clarinews@clarinet.com (09/21/89)
CHICAGO (UPI) -- There's no truth to the rumor that walks to the mound are part of Chicago Cubs manager Don Zimmer's weight-loss program, but his team's current homestand may prove not to be a total exercise in futility. There's never been a slimmer Zimmer. The perturbed Cubs manager wore out another path to the mound Wednesday in an exhausting 9-8 loss to the last-place Philadelphia Phillies. After he watched starter Rick Sutcliffe and five relievers get tatooed for 18 hits and five walks, Zimmer undressed his pitchers and catchers in a lengthy post-game meeting. ``It's nobody's business what happened,'' Zimmer said. ``I don't have to tell the world what it was about.'' The victory-starved Cubs have been whacked for 20 runs in the first three games of the homestand. With four losses in the last five games, their lead was temporarily whittled down to 3 1/2 games over second-place St. Louis and five over third-place New York. ``We didn't pitch today,'' said Zimmer. ``Everytime I look up early in the game, we're behind. It's difficult to come back in that situation. I mean, how many runs can you score?'' Light-hitting Darren Daulton had the first five-hit game of his major-league career, Ricky Jordan delivered three hits, including a tie-breaking single in the sixth inning, and Von Hayes added a three-run home run and an RBI single. Every Phillies starter except rookie pitcher Pat Combs hit safely in the first six innings of the three-hour, 49-minute contest. Featured were 35 players, 36 hits of which 31 were singles, nine walks, four wild pitches, one error and one passed ball. ``Five hits? That gives me 12 for the season, right?'' half-joked Daulton, who took a .193 batting average into the game. ``I want to play here more often.'' After Chicago rallied from 3-0, 4-3 and 7-4 deficits, Philadelphia took a permanent lead in the sixth inning against Les Lancaster (3-2) on RBI singles by Jordan and Dickie Thon. Pinch-hitter Mitch Webster started the the bottom half with a triple to knock out Todd Frohwirth. One out later, Doug Dascenzo coaxed Roger McDowell (19th save) for a walk and Ryne Sandberg delivered the last of his four singles to plate Webster and move the tying run to second base. But Mark Grace rapped into a game-ending double play to seal the outcome. Don Carman (5-15), the third of four Phillies pitchers, hurled 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to notch the victory. Sutcliffe ran into big trouble only five batters into the game. Tom Herr and Jordan singled before Von Hayes sent his 24th homer into the right-field seats. After Andre Dawson's RBI single and Luis Salazar's two-round double off Combs evened the score, singles by Charlie Hayes, Daulton and Herr routed Sutcliffe in the second inning. The 1 2/3-inning stint was his shortest since August, 1985. Although he admitted that his pitches had ``no life,'' Sutcliffe downplayed recurring whispers about arm problems. ``I had no fastball, and I don't know the reason,'' he said. ``When you give up four runs and six hits in less than two innings, you obviously haven't pitched well. I just have to go back to the sidelines and work on throwing better pitches.'' Dascenzo's second-inning, RBI single off Combs retied it, but Sandberg's baserunning mistake may have prevented more. He was doubled off first base on Grace's line out to leave Dascenzo at third. Philadelphia took the lead, 7-4, in the fourth inning against Paul Assenmacher on John Kruk's bases-loaded walk, Jordan's sacrifice fly and Von Hayes' RBI single, only to give it back on Dawson's two-run single and Shawon Duston's sacrifice fly in the bottom half. ``You don't win championships by 10-9 scores,'' Zimmer said. ``That's not how we got here.''
clarinews@clarinet.com (09/21/89)
CHICAGO (UPI) -- There's no truth to the rumor that walks to the mound are part of Chicago Cubs manager Don Zimmer's weight-loss program, but his team's current homestand may prove not to be a total exercise in futility. There's never been a slimmer Zimmer. The perturbed Cubs manager wore out another path to the mound Wednesday in an exhausting 9-8 loss to the last-place Philadelphia Phillies. After he watched starter Rick Sutcliffe and five relievers get tatooed for 18 hits and five walks, Zimmer undressed his pitchers and catchers in a lengthy post-game meeting. ``It's nobody's business what happened,'' Zimmer said. ``I don't have to tell the world what it was about.'' The victory-starved Cubs have been whacked for 20 runs in the first three games of the homestand. With four losses in the last five games, their lead was whittled to 3 games over second-place St. Louis, who beat the Mets 5-3, and 5 1/2 over third-place New York. ``We didn't pitch today,'' said Zimmer. ``Everytime I look up early in the game, we're behind. It's difficult to come back in that situation. I mean, how many runs can you score?'' Light-hitting Darren Daulton had the first five-hit game of his major-league career, Ricky Jordan delivered three hits, including a tie-breaking single in the sixth inning, and Von Hayes added a three-run home run and an RBI single. Every Phillies starter except rookie pitcher Pat Combs hit safely in the first six innings of the three-hour, 49-minute contest. Featured were 35 players, 36 hits of which 31 were singles, nine walks, four wild pitches, one error and one passed ball. ``Five hits? That gives me 12 for the season, right?'' half-joked Daulton, who took a .193 batting average into the game. ``I want to play here more often.'' After Chicago rallied from 3-0, 4-3 and 7-4 deficits, Philadelphia took a permanent lead in the sixth inning against Les Lancaster (3-2) on RBI singles by Jordan and Dickie Thon. Pinch-hitter Mitch Webster started the the bottom half with a triple to knock out Todd Frohwirth. One out later, Doug Dascenzo coaxed Roger McDowell (19th save) for a walk and Ryne Sandberg delivered the last of his four singles to plate Webster and move the tying run to second base. But Mark Grace rapped into a game-ending double play to seal the outcome. Don Carman (5-15), the third of four Phillies pitchers, hurled 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to notch the victory. Sutcliffe ran into big trouble only five batters into the game. Tom Herr and Jordan singled before Von Hayes sent his 24th homer into the right-field seats. After Andre Dawson's RBI single and Luis Salazar's two-round double off Combs evened the score, singles by Charlie Hayes, Daulton and Herr routed Sutcliffe in the second inning. The 1 2/3-inning stint was his shortest since August, 1985. Although he admitted that his pitches had ``no life,'' Sutcliffe downplayed recurring whispers about arm problems. ``I had no fastball, and I don't know the reason,'' he said. ``When you give up four runs and six hits in less than two innings, you obviously haven't pitched well. I just have to go back to the sidelines and work on throwing better pitches.'' Dascenzo's second-inning, RBI single off Combs retied it, but Sandberg's baserunning mistake may have prevented more. He was doubled off first base on Grace's line out to leave Dascenzo at third. Philadelphia took the lead, 7-4, in the fourth inning against Paul Assenmacher on John Kruk's bases-loaded walk, Jordan's sacrifice fly and Von Hayes' RBI single, only to give it back on Dawson's two-run single and Shawon Duston's sacrifice fly in the bottom half. ``You don't win championships by 10-9 scores,'' Zimmer said. ``That's not how we got here.''