PHOENIX — Whether or not Cubs manager Lou Piniella was still second-guessing himself Thursday was not clear. What is clear: Everybody else was.
"How many guys are there in this room?" Piniella said before Thursday's game, when asked if he was surprised by the reaction to his suddenly infamous decision to yank starter Carlos Zambrano out of Game 1 on Wednesday. "Count them. That's how many managers we have here. I understand the process. Everybody has got their ideas."
When asked if he did replay or think again about the move Thursday, Piniella said only that he "talked to our (Chicago-area) beat writers about it, and they've all got my explanations."
Which were, according to mlb.com, that Piniella went into the game planning to pull Zambrano after six innings or 100 pitches to keep the right-hander fresh for a possible Game 4 start. In addition, Piniella said, he would rather lose the game with the bullpen than his starter and, besides, Carlos Marmol had been pitching so well that there was debate over using him as a closer.
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"How many people here wanted me to close him?" Piniella said, according to mlb.com. "Now, I bring him in the seventh inning of a ballgame, and it's like the billy goat came out of the grave and what's his name, (former Cubs manager Leo) Durocher turned over in his grave and everything else. For God's sake — I think there's a little overreaction to this."
Webb back, too?
Although he has scheduled right-hander Micah Owings for the Game 4 starting slot Sunday, D-backs manager Bob Melvin did not discard the possibility that Brandon Webb could return to face Zambrano again in that game.
Webb threw only 89 pitches in Game 1, leaving for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning.
"Anything can change over the course of whatever happens," Melvin said before Thursday's game. "I'm just not prepared to even go there yet."
Another cheerleader
Injured third baseman Chad Tracy is joining second baseman Orlando Hudson in the dugout this series to offer advice and support. While Tracy's quiet personality is a polar opposite of the chatty Hudson, he is no less excited.
"I'm super proud of them," Tracy said. "I can't be more proud of them. They're fun to watch."
Tracy, who will remain on crutches for four more weeks after undergoing microfracture knee surgery last month, watched the D-backs' road trip at home on television, text-messaging teammates to keep in touch. He said he intends to travel with the team this weekend to Chicago.
Inside pitch
● The D-backs brought back two more of their 2001 world championship team members when Jay Bell and Matt Williams threw out first balls before the game. Former Diamondbacks chairman Jerry Colangelo threw the first ball to Randy Johnson before Game 1.
● Right-handed reliever Bob Wickman, signed on Sept. 8 after being released by Atlanta, is contemplating retirement at age 39. Wickman gave up only one earned run over eight appearances down the stretch, finishing with a one-batter, one-out performance Sunday at Colorado.
"Hopefully, I helped this ballclub and took some pressure off some of the guys," Wickman told the East Valley Tribune. "All I wanted was a chance to pitch and to show myself that I could still pitch."
