"Say it like you mean it - Andy McPhail - that's F - A - I - L
Hey, let me get my what-if bell (ding-ding-ding), what if I call John Dewan? Score Celebrity Phone ringing and it's none other than John Dewan. So John, burning question for all us Cubs fans - let's go back to the glory days of 1987. Frank Lucchesi managing, Herm Starette - good ole number 3 as a coach. Herm Starette - a big sunflower seed chewer there in the dugout. When Mike Mason, number 41, was on the hill, having a horrible season, I think Starette's sunflower seed chewing distracted him. Do you have a breakdown on Mike Mason's statistics with Starette chewing sunflower seeds as compared to when he wasn't?"
John Dewan: "Actually, Murph, we did this analysis and it is incredible. I think you're really on to something. Mike Mason appeared in 17 games with the Cubs..."
Murph: "After coming over from the Rangers..."
Dewan: "And he went 4 and 1. His ERA with the Cubs was 5.68, in 38 innings pitched. When we ran our analysis, we found that in 13 games where Herm Starette was chewing sunflower seeds, Mike Mason went 0 and 1, and his ERA was 8.51. He gave up four home runs, twenty walks, and threw one wild pitch. He only had three strikeouts in these games. In games where Herm Starette wasn't chewing sunflower seeds, he had 25 strikeouts, only gave up three walks, no homeruns, and had an ERA under three."
Murph: "So John, what you're saying here, is that Mike Mason's pitching was negatively impacted by a coach chewing sunflower seeds?"
Dewan: "Oh, absolutely Murph."