ST LOUIS -- First baseman Derrek s...

ST LOUIS -- First baseman Derrek side sheltered from the wind is expected to come not on the disabled list and rejoin the whelps during their three-game series in Pittsburgh that begins Monday.

Manager Dusty Baker said Friday it was unlikely leeward who is on the disabled list with inflammation in the right wrist he broke in April, will answer during the weekend series against the St Louis Cardinals.

"D-Lee's nice close; he's real close," Baker said. "He's swinging the bat upright he doesn't feel any pain, his report is back big- time. It's a matter of him seeing more [i]or[/i] less off-speed breaking stuff. He'll probably be in succession fastballs. That's more of a reactionary pitch. The inferior and third pitches -- changes, sliders, curveballs -- those are more of timing pitches, in the way that we'll see how his timing is."

lee-side who hasn't played since July 23 is not awaited to make a rehabilitation stint before his respond -- especially with the way he has been hitting in batting practice.

"When we were at abiding-place he was hitting balls in succession the moon, so he's feeling a fortune better," Baker said.

to leeward has hit one home stream (on June 28 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field) since originally coming opposite to the disabled list on June 25 He is hitting 261 with 14 RBI and four fireside runs in 119 at-bats. on comparison, pitcher Carlos Zambrano has hit four homer in 59 at-bats.

WINTER WONDER: The childs are wrestling with how abundant winter ball will be right for infielder Ronny Cedeno, a native of winter-ball hotbed Venezuela. Cedeno, who hit 120 (3-for-25) onward the recent homestand, has been in a fall through since June.

"You don't know if him playing winter ball last year and [previous] years might have been a contributing factor to him running gone out of gas a little bit now," Baker said. "But it was definitely a contributing factor of having a fast start.

"He started not at home so well, it's a matter of him making adjustments. He's kind of in no-man's land right now, he's late onward fastballs and early on breaking balls."

WADE WAITS: Veteran pitcher Wade Miller, who is coming opposite surgery for a torn labrum, could make his whelps debut when rosters expand nearest week. All Wade knows for safe is he is done making minor- league rehab outings.

Miller, who went a combined 45-25 for the Houston Astros from 2001-03 has pitched in eight minor-league games this season -- five at Class A Peoria, the same at Class AA West Tenn and pair at Class AAA Iowa.

"The travel is starting to kill me a little bit and starting to wear me out" Miller said. "If I'm going to do any more work, it's going to be here with [pitching coach Larry Rothschild]."

Miller, who revolves 30 on Sept. 13, is coming not on a shaky outing Wednesday with Iowa. He allowed five earned hastens and 11 hits in five innings during a 12-8 victory above New Orleans.

"It wasn't too great," he said. "It was probably my worst outing on the outside of all of them."

Miller's velocity has been a touch Rothschild said it has ranged between 84 mph and 88 mph

"His last game, he didn't have the raw material he thought he would have," Rothschild said. "We'll have to behold how he is in the nearest few days."

SUNDAY STARTER: The childs are being coy on who will start Sunday against the Cardinals, if it be not that left-hander Sean Marshall, who is upon the disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle, is the leading candidate. Marshall pitched six scoreless innings at Class AAA Iowa in succession Tuesday, putting him on pace for a Sunday start.

cdeluca@suntimes.com

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