SOSA SMACKS NOS. 64, 65 TO PULL EVEN; : MILWAUKEE 8, CHICAGO CUBS 7.Byline: Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune Daily newspaper published in Chicago. The Tribune is one of the leading U.S. newspapers and long has been the dominant voice of the Midwest. Founded in 1847, it was bought in 1855 by six partners, including Joseph Medill (1823–99), who made the paper Less than 24 hours after just about conceding the home run race to St. Louis' Mark McGwire With two homers Wednesday in the Chicago Cubs' 8-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at County Stadium, Sosa pulled into a tie with McGwire at 65 home runs. Sosa has three more games to try to pull ahead in the derby. ``But I still have that feeling about Mark,'' Sosa said. ``I think he's going to finish right in front of me. For me, it doesn't make a difference. If I finish first, I will. If I finish last, it won't make a difference for me. I have another thing to do and that is get to the playoffs.'' During Sosa's 0-for-21 slump that ended with his first homer Wednesday, Cubs manager Jim Riggleman James David Riggleman (born November 9 1952 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is a former manager in Major League Baseball. He was the manager of the San Diego Padres from 1992 to 1994 and of the Chicago Cubs from 1995 to 1999. His career record was 486-598. thought his slugger might have been trying too hard to catch up with McGwire. Riggleman said Cubs hitting coach Jeff Pentland Jeffrey William Pentland (born September 8, 1946 in Hollywood, California) is the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners. 2006 is his tenth season as a Major League Baseball hitting coach and first with the Mariners. told Sosa to take it easy. ``I'm sure he's been going a little harder at times, and Jeff Pentland has talked with him about easing up a little bit,'' Riggleman said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if he eased up or not, but he looks like he still has the same swing.'' For Chicago, the occasion of Sosa's tying home runs was historic on one hand, horrific on the other, because Brant Brown Brant Michael Brown is a former professional baseball player. He was born on June 22, 1971, in Porterville, California. He was 6'3" and 205 pounds, and threw and batted left handed. dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Sosa helped the Cubs build a seven-run lead against the Brewers in a crucial game in the race for a wild-card berth in the NL playoffs. Brown's blunder allowed three runners to score in a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. loss that was only mitigated slightly when the New York Mets
Keeping faith in the Cubs has never been quite so difficult. Somehow, some way, Sosa's momentous day was overshadowed when the ball bounced out of Brown's glove. ``I was just saying `Oh, God,' as I dropped it,'' Brown said. ``I couldn't believe it. It was just incredible, one of those things you never foresee happening. You catch 1,000 of those in batting practice every day. It was the 1,001st that I just happened to miss.'' In a season of exhilarating highs and excruciating lows, Sosa experienced both in the same afternoon. ``The high was when I hit 65,'' Sosa said. ``The low was the way we lost the game. Everybody knows that everybody who plays this game doesn't want to make a mistake. But we're human. Nobody is perfect.'' As the players stood crestfallen crest·fall·en adj. Dispirited and depressed; dejected. crest  fall on the field, a predominantly
pro-Cubs crowd of 45,338 filed out of County Stadium, many fans shaking
their heads. Even Cubs president Andy MacPhail, who hails from a
prominent baseball family and has spent his lifetime in the game,
couldn't believe what happened.
``I think I've seen it all now,'' MacPhail said as he trudged down the stadium ramp with general manager Ed Lynch. Cubs history is full of many more moments like Brown's error than Sosa's home runs. Character-building is part of the Cubs persona. Trying to cope with horrendous outcomes such as Wednesday's mind-numbing loss comes with the territory. Even starting pitcher Steve Trachsel, who had a seven-run lead in the seventh inning but was denied a victory, has been around long enough to understand the wicked ways of Chicago's world. ``It's the Cubs,'' Trachsel said afterward. ``We always do it the hard way. That's how it has been since I've been here. Always the hard way. It's never done easily. If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it.'' Only two days ago, an article about the play ``Bleacher bleach·er n. 1. One that bleaches or is used in bleaching. 2. An often unroofed outdoor grandstand for seating spectators. Often used in the plural. Bums'' appeared in a national newspaper with a telling quote from Chicago actor/writer Joe Mantegna. The story was sitting on the clubhouse table in the Cubs' clubhouse for anyone to read. Although Mantegna said he was optimistic about Chicago's chances of making the playoffs in '98, he added, ``There always is some tragic circumstance'' to come along and spoil things. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Chicago's Sammy Sosa, who had been in a 0-for-21 slump, watches home run No. 64 leave the park. Morry Gash/Associated Press (2--Color) SAMMY SOSA Home runs: 65 Wednesday: 2 for 2, 2 HR, 3 runs, 2 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in Today's Opp.: No game Friday vs. Houston (3--Color) MARK McGWIRE Home runs: 65 Wednesday: 1 for 3, 2 BB Today's Opp.: Montreal Starter: Javier Vazquez Career vs: never faced him |
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