they spent time in first place in early June. However, injuries to Ryne Sandberg and Shawon Dunston within days of each other crippled the Cubs' middle infield and hampered their offense. Their replacements were Paul Noce and Mike Brumley, respectively, Brumley having been acquired as "thrown-in" in the 1984 Buckner-for-Eckersley trade. Neither player was able to come close to replacing the lost production from Sandberg and Dunston and, consequentially, the team struggled. In the month of August, two incidents occurred in which players cheated against the Cubs. Phillies pitcher Kevin Gross was pitching against the Chicago Cubs on Aug 10, 1987. Gross was caught with sandpaper in his glove and suspended for 10 games. Astros batter Billy Hatcher was batting against the Chicago Cubs on Aug 31, 1987, when he broke his bat and it flew down the third base line. Cubs third baseman Keith Moreland saw cork, and Hatcher was suspended for 10 games. Later on, Hatcher claimed that he was using pitcher Dave Smith's bat, and not his own. After a woeful August, Michael told the press that he was planning on resigning after the season. Green said that he would accept the resignation, effective immediately, and replaced Michael with Frank Lucchesi, a longtime scout in the Philadelphia organization who had become a Cubs roving instructor. As the Cubs played out the string under Lucchesi, they finished last, although they were a markedly improved team over the '86 club, with a promising future. Season standings Record vs. opponents Notable transactions April 6, 1987: Dickie Noles was signed as a free agent by the Cubs. July 13, 1987: Steve Trout was traded by the Cubs to the New York Yankees for Bob Tewksbury, Rich Scheid, and Dean Wilkins. September 22, 1987: Dickie Noles was loaned by the Cubs to the Detroit Tigers. Opening Day starters Jody Davis Andre Dawson Brian Dayett Bob Dernier Shawon Dunston Leon Durham Keith Moreland Ryne Sandberg Rick Sutcliffe Roster Game log |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |1||April 7|| Cardinals||9 – 3 ||Tudor (1-0)||Sutcliffe (0-1)||Dawley (1)|| 38,240 ||0-1|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |2||April 9|| Cardinals||4 – 2 ||Cox (1-0)||Trout (0-1)||Worrell (1)|| 12,441 ||0-2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |3||April 10||@ Phillies||4 – 3 ||Lynch (1-0)||K. Gross (0-1)||Noles (1)|| 43,212 ||1-2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |4||April 11||@ Phillies||9 – 1 ||Sutcliffe (1-1)||Cowley (0-1)|||| 21,581 ||2-2|| |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" |5||April 12||@ Phillies||9 – 8 10||Bedrosian (1-0)||Smith (0-1)|||| 23,769 ||2-3|| |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" |6||April