Greg Maddux may be the ace of the Cub staff in just about everyone`s mind but his own.
”You look at what Mike Morgan`s done the last three years. He has pitched better than me,” said Maddux. ”Morgan just didn`t have the run support.
”And look at Danny Jackson. The guy won 23 games (in 1988). I`ve never done that. These guys are quality pitchers.”
Maybe so, but Maddux has more career wins (76) than either Morgan (67) or Jackson (73). And he has more victories in the last four seasons (68) than any other pitcher in the National League.
Doug Drabek of the Pirates is one win behind Maddux over the last four seasons.
Both are scheduled to pitch this weekend: Drabek against the Phillies on Saturday and Maddux against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Lame birds:The Cardinals will come to Chicago Friday with four starters on the disabled list.
Second baseman Jose Oquendo went down Opening Day with a partially dislocated right shoulder.
One day later, St. Louis lost newly acquired first baseman Andres Galarraga with a broken right wrist and starting right-fielder Felix Jose, who had been hurting since spring training with a strained right hamstring.
On Thursday, right-hander Bryn Smith joined the casualty list with what was described as a stiff right elbow.
The wizard speaks: Shortstop Ozzie Smith took the rash of Cardinal injuries philosophically. ”You get to see what you`re made of early,” he said. ”You get to see how much depth you have and see if this team has any resilience.” Running Ryno: There`s a chance second baseman Ryne Sandberg will steal the 300th base of his career during the home stand. Sandberg is third on the Cub list with 298 and manager Jim Lefebvre has promised to run Sandberg more this season. Joe Tinker is second on the Cub list with 304-100 behind all-time leader Frank Chance.
Moving up: Dale Murphy`s homer off Morgan in the fourth inning Thursday night was the 397th of his career. He needs one more to tie Eddie Murray for 25th on the all-time list.
Standing O: For the second consecutive night, rookie center-fielder Ruben Amaro Jr. drew a standing ovation from the crowd at Veterans Stadium. Wednesday he brought the fans to their feet by hitting two doubles, a home run and driving in three runs. Thursday he did it with his glove, going 408 feet to deepest center field to pull down a sixth-inning drive by Andre Dawson.
