Derrek Lee’s stiff neck is becoming a pain for the Cubs. But he does not foresee a scenario where it could land him on the disabled list.
“Oh, no,” Lee said Wednesday night after the 6-3 victory over Houston. “I promise you that’s impossible.”
Lee was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with a recurrence of the condition that limited him to one at-bat in the weekend series at St. Louis on April 26-28. His status for the remainder of this five-game trip, which ends in Milwaukee, is uncertain.
Lee has been hitting the ball well lately, going 5-for-17 with two homers in his last five games, and was listed as the No. 3 hitter in manager Lou Piniella’s original lineup Wednesday.
“It sort of caught me by surprise,” Piniella said. “When Derrek complains about something, something’s definitely wrong. He enjoys playing as much as anybody.”
Going deep: Rich Harden said he felt he could have finished Wednesday’s game. He was lifted after giving up three straight hits to start the eighth inning, including a home run to Lance Berkman, but didn’t think he was making bad pitches.
Piniella noted the two-run eighth against Harden followed San Francisco’s three-run eighth Tuesday when he allowed Sean Marshall to work longer than normal.
“You learn as you go,” Piniella said. “We get seven innings the next time, we’ll be pleased with it.”
Hitting the road: After a poor outing Tuesday against San Francisco, Jeff Samardzija was returned to Iowa. The Cubs promoted 38-year-old right-hander Chad Fox, who pitched in three games for the Cubs last season.
“We’re pretty young out in that bullpen,” Piniella said. “Having a veteran pitcher certainly helps.”
Fox had gone 1-0 with a 1.59 earned-run average and two saves in 11 appearances for Iowa. Samardzija will return to the Iowa rotation. He could be an option to get a start in Carlos Zambrano’s spot if Randy Wells doesn’t impress Friday in Milwaukee.
The next bullpen call could go for Jeff Stevens, who was acquired from Cleveland in the Mark DeRosa trade. He has worked 11 consecutive scoreless innings for Iowa, giving up three hits in the streak.