The Chicago Cubs held off making a decision Saturday. Prior was to throw a side session on Sunday, and pitching coach Larry Rothschild said he expected to announce the next step for the right-hander after that.

There are two options. Prior could start Tuesday for the big league team against San Diego and fill the fifth starter spot, or he could make another Minor League start.

"I want to make sure he's physically fine and he feels like he's ready to go and we feel like he's ready to go," Rothschild said. "We can make [a decision Saturday], but we'll get more information [Sunday]."

The stats from Thursday's Minor League outing aren't a factor. What's important is that Prior is healthy after his minor battle with inflammation in his right elbow.

"The most important thing is that he recovers well and feels well," Rothschild said. "We all know what he can do when he's healthy. It's a matter of making sure his stamina is up, his strength is there, his arm speed is there. He's shown every sign that all those things are there."

Prior has had elbow problems the past two springs, but Rothschild said completely altering the right-hander's mechanics won't fix the problem.

"If you think you're going to rebuild a guy who throws the way he does at this point in his career, you're probably not going to do it," Rothschild said. "When he releases the ball, it's pretty easy. The ball comes out pretty well. You work your way back from there. I'm not going to rebuild him."

But the Cubs will do some minor adjustments.

"I think one of the worst things that was said was the perfect delivery situation," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said of Prior. "There is no perfect anything. There's never a perfect swing. Sometimes things need a little tweaking."

Glendon Rusch would likely be inserted into the rotation if Prior isn't given the go-ahead to start against San Diego. The Cubs have to make a decision soon, and a lot will depend on whether they need the lefty out of the 'pen in the next two days.

Kerry Wood went 5 2/3 innings on Friday, but because the game went 12 innings, the bullpen was busy.

"We're trying to take it easy early in the year on [Chad] Fox and [Mike] Remlinger," Baker said of the two veteran relievers. "A lot of it depends on how deep [Carlos Zambrano] goes today and how deep [Greg] Maddux goes [Sunday]."

Heart to heart: Baker met Saturday with LaTroy Hawkins and catcher Michael Barrett to go over what happened in Friday's home opener. Hawkins blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning, his first save opportunity of the season. Junior Spivey singled and scored on Lyle Overbay's double down the left-field line to tie the game.

"A closer has to forget yesterday," Baker said. "How many times will the ball hit down the line? According to our reports and charts, [Lyle Overbay] never hits the ball down the left-field line. He hits it a lot between third and short. Looking back, I was thinking we should've had somebody on the line. At the same time, we know he likes the ball away."

"I still believe in LaTroy," Baker said. "He definitely has the stuff. He has to get to that next step of closing it out."

The session was productive, Baker said.

"That's part of my job and part of the process of communicating and expressing myself, as well as them expressing themsleves as to why things happened or didn't happen," Baker said. "I like what we got."

Look out: There's less foul territory near first base with the addition of the new Bullpen Seats located between the visitors' dugout and bullpen. There's also a new brick wall for Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee to deal with. He didn't know that until Friday.

"It's not as soft as the fence that was there, that's for sure," Lee said. "It's not that bad."

He had his first encounter with the new extended area Friday in the Milwaukee seventh inning when he caught Carlos Lee's popup.

Before Friday's game, the Cubs threw balls at the wall to test which way they richocheted.

"We wanted to see which way the ball would bounce if there's an overthrow," Lee said. "It came pretty much right back, or a little bit toward the outfield."

There's no padding on the corners, which is not good.

"If I have to go into it, it's going to hurt," Lee said.

Maybe someone can add some padding, which was done to the corners of the Dugout Seats behind home plate after Baker noticed the potential danger. Planting vines there won't help cushion a collision.

"Those vines don't do anything," Lee said.

Dodger Stadium has one of the largest foul areas. Lee was asked which he liked better as a defensive player.

"I'd probably rather not have to worry about a brick wall because you don't want to get hurt," Lee said. "But at the same time, you don't have to run that far. You pick your poison."

Minor matters: Eric Patterson, the younger brother of Cubs center fielder Corey Patterson, hit a two-run homer for the Peoria Chiefs on Friday in a 9-1 win over Wisconsin. ... Brian Dopirak hit his first home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning for Class A Daytona on Friday in a 2-1 win over Brevard County.

Extra bases: When Jeromy Burnitz trotted to right field on Saturday, he waved to the bleacher fans. No tip of the cap this time. ... Maddux will close the three-game series against the Brewers on Sunday. Maddux was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA against Milwaukee last year, and is 10-2 lifetime with a 1.45 ERA against the Brewers. The veteran will be seeking his 306th career win and first of the year.