When Bill Mueller was asked about being held back from Thursday’s spring-training opener, he shrugged it off.
“We’re looking at the long haul,” he said. “Missing one or two games in spring training is not going to make or break us.”
That was Tuesday. Since then, Mueller’s left knee has worsened to the point that manager Don Baylor is concerned his third baseman might not recover for Opening Day.
“He hasn’t done anything on the bases yet,” Baylor said. “He was running in the [swimming] pool [Thursday], but that’s not running on the diamond.”
Mueller had surgery last May after he shattered his kneecap and tore a thigh muscle at Busch Stadium. While trying to make a sliding catch on a foul pop, Mueller crashed into the metal beneath the padding along the third-base line.
Mueller was so eager to help the Cubs make the playoffs that he returned in August.
“He came back and played because he wanted to and we needed him and we pushed him,” trainer David Tumbas said. “Then he had to take a few days off because his quad muscle just shut down. Then we had to build it back up again.”
The swelling in Mueller’s left knee is not uncommon after surgery. But his remarkable work ethic might be working against him. Mueller likes to take dozens of ground balls each day, and he won’t tell the medical staff when his knee is sore.
A best-case scenario has Mueller making his spring debut in about two weeks.
“What we’ve told the baseball people is that from a medical standpoint, we will have him ready for Opening Day,” Tumbas said.
With Chris Stynes and Kevin Orie available as backups, the Cubs are unlikely to try to trade for a replacement.
Injury report II: Moises Alou, who is out with a strained muscle in his left side, took “dry” swings and might try to hit off a tee Friday. The Cubs hope he won’t miss more than a week.
“But we have to be very cautious with him,” Tumbas said. “When I was with Pittsburgh, we had Tony Pena and Tony kept pushing [his oblique injury]. Next thing you know, he was out for six weeks. And that happened to be in spring training.”
Going for gold: In a meeting of baseball’s superpowers before the game, Barry Bonds offered his blessing to Sammy Sosa.
“He said, `I want you to break my record,'” Sosa said. “I said, `No.'”
Sosa was merely being shy.
He would love to knock Bonds out of the record book. Friends say he’s shooting for 75 homers, which would eclipse Bonds’ mark by two.
“I’ve been close three times,” said Sosa, the first player in big-league history with three seasons of 60 or more home runs. “Hopefully the next time I shoot for it, I make it.”
Sosa scored the Cubs’ first run of the spring in the first inning after reaching on a fielder’s choice. He sprinted home on Fred McGriff’s bloop double, slightly twisting his right ankle as he rounded third base.
“I want to show the world that I’m not fat,” he said with a smile. “I have my speed. Hey, I even had a stolen base [in the third inning]. I didn’t have one all last year.”
While Sosa is aware of his statistics, he says he won’t be a slave to them.
“Home runs are the name of the game,” he said. “People come to the ballpark to see the ball fly. But you cannot shoot for one every at-bat.”
But Sosa will shoot for many.
“It took 37 years to break 61 [homers],” he said. “And then three years later, Barry hits 73. Maybe somebody will break his record too. I don’t know who’s going to be the man this year. But don’t count me out.”
Triumphant return: During Thursday’s WGN radio broadcast, play-by-play man Pat Hughes pointed out the Cubs have a lot of home games in April.
“Lots of them,” Ron Santo concurred. “I’ll be a bachelor with one leg.”
Vicki Santo, seated behind Ron in the radio booth, broke out in laughter. No, she will not be joining Ron for his first month in Chicago.
And the Cubs third baseman-turned-broadcaster is recovering so well from having his right leg amputated below the knee that he should be OK on his own. Doctors installed his prosthesis Tuesday, two days before his return to the booth.
“This is the best thing for him,” his wife said. “He can forget about his leg for a day.”
Vicki Santo said she expects her husband to be able to broadcast all 162 games this season.
SPRING REPORT
SCORE: Giants 5, Cubs 4.
SPRING RECORD: 0-1.
AT THE PLATE: Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run homer on his first swing in a Cubs uniform. Corey Patterson went 2-for-3 with a sharp single to center.
ON THE MOUND: Starter Jason Bere was impressive. Ron Mahay gave up the game-winning homer, a mammoth shot to Angel Pena that cleared the wall in center field.
IN THE FIELD: Third baseman Chris Stynes, playing for Bill Mueller, threw wide of second base on a double-play attempt.
BATTLE AT SECOND BASE: Delino DeShields went 1-for-3; Bobby Hill was hitless in two at-bats.
NEXT UP: Vs. San Francisco at 2:05 p.m. Friday in Scottsdale. Ex-Marlins left-hander Jesus Sanchez make his Cubs debut.
