Don't expect a Piniella flameout this time

Where's the fire?

Cubs manager Lou Piniella says it still burns within him despite speculation by others that he's lost it.

"What do I need to show fire for? I'm not a dragon," Piniella said. "Look, if I was out there arguing all the time, what they'd be saying is, 'Well, this guy's lost his cool.' Look, I still want to win. I still have it in my belly. I think the players, obviously, know that.

"I got to let them play. I don't win baseball games. The players play on the field. Our job is to prepare them and keep them as motivated as possible, and they've got to do the job on the field. I was reading an article just a week ago about Phil Jackson and Joe Torre, about how calm and cool they are and how successful they are. I don't know what else to say.

"If I have something to beef with the umpires, I'll go out there and beef, and I will stand up for our players. What am I supposed to do? I don't think by me going out there and kicking dirt and doing those things is going to get anybody fired up to play baseball.

"So we'll let them play, and that's the end of it."

Pitching plans: Carlos Zambrano was supposed to start Tuesday, but the rainout will push him back to Thursday's finale of what now is a two-game series. No makeup date has been announced, but the two likely dates are Sept. 3 or Sept. 10, both Thursdays.

Ryan Dempster will start this afternoon.

Right to work: Von Joshua got right to work Tuesday as the Cubs' hitting coach.

The evening's rainout deprived Joshua of a chance to see his new charges in game action.

Joshua had been the hitting coach at Class AAA Iowa, and he developed a good rapport with several hitters on their way up.

"He's knows a lot of our young kids; we've got quite a few of them here," said manager Lou Piniella. "Maybe a different approach. He's going to look at a lot of film. He's got some work to do. Hopefully, he'll get these guys going in the right direction."

Roster move: The Cubs recalled infielder-outfielder Jake Fox from Class AAA Iowa and put lefty reliever Jason Waddell on the 15-day disabled list for "evaluation and treatment of a non-baseball related medical issue."

If you're looking for Fox to play third base, look again. Lou Piniella said Fox probably will be used mostly as a pinch hitter, as he was during his brief stint from late May to early June.

"We can use him in the outfield, if need be, too," Piniella said.

Fox was 5-for-12 with a pair of doubles in his short stint with the big club. At Iowa, he was batting .409 with 17 homers, 53 RBI, an on-base percentage of .495 and a slugging percentage of .841.

Waddell, who enjoyed the first big-league call-up May 27 after eight years in the minor leagues, is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 3 games. The move reduces the number of pitchers the Cubs are carrying from 13 to 12.