A career spent in reserve

      Don Zimmer kept Doug Dascenzo on the Chicago Cubs' roster in 1990 even when the switch-hitting outfielder hit just .165.
      Zimmer saw in Dascenzo the type of player he remains this season with the Stars.
      "I've always seen myself as a reserve," said Dascenzo, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles Friday night in Colorado Springs' 17-3 victory over the Stars before 3,995 at Cashman Field. "I've always seen myself as a guy who can come off the bench and bunt, pinch hit and play defense when you have a one-run lead."
      And don't forget pitch.
      The 5-foot-8, 160-pound left-handed thrower became well-known for his late-inning mop-up stints with the Cubs in the early 1990s. In 1991, Dascenzo threw four shutout innings in three appearances.
      Dascenzo was forced into mound action in Wednesday night's 21-5 loss to Colorado Springs after Todd Schmitt was ejected and the Stars ran out of pitchers in the eighth inning.
      "I don't like to do it," Dascenzo said. "But you have other games to play. What else can you do?
      "I realize I could get hurt."
      Dascenzo, who gave up just one run in 1 1/3 innings, was the Stars' most effective pitcher in that game.
      "I just tried to get it over and hope they hit at someone," said Dascenzo, who pitched at Brownsville (Pa.) Area High School.
      Normally the Stars' leadoff hitter and center fielder, he has raised his average from .229 to .275 since the beginning of May. His sixth home run May 11 at Albuquerque tied his personal best in a 13-year professional career.
      But he doesn't consider himself a power hitter.
      "On most of those balls, the wind has been blowing out," said Dascenzo, who has five homers in 1,225 at-bats in the major leagues. "Lucky, I guess."
      On May 14, Dascenzo got his 1,000th career minor-league hit. He said he didn't give it a second thought, other than hoping it came in the process of getting back to where he was earlier this decade.
      Dascenzo, who will be 33 next month, played in 21 games in two stints with the Padres last season, but knows his future isn't necessarily in San Diego.
      Next season's major-league expansion of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays intrigues Dascenzo.
      "(I think about it) all the time," Dascenzo said. "We will have two new teams and 50 more jobs."
      "Hopefully, somebody sees something they can use."
      Dascenzo doesn't do one thing outstanding. Instead, he is a well-rounded player.
      "A lot of the guys up in the major leagues are one-dimensional," Dascenzo said. "You need some of those guys, but you don't need 25 of them."
      It was those qualities that secured Dascenzo's place in Chicago during the Cubs' 1989 Eastern Division championship season.
      "Zimmer kept me on the team when I hit a buck-sixty," Dascenzo said. "We won the division because we had some guys who could do the little things, like play defense and move runners over. We didn't have 15 offensive guys."
      "I'm not so sure that's the way the game is played anymore."
      -- NOTES -- Colorado Springs has outscored Las Vegas 50-15 in the first three games of the series. With 10 runs tonight, the Sky Sox can break Calgary's 1993 record of 59 runs against the Stars in a four-game series. The Sky Sox's 12-run fifth marked the most runs scored against Las Vegas this season. ...
      Stars starter Dave Zancanaro gave up 10 runs on 10 hits in four innings. ...
      Right-handed pitcher Bobby Munoz lasted just six batters in his Stars debut, allowing four runs in one-third of an inning. He was ejected after throwing a pitch that appeared to slip out of his hand and nearly hit Tom Quinlan in the head. ...
      Munoz and home plate umpire Tony Randazzo exchanged words before Randazzo threw him out. Bob Scanlan, who didn't allow a run in two-thirds of an inning, made his Stars debut in place of Munoz. ...
      Rene Gonzales and Quinlan led the Sky Sox's 22-hit attack with four each. Gonzales was 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, and Quinlan was 4-for-6. ...
      Right-hander Jim Bruske (5-2, 3.95 ERA) will start against Colorado Springs' Joel Moore (1-0, 5.40 ERA) at 7:05 tonight in the series finale.