Great workout from Lilly; gets another start Friday
ATLANTA - Left-hander Ted Lilly officially went on the 15-day disabled list Sunday (retroactive to March 26), but the Cubs liked the reports from Lilly's Easter morning start in Arizona.
Lilly worked 52/3 innings in a minor-league game, throwing 67 pitches. He will make a minor-league rehab start Friday for Class AAA Iowa and another start five days after that.
If all goes well, Lilly could be back in the Cubs' rotation by April 19 at New York. He's on the mend from arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder.
"He felt wonderful, so he's well on his way to getting back to us," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella.
The Cubs also placed reliever Angel Guzman (shoulder surgery) on the 15-day DL. He's likely out for the season. The club also selected the contracts of nonroster pitcher James Russell and backup infielder Chad Tracy from the minor leagues.
Ozzie's message: Lou Piniella said he had a nice note, written in Spanish, from White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.
"It said, 'Good luck,' and a couple more phrases, 'sincerely, Ozzie,'" Piniella said. "And it wasn't Twitted. We wish Ozzie and the White Sox well."
New face: Marlon Byrd starts in center field and bats fifth Monday for the Cub. He essentially replaces Milton Bradley in the lineup and allows Kosuke Fukudome to move from center field to right.
The Cubs traded Bradley to Seattle in December. Byrd had a hitting line of .302/.333/.540 in spring training with 4 homers and 9 RBI.
"He's played very well," Piniella said. "He plays hard every day. The players like him. He's a good presence in our clubhouse. Arizona's not the easiest place to play center field, and he played it very well."
Young pen: The Cubs open with three rookies in the bullpen: James Russell, Esmailin Caridad and Justin Berg. Russell is looking to make his major-league debut while Caridad and Berg both saw time last year.
"We've got some good arms in the bullpen that should get better as the season progresses," Lou Piniella said. "You may have a bump in the road here and there with young pitchers, but it's a club that should play well. I thought coming into spring training that we have a good team. We were there 50 days or so, and I haven't seen anything that makes me feel anything different."
Minor matters: Shortstop phenom Starlin Castro will open at Class AA Tennessee and not Class AAA Iowa. Castro, who spent most of the spring in big-league camp, advanced as high as Double-A last year, and the Cubs want him to get comfortable there to start this season.