Old home weekend for DeRosa, Wood

Behind Mark DeRosa's 13 home runs, 49 RBI and solid defense at third base in place of the injured Aramis Ramirez, and closer Kerry Wood, the Cubs remain comfortably atop the National League Central heading into this weekend's series against the lowly Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field -

Ah, what might have been.

If you're one of those going over the "what ifs" and "coulda beens" had the Cubs not traded DeRosa to Cleveland and, to a lesser extent, if they had opted to re-sign Wood instead of letting him sign with the Indians in the off-season, you're not alone.

"I take it as a compliment," DeRosa said in his first visit back to Wrigley. "I don't know. Who's to be saying what I would be doing if I was playing on the team?

"I just know what we had the last year was something really special. We didn't show up in the postseason, and I know changes needed to be made and justified, but at the same time, 97 wins is a lot of wins.

"And not only that, the character we had in that clubhouse. Guys really cared about each other. That's the thing that disappointed me, and I said that in L.A. Everybody up and down the line, we just got along so well."

Things haven't gone quite as smoothly this year for the Cubs, who have struggled just to hang around the .500 mark in what has been a turbulent first half.

Though DeRosa and Wood are no longer in the picture, both were champing at the bit to hit the field Friday, and both got their chance. DeRosa, who started in left and batted second with an RBI, was especially eager before the game.

"It's awesome. I circled this one on the calendar from the day I was moved," said DeRosa, who received a standing ovation from the majority of fans on hand during his first at-bat. "I've been talking with Teddy (Lilly) and Ryan (Dempster) and all the guys over there about coming back here and playing.

"The best two years of my career were spent in that clubhouse, so it's exciting to be back."

"The atmosphere," Wood said when asked what he misses most. "My teammates and I are going to get to play in probably the best atmosphere you can find - a weekend series in Wrigley."

DeRosa, who was traded for three pitching prospects, appears to still be getting over the sting of having to leave the Cubs after a couple of solid seasons.

"I don't have any bitter feelings; it was out of my control," he said, interestingly standing under an exit sign near the visitors' locker room. "I didn't agree with the trade at the time, and it was disappointing because I felt I had become really comfortable being on this team and playing in front of the fans."

For Wood, leaving Chicago wasn't on his to-do list either, but it certainly wasn't a surprise.

"I understood where the team was at and the moves they had to make," said Wood, who allowed a game-tying home run to Derrek Lee in the ninth inning Friday.

"I kind of saw this coming before the (2008) all-star break and really kind of took that as my last year and had fun with it in the second half of the season knowing this would be my last stint here.

"I had a great time last summer. We played some really good baseball and came up short in the end, but it was a fun summer for me."

Now both will be summering on the shores of lovely Lake Erie, and Indians manager Eric Wedge couldn't be happier about it.

"They've been great, as advertised," Wedge said. "DeRo's playing all over the place every day. It doesn't matter what you ask him to do, he goes out and does it. Good attitude - a leader.

"A great deal, no doubt about it."

As for Wood, "Kerry has done a good job for us in the closer's role," Wedge said. "We haven't had the opportunity unfortunately to give him the ball enough."

So now you have DeRosa and Wood: two Indians this season, two Cubs forever.

"Being a Cub, it's special," DeRosa said. "I hope the guys in that clubhouse don't take it for granted. It's truly a special place to play."