Baserunners seek right path

Piniella focuses on getting players to make smart decisions when they're on base

Baserunning problems continue to be an issue for the Cubs, and manager Lou Piniella said before batting practice Wednesday that he planned to talk to the team about it again before the game.

After numerous mistakes on the basepaths the first few weeks of the season, including new leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano getting picked off three times in April, Piniella had minor-league instructor Bob Dernier join the team late last month to work with some of the players.

But in Tuesday's 15-inning loss, Soriano ran into an out at third when a ball that got away from the catcher didn't get far enough, cutting short one rally; Derrek Lee was thrown out at the plate for a double play when he tried to score on a ground shot to first in the eighth; and Ryan Theriot was doubled off second in the 10th after a line out to left field.

''We talked about it all spring. We'll talk about it tonight,'' Piniella said. ''I don't see where running the bases is all that difficult of a thing to do, if your head's in the game and you're concentrating and you know the situation and you know where the outfielders are positioned.

''It's part of the ballgame that you have to be good at because it allows you to score more runs. And scoring more runs allows you to win more baseball games.''

It's not exactly new math.

CALL TO ARMS: Tuesday's game took such a heavy toll on the Cubs' bullpen that Piniella told starters Rich Hill and Angel Guzman to be ready to pitch in relief Wednesday.

''It's spent,'' Piniella said of a bullpen that had all seven pitchers work Tuesday after six pitched in a 10-inning game Sunday. ''We don't need any more extra-inning games.''

The bigger issue is the bullpen's relatively heavy workload over the last week to two weeks.

''You don't want to get to the point early in the year where you have a tired bullpen,'' Piniella said. ''So we've got to be careful with it.''

EAR WHACKS: The secret to struggling reliever Scott Eyre's strong three innings Tuesday?

''He got hit in the ear with a ball prior to the game,'' Piniella said, ''and he really pitched well. So I told him next time I use him, we'll hit him in the other ear with the ball and really get him going well.''

If anything good came out of blowing a ninth-inning lead and losing in 15, it was Eyre's scoreless performance after he entered with an 11.42 ERA. After the first batter he faced doubled and went to third on an error to lead off the 12th, Eyre stranded him, then faced the minimum over the next two innings for his longest outing since going four in 2002 for Toronto.

SCARE FOR COACH: After spending Tuesday night in the hospital getting tested for possible blood clots, first-base coach Matt Sinatro returned to the ballpark, although he was only a spectator.

Ivan DeJesus filled in for the second straight game for Sinatro, who had a blood-clot scare over the winter after having knee surgery, then ''didn't feel right'' upon returning to Chicago on Tuesday after spending Monday's day off at home in Seattle.

Sinatro, 47, said after the game that he felt fine and expects to be back in the coaching box today.

MAKEUP DATE: The Cubs' home game against Houston that was postponed because of snow April 11 has been rescheduled for 7:05 p.m. on June 11, eliminating a day off after a trip to Atlanta and creating a stretch of 17 games in 17 days.

Tickets are available starting at 8 a.m. today. Tickets for the April 11 game are not valid for the makeup game. Season- and single-game-ticket holders will be compensated.

SHORT HOPS: Henry Blanco, who hasn't caught since April 28 because of a herniated disc in his neck, said he's still not 100 percent but thought he might be able to catch Carlos Zambrano today.

•  Soriano's leadoff home run Wednesday was his 34th, tying him for fifth all-time with Devon White and Ray Durham. Rickey Henderson owns the record with 81.

gwittenmyer@suntimes.com