time goal.
”We just don`t like to do that, because it puts undue pressure on the athlete to come back,” Fierro said. ”He sees that we said he should be back by `X` day, then he`s going to worry why he isn`t ready by that day. It`s really unfair to them.”
– What does it mean? The Cubs` pitching has been good all season, but so has everybody else`s.
”We`ve got a better staff, but the wind (at Wrigley Field) has been a good wind for any pitcher,” Zimmer said. ”The visitors, too. It`s just been a great pitcher`s ballpark since Opening Day.
”How many balls have you seen crunched that would have been home runs on an ordinary day? We`ve seen a zillion of them, haven`t we?
”There`s no doubt that anybody is going to pitch better in Wrigley Field right now than they will two weeks from now, if the wind`s blowing out a gale.”
– Therefore . . . One of the interesting people to watch from here on in, then, is Paul Kilgus.
Remember all those instant analyses of the Cubs-Texas trade? Forget Rafael Palmeiro and Mitch Williams for now. Just about everyone rated the Kilgus-Jamie Moyer exchange ”a push.” Even.
Was it? Well, take a look at this year`s early Kilgus (the first eight starts) to last year`s early Moyer (his first eight starts, plus a tiny, bad relief appearance):
Moyer (1988): 2-4, 3.75 earned-run average. Average innings per start: 6. Walks: 18. Strikeouts: 22.
Kilgus (1989): 3-4, 3.78 ERA. Average innings per start: 6. Walks: 16. Strikeouts: 18.
That, fellow analysts, is a push. Even. But it`s still May.
What happens when the wind switches for the summer? Kilgus is a sinkerballer, Moyer wasn`t.
Watch.
– A puzzlement: Zimmer can`t figure out why Cub fans, whom he calls ”the best in the world,” have been so tough on Williams.
”No matter how he`s done it, he`s done it,” said Zimmer. ”I don`t know what they expect from this guy.
”He`s human. The guy`s not perfect. But I`ll tell you one thing: He sure in hell is exciting.”
Maybe the best fans in the world have short memories.
In his first 19 appearances, Williams had saved 11 games, blown 3 and had a 2.11 ERA.
In his first 19 appearances last year, Goose Gossage had saved 8, blown 5 (including appearances Nos. 15, 16 and 18) and had a 3.86 ERA. His 19th appearance wasn`t until June 11.
– If you`re thinking about Lee Smith: In 11 appearances with Boston through Thursday, he was 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA, with 4 saves in 5 opportunities.
