Nothing to do with superstition, mind you, but Cubs manager Jim Lefebvre is carrying an Irish good-luck charm around with him on the current trip.
Lefebvre says he got the charm, a miniature shillelagh, from Jimmy Farrell, supervisor of the umpires` dressing room at Wrigley Field.
”Whenever we get going, I used to rub Jimmy`s elbow to get a little Irish good luck,” said Lefebvre. ”He finally gave me this.”
The shillelagh is adorned with a shamrock and a tiny bear and Lefebvre keeps it on his desk, making sure to touch it before every game.
”I`m not superstitious,” says Lefebvre. ”But just in case . . .”
That was before the game. Afterward, when the Cubs had lost for the third time in four tries, Lefebvre felt a little differently.
”Maybe I oughtta just get rid of this thing,” he said. ”It hasn`t done us much good.”
– Third baseman Steve Buechele sat out his third consecutive game Monday night with a sore rib cage but is expected back Tuesday night. Outfielder Kal Daniels didn`t start, partly because his right knee is sore, but mainly because he is 3 for 33 lifetime against Dennis Martinez, who pitched for the Expos. Daniels appeared in the ninth as a pinch-hitter and struck out. The other injured Cub, outfielder Doug Dascenzo, is recovered from a stiff neck that kept him out all three games of the Mets series on the weekend.
– To say Montreal manager Felipe Alou is high on his young right-fielder Larry Walker would be an understatement. Alou says he thinks Walker is one of the best ever to play the game-at least, on defense. ”Larry Walker is incredible in the field, one of the best I`ve ever seen,” said Alou. ”You have people like Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. I won`t say Larry`s the best because that`s something a lot of people would never forget. But he`s with them, the way he plays defense.” Walker`s not too shabby on offense, either. He leads the Expos with 18 homers and 60 runs batted in.