As expected, the trade rumors were hot and heavy Friday night as the deadline approached for teams to swap players without having to clear them through waivers.
Effective Saturday, any team that wants to trade a player has to clear him through waivers, which means that any other team can claim him. That effectively eliminates the chances for a blockbuster deal because the Mets, for example, could block any deal that would give the Cubs a front-line pitcher.
The Cubs are looking for pitching and one possibility could be right-hander Barry Jones, the former White Sox reliever who was released by Philadelphia this week.
Jones is unaffected by the waiver deadline. He can be signed by anyone. But Cubs General Manager Larry Himes, who knows Jones from his White Sox days, said nothing was in the works Friday night.
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In six-plus major-league seasons, Jones is 26-26 with 22 saves and a 3.16 earned-run average. He was 5-6 with a 4.64 ERA with Philadelphia this year, but some scouts feel he may be the kind of sleeper that Jeff Robinson has been for the Cubs this year.
– Robinson will be the starter in the second game of Saturday`s double-header. He is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 28 games this season, including a spot start when he pitched five shutout innings and got Cubs pitchers on a roll of 27 scoreless innings.
– When he throws his first pitch Saturday night, Greg Maddux will have appeared in 200 major-league games. He is 88-72 since breaking in with the Cubs in 1987.
– The rainout washed away a career record for Mark Grace. The triple he hit in the first inning would have been his sixth of the year. Grace had five triples in 1991 and already has five in 100 games this season.
– Former Mets and White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Sunday. And, to commemorate the event, the Mets will show a message from Seaver to the Mets fans during Sunday`s game with the Cubs.
– Lefebvre was upset the Mets let Friday night`s game begin in the first place. It was raining until just before game time, then started again after the first inning. ”They told us there was a two-hour window,” said Lefebvre. ”They forgot to tell us the window was broken.”
– Mike Harkey`s hunger was none the worse after the abbreviated night`s work. He chowed down the usual postgame buffet in the locker room, then tried to convince the bus driver to stop at a pancake house on the way back to the hotel.