Wood may have to throw through the pain
Kerry Wood is eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday, but at the glacial pace his blister is healing, it could be a while before the Cubs' closer actually returns to action.
"It has been slow," general manager Jim Hendry admitted. "But at the same time you want to get it right so you don't keep redoing it."
Still, it sounds like Hendry is getting just a little anxious to have his closer back on the mound.
"It might get to the situation where if it's a chronic problem, then you have to pitch through it," Hendry said. "He's been to every doctor, specialist, dermatologist, hand specialist. ... It obviously has some significance - not to minimize it - but there weren't any fractures, there weren't any impediments underneath his skin that are causing infections, his circulation is good.
"(Josh) Beckett had the same problem a couple of years ago and it took a long time to heal and all of a sudden things clicked for him, so hopefully it's not too much longer. Woody's the kind of guy - that if he has to - he'll throw through it.
"If he's not ready for Milwaukee, he's not ready. We're going to try to do the thing that gets him the healthiest for the rest of the year."
Is it or isn't it: Try telling Cubs or Brewers fans that this week's four-game series in Milwaukee - a showdown for first place in the NL Central - isn't a huge deal.
That's just what Cubs manager Lou Piniella was trying to do Sunday before the series finale against the pesky Florida Marlins.
"It is important but it's still July now," Piniella cautioned. "But real big? I wouldn't classify it as real big. A lot of things can happen in two months, so I wouldn't classify it as really big, but important, yes."
Really, really sorry: Jim Hendry wanted to clear the air one final time over the Cubs being assessed a large fine by MLB concerning their over-slot signing of a pair of draft choices.
"There's been a little bit of a discrepancy over some of the comments I stated about our situation with the draft violations," Hendry said. "We have never been in violation of any rule with MLB in the past. We are clearly in violation of not calling the proper channels of reporting our two over-slot signings.
"We have a lot of respect for the Commissioner and the Commissioner's office. We have never been in violation of any rules in the 14 year's I've been here before. We certainly broke the rules on not reporting the two over-slot signings before they were signed or made public and that's our fault and something we feel badly about."
Down with Goose: Lou Piniella couldn't have been happier that a couple of his close friends - the voice of the Mariners Dave Niehaus and closer extraordinaire and former teammate Goose Gossage - were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday.
"Dave Niehaus, what a wonderful, wonderful broadcaster," said Piniella who worked closely with Niehaus when he managed in Seattle. "And Goose, what a special person. Great competitor, will to win - really, really good stuff.
"Just a wonderful selection and I'm so happy for him. Goose was a dominant guy and he enjoyed going out there competing. He really had a lot of responsibility for the world championships we had in New York."
Big draw: Courtesy of the 41,017 fans on hand Sunday against the Marlins, the Cubs drew 165,540 for the four-game series, the all-time mark for a four-game series at Wrigley Field.