Ohman apologizes to teammates, fans

Will Ohman is sorry.

He's really, really sorry.

And he hopes any feelings that were hurt when he announced he was suffering from a previously undisclosed "barking" shoulder after being sent down to Iowa can and will be forgiven by the training staff and teammates now that he's been recalled from Triple A Iowa.

"The way things went down when I left and everything that ensued afterwards I made a mistake, I really messed up," a contrite Ohman said. "It was not in any way intentional to hurt anyone or to mar the organization, upset fans or teammates.

"In no way was I trying to theoretically throw someone under the bus or anything like that, so from the heart I just wanted to apologize to those that I did upset."

One person he did not upset was manager Lou Piniella.

"There was never anything for me to clear up," Piniella said. "I'll say hello to him and welcome him back, but there's nothing for me to clear up (with him)."

The usually boisterous Ohman made his way quietly to his new locker at the far end of the clubhouse. His old one is now being used by pitcher Steve Trachsel, who was acquired Friday from Baltimore.

Though he said he only slept about 15 minutes Friday night because he was so excited about rejoining the big club, Ohman admitted there was more on his mind than just that.

"It wasn't really anything I was concerning myself with too much," he said. "What I concerned myself with was making amends for what happened to people that it affected and making sure health-wise I was right. That's it.

"I talked to (trainer) Mark (O'Neal) two weeks ago, so this is over and we move on from here."

Roster moves: The Cubs on Saturday, in addition to recalling Will Ohman, also recalled infielders Ronny Cedeno and Eric Patterson and catcher Geovany Soto from Triple A Iowa.

Right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher was recalled from Double A Tennessee.

That should just about do it for the roster for the final month of the season.

"I don't think we need too many more (players)," manager Lou Piniella said. "I think this is probably it. If we can't do it with what we've got, then something's wrong."

Good luck, Ronnie: Cubs radio analyst Ron Santo left the booth in the sixth inning Saturday after complaining he was unable to move the "left socket" on his left prosthesis.

As he left, Santo told reporters he was hoping to be back to call today's game.

Get the bunt down: Good news for Cubs fans who've noticed a lack of fundamentals with this year's team, particularly when it comes to bunting -- Lou Piniella notices it too.

And he plans on doing something about it.

"We're in a bunting slump, and it's not just one person," Piniella said. "(Bench coach) Alan Trammell is going to talk to the players tomorrow and see if we can straighten it out because a run that you add here and a run there is huge at the end of a game."

Numbers game: Aramis Ramirez's 2-run homer in the sixth inning Saturday was the first home run with a runner on base by a Cubs player since Daryle Ward's grand slam against St. Louis on Aug. 20. ... Opponents have been successful in 40 of 41 stolen-base attempts against Cubs catcher Jason Kendall. ... Courtesy of an outing of 6¿ innings by Jason Marquis on Saturday, the Cubs are 54-30 when the starters have gone at least 6 innings ... Kendall was hit by a pitch in the third inning. It was the 216th time in his career he's been hit, ranking seventh on the MLB all-time list.

He said it: Cubs pitcher Rich Hill, who attended the University of Michigan, on the news that the Wolverines were upset Saturday by Appalachian State: "Well, I'm looking forward to the '08 season."