88
Mondav. Mav 5 .1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Silver Charm dashes to end, wins prize in Derby race
Favored horse fails to claim first again
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert was blowing his own horn.
With several blasts on the horn of a courtesy van, Baffert announced his arrival yesterday to those waiting to talk to the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm.
"Let me first check on the horse," Baffert said.
Silver Charm is fine, and tomorrow the horse will be shipped to Baltimore for the Breakness on May 17 at Pimlico.
There he again will face Captain Bodgit, who made a mighty run at Silent Charm in the Derby on Saturday
at Churchill Downs but was a head short at the end of the 1 1/4 miles.
"I hope I can do next year what he (Baffert) did this year," said Gary Capuano, Captain Bodigi's trainer.
In 1996, Baffert had thought momentarily that Cavonnier had won the Derby, but it turned out he lost by a nose to Grindstone.
Baffert said he told Capuano he shouldn't be disappointed
"He did a great job with his horse," Baffert said. "He was ready to run. He scared the hell out of me down the stretch."
"I said, 'I got to buy him.' I believe in omens."
Capuano said he had bid on Silver Charm at a sale of 2-year-olds. However, Baffert gave the gray colt for $85,000 for Bob and Beverly Lewis.
"The reason I bought him was I heard the name Silver Charm," said the silver-haired, 44-year-old trainer.
The Kentucky Derby was not on Baffert's mind when he bought Silver Charm until the colt won the San Vicente on Feb. 8 at Santa Anita. Although the colt finished second to Free House in the San Felipe and the Santa Anita, Baffert said before the Derby he was confident the horse was going to run the race of his life.
A lot of people agreed with Baffert, sending Silver Charm off as the 4-1 second choice behind 3-1 Captain Bodigit, the 18th consecutive favorite to lose in the Derby.
Horses who did run in the Derby that are listed as probable Preakness entries are Touch Gold, winner of the Lexington at Keeneland; Ordway, fourth in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct; and Traitor, winner of an allowance race on April 23 at Aqueduct.
Other Derby starters who might go to Pimlico are Pulpit, the pace-setter who finished fourth; stretch-running Cryto Start, who was fifth; and Jack Flash, another stretcher-runner who finished seventh.
Considered possible are Smokin Mel, winner of the Gotham at Aqueduct and third in the Wood; Wild Tempest, seventh in the Wood; and Richter Scale, winner of the Derby Trial on April 26 at Churchill Downs. Wild Tempest is trained by Nick Zito, trainer of Jack Flash.
Silver Charm's victory was the first Derby triumph for the Lewises and the third for jockey Gary Stevens, who won with the filly Winning Colors in 1988 and with Thunder Gulch in 1995.
Harnisch back in the bullpen ready to play
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Pete Harnisch was back at the ball-park wearing his New York Mets' uniform yesterday.
Harnisch, who was diagnosed with depression,
rejoined his teammates for the first time since he
left the club last month.
"It's a big day for me," he said. "Right now, I'm at a little crossroads as far as the medication I'm taking. The anxiety is getting better at this point."
Will he pitch again this season?
"Oh yeah, absolutely," he said. "I expect to. It's hard for me to put a timetable on it, but I hope to join the team in the near future."
Harnisch has lost more than 20 pounds since he left the Mets five days after pitching the season opener at San Diego.
He said he still had no appetite, but his sleeping patterns were fine. Harnisch initially sought medical help because of lack of sleep, which he thought had resulted from quitting chewing tobacco.
However, doctors told him his illness was caused by a chemical imbalance that could have been precipitated by his decision to quit using tobacco.
"They can't really give me a concrete reason why it happened," he said, "but it's going to be corrected. I still don't consider myself better yet, but I'm getting close."
Harnisch said he had talked daily to teammates, coaches and other team personnel.
"It's a weird thing," he said, "but it's physical, and it's getting corrected, and I'm feeling better. Am I waking up and joking with my family and my friends like I used to? No. But I'm getting back there."
At 30 years old, and in the prime of his life, he is perplexed by the disease. He said he also was surprised to discover how many people were afflicted with depression.
Having received support from family and friends, Harmisch said he had called Jason Irishhausen, the Mets' young pitcher who was diagnosed last week with tuberculosis, to offer encouragement.
"I know we're in different situations, but it was good to talk to him," Harnisch said.
Cubs, White Sox set league's worst record
By Mike Nadel The Associated Press
CHICAGO — On the North Side, routine throws end up in the stands, two-strike pitches end up in the bleachers and base-running blunders end up in punch lines.
On the South Side, millionaire sluggers are flailing. Paunchy pitchers are failing, and apathetic fans are bailing.
This town has a long tradition of baseball futility — the White Sox last won the World Series in 1917, the Cubs in 1908. But this season has produced an especially amazing display of pathetic play.
The Cubs lost their first 14 games for the worst start in National League history, set another record with 19 April losses and took a 6-20 mark into the weekend. Despite a $54 million payroll that includes some
$18 million for Frank Thomas and Albert Belle, the White Sox were 8-17.
Each team had the worst record in its league. "Chicago is the best sports town in the world, and the fans here deserve a winner," said Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, who announced White Sox games from 1971-81. "But I'm so old that I won't be around when one of these teams finally does win something."
A Chicago baseball team is guaranteed to win at least three more games—June 16, 17 and 18. That's when the Cubs and White Sox meet in the regular season for the first time as part of the sport's great interleague experiment.
White Sox outfielder Dave Martinez, who played for the Cubs in the late 1980s, said the series at Comiskey Park would change the meaning of cross-town rivalry.
For now, the rivalry looks like a race to the 100-loss mark.
Though defeat is the norm at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park, these Cubs and White Sox have turned futility into a bumbling, stumbling art form.
"We have to improve because we can't play much worse."
The Cubs finished April with a .228 batting average, a 4.84 ERA and 27 errors. They were outscored 133-95 and out-homered 28-15.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” Cubs first baseman Mark Grace said. “We’ve played a lot of bad baseball.”
During their 0-14 start, the Cubs were lank
pooned by Jay Lencroasted on local radio and mocked by newspaper per columnists. "I don't have any use for the sarcasm and the mean-spirited stuff. Cubs manager Jim Riggleman said, "But I've got a sense of humor, and even
I laughed at some of the jokes."
Laughing hasn't come as easily on the South Side.
Unlike the Cubs, who thought they might not ish above .500 if they got some breaks, the White Sox expected to be among baseball's best teams.
"I've done a lot of evaluation, and it's time to go out and get some wins," general manager Ron Schueler said. "I don't want to hear any more excuses."
In other words, manager Terry Bevington is in the hot seat, and several players are sitting right next to him.
Owner Jerry Reinsdorf spent $55 million to sign Belle for the next five years and assumed that the combination of Belle and Thomas — two of the game's most feared hitters during the past five years — would pound opponents into submission.
It hasn't happened.
Belle had only four homers, 14 RBI and a .206 batting average in the first month. Thomas batted .319 but had only two homers and 15 RBI. And the White Sox was outscored 188-106 in April.
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