Lou: Wood tub flub no harm to Cub club
''Yeah, about that time of year, isn't it?'' said oft-injured right-hander Kerry Wood, who was held out of throwing on the first day of spring workouts Thursday because of a hot-tub injury.
Seriously.
Wood, the Cubs' poster boy for injured pitchers during his nine-year career, slipped while climbing out of his hot tub at home Monday and bruised the right side of his upper rib cage.
It's not considered serious, Wood and the team said, and he was able to run, play catch and participate in fielding practice -- everything but throw from a mound. He and manager Lou Piniella, who called Wood's scratched throwing session a precautionary measure, said they don't expect him to miss more than a few days of mound work.
Of course, Cubs fans have heard that before, especially concerning Wood, the former club ace who has been on the disabled list for all or parts of six of the last eight seasons.
''Let's not get into that,'' Piniella said. ''This has nothing to do with '[here we] go again' or anything else. Things happen, that's all. That's why you have six weeks here.
''He's going to be fine. He's got a little bruise. Next couple days, he'll be ready to go.''
If anything, Wood seemed confident enough about the minor nature of this injury to joke about it.
''This is almost comical at this point,'' Wood said. ''This doesn't get me down. I know I'm in shape. I know I'm ready to go.''
Aside from the more serious injuries Wood has endured over the years, past spring ailments have included bronchitis and a bout with an inner-ear infection that caused vertigo-like symptoms.
''But I have no question in my mind I'm ready for the season to start, and missing a week or four to five days [of throwing] if it takes that long, I've got no problem with that,'' he said. ''I feel better than I ever have. I've been throwing off a mound, letting it go and throwing all my pitches. I felt great ... until getting out of the tub.''