Fred McGriff finally feels at home with the Cubs.
So he plans to make Chicago his home for the 2002 season.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be back,” McGriff said Tuesday after being asked if he would accept his $8.25 million option. “Chicago is a good city.”
Although the Cubs are just 22-28 since he was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 27, McGriff has performed well at the plate, batting .283 with nine homers and 35 RBIs in 42 games.
And he has supplied protection for Sammy Sosa, who hit 17 homers in August.
“When I first got here, I had a couple of bad games and all of a sudden it’s, `Fred doesn’t like day games,'” he said. “I don’t know where that came from.”
McGriff said he wouldn’t formally announce his decision until after the season but he said he’s eager to “start from scratch” with the Cubs in 2002.
“I think it’s a lot easier to get to know the guys when you start in spring training,” he said. “Trying to join in the middle of the year is tough. You’re used to certain routines.”
Woodwork: Manager Don Baylor offered an interesting response after being reminded that Kerry Wood had missed multiple starts in each of the last two seasons.
“I don’t know if you have to change your workouts in the off-season,” he said. “If there’s tendinitis [in his shoulder], how can he avoid that? I probably would talk to veterans who had similar problems and see how they go about their training so he can make every start.
“I was with [Roger] Clemens when he was a young player. I’m pretty sure he has a tougher regimen now, but he’s older. There are certain goals that guys would like to accomplish, and work comes with that.”
Gordon report: After Tom Gordon met Tuesday with team physician Michael Schafer, trainer David Tumbas reported that the veteran closer’s condition had not changed.
Gordon has tendinitis in his right elbow and he will return to the mound this season only if he no longer feels discomfort.
Tumbas pointed out that Felix Heredia pitched with tendinitis in his left shoulder for two months until the irritation became too much to take.
Gordon will continue to get treatment and might try to play catch Thursday.
Wrigley plans: The Cubs will honor the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack with several special events Thursday when the team returns to Wrigley Field.
The gates open at 5:05 p.m. and because of added security measures, the Cubs are asking fans to arrive early.
The first 30,000 fans who donate to the Tribune Disaster Relief Fund–the suggested minimum donation is $10–will received a Cubs baseball cap embroidered with the American flag.
Former players such as Ernie Banks, Randy Hundley and Mickey Morandini will join team broadcasters in distributing both the caps and 35,000 American flags.
Representatives from the fire department, police department and the Red Cross will throw out the ceremonial first pitches.
Wayne Messmer will sing the national anthem and “American the Beautiful.” Messmer also will sing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch.
As for plans for the seventh-inning stretch for the remainder of the games, Cubs marketing director John McDonough said, “We’re going to play this by ear and be as respectful as possible. The one thing I can assure you is that there will not be any celebrities participating.”
The `K’ club: By striking out 10 batters Tuesday night, the Cubs broke the all-time record for most strikeouts in a season, with 1,250. Atlanta set the record of 1,245 in 1996.
