No talking is no problem to Piniella
Manager Lou Piniella's decision not to address the media after a 12-inning loss Monday night was a first in recent memory for a manager of either Chicago baseball team, but it probably won't be the last time for Piniella.
And that has nothing to do with the Cubs being any more of a managerial challenge or the Chicago media being particularly tough compared with other places he has been.
Piniella, who said the decision Monday wasn't made in anger, has imposed postgame media blackouts periodically throughout his two-decade managerial career for various reasons -- albeit, most often when heated emotions are most in danger of turning into regrettable tirades.
''This is very normal,'' said first-base coach Matt Sinatro, a member of Piniella's staffs in Seattle, Tampa Bay and Chicago since 1995. ''Sometimes in Seattle when we won a game, he'd say, 'Go talk to the players.'''
In Monday's case, Piniella said he chose to meet in the clubhouse with his players instead of media, then met afterward with his coaches in his office.
''That's why I didn't come in here,'' he said, referring to the media room adjacent to the dugout tunnel. ''It was late. I was tired. I wasn't mad.''
He admitted the string of recent close losses at home contributed to his decision. Besides that, he said: ''Truthfully, I would rather do this interview in my office. You can't accommodate as many people in there, but I'd rather do these interviews on my turf than on this turf.
''It's much easier than me sitting over here as the guy that's got to have all the answers and be charming and be gracious and knowledgeable and be calm and cool and collected. Hell, if I had all those qualities, I'd be a psychologist instead of a baseball manager.''
If nothing else, he had regained his sense of humor by Tuesday's pregame media session. When a reporter opened by saying the media missed Piniella, he said: ''Me, too. I missed you all like a toothache.''
SANTO UPDATE: Cubs radio broadcaster Ron Santo was released from the hospital Tuesday and could be back in the WGN-AM (720) booth by the next homestand, which starts May 4 against Washington, station officials said.
Santo, 67, was hospitalized Saturday because of an irregular heartbeat and is being treated with medication.
PRIOR NON-UPDATE: Cubs officials said pitcher Mark Prior underwent exploratory surgery on his problematic shoulder as scheduled in Birmingham, Ala., but they didn't have the results by midgame Tuesday night. A team spokesman said they expected to have the results this morning.
SHORT HOPS: Sean Marshall, the left-hander expected to battle in spring training for a starting job until shoulder soreness derailed him, is scheduled to start this week for Class A Daytona. He'll make one or two starts there before returning from the disabled list and joining Class AAA Iowa.
• If there was any doubt about who might start Tuesday in place of demoted/disabled fifth starter Wade Miller, general manager Jim Hendry cleared that up by saying it would be Angel Guzman, regardless of his results Thursday in a start for Iowa. ''He earned that when he was here,'' Hendry said of the right-hander with a 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 innings
• Pitching coach Larry Rothschild worked with left-handed reliever Scott Eyre in the bullpen on trying to fix a mechanics flaw that's causing him to miss with and hang his breaking ball. It's one reason Eyre has two blown saves and lefties are hitting .500 (7-for-14) against him.