Geovany Soto injured a finger somehow. Just don't ask him how; he has no idea. Lou is mystified.

Teddy Greenstein has a fascinating article on the Japanese media pool following Fukudome. I worked with a few Japanese media pools when I was in Japan, doing public affairs for the Marine Corps, and they are certainly an experience to be around. Greenstein does a good job of capturing the experience.

Daryle Ward isn't likely to be ready to DH in time for the series with Toronto:

The Cubs were hoping he would be back in time to be their designated hitter in the American League ballparks, but they probably will call up Micah Hoffpauir from Triple-A Iowa next week when they head to Toronto. Matt Murton also has a shot, depending on which pitchers the Cubs will face on the trip.

Between the Jays and Rays, they have one lefty - Scott Kazmir - in their rotations, so expect Hoffpauir, with Murton having a shot at being called up for the White Sox series, depending on how their rotation lines up. But can I suggest something? Maybe not for every day, but at least once or twice, give this a shot: Use Soriano as the DH. Put DeRosa out in left and Cedeno at second. You give Soriano's legs a bit of rest while keeping his bat in the lineup, and you improve the defense in the infield and the outfield.

Ken Rosenthal loves Geovany Soto.

The good news? Rich Hill got the win in his second rehab start, fanning five and allowing only one hit as he worked five innings, allowing only one unearned run. The bad news? Seven walks. That's bad. And yet, I'm left to wonder - is taht worse than Jason Marquis?

Lou is pining after reliever Jose Ascaino, who was sent down to accommodate left-hander Neal Cotts.

Marc Cuban is campaigning for a shot at Cubs ownership. The interesting part:

Asked if he believed he could rely on the support of Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who also owns the NBA's Chicago Bulls, Cuban said they "get along pretty well" and "we're actually on the same side of issues probably 99.99 percent" of the time.

"If you talk to any of the folks in the NBA, they'll tell you that I'm a great partner, that I bust my butt to try to do what's best for the league," Cuban said. "That's not always what's portrayed in the media. But those who know, know, and I think that will pay off. And if I can come up with a competitive bid for the Cubs, then I think I've got a shot.

Let's just say that conventional wisdom says that Jerry Reinsdorf wouldn't piss on Mark Cuban if he was on fire. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

The Cubs drafted Bob Brenly's son, UNLV catcher Michael Brenly, in the 36th round.

The Sun-Times wants to know: which Chicago newspaper is the most shameless and berift of dignity? Oh, I'm sorry, that question was answered around the time that Jay Mariotti was hired. The actual question is whether Cubs fans or Sox fans are hotter. Yay.

Ozzie and Lou are costarring in a commercial for automobiles. The disturbing part: "[W]e hear Piniella will be rapping." I think I'll prefer the Aquafina commercial:

Gordon Wittenmyer talks about Fukudome's improving road splits. It's almost like, over time, odd home-road splits tend to regress towards some sort of a population mean.

Paul Sullivan handicaps Theriot's All-Star odds. I submit this for your approval:

Theriot, through June 7th, 2008: .329/.410/.395, .805 OPS

Neifi, through June 7th, 2005: .317/.342/.471, .813 OPS

That's a low blow, sure. But I think it's important to keep in mind that Theriot has done this for two months, and has a long track record before this season of subpar offense. I think this is what Alan Greenspan would have called "irrational exuberance."