Cubs Have Been Missing What Made 1989 Magical

Everything that went right for the Chicago Cubs last year when they won the National League East seems to be going wrong this season, and Manager Don Zimmer doesn’t have the answers.

“I’m not going to start pointing fingers, but we’re just not playing well,” said Zimmer, who is having trouble getting the Cubs to the .500 mark.

Even the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field have been unkind to the team. In fact, the Cubs are a respectable 13-11 on the road but 8-15 at home.

“If I knew the answer to why we aren’t winning at home, we’d be winning at home instead of losing,” said Zimmer.

The biggest concern is starting pitching, and the loss of Rick Sutcliffe, on the disabled list with shoulder problems, has added to the problems.

But the Cubs overcame such obstacles last season.

Locked in a tight race with Montreal and the New York Mets last year, General Manager Jim Frey stood still while Montreal picked up Mark Langston and the Mets added Frank Viola. But it was the Cubs who won the division title.

“This is the same team we have on the field as we had last September when we won,” said Zimmer. “I’m looking for a good winning streak. We’re one of the few clubs that hasn’t had a good streak yet.”

Except for first baseman Mark Grace, who is struggling at bat, some of the key players are having banner years.

Andre Dawson, a question mark during spring training because of knee surgery, leads the league with 13 home runs and 43 runs-batted-in. His .346 average has brought up some early thinking about a triple crown.

Second baseman Ryne Sandberg has broken every fielding record in sight and is hitting .325. Shortstop Shawon Dunston is among the league’s leading hitters at .320.

But Frey might not be able to sit still much longer without getting pitching help.

“We have reached the point of the season where you talk about a good start and a bad start,” said Frey. “It’s getting to the point where you have to start to consider something. Up to now I’ve been talking about the pitching staff.”

Unable to make any deals, the Cubs have dipped into their system bringing up Shawn Boskie and Kevin Blankenship. Both are in the starting rotation. Blankenship had one start and gave up one earned run in the loss.

Boskie went the distance and won his major league debut 5-1 on a five-hitter at Houston. He has since lost two starts but has pitched well.

“I like Boskie,” said Zimmer. “In three outings I don’t think he’s pitched bad at all. His first one was dynamite. I like his stuff, and I like his makeup. I’m not worried about Greg Maddux (4-4) or Mike Bielecki (3-3). They’ll both straighten out.”

Frey also is impressed with Boskie and said: “It looks like he has a future. Maybe we have to think about something else. We can’t live on three or four guys hitting the ball. We have to do something about that.”