Productive Byrd contines to soar for Cubs

It's been asked before and it will no doubt be asked again, but maybe it's worth asking one more time: Where would the Cubs be without center fielder Marlon Byrd?

Consider what he did Friday and what he's done this season as a whole:

He was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and scored 2 runs Friday, boosting his average to .345 for the season.

It was his 16th multi-hit game of the season and he has now hit safely in 20 of his last 24 games.

In addition, his seventh homer of the season in his 35th game of the year, puts him on pace to hit 31 this year. Last year he didn't connect for is seventh until June 30, his 66th game played.

But if you think Byrd is celebrating his accomplishments, think again.

"We have expectations to win; we go up on a team and we're going to have to figure out how to shut the door," Byrd said after Friday's 10-6 loss to Pittsburgh. "We have to figure how to finish them off."

Nady later: Xavier Nady made a rare start in right field in the series opener against the Pirates, but based on manager Lou Piniella's response, it appears the veteran isn't close to being able to play on a regular or even semi-regular basis.

"(Long pause) ... he's coming along," Piniella said. "Whether he's able to play on an everyday basis I would say probably not. I think the timetable was around the 1st of June and I don't see that changing much."

Did you know: When today's starter Ryan Dempster lost a 5-3 decision in Cincinnati on Sunday, he fell to 0-7 at Great American Ball Park, according to STATS. Remarkably, that's not his worst winless record in a current major league park; he is 0-8 at Atlanta's Turner Field. Yet, that's only the second-most losses without a win in a big league building among active pitchers. Milwaukee left-hander Doug Davis is 0-9 with a 5.56 ERA in 10 starts at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Idol thinking: Cubs reliever Justin Berg, winner of Cubs Idol during spring training, was asked before the game - and before Idol contestant Lee DeWyze threw out the first pitch - if he might someday graduate to the Fox hit show.

"I don't think so," Berg said with a smile. "Not in this lifetime."

But that doesn't mean he hasn't imagined what it might be like nonetheless.

"I've thought about it," he said. "I like playing drums, playing guitar, but singing is a different thing. That takes a lot of guts."

Razing Arizona: A group of about a dozen protesters gathered outside Wrigley Field before Friday's game, railing against Arizona's new immigration law and pushing for the Cubs to hold spring training in Naples, Fla., rather than Mesa.

He said it: Cubs manager Lou Piniella on what kind of reaction he got from Cubs fans he encountered on Thursday's off day: "They're supportive ... but with a little anxiety."