THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 3, 1994 TAG: 9408030581
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Utilityman Jeff McKnight, who first played for the Tides in 1987, is slated to begin his fifth tenure with the club when he joins them for tonight's makeup doubleheader in Charlotte.
The doubleheader was forced by Tuesday's rainout of the game against Charlotte at Harbor Park. (The Tides will be visitors in both games.) The teams will play a single game Thursday.
McKnight has been sent down on a 30-day rehabilitation assignment that will carry through the rest of the Tides' season, assuming there is no major league player's strike. If the players walk, McKnight's rehab stint will end at that point.
A switch-hitter, McKnight, 31, has been on the disabled list since June 14 with a rib-cage injury. He has appeared in 30 games and is batting .115 in 26 at-bats, all but one of which came as a pinch hitter.
Pinch hitting has been McKnight's primary role in the majors, where he has spent just one full season. That was last year when he hit .256 in 105 games for the Mets.
Players on rehabilitation assignments normally play as much as possible, but that probably won't be the case with McKnight, Tides manager Bobby Valentine said.
``I'm not sure he'll play when we play National League teams,'' Valentine said. ``I hear he hasn't been well-schooled in the field the last couple years. He hasn't played that much. I would play him at DH.''
McKnight is fifth on the Tides' all-time list in games played, with 418. He played for the Tides from 1987 to 1989, spent two seasons in the majors and Triple-A with Baltimore, then returned to the Mets and Tides in 1992. He hit
MAKE-UP TIME: Tuesday's postponement was just the third of the season at Harbor Park, amazing considering the amount of rain that's fallen in the last few weeks.
Jonathan Hurst and Frank Seminara are scheduled to pitch for the Tides in today's 6 p.m. doubleheader, though Valentine was mulling bumping Hurst for lefthander Kevin Morton because of Charlotte's many lefthanded batters and its cozy ballpark.
``I've got a long bus ride to think it over,'' Valentine said before the Tides departed for Charlotte after the postponement.
FIRST CLASS: Speaking of traveling, Charlotte also pulled out of town Tuesday evening. But while the Tides boarded two buses and planned on arriving in the wee hours after a six-hour journey, the Knights hopped back into their team jet for the quick jaunt home.
On nearly all travel occasions, the Knights use the 48-seat jet that team owner George Shinn purchased for his basketball team, the Charlotte Hornets. Three flight attendants serve catered meals on china.
``Yeah, but we've got VCRs and a choice of 15 movies,'' crowed Tides coach Marlin McPhail, his heart not totally in it.
Actually, the Tides traveled in greater comfort than usual. They earned a second bus thanks to winning a pair of games in Richmond last weekend. It was the motivational deal offered by Valentine after Richmond beat the Tides on Friday at Harbor Park.
``If they'd have lost, they'd have gotten a school bus,'' general manager Dave Rosenfield said.
A LITTLE HELP FROM DAD: One of the lighter moments of the season occurred during Monday's game when outfielder Doug Dascenzo helped guide a 4-year-old around the bases in a race with Rip Tide, the Tides' dopey mascot.
It's a normal between-innings diversion, but Zach Dascenzo, Doug's son, wanted nothing to do with getting near the ball of blue fuzz. So Dascenzo took Zach's hand and, to mounting cheers, trotted with him from second base to the plate.
``I had to,'' Dascenzo said. ``He would've never made it by himself.'' by CNB