MESA, Ariz. -- Tyler Colvin may have vaulted into the lead for a reserve outfield job, Derrek Lee remains sidelined with a bone bruise, and the four-way battle for the rotation is still in a state of flux.
That was the word from manager Lou Piniella Saturday morning at HoHoKam Park, as he prepared to face off against former Cubs manager Dusty Baker in a split-squad game between the Cubs and Cincinnati.
Here are a few tidbits from Piniella's briefing:
Tyler Colvin
The left-handing hitting outfielder is hitting .556 and bats in the clean-up spot today. Considered a longshot at the start of camp, he may be the favorite now to capture the fifth outfielder's spot. "He looks like a major league player," Piniella said. Sam Fuld and Micah Hoffpauir are also in the mix, though Fuld is hitting .143 and Hoffpauir is at .077. Looks like it's Colvin's spot to lose.
Photo: Derrek Lee. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
D-Lee
X-rays on his left foot proved negative, but he's been out since fouling a ball off his foot in Wednesday's game with a bone bruise. Piniella said Lee would probably be back in the lineup by Tuesday against Texas.
Ted Lilly
The rehabbing left-hander threw off a mound again on Saturday. "We want to keep him under the radar gun and not talk about it much," Piniella said.
Presumably Piniella meant "under the radar," not "under the radar gun," since Lilly's velocity is not a problem. Anyway, Lilly is ahead of schedule. He could return by mid-April at his current pace, though the Cubs haven't given a timetable.
Rotation
Tom Gorzelanny was up, and Jeff Samardzija was down after Friday's starts in Maryvale and Las Vegas, respectively. Samardzija served up back-to-back home runs to Milwaukee's Jim Edmonds and Gregg Zaun on fastballs. "He got the ball up," Piniella said. "They hit him pretty good. When he's at his best, he's pounding the ball at the knees, and hitters chase his split-finger. But, boy, when he's getting that fastball up, he got hit."
Piniella refused to handicap the race between those two and Carlos Silva and Sean Marshall, who faces the Reds this afternoon. The starters will all get one more start after Saturday, and two of them will head to the bullpen on or around March 24, going into the final week of Cactus league games.
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Lou Piniella is bigger. He should be able to beat the girdle off of Dusty Baker.
though Fuld is hitting .143
This is who cubs fans believe should be the starting Cf a guy who cant hit Spring training pitchers.Keep up the good work tyler colvin I hope you make the roster.
Good for tyler colvin.Anybody besides sam fuld who is overrated and wont make a difference.
It's DERREK, not Derrick (on the Tribune homepage). It amazes me that he's been on the team since 2004 and the Tribune writers still can't spell it right.