Good news on Soto's knee

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto was relieved Monday to find out he had no serious damage to his right knee.

Soto had an MRI on the knee before Monday's game, and he and the Cubs said there was no structural damage, only some minor swelling.

Soto said he injured the knee diving into second base on an eighth-inning double Sunday in Cincinnati.

"We had great news," said Soto, who did not start against the Pirates at Wrigley Field and is listed as day to day. "Everything structurally in the knee was fine. I've just got a little bit of fluid. Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow or the next day."

Soto said the knee was find until he got home and started playing with his kids.

"(Then) it was kind of getting a little (sore)," he said.

Backing Sandberg: Hall of Famer Andre Dawson expressed confidence that former teammate Ryne Sandberg would make a good major-league manager even as he said he was surprised Sandberg wanted to do it.

Sandberg is managing the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa affiliate, and he will be a candidate to manage the Cubs next year, as will current skipper Mike Quade, who took over last week for Lou Piniella.

"I'm still kind of amazed that he wants to do it at this level," Dawson said. "It's different at the minor-league level when you're doing a little more evaluating and you're working with the kids and you're trying to get them to the next level. Here, it's egos, attitudes, business. You're under the microscope a little more.

"Ryno, I never envisioned that as a player. He was a little bit more laid-back, quiet. Maybe there's a different animal now that's kind of surfaced. I wish him well. Anyone who wants that challenge, I really wish them the best. I think that he'll do a good job at it. He's respected enough now. He played the game the way you're supposed to play the game. He knows how to earn the respect of his peers, of his players, of the individuals he'd be over and above. I think he'd do real well at it."

Silva update: Rehabbing pitcher Carlos Silva is scheduled to throw 70 pitches for Class A Peoria on Wednesday at Kane County as he comes back from a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat. Silva said he's feeling fine.

"I don't even think about it," he said of his heart.