Cubs’ Move Has Sobering Effect in Bleachers

Tom Verducci of Newsday reports that the Chicago Cubs, in an effort to cut down on rowdyism, have banned beer vendors from the bleachers at Wrigley Field. Now, fans must walk to the concession stands to get a beer.

It hasn’t been a popular move.

Said Jerry Pritkin, 51, known as the Bleacher Preacher: “It’s the worst decision since the Cubs traded Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio.”

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: When umpire Eric Gregg checked into a Philadelphia weight-reduction center in the off-season, they couldn’t weigh him because the scale only goes to 350 pounds. So they took him down to the post office, where they put him on the freight scale. He registered 358.

Confessing that he eats too much, he told Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News: “The problem today is that hotels have 24-hour room service. And that’s really killing me.”

The best manager in baseball? When Claire Smith of the Hartford Courant put the question to Don Sutton, who has seen a few, he said: “Tom Lasorda. He goes for the jugular. Each game is a season in itself. Valenzuela will pinch-hit. Orel Hershiser will relieve. The game is right now, at this moment, to win or lose.”

Trivia Time: Dave Winfield, with 24 runs batted in, is five short of the record for April, set by what player in 1977? (Answer to follow.)

USA Today passed along these thoughts from Beano Cook after he signed with ESPN for two more years as a football analyst:

--”If the Cardinals had drafted for World War II, Japan would have owned America 40 years sooner.”

--”Atlanta is not the place to be now. It’s a tossup who will win more games, the Braves or the Falcons.”

Dave Butz of the Washington Redskins, on the anti-hero image of Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon:

“Yeah, McMahon’s a jerk--there’s a high demand for that. But I’m tired of seeing him on TV, wearing sunglasses, chewing gum with his mouth open. One good reason to beat the Bears was so McMahon wouldn’t have the chance to do any more commercials sitting on a couch wearing sunglasses and chewing gum with an open mouth.”

Problem is, McMahon still makes more from commercials than all the Redskins put together.

“Mac’s a natural,” Los Angeles publicist Tad Dowd told the Washington Post. “He had the attitude, the sneer. It’s what Bruce Willis wanted to be. The irony is that Bruce and Mac hung together when Mac came out to L.A. McMahon’s the only football player I felt could be on MTV and the cover of Rolling Stone.”

Add Butz: He said he won’t endorse a product unless he’s tried it. He turned down a company that asked him to endorse a tool, because it gave him calluses.

He does like Wheaties and said of a commercial he did with Walter Payton: “They paid me money, but I would have done it for free--for exposure, to be with Walter Payton. I enjoyed myself. We spent the whole day going through 32 boxes, searching for the biggest flakes to put on our spoon. That was big money for just looking for flakes.”

Trivia Time: Ron Cey of the Dodgers, with 29 RBIs.

Quotebook

Dwight Evans of the Boston Red Sox, after striking out three times against Texas knuckleball pitcher Charlie Hough: “I was glad when Phil Niekro quit, and now I hope Charlie has enough money so that he’ll quit. I think he needs to spend more time with his family.”