CHICAGO — Kerry Wood sure would like to pitch this weekend.
His surgically repaired elbow is just fine, he says, and he's had three strong rehab starts in the minors to prove he's OK.
He has just one minor problem — a pesky blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
It means Wood will have to wait some more, probably until Tuesday when Houston comes to town. It was against the Astros that he made his mark nearly two years ago when he struck out 20 batters and pitched a one-hitter.
Wood had hoped to take to the Wrigley Field mound this weekend against Arizona.
"It's frustrating to go through 121/2 months of rehab, and the start before you are going to make it back, you get a blister on your finger," Wood said Friday.
"But a couple of more days isn't going to hurt."
Wood, the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year, sat out last season after undergoing ligament replacement surgery on his elbow on April 8 a year ago.
He hasn't pitched in a major league game since Oct. 3, 1998, Game 3 of the first-round playoffs against the Braves.
The Cubs have been cautious with their 22-year-old pitcher, who's obviously itching to get on the mound. He developed the blister while pitching for Triple-A Iowa last Sunday.
"I've been wrestling with this decision, the blister, the last three days," Cubs manager Don Baylor said Friday. "I looked at it again and I was right in my decision."
Wood planned to throw in the bullpen today and then be re-evaluated Sunday to see if the blister has healed enough for him to pitch Tuesday against the Astros. Baylor wasn't committing one way or the other.
Wood's velocity on his pitches has been as quick as his recovery from one of baseball's most dreaded operations.
He's been throwing in 90-plus mph during his starts, and he's gradually worked in his breaking pitches. He now has a four-pitch repertoire — a fastball, two sliders and a changeup.
"I'm not concerned about my arm at all," Wood said.
"I've had my velocity from the first time I got on the mound. I felt my arm strength was going to be there. I've never had a problem. I'm getting breaking balls over for strikes and getting guys out with a changeup. I think I've got pretty much the same stuff as before the surgery."