Extra Scrutiny Leaves Lima Steaming Mad

Jose Lima knew what was coming.

Umpire crew chief Bruce Froemming inspected the Houston Astro pitcher’s uniform before Wednesday’s National League division series game at the request of Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox.

Cox was concerned that Lima may have had pine tar on his pants, which could have been used to make the ball slicker and more difficult to hit. Cox said Froemming assured him that the discoloring on Lima’s pants was not pine tar, though Froemming didn’t tell him what it was.

Several teams have had the 21-game winner checked out this season for supposedly using foreign matter to enhance his performance, and Lima is insulted by the ongoing scrutiny.

“They have been checking the side of my pants all year,” the flamboyant right-hander said. “All year round, they’re checking to see if I have pine tar. I keep saying that if I cheat, if I put pine tar on my pants, nobody is going to beat me. I will be nasty. You know what I mean? Nasty.”

The Dodgers had Lima checked out before he pitched 7 2/3 scoreless inning on three days’ rest against them in a 3-0 victory at the Astrodome on Saturday. At least two other teams did so during the regular season.

Lima is motivated by the negative attention.

“They just wake me up,” Lima said. “They just keep checking my pants. The more they check my pants the better I’m going to pitch. I know they think I’m cheating to win ballgames and. I don’t have to cheat to win ballgames.

“I have been doing this all year. I didn’t win 21 games because of luck. I went out there and performed and challenged everybody. Why cheat?”

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The Astros are pitching around Brave third baseman Chipper Jones, which isn’t surprising.

The powerful switch-hitter hit 45 home runs during the regular season and is the leading candidate for the NL most-valuable-player award. However, Brian Jordan is insulted.

The Atlanta right fielder and cleanup batter follows Jones, and Jordan figures the Astros don’t think much of him. Jordan took out his frustration on the Astros by driving in two runs in Wednesday’s victory.

“It’s a slap in the face,” said Jordan, slowed in the second half of the season because of a deep right-wrist bruise. “They want to pitch around Chipper, so I take that as an insult and a challenge. And I always accept challenges.”