Central race staying tight

SAN FRANCISCO - To anyone who would listen, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said throughout spring training that the National League Central would be good and not to write off the Cardinals and Brewers.

It looks like Piniella knew what he was talking about. The Cubs head into St. Louis tonight still unable to shake the Cardinals, and despite the Brewers blowing a lead Thursday against the Diamondbacks, they hang tough.

"I saw some of the changes that were made; I thought our division would be better," Piniella said. "And so far I've been right, to my chagrin."

Piniella gave his reasons why the Cardinals have stayed close.

"They've got a nice ballclub," he said. "What people don't realize is names don't win baseball games for you. Production does. And they're producing. Their pitchers have done a nice job. Any team that has an Albert Pujols in the middle of their lineup has the capability of scoring runs. You add (Ryan) Ludwick to that mix. You add (Rick) Ankiel to that mix. And then they've got some scrappy guys that switch hit and get on base. All of a sudden, you've got a nice offense."

Piniella also praised his old friend, Cards manager Tony La Russa, for his ability to play the matchups with his bullpen.

Tonight also marks a "homecoming," of sorts, for Cubs center fielder Jim Edmonds, who started for the Cardinals for eight years. Edmonds didn't wish to talk about it, instead asking reporters if he could wait until he gets to St. Louis.

"I think he'll get a wonderful reception," Piniella said. "I hope he gets booed a lot. That means he's productive."

Lou and Marmol: Lou Piniella stopped by reliever Carlos Marmol's locker Thursday, and the two looked to have a pleasant chat.

"I talked to Marmol, about just location," Piniella said. "Nothing more. Yesterday, the catcher was sitting on the outer half of the plate. He just pulled that ball inside. Durham hit it pretty well. He's got to concentrate on his location a little more. Earlier in the year he as getting away with a few of those mistakes, and lately he hasn't. A little more concentration will help."

Piniella was referring to the 3-run homer Marmol allowed to the Giants' Ray Durham in Wednesday night's 6-5 Cubs victory. Durham reached up and yanked a pitch over the right-field wall in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5.

Soriano cleared: The Cubs say X-rays of left fielder Alfonso Soriano's broken left hand checked out OK Thursday and that he can begin hitting off a tee today in St. Louis. Soriano broke the hand June 11, and the Cubs are holding to their six-week timetable.

Roster plans: When Carlos Zambrano comes off the disabled list today in St. Louis, the Cubs will have to make another roster move. The likely candidate to go to Class AAA Iowa is reliever Jose Ascanio, even though Lou Piniella likes Ascanio's lively right arm. The Cubs sent Eric Patterson to Iowa to make room for Reed Johnson, who came off the DL Thursday.

Piniella added that Zambrano will be limited to 85-90 pitches in his start against the Cardinals tonight.