Ryne Sandberg worked out again for a third day at the Cubs` spring training camp Tuesday. On Wednesday, he and 21 other position players take part in the first full-squad workout with 28 pitchers and catchers who have been in camp for a week.
– One key player will be missing from Wednesday`s workout. George Bell`s agent called to say the outfielder would be two days late because he had business commitments in his native Dominican Republic. Cubs GM Larry Himes said Bell bought a service station and needed to stay behind to help get the operation running. ”His track record is that he`s always been a couple days late, even when he was with Toronto,” Himes said, ”so this is true to form. It`s not any big problem.”
– Most of the position players already have reported to camp. The only ones who didn`t show up early, besides Bell, were veterans Andre Dawson, Luis Salazar and Jose Vizcaino and minor leaguers Pedro Castellano, Elvin Paulino and Earl Cunningham. All were expected Wednesday.
– Cubs Assistant General Manager Syd Thrift had a big day Tuesday celebrating his birthday and the birth of his first grandson, Ryan James Thrift.
– Relief pitcher Heathcliff Slocumb drove in the first run of the 1992 season Tuesday during a intrasquad game between two teams of pitchers. Slocumb had two RBIs and Danny Jackson the other in a 3-2 win. The big gun for the losers was Les Lancaster, who hit a 350-foot solo home run to left in the bottom of the ninth. The winning hurler was an electric pitching machine, which also got the loss.