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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Don’t do him any favors


Pavano
 (The Spokesman-Review)
From wire reports The Spokesman-Review

Among those on the Florida Marlins’ ticket pass list for Friday’s doubleheader at Wrigley Field was … Steve Bartman?

Yes, Steve Bartman, the fan who supposedly interfered with the Chicago Cubs defeating the Marlins in last October’s National League Championship Series.

Four tickets were ordered for Bartman by Florida starting pitcher Carl Pavano, who was also the starter in Game 6 of the NLCS when Bartman caught a foul ball Moises Alou thought he could catch.

“I put those there as a joke,” Pavano said. “I was hoping he’d use them.”

There were no Bartman sightings Friday at Wrigley Field — just as there are no Elvis sightings when players leave tickets for him — but Pavano did win the first game of the doubleheader, 7-0, before the Cubs came storming back for an 11-2 victory in the nightcap.

Problem with their delivery

The company that owns the Cubs and The Hartford Courant are battling a former newspaper carrier to get back the last of $301,000 it accidentally gave to him instead of a baseball player with the same name.

The Tribune Co. money that was meant for Mark Guthrie, the relief pitcher, was sent to the bank account of Mark Guthrie, the Courant deliveryman, in three payments, the final one made last October. Five weeks later the Cubs realized the error and the team took back $275,000 before Guthrie froze his account.

The Cubs sued in February, but last month filed legal documents offering to drop the suit if he handed over the final $26,000.

“We have no desire to embarrass Mr. Guthrie or bring undue attention to his actions — we just want the money back,” said attorney Paul Guggina, who is representing the Cubs.

Guthrie, 43, said the matter is more complicated.

“I need them to open the books to me and show me I don’t have any tax liabilities,” he said. “It’s mind-boggling. They never should have made the mistake to begin with.”

The carrier said he had waited for the team to call him as his bank account ballooned. Guthrie the pitcher, 38, is now a free agent.

Horse still has no zip

Zippy Chippy, thoroughbred racing’s all-time loser, made it 0 for 100 Friday when he finished last in an eight-horse field at the Three-County Fairgrounds in Northhampton, Mass.

The 13-year-old brown gelding’s awful record has made him something of a celebrity. He was a crowd favorite in Northampton, where plenty of brave bettors wagered on Zippy Chippy at 7-2 odds, including Al Supple, who picked him on a $6 trifecta ticket.

“I think he’ll be in the money,” Supple said.

He was wrong. Zippy never recovered from a slow start in which he bumped shoulders with Patuxent Wind coming out of the gate.

“He was dead last. Poor thing,” said Jean Douglas, who also bet on him.

The horse, stabled at Finger Lakes Race Track in New York, tied the mark for thoroughbred futility in 1998, losing his 85th consecutive race. Soon after, he was banned from his home track for failing to leave the starting gate for a third time.

Wonder what the kid eats

Matthew LeCroy of the Minnesota Twins gave “pre-game meal” a new meaning when he swallowed a live beetle he discovered crawling across the clubhouse, the Saint Paul Pioneer-Press reported.

Teammates coughed up $550 to prompt him to do it.

“I’ve got a kid to feed,” LeCroy said.