The Cubs are sending right-hander Shawn Boskie to Triple-A Iowa to get some work before they return him to the starting rotation.
Boskie (5-6) has been on the disabled list since July 27 with recurring tenderness in the muscle that runs down his neck and under his collarbone. The problem had been bothering him since May.
Pitching coach Billy Connors said Boskie would throw about 60 pitches Tuesday at Iowa.
”If all goes well he`ll be back, but he probably will need to pitch a couple of times,” Connors said.
Boskie has been throwing without pain in increasingly heavy workouts the last two weeks. He had been the fifth starter in the rotation before he went down.
His place in the rotation was taken three times by Jeff Robinson and the last two times by rookie Jim Bullinger. Connors says Bullinger (1-3) will get at least one more start, probably Sept. 1 at home against Los Angeles.
It`s come to this: A bright-eyed young boy was leaving Dodger Stadium with his autograph book in hand when his dad spotted a couple of guys carrying portable computers. ”Those guys write for the Chicago papers,” the dad said. ”Go ahead and ask them. They`ll tell you.” The boy said he had just got an autograph from Billy Williams, whom his dad said had been a great ballplayer. Was it true? ”Sure,” he was told. ”Billy Williams is in the Hall of Fame. He had 392 home runs and more than 1,300 runs batted in.” The kid`s eyes opened wide in amazement. ”Really?” he said. ”How much do you think his autograph will be worth?”
Hawk`s back: Andre Dawson went into one of the worst slumps of his career after the All-Star break, going 11 for 82 (.134). But he is out of it. Dawson extended his hitting streak to eight games Sunday with a double and two singles in five at-bats. He is 13 for his last 27 (.482).
Kal can`t: And then there is Kal Daniels. He went 0 for 8 in Los Angeles to lower his season average to .230. Since coming to the Cubs on June 27, Daniels is 19 for 83 (.229). He hit .231 in 35 games with the Dodgers in the first two months of the season before the Cubs acquired him for $360,000 and non-roster minor-league pitcher Mike Sodders.