Floyd's dad has heart surgery

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cubs' series against the White Sox this weekend is especially welcome to outfielder Cliff Floyd, if only because it offers a quick return home to Chicago, where his father is recovering from heart surgery performed Tuesday.

C.C. Floyd, 57, has been hospitalized for two weeks for what doctors feared was a kidney problem 20 years after he had a kidney transplant. But doctors found a faulty heart valve to be the cause of a fluid buildup in his chest, Floyd said, and Tuesday's valve replacement appears to have been successful.

''They say they expect a full recovery,'' said Floyd, who spent three days on the bereavement list earlier this month to help tend to his dad. ''Having the surgery and having the doctors feel real good about it is great news to me. And now we go home and have a long homestand after that.''

After the Sox series, the Cubs play three each against Colorado and Milwaukee at Wrigley Field, with a day off between, before returning to the road.

Outfielder Jacque Jones said the trade of Michael Barrett on Wednesday hasn't made him feel any closer to being traded, but he's also well aware of reports that the Cubs have made him available again.

''I don't even worry about it or think about it,'' Jones said. ''If a team wants to trade you, they're going to do it.''

Though he never has been traded, Jones has been a continual subject of trade rumors most of the last five years with both the Minnesota Twins and the Cubs.

The Cubs reduced their pitching staff to 11 for only the second time this season when they optioned right-hander Sean Gallagher to Class AAA Iowa on Thursday to make room for the return of third baseman Aramis Ramirez (knee) from the disabled list today.

Left-handed reliever Scott Eyre's four-up, four-down outing Wednesday night gave him 4 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and might have been the most encouraging sign yet that he's coming out of a two-month funk.

''I told him when I took him out: 'You're on your way now. There's some daylight in front of you,''' manager Lou Piniella said. ''He's starting to throw the ball well.''

On the other hand, with a loss Wednesday, right-handed starter Jason Marquis fell to 0-3 with a 5.36 ERA since beating Pittsburgh on May 9. He was 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA before the slide.

Marquis said he had trouble getting comfortable with the mound at Rangers Ballpark, but he wouldn't use that as an excuse for his rocky outing or his skid.

''I'm just not getting ahead of hitters like I want to,'' he said. ''I'm still getting ground balls that I want, but I'm going too deep into counts and not allowing myself to get deep into ballgames.''

Piniella said Marquis is too hard on himself, sometimes causing him to take too much of a bulldog approach.

''All he needs to do is relax and go out and pitch, and he'll be just fine,'' Piniella said.

The Cubs' top catching prospect, Geovany Soto, was named to the World roster for the Futures Game, a minor-league all-star game held July 8 in San Francisco. Pitcher Mark Prior fell short in his bid to make the U.S. roster.

•  •  One day after a frightening bout of blurred vision caused by an ''ocular migraine,'' Mark DeRosa was fine and back in the lineup at third base. Although it was a first for him, DeRosa said he received calls from lots of friends and some of the Rangers players who have experienced similar episodes. DeRosa played errorless at third base, and went 1-for-5. He also had one walk.

CUBS IN BRIEF