Lou sticking with 3 lefty starters
''I like it. Nothing wrong with it,'' Piniella said of the long-term prospects of having that many lefties in a Cubs rotation that went two years without a start by a lefty earlier this decade. ''We've got five right-handers out there in the bullpen, so we can basically counterbalance it with the right-handed bullpen. Nothing wrong with three lefties.''
He feels that way regardless of how many good right-handed hitters -- Albert Pujols, Carlos Lee -- the National League Central has.
''Does it really matter?'' Piniella said. ''Guys can pitch well whether they're left-handed or right-handed. I don't think it makes any difference.''
LEE IMPROVES: First baseman Derrek Lee, who reached base in every game until May 11, was 0-for-8 in his first two starts since returning from a seven-game absence from the lineup but said his timing at the plate is coming back quicker than he expected.
Lee, who said he's ''almost back to normal'' physically after being sidelined by neck spasms, said it took him only one game, Tuesday night, to get close to where he was before he left the lineup.
''I felt pretty much back [Wednesday] night,'' said Lee, who still led the NL with a .373 average entering play Thursday.
ZERO HOUR? Right-hander Wade Miller, the Cubs' fifth starter when the season opened, has made two minor-league rehabilitation starts as he tries to build up arm strength and will make one more, Piniella said, before the team decides on its next move.
Miller, who says he's getting closer, hasn't looked great in his two rehab starts, his velocity topping out at 86 to 87 mph during his most recent start Monday for Class AAA Iowa.
''We'll see how he pitches next time and sit down and come up with something,'' Piniella said.
Miller, who is trying to work all the way back from 2005 shoulder surgery, has been on the disabled list for back spasms since April 23.
MARSHALL'S PLAN: Marshall took a shutout into the seventh inning Wednesday, then missed with a changeup to Kevin Kouzmanoff trying for a double play. Instead, he gave up a towering two-run homer that proved to be the difference in the 2-1 game.
''To tell you the truth, I don't think I pitched as well as I could have,'' he said. ''I fell behind a lot of hitters. I had to pitch in hitters' counts more than I'd like. I'm going to learn from that and learn to stay with my strength. My changeup wasn't really my strength, and I went to it in later innings and got punished for it.''
One thing that was working for him -- and something that former teammate and mentor Greg Maddux of the Padres noticed was different than last season -- was a slider that Marshall was able to run inside to right-handers.
''It's been a real good pitch for me to left-handers and right-handers,'' Marshall said. ''I'm continuing to improve with that.''