Better sooner than later with injuries

Listen, folks, we have to make up our minds on this.

Either we want athletes to wait until they're 100 percent recovered from injury before returning, or we want them to man up and return as soon as they're ambulatory.

Pick one and stick to it.

Don't say this guy is soft because he's lounging on the disabled list and then say another guy is dumb for coming back too soon.

This became an issue with the Cubs the past few days as Alfonso Soriano's rehabilitation accelerated enough for him to play Tuesday night.

The $136 million left fielder wasn't a factor in the 5-3 victory over the Brewers, going 0-for-4.

The Cubs won because of Rich Hill's pitching, Jacque Jones' hitting and the Brewers' penchant for imploding.

Still, it wasn't bad for the Cubs to have their roster pretty much whole again with Soriano back.

"He's one of the best players in baseball," teammate Mark DeRosa said. "Add that to the lineup and it's huge."

In other words, if the Cubs did rush Soriano back, maybe it's worth it. A stretch run is no time for caution.

Soriano's sensitive quad muscle has been a sensitive issue around Wrigley Field.

Lou Piniella had been questioned about it so often that he quick-triggered an explanation Tuesday afternoon. The funny thing was, the Cubs manager wasn't even being asked about Soriano's return.

No, the question was about Soriano leading off again, another sensitive subject after Ryan Theriot had done so well in that role during Soriano's absence.

"(Last week) in Arizona and San Francisco we asked Alfonso to do everything a baseball player is asked to do," Piniella said. "He's ready to go."

Soriano isn't at full strength yet. The injury he suffered Aug. 5 isn't completely healed. One veteran major-league scout watched him run and thought the Cubs taped his leg tightly so it wouldn't be extended enough to be aggravated.

"I'm not worried," Soriano said.

He just wants to play. He always wants to play. The first time I ever saw him, when he was a Yankees rookie, he wanted to play.

I looked down from the Comiskey Park press box during batting practice and Soriano was running in place behind the cage, trying to convince Yankees manager Joe Torre his ailing leg was good enough to go.

That's admirable in this age of teams keeping athletes inactive not so much because they're hurt as so they won't get hurt.

The prevailing principle should be runners run, pitchers pitch and players play.

The Braves brought back Edgar Renteria, probably too soon, and he reinjured his ankle last week on the first pitch he saw.

So be it. Better too soon than too late.

If Soriano is hurt again, that's the way it goes. The rest of the team will have to compensate.

"He looked fine," Piniella said. "He had 4 nice at-bats. After he gets a few more (at-bats) he'll do better."

Piniella removed Soriano in the ninth inning and said he might have to do that for a while. Whatever it takes to keep him upright and active the next month at least, so be it.

Baseball players are considered wimps compared to football and hockey players, so it's nice to see one force his way back, even if it is before his time.