Could the Cubs' bullpen have been better off by keeping the veteran right-hander in the middle-to-late role they initially envisioned instead of making him the odd man out at the end of camp?

''Could have been,'' he said. ''I know when it happened, I felt in my mind it was the wrong choice. But that's not for me to decide.''

Gaudin realizes how poorly he pitched throughout spring training and has taken a philosophical, ''things happen for a reason'' approach to the move that came as a surprise.

''I didn't have a great spring,'' he said. ''But then again, I came out in New York [in an exhibition] and I thought I threw a pretty solid inning. I had a bad spring. And there's lots of guys that have bad springs and that have pretty good seasons.''

But the Cubs had two spots for four pitchers, and any of three -- Gaudin (out of options), Angel Guzman (out of options), and Rule 5 draft pick David Patton -- would have to make the 25-man roster or be lost to the organization.

Guzman, who has pitched especially well lately, and Patton, who has not (8.03 ERA), were kept despite the fact Gaudin was guaranteed more than twice the combined salaries of the pair.

''Anytime you get released, you're disappointed and angry,'' said Gaudin, who is coming off a seven-inning (two runs) start against Houston. ''But everything happens for a reason. And I didn't want to be out of the pen anyways. I feel I'm [best] as a starter, and that's where you're going to get the best out of me.''

And where the Cubs hope to get the best of him today.

''Whatever happens in the past is in the past and stays in the past,'' he said of today's first career start at Wrigley Field. ''I'm not going to look for personal battles or vendettas or anything like that. I'm just going to take a professional outlook and go about it the right way.''

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