Colvin gets some work in at first base

Cubs outfielder Tyler Colvin hasn't started since Sunday, but he did see some pregame action at first base Thursday.

"It felt fine, and I'll keep working over there," said Colvin, who has not played first since a part-time stint during his sophomore year at Clemson. "A little bit surprised, but I had enough people hinting toward it the last week or so. I was a little surprised at the timing."

With Wednesday's trade of Derrek Lee to the Braves, the Cubs are down to Xavier Nady and Jeff Baker at first. Colvin is a left-handed thrower, which can be advantageous at that position.

"We'll do that for a couple of days, and we'll see how he feels and how he does," said manager Lou Piniella, who made no commitment to using Colvin there. "Let's just see. Let's see how he responds to the work, and we can go from there."

Colvin isn't sure about how much practice he'll need.

"I'll see how comfortable I am over there," he said. "I'll take grounders in batting practice the next few days, and we'll go from there. I'll do whatever I can to help the team. If they want me to play first base, I'll do it."

Going nowhere: Third baseman Aramis Ramirez reiterated his desire to remain a Cub. He holds a player option for next year.

"I'm planning to honor my contract," he said. "I signed here; I took less money to stay here. I don't want to go anywhere.

"But at the same time, I want to win. I'm 32. I'm not like (rookie Starlin) Castro. He has a lot of time in front of him. We'll see. We'll see how it goes."

Roster shuffle: The Cubs could not call up first baseman Micah Hoffpauir from Class AAA Iowa because they sent him back Aug. 13, and he must remain there 10 days. So they called up outfielder Sam Fuld instead. Hoffpauir was on his way to the airport, but the Cubs discovered their mistake and tabbed Fuld.

Fuld flied out as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.

"It's been kind of up and down, grinding it out," Fuld said. "My numbers aren't pretty, but I've been getting on base. I haven't been as consistent as I have in the past. I've been doing the same things in the outfield, playing good defense."

Fuld hat a hitting line of .266/.367/.394 with 18 stolen bases at Iowa. He has played for the Cubs in parts of the 2007 and 2009 seasons.

This and that: The paid attendance of 30,687 was the lowest at home since the Cubs drew 27,105 on Sept. 7, 2006. - The Cubs suffered the first four-game sweep at the hands of San Diego for the first time ever at Wrigley Field.