The box-office success of the Cubs-Brewers series this weekend in County Stadium means more to Bud Selig than extra money in the Brewers’ coffers.
During his coronation Thursday as full-time commissioner, Selig pointed to the Cubs-Brewers series as an indication that geographic rivalries are the wave of the future. In other words, Selig will soon be pushing for geographical realignment of the two leagues, using the Cubs and Brewers as a case in point.
“You can debate about geographical rivalries and so on and so forth,” Selig said. “But if someone wants to come to Milwaukee the next four days, you will see the fruit of geographical rivalries when the Cubs come to town.”
The series has drawn 81,430 in the first two games, more than doubling the usual attendance at Brewers home contests this year.
Staying the course: Does Cubs manager Jim Riggleman plan on sticking with the same rotation for the rest of the season? “If they all stay healthy, I do,” he replied.
Jeremi Gonzalez has a 5.44 earned-run average, but Riggleman is unconcerned with that.
“With Jeremi, basically the one thing he’s done is he’s won,” Riggleman said. “He was 4-0 in June. When he struggled a little, his competitiveness gets him over hurdles. There is enough upside that we’d like to stay with (Gonzalez) if we can.”
As for Mark Clark, who has a 4.98 ERA, Riggleman said, “He’s in there, period.”
Harry for a day: The Cubs’ players and coaching staff are scheduled to be guest conductors during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field on Aug. 2, which is Harry Caray Day. The problem is that the marketing department did not ask the players if they wanted to do it. If they had, they might not have received the answer they wanted to hear.
Some players are concerned that it will look like they’re showboating if the Cubs are up by a big score when the seventh inning rolls around and they start singing. On the flip side, if they are losing by several runs, they may not be in a singing mood.
Other upcoming guest conductors are Bill Kurtis and Jerry “Beaver Cleaver” Mathers (July 24), Arne Harris (July 26), Rick Sutcliffe (Aug. 1), Weber High alum Mike Krzyzewski (Aug. 3), Andre Dawson (Aug. 4) and Kate “Miss America ’98” Shindle (Aug. 5).
Mo’ Mick: Mickey Morandini’s All-Star snub is taking on a life of its own. It won’t go away for one reason–his teammates won’t let it. When Morandini came to the park, he found a Fernando Vina autographed baseball in his locker, courtesy of Jose Hernandez. Vina was selected by manager Jim Leyland as the National League’s backup second baseman on the All-Star team.
Cub files: The Cubs have no interest in soon-to-be-former White Sox starter Jason Bere, and even less interest in soon-to-be-former White Sox starter Jaime Navarro.. . . Don’t look for Kevin Foster to rejoin the Cubs anytime soon. Foster has a 7.20 ERA at Triple-A Iowa and has allowed 16 hits and 12 walks in 15 innings. . . . Glenallen Hill made his first start with the Cubs Friday and singled in his first at-bat.
