--INF/OF Mark DeRosa ran lightly Sunday and will do so again Monday to test his strained left calf. He has not played since straining it last Wednesday at Shea Stadium. After first saying, "He'll be ready Wednesday," manager Lou Piniella said, "We think he'll be ready Wednesday," referring to Game 1 of the NL Division Series. DeRosa said emphatically that he'd be ready for Game 1.
--RHP Carlos Zambrano will throw a side session Monday as he preps for his Game 2 NL Division Series start. Manager Lou Piniella toyed with the idea of starting Zambrano and letting him pitch one or two innings Sunday, but Zambrano preferred to throw a side session Monday. --Rookie RHP Jeff Samardzija has made the postseason roster, according to manager Lou Piniella. The Cubs will carry 11 pitchers in the NLDS and 14 position players. RHP Chad Gaudin is the likely odd man out in the first round. Even though RHP Bob Howry gave up Ryan Braun's game-deciding homer, Piniella said Sunday's results likely wouldn't change his mind on roster spots.
--C Geovany Soto did not play Sunday. He got Saturday and Sunday off after he felt pain Friday night in his troublesome left hand, which has been sore near the hand/wrist joint. Manager Lou Piniella said Soto was able to play but that the Cubs didn't want to take any chances.
--SS Ryan Theriot picked up two hits, giving him 58 multi-hit games. He finished with a .307 batting average and a .387 on-base percentage. Both of those numbers led all Cubs regulars.
BY THE NUMBERS: 8 -- Consecutive seasons in which Cubs pitchers have led the major leagues in strikeouts. They were tops this year with 1,264.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Do I get excited? This is a fun time of the year. It's what you play all year for. Hopefully this year things will go a lot better in the postseason than they did last year." -- Manager Lou Piniella, on being in the playoffs in 2008 after getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round in 2007.
