Russell glad for fresh start

CINCINNATI - Cubs rookie reliever James Russell didn't call it a "clean slate," but he seems more than happy to have a fresh shot with new manager Mike Quade.

Russell came into Saturday night's 3-2 victory over the Reds and struck out three and gave up a harmless single in the seventh inning.

"He's just giving us a chance and seeing what we can do," Russell, a lefty, said of Quade. "We haven't really been doing our job too well, but maybe we can build off what happened last night and just kind of keep going off that for the rest of the season.

"We never really talked about it (a clean slate). I don't really look at is as a clean slate. He's been here the whole year. He knows what we've been going through."

Quade has used relievers Russell, Andrew Cashner and Marcos Mateo in tight games since he took over as manager from Lou Piniella last week.

Russell is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) in 44 games. Like all of the Cubs' young relievers, he's had his ups and downs.

"It's a great learning experience," Russell said. "It's not really how I wanted it to go, but I think the struggling a little bit is going to help me in the long run. I guarantee you it will happen again. When it does happen, I'll know how to fix it, how to get better more easily and quicker."

Piniella gave Russell his first major-league roster spot out of spring training. Russell didn't compare his new manager with his old.

"We've kind of had both ends of the spectrum a little bit," he said. "Lou's a totally different personality than Quade. It's just not that we mesh better with Quade. It's just how things are going right now. We're just playing better baseball.

"We've taken it upon ourselves. We would like to have done it for Lou. It just so happens that it didn't really work out."

Cheers for Silva: Rehabbing pitcher Carlos Silva made a good impression in his minor-league rehab assignment at Class A Peoria, for whom he'll pitch again Wednesday at Kane County.

The Peoria Journal star reported Silva bought postgame clubhouse dinners for both the Peoria and Cedar Rapids clubs and that he took time to talk with the minor-leaguers.

"It was cool," Peoria lefty Jeff Lorick told the paper. "I sat down to watch him at the start of the game to see how he handled himself prior to his start. Sometimes guys come down and big-league (you); they don't talk and leave real fast. Carlos was around the whole time, talking to anyone that wanted to talk to him. He paid for the postgame spread. He's a great guy."

Silva told the Journal Star he drew on his own past.

"I remember when I was in A-ball, Curt Schilling came down to pitch on a rehab, and I think that was one of the great moments for me when he starts talking to me," Silva said. "I had guys around me talking to me and asking questions, and that's really fine.

"We have to set a good example because we are in the big leagues and they want to learn from us. That's why I want to be a good example for them."

Dawson's day: The Cubs will honor Hall of Famer Andre Dawson with a pregame ceremony before Monday night's game. Dawson played for the Cubs from 1987-92.

The first 10,000 fans entering the park will receive a commemorative Andre Dawson cap.