Edmonds takes an early exit

Jim Edmonds couldn't remember when ­- if ever - he'd been tossed from a game during an at-bat, but that's what happened to the Cubs outfielder in the 11th inning Thursday when home plate umpire Ed Rapuano gave hime the heave-ho while in the middle of a 1-2 count.

"The first pitch was off the plate. and I said, 'C'mon Eddie, that's a ball'" Edmonds said. "He jumped up real quick like he was irritated and was yelling at me. I said, 'It doesn't matter what you say, it's still a ball.'

"So he went back behind the plate and said, 'Don't take it again.' So the next pitch was farther off the plate and I said, 'That's a ball, too,' and he said, 'You're gone.' I said, 'Oo-kay.'

"The pitches were clearly balls, but that's just part of the game."

Sheets update: Whether its his forearm as Milwaukee management is claiming or his elbow as he said it was Wednesday night, something's wrong with Ben Sheets' right arm, and no one seems to have any idea exactly how long the big right-hander will be out of the rotation, or if he'll even return this season.

"It's not serious to the point where it's career-jeopardizing," said Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash. "There's no structural issues.

"He's got pain. Sometimes he can pitch with it, sometimes he can't."

Asked about the likelihood of Sheets making his last 2 starts down the stretch, Ash responded simply: "Don't know yet."

Put me in, coach: Even if the Cubs clinch the NL Central this weekend, don't expect Alfonso Soriano to beat a path to manager Lou Piniella's office to request a day off down the stretch.

"I don't like taking days off," Soriano said. "I like to play every day; when I'm not playing, it's a long day for me."