News better for Wood than for Prior
A fifth-starter battle that has appeared decided for a week turned into a slam dunk after Wade Miller's most powerful outing of the spring Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.
Manager Lou Piniella said he won't officially name his fifth starter until after Prior pitches Wednesday, but he might have revealed his intention after the game when he misspoke by referring to Miller as his fifth starter. Prior, on the other hand, has pitched only 7 1/3 innings and pitched poorly until showing improvement in his most recent outing.
As for Wood, Piniella met with the starter-turned-reliever earlier in the day. On Friday, the two seemed to disagree about whether Wood would be ready to start the season on time. While it still appears to be a long shot, Piniella wouldn't rule out the possibility.
''I basically told him what I want him to do is make sure that he's ready when the season starts because I'd like to see Woody pitching for us for a long, long time in our bullpen,'' Piniella said. ''We haven't rushed him or anybody else, so there's no sense in really, really rushing this last week just to make a major-league roster.''
Wood, who has pitched only four innings because of two minor injuries, pitched Friday and is scheduled to pitch again Monday and Wednesday.
Wood also might pitch Friday, with at least one of those outings going more than one inning. He won't be required to pitch on back-to-back days to prove his readiness, as the other relievers in camp have done, Piniella said.
''That'll be four times in a week, and you can be comfortable with that,'' pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. ''If he goes four times this week, with an inning-plus at some point, that'll be a good barometer, and we'll go from there.''
Piniella said he wants to be certain about Wood's health.
''You're talking about Woody, and he's been on the DL before,'' Piniella said. ''He doesn't like that, and I don't want that for him, either. But if he's not quite ready, be honest with us and let us know.''
SHORT HOPS: If Wood makes the roster, the Cubs might open the season with only one long reliever. That might be a hardship early on, considering the potential for cold weather in April and the fact that the Cubs have only two days off in the first 24 days.
Piniella said long man Neal Cotts is assured of a spot and has said short-middle man Michael Wuertz is in. That puts Angel Guzman on the bubble.
• Outfielder Cliff Floyd, who wasn't expected to start Saturday against Giants left-hander Barry Zito, was in the lineup in right field.
Piniella, who added Floyd because he is behind the other hitters in at-bats, said he doesn't plan to use Floyd in right during the season. He only did it in this case because right is smaller and easier to handle than left in Scottsdale.