Dark side of the moon
A number of major leaguers couldn't win for losing last week. First, consider Pitcher John (Blue Moon) Odom, recently traded from Oakland to Cleveland. Odom had demanded an additional $8,000 from the Indians, reasoning that the move East was likely to cost him a bundle in playoff and World Series shares. The Cleveland front office said no way. Given a start last week, Odom pitched a two-hitter, defeating the Royals 4-0. The word on the eight grand was still no and, what's more, Odom learned that the club had placed him on waivers. When Atlanta claimed him, Cleveland struck a bargain—Odom and a player to be named later for Pitcher Roric Harrison. At week's end Cleveland was seven games out of first; Atlanta, 7½. Odom's prospects for additional loot? Nil.
And then there was the matter of the hustling Giants. Giving their all, Catcher Dave Rader and Third Baseman Ed Goodson pursued a pop-up in a game with Chicago. They collided, and Rader was sidelined with a severely sprained knee. After Gary Matthews broke his thumb in a fight with teammate Derrel Thomas, newcomer Jake Brown was given a chance to play left field. Trying to impress everyone with an all-out effort in his first start, against Montreal, Brown raced long and hard after a well-hit ball. His hustle was for naught; the ball wound up a home run and Brown joined Rader and Matthews on the sideline with a depressed cheekbone—his reward for crashing into the fence.