Some White Sox fans have urged Gene Lamont to manage in the final dozen games before the Aug. 12 strike date as he would manage in the final 12 games of the season.
“I agree with that idea,” said Lamont, “except that you can’t pinch-hit and pinch-run in August as much as you can in September because you don’t have the players, the callups.”
Lamont is likely to make one change, however, going from a five-man to a four-man starting pitching rotation of Alex Fernandez, Jack McDowell, Wilson Alvarez and Jason Bere. Scott Sanderson, a fifth starter most of the season, will have his turn skipped in Texas next week.
Rookie Scott Ruffcorn was rocked in his two starts since his callup last week, and his status as a starter is iffy.
“I don’t know if I’ll go the four-man rotation the whole way,” said Lamont. “Ruffcorn? I’m not really sure about him. He’ll be in the bullpen tomorrow.”
From The Chairman: Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf stressed four points Friday night when he talked about the likelihood of a players’ strike starting Aug. 12:
– Dick Ravitch, the owners’ chief negotiator, is “not married to the concept of a salary cap,” Reinsdorf said. “The clubs want to know what it will cost to do business next season.”
– “Both sides owe the fans good faith in negotiating.”
– From four to six teams facing economic troubles are looking to move to cities being regarded as expansion sites. If they make the moves, baseball will lose its new cities, and the union will lose 150 jobs.
– A strike, if it comes, will not be a short one. “I’m prepared to sit a long time,” said Reinsdorf. “Every franchise has made plans to weather the storm.”
Reinsdorf denied he is the “leader” among owners, claiming that, as owner of a club that is operating in the black, “there are more of them than there are of me.”