Piniella said before the 4-2 loss Sunday to the woebegone New York Mets that he plans to get pitching prospects Esmailin Caridad and Jeff Samardzija some starts in the last four weeks.

''We'll see how we schedule it, but I think it'd behoove us to take a look at these young kids in the rotation, a little bit anyway,'' he said, adding that he hadn't reached the point of thinking that way about the whole team.

That part about the rest of the team might change after the lost series in New York, including a game in which every Cubs highlight was produced by a guy making less than $500,000, while the $36 million 3-4-5 middle of the order went 1-for-11 with five strikeouts.

Rookie Randy Wells (10-8) pitched well again in a loss, allowing only one earned run in six innings, and second-year catcher Geovany Soto hit two run-scoring doubles. Backup infielder Andres Blanco made the defensive play of the year for the Cubs in the fourth inning -- diving for Jeff Francoeur's grounder up the middle and, in one motion, rolling over and throwing from his butt to get Francoeur by an eyelash.

''That's as good a play as I've ever seen made at the big-league level,'' Piniella said.

Blanco said he surprised even himself and had trouble explaining how he did it.

''I don't know,'' he said. ''It's my game, just running and grabbing and, 'All right, that's first base, good luck.'''

''That's nothing compared to some of the plays he's made down in Iowa,'' Wells said.

If Blanco has shown anything this season it's that he's the Cubs' best defensive infielder. And rookie Sam Fuld -- who nearly robbed Dan Murphy of his two-run triple in the seventh when he got a glove on a ball hit well over his head in center -- might be the best defensive outfielder they have.

And that side of the ball might not be a bad direction for the Cubs to look as they start thinking about next year. Their fielding (14th) ranks worse in the National League than the hitting (13th), which has gotten all the attention.

''It's a huge asset, just like Sam Fuld,'' Wells said. ''A guy that can run down balls like he can, who cares if he hits .290 or whatever. If he hits .260 or .270 and makes plays like that for the pitchers, that's huge.''

And Blanco?

''He's a big-league shortstop,'' Wells said. ''There's no doubt about that. I'm not a talent evaluator, but if he learns what he's supposed to do at the plate, he can be an every-day big-league shortstop. I've seen guys that are not as good defensively, or just as good, and don't hit a whole lot but play every day at shortstop.''

The Cubs have a lot of money tied up in long-term contracts with veterans, but as new ownership transitions into power over the next month or two, it's possible the Cubs will look at buying out some leeway on their roster.

Whether that creates more opportunities for these rookies and other prospects or means the Cubs jump back into the free-agent market might depend on how much the Ricketts family wants to tack on to that $845 million purchase price.

''I've seen it for a while down in Triple-A,'' said Wells, who spent all or parts of the last three seasons at Class AAA Iowa. ''There's a lot of guys who can play in this organization. They keep showing good up here; they're going to be all right.''

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Cubs RECAP

AT THE PLATE

Geovany Soto had two run-scoring doubles, and Jeff Baker singled, walked and scored twice. But that was it, as the lineup went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

On the mound

Rookie Randy Wells (10-8) allowed one earned run in six innings but fell short of a win because of a lack of run support for the sixth time. In fact, the Cubs' starting rotation has allowed only three earned runs in 38? innings (0.70) over the last six games -- but the team only has a 3-3 record to show for it.

Pivotal point

With runners on first and second and one out in a one-run game in the seventh, third baseman Aramis Ramirez -- who committed an error that led to an unearned run two innings earlier -- fielded a slow-hit grounder and couldn't get the double play. Daniel Murphy followed with a two-run triple over the head and off the tip of the glove of Sam Fuld.