Piniella thinks team will accept Zambrano

Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Thursday he believes Carlos Zambrano will be welcomed back by his teammates once he completes his anger-management treatment.

Zambrano won't return until right after the all-star break at the earliest. Piniella said he has not talked with Zambrano since the Cubs suspended him for his dugout rant last Friday at U.S. Cellular Field but that he plans a call. He added that bullpen catcher Edgar Tovar has talked with Zambrano.

"Like I said, time will heal wounds," Piniella said. "I think it was a good idea, a very good idea, actually, to wait until after the all-star break before he came in and addressed the team. Things will quiet down a heck of a lot. I think the players will accept Carlos as a teammate."

Reds manager Dusty Baker served in that capacity with the Cubs from 2003-06, when Zambrano was a young pitcher.

"What's happened since then, I don't know," Baker said. "Some of the changes that happen in people's lives, sometimes there is no answer. It's really tough to come up with an answer if you're from afar. Things build, sometimes."

All-star hopefuls: Lou Piniella said he turned in three votes for National League all-stars from his team, but he wasn't telling.

It's likely he voted for pitcher Carlos Silva, center fielder Marlon Byrd and either pitcher Carlos Marmol or Sean Marshall.

Fans vote in the starting position players, and managers provide their input for the reserves and the pitchers.

Silva sounded ready to go. He got a no-decision in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Reds. His record is 8-2 with a 2.96 ERA, and with any luck, his record could be even better.

"I don't know what's going to happen; I don't know who they're going to pick," he said. "To be honest, I'm looking forward to being there. It's going to be really fun and really nice, not only for myself, but my family and for everybody, especially for the last two years (during which he struggled in Seattle).

"I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to be a big honor for me if they pick me."

This and that: Tyler Colvin's 2-run single in the eighth snapped a Cubs 0-for-12 skid with runners in scoring position - The Cubs are 11 games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2006 season, when they finished 66-96. They're on pace for 70 wins - The Cubs lost their 11th consecutive series-opening game.