Rothschild: Marmol not tipping pitches

ST. LOUIS - Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Friday he saw no evidence that beleaguered relief pitcher Carlos Marmol has been tipping his pitches.

Rothschild, Marmol and manager Lou Piniella looked at tapes on the plane coming from San Francisco and again Friday to try to determine the cause of Marmol's recent struggles after he got off to a dominating start.

"It's pretty similar," Rothschild said of Marmol's deliveries. "He's throwing some fastballs up. That's been the biggest thing. Right now, he's going through one of those periods where every bad pitch is hit and hit hard. I think he'll get through it. He's got too good of stuff."

Rothschild also downplayed any notion that Marmol's arm is tired or in some way hurt.

"The other day, he gets two outs on 6 pitches," the coach said. "Then the walk, basehit and first-pitch home run. He's been real close, on a number of occasions, to just wiping out innings. He just hasn't finished them.

"It's just a few little things that are adding up to making a major difference."

Rothschild said Marmol's confidence is fine and that the biggest thing is for him to understand slumps happen.

"The perspective is the biggest thing," Rothschild said. "This is a bump in the road. So let's get back on track."

Soriano update: Left fielder Alfonso Soriano played catch Friday, and Lou Piniella said he hit some "soft-toss" balls and may be able to take batting practice this weekend. Soriano broke his left hand June 11, and the Cubs put a six timetable on his return.

"He's coming along very well," Lou Piniella said. "He's ahead of schedule.

Gallagher's future: Despite the Cubs moving rookie right-hander Sean Gallagher to the bullpen, Larry Rothschild said that's not his future.

"I think he's going to be a starter," Rothschild said. "I like the way he's progressed. His last two games, he didn't have great results, but I thought he threw the ball well. It's a little misleading. I think he's made some pretty good progress as a starter."

Lineup questions: Reed Johnson led off for the second straight game, with Kosuke Fukudome batting second. Lou Piniella originally had said Fukudome would lead off until Alfonso Soriano comes back. Now, Piniella wants to get Fukudome used to hitting second.

"I said once Soriano comes back, he's going to assume the leadoff spot," Piniella said. "So you might as well put Fukudome in the 2-hole... and get him used to it, just in case that's where he's going to hit.

"There's no sense leading him off, and then Soriano comes in, and all of a sudden, he's in the 2-hole. So we'll put him in the 2-hole now and let him acclimate himself."

Roster move: When the Cubs activated Carlos Zambrano Friday, they optioned reliever Jose Ascanio to Class AAA Iowa.