The Cubs have sent starting center-fielder Sammy Sosa down to Triple-A Iowa to get in some playing time before he is reactivated later this month.
Sosa broke his hand on June 12 and has missed the last 34 games. He will work with the Cubs` minor-league instructors on cutting down his strikeouts before he returns.
In 57 games before he was hurt, he struck out 52 times.
The King: Elvis is getting to be something of a good-luck charm for the Cubs. It all started last month in St. Louis when the Cubs swept a double-header against the Cardinals on a night when an Elvis lookalike appeared in the stands. Then, last Sunday in Pittsburgh, the public-address system at Three Rivers Stadium played an Elvis song during batting practice and the Cubs went on to beat the Pirates 4-2. Not surprisingly, when Elvis came on the PA system before Tuesday night`s game, a few of the Cubs noticed. ”That`s it,” said Mark Grace. ”We`re going to go whip up on `em tonight.”
Bully ball: Assistant General Manager Syd Thrift is trying to get Cubs reliever Jim Bullinger to rely on his fastball more. Bullinger had six consecutive saves in as many opportunities June 8-19, but he has struggled a bit of late. Before Tuesday night`s game, he had given up six earned runs in his last 4 1/3 innings. He has an impressive breaking ball, but he also has a fastball that is better than average. It usually runs from 87 to 89 m.p.h.
”We`re trying to get him to rely on it more,” said Thrift. ”Pitchers give up 800-foot home runs on a breaking ball and they don`t think anything about it. But if somebody hits their fastball, they lose confidence in it.”
Hector`s hitting: Hector Villanueva finally is hitting a little better at Triple-A Iowa. He was sent down July 8 after batting .162 in 38 games with the Cubs. He started slowly at Iowa, but in the past week, Villanueva is 3 for 10 to raise his average to .240.
Psychological warfare: Maybe it was just an accident. Maybe it was a psych job. Maybe it was just plain entertainment. But before Monday night`s game, the Reds showed the highlights of the 1992 All-Star Game on the giant TV screen in center field. One of the most prominent highlights was a replay of the home run Seattle`s Ken Griffey Jr. crushed off Cub pitcher Greg Maddux.
Fifty plus: Second baseman Ryne Sandberg played his 51st consecutive game without an error Tuesday night. This is the fourth time in his 11-year career Sandberg has an errorless streak of 50 games or more. The last time he committed an error was May 24.
500: The next strikeout reliever Paul Assenmacher gets will be the 500th of his career.
