Say you're Todd Hundley, and after a decade of kicking around thebig leagues you finally come back to the team of your youth and theteam of your dreams. And here it is Opening Day, and you findyourself sitting on the bench. Do you feel bad about it and complain,or do you say you understand and, hey, there are still 161 games toplay?
You could do both, of course.
"I'm thinking, `Wow, here it is Opening Day, and I'm in a Cubsuniform,' " Hundley, who came to the Cubs from the Dodgers during theoffseason, said Monday after the Cubs' 5-4 loss at Wrigley Field. "Itcan't be any better than this-except if we win."
Unless, of course, his role had been just a little bit moresubstantial than striking out while pinch-hitting for Joe Girardi toend the game.
Hundley seemed to feel very strongly both ways about not starting,saying at one point, "It's not that big a deal. (Manager Don Baylor)and I talked about it. There's a long way to go. It's a marathon.He's a good manager. He knows how to work guys."
But still . . .
"I'm going to be honest," said Hundley, whose father, Randy,started many a Cubs opener in his time. "I'm not going to lie to youand say I don't want to play Opening Day. He said it was nothingpersonal, it was just the way he had to go. (Starting pitcher JonLieber) and Joe have been together a year longer than he and I have.I told him I thought Lieb and I worked together well in springtraining."
So the bottom line is?
"I trust him," Hundley said. "He's the boss."
Fool me once . . .
Hundley's chance to make an impact in his lone at-bat could havebeen a big one, coming against the Expos' Ugueth Urbina, one of thebest relief pitchers in the game before undergoing elbow surgery lastseason. Urbina fanned him on a 3-2 changeup, and the way he did itconvinced Hundley that Urbina is back.
"A guy throws me a changeup on 3-2, I tip my hat to him," Hundleysaid. "I was trying to get to the fastball before he could get tothat pitch. I was waiting for him to try to blow one by me, and hepulled that one out of his pocket. I'll file it away and remember itnext time."
Starting over
The Cubs had their Opening Day bunting (like they have any otherkind) hanging from the Wrigley Field facade. Call it festive, call itwishful thinking or call it the start of something new. What isundeniably new is the roster, and I'm not talking about just theabsence of Mark Grace, either. Only 11 of the players on the 2000roster are back. Bill Mueller, who became the Cubs' 16th startingthird baseman on Opening Day since Ron Santo called it a career,broke in sensationally in the field. Mueller raced in to field PeterBergeron's bunt to open the third inning and gunned him out. Aninning later, he dived to stop Orlando Cabrera's shot down the line,scrambled to his feet and threw him out, too.
"They're both tough plays," said Mueller, who came to the Cubsfrom the Giants over the winter. "Bergeron is very fast down the line-I enjoy coming in on a play like that-and Cabrera hit a rocket. Thosewere good plays for the team."
Mueller was less thrilled when Expos first baseman Lee Stevensgrabbed his line-drive bid for a hit down the right-field line thatwould have won the game in the ninth inning.
"You saw a guy jumping up and down; I was pretty upset," Muellersaid. "I tried hard to hit it over the infield. If Lee just wasn't sodarned tall. . . . I took a couple away from them, and they took oneaway from me."
And finally . . .
When you've spent as many years in the big leagues as Felipe Alouhas, Opening Days tend to run together a bit. But the Expos' managerhas fond memories of the home run he hit years ago when the Giantsopened the season in St. Louis.
"It was cold, the wind was blowing in and nobody wanted to play,"Alou said. "I hit one off Vinegar Bend Mizell, and it must have takenthe ball five minutes to get out of the park."
Asked whether he was sentimental enough to save Opening Day lineupcards, Alou said no.
"Even the money you make in this business is hard to keep," Alousaid.
E-mail Ron Rapoport at rjr@suntimes.com.
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