Sammy Sosa felt a bit sheepish while explaining why he wasn't able to play Sunday against the Padres in San Diego.

He sneezed twice shortly after arriving in the clubhouse before the game, which brought on back spasms and forced him to grab a chair to support himself. While his Chicago Cubs teammates were out beating the Padres 4-2 for a three-game sweep, Sosa spent the afternoon in the trainer's room receiving treatment.

"It would have been better if I had hit off the wall or we have a fight or something, but this . . . you know what I mean?" Sosa said. "What can you do? Some things in life you cannot control. This is strange that it happened."

The Cubs are off today before opening a homestand Tuesday.

"I don't feel too good," Sosa said. "If I'm ready, I'm going to play. If I'm not ready, I'm not going to play. Whenever I feel 100 percent, I'll be back.

"Something you never expect to happen, happens. We're only human. The only thing you can do is just sit back and relax and wait. You're talking about the back."

Sosa homered Friday and Saturday to move past Mike Schmidt and take sole possession of ninth place on the career list with 549.

PIAZZA TO PLAY MORE FIRST: Mike Piazza will play primarily at first base for the New York Mets from now on. Mets manager Art Howe decided to move Piazza from catcher to first more often after discussing it with the slugger last week. Howe still plans to play Piazza behind the plate about two times a week. Vance Wilson and Jason Phillips will share much of the playing time at catcher. Piazza, who became the career home run leader for catchers when he hit No. 352 on May 5, said he was comfortable with the move.

"We'll see how things play out," Piazza said. "I don't think there's a blueprint for it."

A 10-time All-Star, Piazza is considered by many to be the best-hitting catcher in major league history, and he's probably headed to the Hall of Fame after his career ends. But he's always had trouble throwing, and all the bumps and bruises that come with catching have taken a toll on his body in recent years.

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GIRL INJURED BY FOUL BALL: A young girl was hit in the head by a foul ball and was carried from the stands on a stretcher during Sunday's game between the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies.

The girl, sitting about 20 rows behind the Rockies' dugout on the first-base side of the stadium, was struck by a foul ball hit by Philadelphia's David Bell in the seventh inning.

Paramedics attended to her for about 10 minutes before putting her in a neck brace and taping her head to a stretcher. She was wrapped in a blanket and was holding hands with a man, who apparently accompanied her to the game.

A paramedic said the girl suffered a head injury and was taken to Children's Hospital in Denver, but said he couldn't provide her name or information on her condition because of federal privacy laws.

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