Chicago's Inside Pitch

MILWAUKEE _ It was an all-quiet day on the Milton front. Not a single question to Lou about Milton Bradley. The Cubs are saying that they expect the situation to be resolved in a couple of days, so don't look for any drama with a grievance or anything like that. And don't look for Bradley back in the Cubs' dugout any time.

Jake Fox wasn't in the original lineup tonight, but Lou put him in left field late:

Theriot, SS
Fukudome, RF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Fox, LF
Baker, 2B
Soto, C
Colvin, CF
Wells, P

It looks like Angel Guzman is done for the season. He had an MRI today on his right triceps area, and it revealed inflammation and the same strain that had him on the DL earlier this year. So the Cubs will simply shut him down.

Jermaine Dye is not in the White Sox starting lineup against the Twins tonight, but don't read too much into manager Ozzie Guillen's decision to sit the slumping slugger.
Dye has been in and out of the lineup for weeks, as have Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin.
The Sox' playoff hopes are just about officially over, but they haven't seemed interested in a postseason berth since embarking on a disastrous road trip to Boston, New York and Minnesota in late August.
There has been talk about the White Sox shutting down starters Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd the rest of the way while playing as many kids as possible.
Ozzie on Tuesday said that's not going to happen.
“Everybody has to be ready,” he said. “The way we’ve got it right now, Buehrle is

Can Daniel Hudson hit?
Watching the White Sox' offense go through the motions again in Monday night's game against the Twins, that's the first question that comes to mind.
On a more serious note, it sure looks like Hudson can pitch.
A fifth-round pick in the 2008 draft, Hudson zipped through the Sox' minor-league system this season, going a combined 14-5 (2.32 ERA) with Class A Kannapolis, A Winston-Salem, AA Birmingham and AAA Charlotte before arriving on the South Side on Sept. 3.
After making three relief appearances, Hudson started his first major-league game Monday and looked pretty good, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings.
Only 22, Hudson handles himself like he's been around, and the right-hander's got a power arm.

MILWAUKEE _ Been a busy pregame on the field, so I'm a little late in blogging. Tyler Colvin will make his major-league debut for the Cubs tonight in center field. Lou says he'll play a lot, maybe not every day, but a lot.

Against lefty Chris Narveson Wednesday, Lou says he may go with an all right-handed hitting outfield that includes So Taguchi and Jake Fox.

Also on Wednesday, Jeff Samardzija will replace Ted Lilly as the starting pitcher. Lilly will get pushed back to the weekend in San Franciso, and Rich Harden also may start against the Giants. Lou says he's just giving Lilly a break, and that there's nothing wrong with his shoulder or his surgically repaired left knee.

ST. LOUIS _ The headline on yesterday's blog was "Milton closing the door." The Cubs suspended Bradley for the rest of the season today, and they'll call up outfielder Tyler Colvin from Class AA Tennessee for the start of tomorrow's series at Milwaukee. Lou says Colvin will play.

Let's make no mistake here about Bradley. Although the Cubs took action by suspending him, Bradley brought it all on himself, and not one player in the clubhouse here at Busch Stadium rose to his defense. In fact, there was a feeling that a great weight had been lifted from the Cubs.

Jake Peavy wasn't great Saturday night in his White Sox debut.
But it was his first start since June 8, so the Sox weren't expecting a complete game shutout.
What they got was this _ 5 solid innings. Peavy allowed 3 runs on 3 hits while walking two and striking out five.
His fastball topped out at 94 mph, which again is pretty good considering the lengthy layoff.
The most impressive thing about Peavy was the movement he got on his pitches. He worked both sides of the plate and Kansas City hitters never looked comfortable.
It was a pretty nice preview for 2010, and the addition of Peavy is probably going to make the Sox the team to beat in the AL Central next year.
One more thing about Peavy...before the game, manager Ozzie Guillen compared him to Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez.

ST. LOUIS _ In a town famous for beer, all I can say is that we got blogability today. Had a chance to grab Milton Bradley at his locker this afternoon before the Cubs' 2-1 loss to the Cardinals, and I wrote up the proceedings on our Web site. Check it out:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=322741

The way I see it, Milton is out of here at the end of the season. Too bad. It didn't have to be this way. But Milton apparently decided there were a whole bunch of things out there to fight, and he decided to fight them.

He talked today to me about needing a "stable, healthy environment" before adding, "and you can see why they haven't won in 100 years here."

Uh, this year, Milton should have used the word "we" instead of "they."

Controversy, controvery.
Ozzie Guillen was mired in it again Friday, and to a much lesser extent, so was middle son Oney, who aparently was twittering some blather about the White Sox being a bad team.
Let's take a pass on the latter, and focus on Ozzie telling reporters in the clubhouse after Thursday's painful 14-inning loss at Seattle: “If they give up on me, I give up on them.”
A radio reporter asked Ozzie if he “regrets” making the statement, and you knew what the response was going to be.
“I never regret anything I say,” Ozzie said.
I've tried figuring out why Ozzie is always the center of intense media focus when he says something inflammatory.

ST. LOUIS _ Road trip! Let's see, the last time, I was at Busch Stadium, Mark DeRosa was on his way to the playoffs with the Cubs. Aaron Miles was a Cardinal. And Jason Marquis, the former Cardinal, was getting the last laugh on his old bosses again.

I guess things have changed a little. DeRo is battling a painful hand injury, but he's batting sixth for the Cardinals tonight. Marquis and his 15 wins are with the Rockies. And Miles? Well, he's about as far down on the Cubs' depth chart as you can get.

1. In regards to the AL Central, isn't it about time commissioner Bud Selig steps in and declares the division ineligible for postseason participation?
2. Shouldn't Selig just award the New York Yankees a first-round bye in the playoffs? They can play the winner of the Los Angeles Angels-Boston Red Sox series.
3. The White Sox don't have a closer-in-waiting, like they did in 2005 with Bobby Jenks. But should GM Kenny Williams starting kicking the tires on a new ninth-inning reliever?
4. If Jenks is gone after this season, can he take Scott Linebrink with him?
5. Carlos Quentin turned down a multiyear contract in March, believed to be in the four-year, $20 million range. After another injury-riddled season, think he gets another offer?