Rose Returns, but Reds Defeated Again : It’s Fifth Straight Loss as Maddux Pitches Cubs to 6-3 Victory

At 10:30 Wednesday morning, wearing a uniform for the first time since his incident with umpire Dave Pallone April 30, Pete Rose emerged from the Cincinnati Reds’ dugout at Wrigley Field, waved to Chicago Cubs Manager Don Zimmer and yelled, “It still fits.”

Rose’s 30-day suspension for shoving Pallone--”15 days a shove,” Rose said--ended Wednesday. But the struggle of his injury-riddled team did not.

Even with Rose back in the dugout, the Reds suffered their fifth straight setback, losing to Greg Maddux and the Chicago Cubs, 6-3, and confirming the suspicions of Cincinnati owner Marge Schott, who, when asked about Rose’s return, had told the Chicago Tribune: “It won’t mean a snitch.”

The Reds later flew to Los Angeles, where they will open a three-game series against the Dodgers Friday night.

The Reds have lost seven of their last eight and left the hitters’ haven that is Wrigley Field having been outscored in the three games, 22-6.

If the continuing offensive slumber is an obvious concern for the Reds, there is also a lingering feeling that this is a team beset by an inexplicable apathy, an ironic twist considering that the manager is synonymous with winning and hustle.

Rose, however, continued to play Pollyanna. He returned to the dugout and said he found a healthy atmosphere. He said the mood in the clubhouse has been that of a team 10 games ahead rather than 5 1/2 behind in the National League West.

“They just have to bring that mood to the batter’s box and pitcher’s mound,” he said. “It doesn’t look like they’re having fun on the field, but you never do when guys are playing out of position (because of injuries) and consistently behind.

“As long as they’re hustling and trying to make things happen, you can’t complain. We just got beat today. Maddux pitched a fine game.

“Doesn’t he lead the league in wins?”

A statistical wizard and baseball historian, Rose knew the answer. With a 9-3 record, Maddux does, indeed, lead the league in wins.

He also knows that the slumping Reds are five games under .500, a concern he acknowledged. He said he was tired of saying how fortunate the team was to be only five or six games out, that the Dodgers and Houston Astros weren’t going to hang around forever, that maybe reading how badly they’ve been playing will be a stimulus for his players, and that it now seemed important, if not imperative, for the Reds to make a move in the series with the Dodgers and seven more games in San Diego and San Francisco.

He added, however: “I’d recommend to fans that they don’t give up on the Big Red Machine. There’s 111 games to go. They haven’t even handed out diplomas yet. What were the San Francisco Giants out last year at this time, eight or nine games?”

The Giants were one game behind, but Rose is entitled to an error. His team made a couple Wednesday for a season total of 48. Only the Giants have made more. The Reds are next to last in the National League in fielding. Rose said he wasn’t happy to return with a loss, but he was happy to have the suspension behind him.

He reiterated that it was too severe, particularly when weighed against the four days that Pedro Guerrero got for throwing a bat at New York Met pitcher David Cone.

“I like Pete. I’m happy he got only four days,” Rose said. “But when you look at my 30 days and $10,000 fine, I thought he might have gotten life.”

And in a final perspective on the suspension, he said:

“I’ll probably be thought of as a villain, like I was when I hit Bud Harrelson, and when I hit Ray Fosse, and when I got divorced.

“Then again, when people look in ‘The Baseball Encyclopedia,’ there’s those 4,256 hits. (The suspension is) just another record. I’m used to records, like Frank Sinatra.”