Cubs leaving their bullpen up in the air

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TEMPE, Ariz.Dale Sveum wouldnt tip his hand and reveal how the Cubs are leaning as they put the finishing touches on their bullpen.

Well wait and see in a couple days, Sveum said before Sundays 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. (No), I wouldnt say were any closer. There are still performances out there.

In essence, there are eight relievers left in campeven if all the paperwork hasnt been filed yetand seven spots in the bullpen. Working backwards, Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, Rafael Dolis and James Russell are in, and Rodrigo Lopez is the only obvious long man still standing.

Sveum has talked up Shawn Camp, a veteran reliever recently picked up after his release from the Seattle Mariners. Camp pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on Sunday and struck out three of the six batters he faced.

Its no secret the front office would like to add a second left-hander to the mix alongside Russell. The Cubs manager wouldnt rule out adding another arm.

Theres a possibility, Sveum said. I dont know of any talk or anything like that. Obviously, theres a chance of somebody coming up and getting released in the next few days. Theres always an opportunity or a possibility.

In what may be his final chance to make an impression, Manuel Corpas is scheduled to pitch Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It could be down to Corpas or Lendy Castillo, a converted infielderRule 5 pick from the Philadelphia Phillies who has pitched 111 minor-league innings in his career, all at Class-A or lower.

Woodthe only established setup man on the rosteris supposed to throw a full inning on Monday in his final tune-up. There could be times where Sveum will use Marmol before the ninth.

Winning the game is the most important, obviously, Sveum said. But in the scheme of things, the least amount of pitches we can get these guys to throw, the better. If hes going into games and hes having quick innings and quick saves without the 20 to 30 (pitch counts), then, yeah, youll use him for four outs, maybe five.

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