– Break points: What difference does a year make in the life of the Cubs and White Sox? At the All-Star break last year, these were some of the storylines heading into the game (with appropriate ”hmmms” provided by the author):
– The Cubs, hosts for the All-Star contest, suffered a major disappointment by dropping a twin-bill in San Francisco. Don Zimmer was booted in the first game in Candlestick Park. The record was 36-49, putting the North Siders 15 games off the pace in sixth place.
– The Sox, with Commissioner Fay Vincent watching, dropped an 11-inning game to Baltimore in Comiskey Park. The loss dropped the South Siders 48-30 into second place behind Oakland.
– In assessing the season`s second half, Sox GM Larry Himes said: ”I don`t see many things we have to do different.” (Hmmm.)
– Unhappy with Mike Bielecki`s inconsistency, it was announced the Cubs`
starter would be dropped from the starting rotation in favor of Steve Wilson. – Ozzie Guillen was hitting .319 for the Sox. He`s hitting .259 this year.
– Rick Sutcliffe, out since the start of the season following shoulder surgery, tested his arm and predicted he`d pitch before the season was over. He did, going 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA. (Hmmm.)
– Doug Dascenzo`s 0.00 ERA for one inning of relief led the Cubs` pitching staff. This year, he`s 0.00 after four innings. He`s also raised his batting average from .259 to .281.
– Youth is served: Many in the Western Open made their annual post-tournament pilgrimage Monday to Lake Forest`s Onwentsia CC for the 31st United Airlines/ Children`s Memorial Pro-Am. It`s a team best-ball event, but there was an intriguing matchup within one group-tour pro Greg Ladehoff found himself playing Colby Lamberson, who is Onwentsia`s reigning Junior champ as well as the recently crowned Illinois State Junior champ. Right after Ladehoff was cajoled into some friendly competition, Lamberson sank two consecutive monster putts-one for an eagle. Despite matching strokes much of the day, it became no contest. Ladehoff, who missed the Western cut, didn`t take a score on one hole because of a lost ball. Lamberson also didn`t putt out on the last hole, but more than likely would have finished one-under for the day at 71. Said Lamberson: ”I`ve been with a few pros before like this. It makes it fun.”
Said Ladehoff: ”He`s good. I`m going to tell Ohio State (his alma mater) to go after him.” Among the tourney participants was Secretary of Transportation Sam Skinner, a club member.
– Numbers game: Three students from Cornell University who just got their MBAs have developed a computer program they say will tell major-league baseball owners the exact dollar consequences of buying, or not buying, a player. (Unfortunately for the Cubs, it was developed after the purchase of George Bell, Dave Smith and Danny Jackson.) ”If we have all current revenue figures including broadcast royalties, we can predict with great accuracy the financial impact of any player transaction,” said James Cordero, one of the students. Among items factored into the program are individual and team statistics, salaries, injury probability, age, performance consistency, attendance, club revenues and market population. There is an X-factor that should make traditionalists smile. There is no accounting in the model for the psychological effect on teammates when a new player joins a club.
– Short stops: That HBO special Monday, which showed film clips in color of 12 World Series from 1936 to 1956, begs this question of Ted Turner: How about colorizing old baseball newsreels? It`d be a gas to see Babe Ruth trot around the bases in living color. . . . Coach Mike Keenan says he fully expects to have Soviet draftee Igor Kravchuk in a Blackhawk uniform before the 1991-92 season ends. Said Keenan: ”It probably won`t be until after the Winter Olympics, however.”
– Fumigating: The no-smoking movement has found a powerful voice in Europe, where cigarette-puffers create almost as many fumes as factory smokestacks. Former world-class soccer star Johan Cruyff has cut a TV public-service announcement in Spain, where he`s coaching, in which he kicks a package of cigarettes. Earlier this year, the chain-smoking Cruyff, 44, underwent bypass surgery following a heart attack. Said Cruyff: ”I started thinking. I knew it caused cancer, and I knew that it was bad for my heart. I always preferred thinking about what it was good for, like smothering stress. Now, I`ve altered my way of thinking completely. My smoking no longer exists and that is how it is going to stay.” Cruyff`s PSA was taped in Spanish, English, German, French and Dutch, his native tongue.
– And finally: The most successful promotion held by the Astros this season was three days of price-reduction in late June in which costs for almost everything in the park were made cheaper. Attendance was 25,400 for the three games, or more than twice as much for other games this year. There has to be a message in this.
