(Courtesy of The Sports Xchange) Once again, an off-day is giving the Cubs a chance to tweak their pitching rotation.

The Cubs open a three-game series with Houston on Tuesday and the listed pitchers are Sean Marshall, Glendon Rusch and Greg Maddux.

But since the Cubs had Monday off, they are thinking of skipping Rusch (2-6, 7.29 ERA) on Wednesday and letting Maddux pitch that game, allowing Carlos Zambrano to pitch on Thursday.

That would allow Maddux and Zambrano to pitch on their regular four-days-rest routine and would also allow Rusch to be available in the bullpen as an extra long reliever.

Rookie Carlos Marmol, who dazzled when he made his first major league start on Sunday against Cincinnati, likely earned Friday's start against Detroit. Marshall will probably go on Saturday and the Cubs will decide if Rusch or Mark Prior will go on Sunday. Prior is rehabbing a strained shoulder, and later this week the team will decide if he needs another minor league start or if he is ready to face the Tigers in his first major league appearance of the season.

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NOTES

 --1B Derrek Lee (fractured right wrist) will start taking dry swings on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. Lee, who has no idea when he will return, hopes that once he is able to hit soft tosses, he will return shortly after that. Lee is also not able to throw yet and he hopes to start that activity soon.

--RHP Kerry Wood (shoulder stiffness and soreness) threw a bullpen session on Sunday and will throw another on Tuesday. The next step for Wood could come in a form of simulated work, where the Cubs can control how many pitches he is throwing. Wood was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to June 7 because he was having trouble getting loose between starts.

--LHP Sean Marshall faces Houston on Tuesday at Wrigley Field, after allowing one run on four hits in seven innings against the Astros last Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. Marshall lost that game, 1-0.

--1B Phil Nevin hit his second homer in 10 games as a member of the Cubs on Sunday. Nevin has been stating against left-handed starting pitchers, but there is a chance that he will get full-time work if he continues to show power.

--3B Aramis Ramirez (bruised elbow) is hoping to return to the lineup against Houston on Tuesday after missing Sunday's action because he couldn't throw. Ramirez is suffering through a sub-par year but still leads the Cubs with 34 RBIs.

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