Cubs pitching has improved since the All-Star break. But, except for Mark Grace, the left-handed hitters still are not hitting as they should.
Those non-revelations were discussed in Sunday’s pregame closed-door meeting involving manager Tom Trebelhorn and General Manager Larry Himes.
At least, those were two topics Trebelhorn was willing to talk about after the meeting.
Rumors of trades or other player movement circulated among the players while their bosses met. A trade may be forthcoming, and an educated guess would be one involving one of the Cubs’ surplus of starting pitchers for a badly needed left-handed hitter.
Trebelhorn pointed out that the date for Sunday’s meeting had been set during the All-Star break.
“We agreed to meet on this date to discuss our progress since the break,” said Trebelhorn. “Our pitching has been better. But, except for Mark Grace, our left-handed hitting has not been as good as it should be. We’re still waiting for Rick Wilkins to get going and for Derrick May and Tuffy Rhodes to hit better than they have lately.”
Grace lifted his average from .275 to .301 since the All-Star break. But May went 7 for 37 (.190) over that span, as he dropped to .267. Rhodes is batting .239, Wilkins .218.
Perfection: The Cubs tied a club record Sunday by playing in eight straight games without making an error. The club has accomplished this four times, most recently Sept. 1-9, 1992.
“I credit our pitchers a lot for that,” said Grace. “They’ve been throwing strikes, and this keeps the defense on its toes.”
Cincinnati lefty Pete Schourek equaled his career high by striking out 10 in the six innings he worked Sunday.