It was an excellent spring training opener. Unlike last year, when he was unable to get away from an inside fastball that broke his hand, Ryne Sandberg finished the day without mishap. Showing an anticipated good offense, the Cubs knocked out 14 hits in a 7-2 triumph over the San Francisco Giants and Harry Caray was on key during his seventh-inning warble of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
“Not bad,” said Caray, who insisted he didn’t work the weight machines or tune up in his bathtub in preparation for the new season. He departed in the eighth inning and, as he walked through the crowd, was engulfed with applause and the usual shouts of “Harry! Harry!”
This is Caray’s 50th anniversary in the broadcast booth and the 49th consecutive year the Cubs are likely to go without a flag. But there are optimists galore. At the end of the game, Chicagoan Lewis Taman, a longtime fan, said to a friend, “We’re going to have to get our World Series tickets.”
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Shortstop Shawon Dunston, on the shelf for almost all of the last two seasons, was 100 percent. Playing only half the game, Dunston made two spectacular plays, both requiring strong and accurate throws, and had two hits-a home run and a hard single to right.
A half-dozen big-league scouts witnessed the Dunston display, among them Scott Reid of the Florida Marlins, who are looking for a shortstop. Asked if he was here specifically to follow Dunston, Reid said, “We’re always interested in good players.”
Tom Trebelhorn, making his debut as Cubs manager, conceded during a postgame briefing that he has three potential front-line shortstops-Dunston, Jose Vizcaino and Rey Sanchez, an obvious abundance.
It seems likely General Manager Larry Himes, when the time is right, will include a shortstop in a care package for a starting pitcher. But Himes keeps most of his thoughts to himself.
Asked if Dunston would be the Cubs’ Opening Day shortstop, Trebelhorn did not give a direct reply but said, “It makes common sense. He’ll play.”
As he promised, Trebelhorn had his men on the move. He used the hit-and-run four times, twice in the first five innings, with Sandberg and Vizcaino at bat. Both were successful. The Sandberg poke preceded a three-run homer by Sammy Sosa.
Sandberg was pleased. “Looks like we’re going to have a lot of movement,” he said. “A lot of action. Could be a lot of fun.”
Rick Wilkins, the club’s power-hitting catcher, was also smiling, a surprise considering that 24 hours earlier he had been expressing anger over his 1994 contract. Management renewed it at $350,000, about one-sixth the pay of Mike Piazza, his counterpart with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Wilkins had three at-bats, hit the ball hard twice and had no problems handling the slants of Steve Trachsel and Shawn Boskie.
“I was surprised my rhythm was so good,” Wilkins said.
When a reporter brought up the subject of his salary, Wilkins brushed the question aside and said, “Can’t cry about spilt milk. It’s time to play ball.”
“It was a good day,” Trebelhorn acknowledged. “There were a lot of positives.”
Then he smiled and said, “It was only one game, but spring hopes eternal.”