Despite an early burst of good performance and despite the calls of some teammates to bring him north at the end of spring training, phenom shortstop Starlin Castro appears destined to start the season at Class AAA Iowa.

Through March 12, Castro was off to a .471 start (8-for-17 with a homer), and he was playing solid defense.

The Cubs reiterated their stance that the best course of action is to have Castro begin the season at Class AAA so he can play every day. As of now, Ryan Theriot is still the starter at shortstop for the Cubs. With backup Andres Blanco on the shelf due to a sprained knee, questions arose as to whether Castro could be kept as a backup.

The team has been reluctant to go that route because of the playing-time issue.

Pablo Sandoval now has bragging rights over Carlos Zambrano, the pitcher he grew up idolizing back home in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Still, the Giants third baseman isn't ready to boast just yet. "I'm not going to tell him anything," Sandoval said Wednesday after his grand slam off Zambrano led San Francisco to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

It took Randy Wells seven years to stick with the Chicago Cubs. Only seven years? Joe Inglett wishes he had been so lucky. Inglett, an 11th-year pro trying to win the final spot on Milwaukee's 25-man roster, hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning Tuesday, lifting the Brewers to a 5-3 victory over the Cubs.