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Paul Sullivan: Cubs’ decision to dismiss Seiya Suzuki’s interpreter gets lost in translation

CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs were in an awful 8-31 rut in September 1999 when they decided to shake things up on and off the field. Fred Sandke, a veteran Wrigley Field usher in his early 70s who ran the only ballpark elevator at the time, was moved from a job he’d held for four years to a new post in the family section in left field. Asked about the switch, Sandke lamented that his bosses told him “I needed some fresh air.”

Sandke was an innocent bystander caught up in management’s endless search for answers during a miserable season. The move didn’t help the ’99 Cubs, who finished last in the National League Central with 95 losses and fired manager Jim Riggleman on the final day of the season. Sandke’s saga came to mind Friday at Wrigley Field as Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki entered the second half of the season without his longtime interpreter,

Toy Matsushita, who was quietly let go during the All-Star break. Two other employees – Shota Imanaga’s interpreter, Edwin Stanberry, and video coordinator and Pacific Rim liaison Nao Masamoto – will share the job the rest of the year. In the short term, the change of interpreters proved meaningless. Suzuki was 0 for 3 and struck out with two on to end Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a gorgeous afternoon.