MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CHICAGO | It's your first day on the job and you spill coffee in your lap, call the boss by the wrong name, and accidentally park in the company president's reserved space.
Catcher Jason Kendall would gladly take that.
The newest Cub had a debut in Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Giants that he'd rather forget -- going 0-for-3, chasing down two wild pitches, dropping a foul ball that led to the winning run and failing to throw out a runner at second.
Kendall made no excuses. That's not his style. But manager Lou Piniella, aware the taxing flight from Oakland to Chicago made it a very long day for Kendall, gave him Wednesday off.
"It was a tough night and not the way I wanted to start off," Kendall said. "The traveling had nothing to do with it."
Cubs fans will appreciate that the only finger-pointing Kendall does is at himself, though most .298 career hitters would not.
In his first at-bat, Kendall got a standing ovation from the 41,000 fans. "It was great. It gave me chills," he said, looking back.
Then in the eighth, the 33-year-old backstop misplayed a Bengie Molina popup directly behind home plate, lunging at the last second and having the ball glance off his glove. Molina then singled, pinch-runner Fred Lewis stole second and eventually scored the Giants' third run -- causing the fans to boo this time.
"I deserved that. They want a winner. It was a play I should've made," Kendall said of the foul ball. "My mother always told me if you touch it, you should catch it. I've played here before. I know the layout and where everything's at. I just lost the ball and it cost us the game.
"That's baseball. I've had games like that before. I've just got to shake it off."
Starter Sean Marshall claims the slate already has been wiped clean.
"Jason's a veteran catcher who calls a great game. You're always on the same page with him and that makes all of us comfortable," said Marshall, who left Tuesday with the score 2-2.
Kendall is a .990 career fielder, so Piniella was not concerned by his stinker performance.
"It was a tough day for him," Piniella agreed. "You gotta get up real early, fly halfway across country and you're catching a staff that you're not too familiar with.
"After he catches these guys once ... within a week he'll be up to snuff with all of 'em. He'll be fine. It's not his fault we walked three people there in the eighth inning."
Piniella actually thought Kendall had a solid outing. Almost.
"The throw (to second) was a tough, tough play for a catcher. And on the popup, he just didn't see it," Piniella said. "It's time to turn the page and go forward."
