Manager Lou Piniella has gone from citing injuries to saying it's time the Cubs just dealt with them.
Piniella put out a makeshift lineup Friday in a 10-3 loss to the White Sox. Right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, who is nursing a tight left calf, was the designated hitter. Daryle Ward, who would have DHed, played right field. The Cubs also went with Eric Patterson in left field. He messed up one play for an error, and the White Sox ran on him all game. "We've been dealing with it for a little bit now," Piniella said before the game. "We've been able to maintain. Hopefully, we'll continue to."
All told, the Cubs have been without the full or partial services of Ward, Fukudome, left fielder Alfonso Soriano, outfielder Reed Johnson and right-hander Carlos Zambrano.
"Look, we've just got to play through these things and do the best we can," Piniella said after Friday's loss.
WHITE SOX 10, CUBS 3: The Cubs gave up a double-digit score for the second consecutive day. RHP Ryan Dempster suffered through his shortest outing of the year, lasting 2 1/3 innings and giving up seven hits and eight runs. The big hit was Nick Swisher's grand slam in the third. The Cubs got solo homers from Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot and Jim Edmonds.
