Wood could be 'better than trade'
ST. LOUIS -- Cubs general manager Jim Hendry hopes he has another move in him before the trading deadline Tuesday. And even if he can't make a trade, he's optimistic he'll add a player.
''If we could get Woody back, that would certainly be better than any trade we could make,'' said Hendry, who's with the team in St. Louis but plans to spend the next seven days concentrating on rehabbing pitcher Kerry Wood and working the phones to trade for a hitter.
Wood, whose remarkable comeback in the last five weeks included a shutout inning at Class A Peoria on Tuesday night, is scheduled to make back-to-back, one-inning appearances Thursday and Friday. After that, a decision might be made to activate him from the disabled list for the first time this season and have him work out of the bullpen.
Hendry plans to attend Wood's game Friday, he said, then spend the final few days of the month holed up in his office on trade patrol.
Wood, who has been on the DL with continuing shoulder problems, reached 94 mph with his fastball, according to team reports, and threw 12 pitches, including five on a one-out walk. He faced four batters and didn't allow a hit or record a strikeout.
''If he can get back and be able to give us an inning even here and there, that's huge,'' Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. ''They say he's throwing great. He says he feels great. That'd be a huge boost for us.''
The Cubs opened a stretch of 20 games in 20 days -- their longest such stretch of the season -- and losing DeRosa for more than a few days would be a major blow.
He started at second base against the Cardinals but also has started 21 games at third, 10 in right and even has played first and shortstop.
''Absolutely. I don't know why I wouldn't,'' Hendry said. ''Besides the [David Aardsma-for-Neal Cotts] deal we made, Kenny and I have always had a good dialogue. And I don't think there's any way he would shy away from us if he thought he could help his club presently and, in some ways, the future.''
Of course, Hendry's not even sure what he'll want when it comes time to talk swap. A week ago, it would have been, hands-down, a right-handed hitter. But with Jake Fox up from the minors for a look and lefty- hitting Daryle Ward out for possibly a month with a calf injury, the needs are shifting.
''It'll be a daily thing,'' Hendry said.
''I'd like to tinker with it a little bit if we could. A lot of that will be dependent on how we swing the bat the rest of the week.''
• Wood's celebrity bowling event Sunday raised an estimated $300,000. This year, the proceeds from the fourth annual charity event benefitted Lee's Project 3000, which raises awareness and research money to fight Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, a degenerative eye disease afflicting Lee's 4-year-old daughter.