Ward not yet ready to contribute as DH
Injured pinch hitter Daryle Ward took fielding practice Tuesday in addition to hitting and running, but he's not near a return to the active roster.
Manager Lou Piniella said Ward will head to Arizona today to continue his recovery from a bulging disc in his lower back. If that goes OK, Ward will join Class AAA Iowa to begin a minor-league rehab assignment, perhaps beginning with the weekend.
The weekend is when the Cubs open interleague play, in Toronto. From there, they head to Tampa Bay, meaning they'll need a DH for six straight games.
After mentioning the names of Matt Murton and Micah Hoffpauir last week for possible call-ups, Piniella settled on Hoffpauir.
Look for the Cubs to have rotating DHs in the series at American League parks.
"What I can do in these six games is use Micah a little bit at first base and DH Derrek Lee," said Piniella, referring to the Cubs' first baseman. "I could use Micah a little bit in left field and DH Alfonso Soriano. I can even put (Mark) DeRosa at third a couple times and DH (Aramis) Ramirez if we want to.
"We can rotate our team around a little bit and rest some of our key players."
Ward said he's feeling better. He has had problems with one leg being stronger than the other.
"I now feel pretty good," he said. "It's still a little bit weaker than the other leg. I can stand on it. I can push off it. As long as I can do that, I'm pretty much ready to go."
Rotation roulette: Lou Piniella confirmed Tuesday that staff ace Carlos Zambrano will start Thursday's series finale against the Braves.
The off-day Monday enabled Piniella to move Zambrano up a day and push Sean Gallagher back one day.
"We've done the pitching schedule, basically, about through the all-star break," Piniella said. "I think Carlos will get 7 starts, (Ted) Lilly gets 7 starts and the other three starters get 6 apiece."
The other three starters are Ryan Dempster, Jason Marquis and Gallagher. Piniella's math is one off, however. The number of starts he mentioned adds up to 32, and there were 31 games left before the all-star break, including Tuesday.
Like most Piniella pronouncements, this is subject to change.
Theriot works: Before batting practice Tuesday, shortstop Ryan Theriot did some infield work with coach Alan Trammell. Theriot had trouble over the weekend in Los Angeles with dropping throws from the catcher.
On Tuesday, he worked on grounders and throws from deep short in addition to working around the bag.
"It's one of those things I try to do once a homestand or once every week or so," said Theriot, trying to downplay the session.
Minor matters: Lefty Sean Marshall pitched 3 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs in Class AAA Iowa's 6-3 victory Monday. Reliever Carmen Pignatiello, who opened the season with the Cubs, converted his first save of the season.
Right-handed phenom Jose Ceda, who made a splash at spring training, has gone to the bullpen at Class A Daytona, and Cubs people say his velocity has spiked up into the mid- to upper 90s (mph) as a result. A promotion to Class AA Tennessee could be coming soon for Ceda.