Yes, Ron Karkovice finally conceded Thursday, his sub-par performance at the plate (.208 at the break) and throwing (12 for 38) is related to a left knee that has been achy much of the season.
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But it has been more than that.
“You’ve got to stay up on yourself, stay confident and take it day by day,” said Karkovice. That part has been the real struggle.
“Mentally, I know it’s hurting; I know I’ve got something wrong with me, and I fell into that trap,” he continued. “It kind of messed up my thoughts. The last three days helped me a lot.”
Could be. He homered Thursday night.
The other guy: Mike LaValliere remains out with the sore hamstring. It’s better than it was, he said, but he’s probably days away. Disabled list a possibility? “I’ll be ready before that, if things keep going forward,” LaValliere said. But manager Gene Lamont, who doesn’t need three catchers, says he wants to get back to 11 pitchers soon. A decision could come quickly.
Cora is back: Joey Cora, who hit .455 (5 for 11) and signed every possible autograph during his rehab with Class-A South Bend, was activated from the DL after Thursday’s game. Dann Howitt took a .357 average back to Triple-A Nashville.
Pasqua packing: Dan Pasqua, figuring his knee is going to hurt anyway and eager to get back into this, hopes to be sent out on a second rehab soon. Workouts aren’t getting results. “It seems like doing sprints doesn’t make it better,” he said. “I figure I can tolerate pain.”
Stuff: It was going to be Dennis Martinez for the Indians Friday, then Mark Clark on Saturday. Now, Clark is going Friday, Martinez Saturday. . . .Robin Ventura is 10 for 21 (.476) with eight RBIs over his last five games. . . . By going 1 for 3, Frank Thomas let his July average plummet to .462. . . . Alex Fernandez struck out every Indian at least once. . . . Cleveland is 0-9 in Chicago since beating the Sox on Sept. 13, 1992.