RMJ 161 July 26
Of all the luncheons on the circuit, the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship meal is
clearly the best. The Italians always select a fine restaurant, and they serve a first-rate meal. They also know how to laugh and have a good time.
Dan Sessions
This year they gave away 15 scholarships, worth roughly $25,000. I joined Biggio, Bagwell, and Gonzalez at the function. It isn’t easy to get these big stars out at lunchtime on the day of a game. But it is hard to say no to a persuasive Italian like Dan Sessions.
The reason we all try to avoid these functions during the season is that most guys live in the suburbs, and they come out to the Dome about 3:00. When the luncheon concludes at 1:30, you are in no-man’s land. It is too early to go to the Dome, and too late to go back home. I had enough to do at the office to keep me busy, so I didn’t mind.
Orlando Merced
Gerry came by and said that he thought he could trade Derek for Orlando Merced. I suggested that he do it, but he feels that it is fair to ask for another player.
I think Merced is a better player than Bell right now. Bell has a higher ceiling, but I doubt he will reach it if he doesn’t change his work habits. I hope I’m wrong, because I don’t think the Blue Jays are going to give us another player.
This is a tricky proposition, because it has so many variables. Derek is signed for the next two years. If he does return to form, his salary is below market, suggesting that we can get more if he comes around.
Merced will be a free agent at the end of the year, so we would be “renting” him unless we could come to some sort of agreement about a contract for the next few years. This affects our AAA prospects, Bobby Abreu and Richard Hidalgo.
If we did the deal, we would be a little light on right-handed-hitting outfielders. Hidalgo is almost ready, but we can’t really count on him for anything this season. The only other right-handed-hitting outfielders we have are switch-hitters Chuckie Carr and James Mouton.
If Bell does not return to form, which is a distinct possibility, we will be saddled with a player who is difficult to manage, who expects to play every day, who doesn’t like to practice, and who can’t be traded.
If we don’t do this deal now, we may not be able to do any deal at all — in which case, we would have to eat his salary. With Merced, we have no ongoing commitment; we could use the money we save on Bell to sign other players. Gerry is willing to entertain the idea of a Bell-for-Merced deal straight-up; Tal Smith is not.
I sort of doubt we will get the deal done.
Deal or no deal, we are doing just fine, thank you. Tonight we had our most-inspiring victory of the year. The Expos hit Ramón Garcia with a 3-spot in the first inning on four hits, including a home run by Mike Lansing. We answered with a run on Biggio’s double and a couple of ground balls.
We came back to grab the lead in the second on doubles by Bell and Berry, singles by Ausmus and Bogar, and another double by Biggio.
The Expos came right back on The Chief; they scored two to tie it at five, and I had to bring José Lima in to get the last out. Lima gave up a run in the next inning, and we were behind again. Our relievers did a great job until the ninth, but we didn’t score.
Even at this point, I thought we could win, because Felipe Alou had used all of his pitchers. If we could just tie it in the ninth, I thought we had a real good chance to win.
Russ Springer sailed through the eighth, but in the ninth, Rondell White hit a shoulder-high 95 MPH fastball for a two-run homer. I don’t know he hit that pitch, but it looked like our streak was over. About half the fans thought so; they streamed up the aisles toward the exits.
Ugueth Urbina
Expos closer Ugueth Urbina came in, throwing 94-98 MPH fastballs, but Billy Spiers hit one up the middle to get us started. Chuckie followed with a hit. We were still alive, with power hitters coming up.
Biggio, who has been playing like Superman, struck out. At this point, I inserted J.R. Phillips to pinch-hit. When we were in Montreal, J.R. told me that he had his best day ever against Urbina last year, when he was playing for the Phillies: two homers and a double.
His name did not appear on the matchup list I review before each series. This was information I hoped not to need; when Urbina is in the game these days, it means we are behind, and it is the ninth inning.
J.R. Phillips
I told J.R. that he would be our secret weapon. How prophetic. The stocky first-baseman stepped up and hit a long home run into the mezzanine to tie the game.
Billy Wagner got the Expos 1-2-3 in the tenth. Then, on the second pitch in the bottom of the frame, Sean Berry ripped a homer to left. It was pandemonium at home plate. It looked like we had won the pennant, the way the players were leaping up and piling on.
I walked over to Drayton’s box and shook hands with him. He has been out of the country, and he has not seen any of the games on this streak.
“Well, I guess you can come tomorrow,” I said. “Gerry told me he would have to ask you to go back to Temple if we lost.”
“I would have gone,” he said. “I haven’t always brought good luck, but this was the greatest game of the year. Congratulations.”
After the reporters left, I lit up a big Presidente cigar — a gift from Charley Farley. Charley has seats behind the dugout, and he doesn’t miss many games. He wrote “Manager of the Month” on the cigar box. Drayton came in, and I offered him the box.
“This win calls for a big cigar,” I said.
“In that case, I’ll take two,” he said.
It was great seeing Drayton go out and introduce himself to J.R. and visit with some of the other players. This is the type of thing that most owners pray for, and in most cases pay dearly for.
If we can win this thing, the $80 million Drayton has lost over the last five years will be a little more tolerable. I really felt good for him — even better than I felt for myself.
One word of caution — and I made a point to tell the reporters this:
We cannot sustain this type of play for the next two months. We will probably have some difficult times between now and the end of the season, but I still like our chances. The Cardinals have some key players nursing injuries that may not heal this year.
Judy and I attended a midnight reception at the Ritz Carlton. Solly Hemus, the old infielder and manager of the Cardinals, hosted it, along with my friend Jim Heine. Most of the guests had been at the game and were already feeling their oats.
Betty Hemus told me that Solly threw his drink up in the air and screamed when J.R. hit the home run.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard him raise his voice,” she said.
On the way home, I was thinking about Solly. Here’s a guy who has had a fine big-league career in his own right; who has made a ton of money in the oil business; who has vacationed all over the world. And he was probably as happy tonight as he has ever been.
This is a humbling thought, in a way. If Solly feels this way, what does that say about the universe of Astros fans? We could make this a magical summer for a lot of people. And that is a heavy responsibility. I’m not sure I can do much about it, though, other than keep and even keel and proceed apace.
