He’s a Cub, so He’s Bound to Have Faith

Francis George, the newly appointed Catholic archbishop of Chicago and a longtime Cub fan, has volunteered to throw out the first ball at an upcoming Wrigley Field game if it would help exorcise the evils of the team’s stumbling start.

“It’s a test of faith, that’s all,” he said, which was not exactly news to fellow followers of the Cubs’ historic misfortunes.

Nor is faith alone likely to be the answer for a team that traveled to New York this weekend unable to hit the ball or catch it in an 0-13 start, the National League record.

Club President Andy MacPhail said Thursday the situation is now threefold: 1--Identify the reasons for the start; 2--Decide if and when something should be done about it; 3--Keep in mind the long-term objective of rebuilding the farm system so that it’s the principal avenue of supply.

“Don’t panic,” MacPhail said. “Act like a responsible organization and don’t respond to the whirlwind surrounding you.”

Identifying the reasons has been easy, MacPhail acknowledged.

A defense that was the best in the National League last year has been the worst, making 22 errors leading to 13 unearned runs.

The Cubs opened with 10 consecutive games against the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves, facing pitchers who had won 15 or more games last year in each of those games.

In addition, the Cubs are batting .181, with Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, Shawon Dunston and Brian McRae all far below .200 and Mark Grace on the disabled list after a .500 start through three games. Grace was activated Saturday and went 0 for 2 in the loss to the Mets.

What to do about it and when?

“A judgment call, but we’re not at a point where we’re going to make radical changes or point fingers,” MacPhail said.

“I have to believe our veterans are going to hit and the defense is better than what we’ve seen. . . . I mean, we have to right the ship as quickly as possible because with each loss the attention mounts, but if this were to happen in July, people would be apt to say it’s just one of those things most clubs go through during a long season.

“We can’t dig the hole much deeper, but only one club [the Houston Astros] in the [Central] division is playing better than .500 now, and there doesn’t seem to be a dominant team.”

In other words, MacPhail doesn’t think the Cubs are out of it, which may provide fodder for Chicago humorists, or as Dunston said:

“We have to stand up to the jokes because the joke’s on us.”

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There is little sympathy for the Cubs, particularly from the Braves, who had set the modern NL record for opening losses of 10 in 1988.

Tom Glavine was 7-17 with that team and said of the Cubs, “You’re not going to feel sorry for them. No one felt sorry for us in ’88. The hard thing is you’re 0-10 and you want to win 10 tomorrow and can’t.”

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The walls of New York Met Manager Bobby Valentine’s clubhouse office feature pictures of the manager meeting a succession of Republican presidents--Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

On Tuesday, before the ceremony honoring Jackie Robinson at Shea Stadium, Valentine welcomed President Clinton to the clubhouse, but a view of the pictures in the manager’s office was not on the itinerary.

“Another good decision by the organization,” Valentine said.