Dale Sveum understands Kerry Woods frustration

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Dale Sveum would pull his motorcycle into Miller Park long before the Milwaukee Brewers showed up for work. He earned a reputation as a coach who wouldnt overlook any detail while charting plays and breaking down video.

But the Cubs manager wasnt going to overanalyze what surprised everyone Tuesday nightKerry Wood tossing his glove and hat into the Wrigley Field seats.

No, I missed that whole thing, Sveum said Wednesday.

Do you care that Wood showed his frustration that way?

Do I care? Of course I care, Sveum said. I dont condone it or wish it to happen all the time. But we all know in this game that theres frustration that happens and sometimes we regret things that we do, thats for sure. Were not perfect human beings. But, yeah, I missed the whole thing, so I didnt see any of that.

Wood snapped when a reporter asked about the gloveIrrelevant, dude, and why the (bleep) would you even bring that up?and ended the postgame interview.

Wood insists that his right shoulder feels good. He essentially wrote off the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Wood said he didnt want to give in to the cleanup hitter, so he walked Brian McCann. He pointed out that Dan Ugglas go-ahead, two-run single went past the defensive shift.

When things are going bad, Wood said, you dont get breaks.

The Cubs finally admitted last month that Woods shoulder has been bothering him off and on since the beginning of spring training.

The veteran reliever, who will turn 35 next month, hasnt pitched in back-to-back games yet. He has a 14.54 ERA after giving up four runs in his two innings since coming off the disabled list.

This isnt what anyone envisioned when the one-year deal was announced last January at the Cubs Convention.

Its just a matter of getting comfortable and getting in a rhythm, Sveum said. The bottom line is throwing strikes and being able to use your fastball and getting back in counts. And then you still got to be able to use the breaking ball. There are a lot of things to work on, but sometimes it just takes a few times out on the mound.

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