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By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. --  Sean Marshall had another strong outing on Saturday, allowing one run on two hits in a three inning stint during an 11-4 win over Cincinnati at HoHoKam Park.

Marshall has give up two runs over seven innings in his three appearances, putting him in good position to gain one of the two starting vacancies.

"You know (what) my saying is- the best pitchers are going to leave camp, and they're going to be in the right spot when we're leaving," Marshall said, "I'm sure I can start, but I know that I can help as a reliever, a spot starter and a short guy, so whatever role I settle into, I think I'll have a  lot of success doing it this year."

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- Aramis Ramirez left Saturday's game against Cincinnati with right triceps soreness, the Cubs announced.

Ramirez left after the top half of the third inning. He missed two months of the 2009 season after dislocating his left shoulder diving for a ball.

"There's nothing wrong there," manager Lou Piniella said. "He'll be ready to go in a couple days, probably after (Monday's game in) Tucson. He wasn't going to Tucson anyways."

By Dave van Dyck

LAS VEGAS -- The Cubs' Ryan Dempster looked extra sharp while allowing one hit and one unearned run in three innings on Saturday against the White Sox in a packed and windy Cashman Field.

"Felt like Candlestick Park," Dempster said of the cool temperatures and winds that were gusting to 30 m.p.h. "I felt better as the game went on. I felt good and strong.

"Vegas is always fun. This is my sixth year coming here. It breaks up the monotony of (being in Arizona)."

White Sox starter Lucas Harrell, who will be in the Triple A rotation, allowed three runs in four innings of work.

Tribune News Services

PHOENIX -- Jim Edmonds sits in his Arizona hotel and wonders how he ended up here in just a few short weeks.

The 39-year-old outfielder has achieved virtually everything a player could want -- a World Series title, four All-Star appearances and nearly enough Gold Gloves to outfit an entire team.

With his family back home, he's aiming for a starting role with the Milwaukee Brewers, but is up against 32-year-old Jody Gerut and 24-year-old Carlos Gomez in a bid to play center field.

"There's a lot of thinking going on right now," Edmonds said. "That's when I woke up the other day and was like, 'What am I doing here?' Those are the days you've got to come and grind it out."

By Paul Sullivan

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.

By Paul Sullivan

MARYVALE, Ariz.- The four-way competition for the two rotation openings with the Cubs continues to be a merry-go-round.

One day after Carlos Silva redeemed himself for his poor debut, Jeff Samardzija plummeted after his strong first start.

Samardzija served up back-to-back home runs to former Cub Jim Edmonds and catcher Gregg Zaun, both coming on juicy fastballs in a 12-3 loss to Milwaukee.

Tom Gorzelanny will get his second shot tonight in Las Vegas against the White Sox, while Sean Marshall makes his first start on Saturday against Cincinnati at HoHoKam Park.

Samardzija settled down after a four run first, and wasn't discouraged by his outing.

MARYVALE, Ariz. -- The decision has been made, and there's no turning back.

Starlin Castro, who will start at shortstop and lead off Friday afternoon in the Cubs' split-squad game against Milwaukee, is going to start the season at Triple-A Iowa, no matter how good he looks in spring training.

And he does look good, as a .571 average attests. The Cubs plan to give Castro an extended look this spring, letting him play longer in Cactus League games (and hang longer in the major-league clubhouse) than they normally would with a player who is headed to Iowa.

The Cubs don't want to rush Castro, who is still two weeks away from his 20th birthday. They believe he is a special talent, and are handling him with care.

Is it the right call?

"I don't agree with that," Aramis Ramirez said.

By Paul Sullivan

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Cubs insist Starlin Castro needs to start the season at Triple-A Iowa to get the experience necessary to become an everyday player.

But Castro's bat is saying otherwise.

The 19-year-old rookie, who will celebrate his 20th birthday March 24, went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored, and 2 RBI in an 8-7 win over San Diego on Thursday in Peoria.

Castro is now hitting .571 for the spring and looking like he's determined to make the decision-making process difficult for the Cubs. Manager Lou Piniella continues to insist that Ryan Theriot is his shortstop and he's not interested in moving Theriot to second to make room for Castro at short.

Photo: Starlin Castro strokes an RBI double Thursday against the Padres. (Christen Petersen/Getty)

By Paul Sullivan

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Crane Kenney released a statement Thursday afternoon saying the Cubs are not opposed to the 8 percent ticket surcharge for Cactus League games, also known as the "Cubs tax."

Earlier in the day, Kenney told reporters the surcharge was not needed by the Cubs to help fund the new complex. 

By Paul Sullivan

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Lou Piniella has not decided whether to come back in 2011, and the Cubs haven't decided whether he will be invited back. 

While Piniella has opened the door a crack to his return, it doesn't appear that the Cubs are willing to let him walk right in.

"If he feels well and wants to keep going, we'll have an interesting conversation," Cubs president Crane Kenney said Thursday. "He's done a great job. He's raised the bar and that's a little bit of the burden we all carry now.

"As I tell everybody in our organization, it's a lot better than being picked to finish fourth or fifth and having everybody talk about failure all the time."

Photo: Lou Piniella's future with the Cubs beyond this season remains undecided. (Christian Peterson/Getty)

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- Xavier Nady said the June 1 target date mentioned by manager Lou Piniella on Wednesday for when he'll be able to play regularly is not set in stone.

"I don't think there's any set date," Nady said Thursday. "It's all going to be a day-by-day process, when I feel comfortable or when I'm capable of throwing certain distances. But I think that was just a random date kind of thrown out there. Obviously, I'm the one that will be able to have the most input."

Piniella said the June 1 date was what he'd been told by Cubs trainer Mark O'Neal. Nady still will be able to start the season with the Cubs, but they don't feel he can play the outfield more than a couple times a week in the early going.

But Nady said he thinks he can still play outfield if his elbow is at 85 percent strength. Nady had elbow reconstruction surgery last season with the Yankees.

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz.-- Xavier Nady made his Cubs debut Wednesday in a 5-1 loss to San Francisco, but is not expected to be able to play the outfield regularly until June, Lou Piniella said.

Until then, the Cubs will have to rely on Nady as a pinch-hitter and occasional fill-in in left and right fields. Nady signed a one-year $3.3 million contract after missing most of 2009 due to elbow reconstruction surgery.

Piniella said the Cubs will have to be cautious with Nady in the early going because of the "cold weather, (and) the fact that when you come off that Tommy John surgery, it takes a certain amount of time" to come back.

"That's why our trainer (Mark O'Neal) clings to around the first of June before we can put him out there on a more regular basis," Piniella said.

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- Carlos Zambrano gave up five runs in the third inning of Wednesday's game against San Francisco, hitting a batter with the bases loaded before serving up a grand slam to Pablo Sandoval.

Not exactly the kind of outing the Cubs wanted to see out of Zambrano, but it didn't seem to bother him at all, since it's only spring training.

 "It was good, you know? Zambrano said. "I make my pitches. They got lucky with the bloopers, and their big man (Sandoval), I was behind with the count and threw the wrong fastball in. He's a good hitter. I have to give him credit. Nothing I can do about it. Just get my work in and build my arm, and that's what I was trying to do today."

Photo: Carlos Zambrano wipes his brow after yielding a grand slam Wednesday to the Giants' Pablo Sandoval. (Morry Gash/AP)

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- After spending the last six months biting his tongue about his feelings toward Milton Bradley, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry ripped into his former player Wednesday morning at HoHoKam Park.

Hendry called Bradley's implication to ESPN that he received hate mail from within the organization "absolutely ridiculous," and said Bradley needs to look "in the mirror" and accept responsibility for his poor 2009 numbers.

"We're all brought up in life to accept responsibility when we fail, and to judge people by how they act and how they carry themselves when things don't go well," Hendry said.

Listen to the entire Hendry interview:

Bradley told ESPN some of the hate mail he received had no postage, suggesting it could've been in-house.

"Obviously, that couldn't be further from the truth," Hendry said. "I think maybe it's time Milton looks at himself in the mirror. It is what it is. He just didn't swing the bat. He didn't get the job done. His production, or lack of (production), was the only negative."

Photo: In happier times, Jim Hendry introduces Milton Bradley in January 2009. (Phil Velasquez/Tribune)

Bradley told ESPN it's difficult for a black player to play at Wrigley Field unless you're a Hall of Fame-type player.

Ryan Dempster disputed that notion, mentioning Derrek Lee as an example. 

 "D-Lee seems to really like it there," Dempster said. "I know that he's really enjoyed Chicago and loves playing there. And some other guys that I've played with have just really had a good time playing there. I know Marlon (Byrd) is going to have a blast playing there. I think anytime you struggle it can be tough, no matter what the color of your skin is."

Lee was unavailable for comment. Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams declined to comment.

Photo: Milton Bradley told ESPN that he felt like a prisoner in Chicago. (AP)

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- In his latest salvo aimed at the Cubs, Milton Bradley claims he wanted manager Lou Piniella to apologize to him in front of his teammates after Piniella called him a "piece of (expletive)" during a confrontation last June.

Piniella declined, according to Bradley.

"The next day, he called me into his office and wanted to apologize," Bradley told ESPN. "I felt you put me on blast, called me out in front of everybody, you're going to apologize in front of everybody.

"He didn't choose to go that route, but I accepted his apology nonetheless, because as a Christian that's what you do. I don't have time to hold grudges against people."

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- Randy Wells kept the streak alive Tuesday, throwing three scoreless innings in the Cubs' 5-3, rain-delayed loss to Milwaukee.

The Cubs' top three starters to start the season -- Wells, Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster -- have combined for nine scoreless innings. Craig Counsell's first-inning single off Wells is the only hit off the Cubs' trio.

"I went and screwed it up today," Wells said facetiously. "I gave up a hit."

By Paul Sullivan

MESA, Ariz. -- It's 54 degrees and raining at HoHoKam Park, and 50 degrees back in Chicago.

What's wrong with this picture?

Rain has delayed the start of Tuesday's game against Milwaukee, so here are a few tidbits from Lou Piniella's press briefing.

On Ted Lilly: Lilly said he could start a game in spring training, which was good news to Piniella.

"I think toward the end of spring training that's a distinct possibility," Piniella said. "He's coming along well. We're not pushing him, but I would think before we leave here Teddy will be able to pitch in a ballgame."