* Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol suffered minor injuries in a car accident early Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.
A truck hit a car carrying Marmol, a cousin and a friend in his hometown of Bonao near 2 a.m. The All-Star right-hander had just arrived in the Caribbean nation after the Cubs were swept by the L.A. Dodgers in the playoffs.
Marmol said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the air bag deployed and he only suffered a cut and an “inflammation” of his forehead.
“Out of precaution they did different studies on my body, and I don’t have any kind of serious injury,” he wrote.
* GM Jim Hendry declined to comment on the futures of Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster, his two prime-time free agents, but the Cubs are expected to try to re-sign both.
* Before leaving for Japan, Kosuke Fukudome spoke with reporters Tuesday at Wrigley Field and was asked how he would feel if he went into Spring Training next year without assurances of a starting job. “I could not care less,” he said through a translator. The man who signed for $48 million over four years would not care if he wasn’t starting? Fukudome then was asked to clarify. “If it means that there will be competition in right field, all I have to do is win that competition,” he replied.
* Can the Cubs send Fukudome to the minors? Fukudome would have to agree to it, which appears unlikely, although when asked about it Tuesday, Fukudome said “it’s not my decision.”
Manager Lou Piniella was pounded on talk-radio for playing Fukudome in Games 1 and 2 and for not removing Dempster after seven walks in 4 2/3 innings in Game 1. “That’s what happens when you get beat,” Hendry said of the criticism. “He got a lot of criticism on the first night about leaving Dempster in. I mean, the guy won 17 games. He won almost every game at home. …”
* Rich Harden will see a shoulder specialist before the Cubs have to make a decision Wednesday on his $7 million option.
SOX HITS
* After an injury-riddled season that marked his first stint on the DL as a major-leaguer, 1B Paul Konerko knows that fitness will be a priority this off-season. “In a nutshell, my body was just down this year,” said Konerko, who coped with thumb, rib and knee injuries en route to a .240 batting average, 62 RBIs and 122 games — all career lows. “That’s the first time I can say that after 14 professional seasons. … I want to get in better shape and control the things I can control because I’m getting older (32), and it snuck up on me.”
* Sox bench coach Joey Cora likely will be a strong candidate for Seattle’s managerial job, assuming Mariners ownership hires a general manager who chooses not to retain interim manager Jim Riggleman.
