Notes: Patterson scratched from lineup

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05/24/2005 7:56 PM ET
Notes: Patterson scratched from lineup
Center fielder injured left wrist in collision with Burnitz
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Jeromy Burnitz survived his collision with Corey Patterson much better than the Chicago Cubs center fielder did.

Patterson was scratched from Tuesday's game against the Houston Astros because of a sore left wrist, suffered in his second-inning crash on Monday night with Burnitz in the outfield. The two were chasing Willy Taveras' fly ball, and Burnitz came up with it.

"It's nothing serious," Patterson said. "Right now, if I got in there, I wouldn't look great swinging. I could pinch-run or play defense. It's nothing to worry about long term."

Burnitz said he had no pain, but Patterson was busy in the trainer's room.

"I think my chest collided with his shoulder and my head hit his head, but I think I tried to brace myself and [my wrist] kicked back," Patterson said. "It was pretty sore, and last night it was throbbing a little bit."

Jerry Hairston Jr. made his fourth start of the season in center for the Cubs on Tuesday.

Roster move: The Cubs now have 13 pitchers on the 25-man roster after they optioned outfielder Ben Grieve to Triple-A Iowa to make room for Tuesday's starter, Sergio Mitre. Mitre was recalled from Iowa, where he was 3-4 with a 4.60 ERA.

Grieve, 28, was batting .250 with one RBI in 15 games for the Cubs, and was 3-for-10 in pinch-hit appearances.

Mitre was to face Houston's Roger Clemens on Tuesday. The young Cubs pitcher is used to pressure. He faced Greg Maddux in his Major League debut on July 22, 2003, when Maddux was with Atlanta.

"As a kid, this is what you dream about," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "He's looking forward to it. When he came in, I said, 'You know what you've got to do, and you know who you're facing. It'd be a tremendous feather in your cap to beat Roger.'"

The Cubs will likely make another roster move on Wednesday and activate second baseman Todd Walker, who went 3-for-5 for Iowa on Tuesday.

New job: Ryan Dempster picked up his third save on Monday night and made it look easy, needing just four pitches in the ninth inning. The right-hander, who started the year in the rotation, is getting used to his new role.

"I'm getting more used to being down there," Dempster said. "I'm getting used to preparing and making sure you're loose and ready."

But what about nerves? It's one thing to get his arm ready, it's another to have the stomach for the job.

"It does [get a little nervous] -- I think it's just the anxiety," Dempster said. "I was like that when I was starting. I was always anxious to pitch. Especially when we have the lead, I know I might have a chance to pitch. I can't be joking around as much."

Being the Cubs closer isn't a temporary, two-month tryout. Dempster is in this for the long haul.

"It wasn't like an intern basis and just go down there for a month or a couple weeks," the right-hander said. "As long as we're winning like that, I'll do it all year. It's fun; it's been exciting. It's nice to throw the last pitch and get that out and shaking hands on the field. It's a good feeling."

He also can relate to starters and knows the importance of his role.

"It's a good feeling, especially being a [former] starter, to go out and save a guy's win for him," Dempster said. "At the same time, when you don't save it, it hurts. It hurts as much for them as it does for you."

Baby, baby: Congratulations to Cubs pitcher Joe Borowski, whose wife, Tatum, gave birth to their second son, Ty, on Monday. Young Ty checked in at 5-pounds 6-ounces. On Tuesday, athletic trainer Mark O'Neal and wife Stefanie welcomed their third child, Kyle.

Congrats, Part II: Baker was honored on Tuesday by Gilda's Club Chicago as the inaugural recipient of the "Agents of Hope" award. The benefit celebrates service to the Chicago-area community. The event raised more than $275,000 for the club's free program of social, emotional and informational support for men, women and children diagnosed with any type or stage of cancer.

"We've established a new tradition today, and Dusty Baker is a wonderful recipient of our inaugural award," executive director LauraJane Hyde said of Baker, a cancer survivor. "His eloquence in describing his experience of living with cancer was remarkable, and Chicago is fortunate to have someone so compassionate and committed as one of our city's leaders."

Minor matters: Carmen Pignatiello threw nine shutout innings on Monday for Double-A West Tenn in a 1-0, 10-inning win over Mobile. Pignatiello had a no-hit bid going through 8 2/3 innings before giving up a single. He struck out 11. Felix Pie hit a walkoff homer in the bottom of the 10th. He now has 10 home runs. ... Raul Valdez gave up five earned runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings in Iowa's 7-5 loss to Sacramento. Ronny Cedeno was 3-for-4. ... J.R. Mathes gave up two runs on 10 hits over six innings for Class A Daytona in a 3-2 win over Dunedin. ... Luis Montanez went 5-for-6 with a solo homer for Peoria in a 16-3 win over Southwest Michigan.

On deck: The Cubs will close their three-game series against the Astros on Wednesday, also under the lights. The game will start at 6 p.m. CT to accommodate ESPN. Greg Maddux will start against Houston's Brandon Backe.

Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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It's good that the injury is not serious.
As for 13 pitchers on the roster, IDK how well it will turn out. We have pitching problems in the bullpen, but we also do have hitting problems, both in the starting line up and on the bench. I thought 12 pitchers wwere enough.
Dempster is doing fine in the closer role, and hopefully we solve that problem for the season.