Todd Hundley came up with a novel way earlier this season to deal with the boos at Wrigley Field. In an effort not to take the jeering personally, he pretended he was in New York.
Hundley tried a different method Wednesday after he homered in the sixth inning against Cincinnati.
As Hundley jogged toward first, cameras caught him flipping his middle finger in the direction of the Reds dugout. Hundley, though, apparently had no animosity for the Reds. He said after Thursday’s game the gesture had been directed at hecklers over Cincinnati’s dugout.
“It was a couple of guys who were giving me a hard time,” he said. “It was the wrong thing to do. I lost my head going around the bases and I apologize.”
So Hundley wasn’t flipping off the boo-birds in general?
“No, I wouldn’t do that to the fans,” he said. “It was a couple of guys. Lost my head for a little bit. I apologize.”
Hundley had shrugged off the gesture earlier in the day, responding to a question about the incident by mumbling: “Whatever, man.”
A Cubs official met with Hundley on Thursday to discuss the matter but did not instruct him to apologize. Hundley apparently did that on his own.
The 33-year-old catcher has had a miserable time since signing a four-year, $23.5 million deal with his hometown Cubs after the 2000 season.
Injuries and ineffectiveness limited him to a .187 average last season.
It appeared that Hundley had turned the corner two weeks ago when he ripped two homers and reached base another three times in a three-game series against the Sox.
Hundley even insisted that he was no longer taking the oral abuse personally.
“I mentally transform myself and pretend that I’m in New York,” he said.
Bere on DL: Jason Bere said he was fine with the Cubs’ decision to place him on the 15-day disabled list.
Bere, who took a line drive off his right knee Wednesday, also has been battling a minor groin injury.
“Between the groin and the knee, it’s probably best,” he said. “If I’m going to miss one [start], we may want to take some time and get it completely ready.”
Cubs manager Don Baylor has not determined whether to start Juan Cruz or Carlos Zambrano on Monday in Bere’s place.
The Cubs promoted 22-year-old right-hander Francis Beltran to Bere’s roster spot, but his stay in the big leagues could be short. Reliever Tom Gordon is expected to join the Cubs on Tuesday after he throws twice at Triple-A Iowa in a rehabilitation assignment.
Beltran was 1-2 with 12 saves and a 3.42 ERA at Double-A West Tenn. He struck out 30 batters in 23 2/3 innings while allowing just 20 hits.
Beltran went 6-9 with a 5.00 ERA last year at Class-A Daytona. He improved this season by controlling his mid-90s fastball and slider.
Still, he was surprised Wednesday when West Tenn manager Bobby Dickerson and farm director Oneri Fleita called him in for a meeting.
“I thought maybe I did something wrong,” Beltran said. “But when they told me I made it, that was big. I was down there working really hard.”
Last respects: Cubs right-hander Matt Clement attended Wednesday’s memorial service for Darryl Kile at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The two are linked by agent Barry Axelrod but went back further than that.
Scout Reggie Waller recommended each of them to be drafted.
“I didn’t pitch much in high school and Darryl wasn’t a big-name pitcher coming out of high school,” Clement said. “Reggie had him call me at home after I graduated to talk about the minor leagues and how it helped him.
“Six years later he came up to me and the first thing he said was: `Hey, I remember calling you.’ Every time I’d see him, he’d go out of his way to see how I was doing and to talk about pitching. The day before [he died] we sat in the outfield and talked for 10 minutes.”
Ink is dry: The Cubs announced the signing of their second overall pick, left-hander Luke Hagerty of Ball State University. Hagerty, who went 32nd overall, signed for $1.15 million.
Top pick Bobby Brownlie, who went 21st, remains unsigned. The Cubs have opened negotiations with his agent, Scott Boras.
