FLORIDA HURRICANE Cubs stay home, will play make-up games with Marlins

The two teams must make up three games during the last month of the season.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Manager Dusty Baker found himself awake at 3 a.m. Saturday morning and immediately turned on the Weather Channel for an update on Hurricane Frances.
"I didn't see anyway for us to go down there and play. ... Plus I'm seeing 21/2 million people going north. That doesn't make much sense for us to be going south," Baker said Saturday after the Cubs third and final game with the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium was postponed.
"Like I said before, I mean life and death and safety of your team and the people in Florida who live in Florida, that's No. 1. That supersedes baseball every time," Baker said while his team went through a workout at Wrigley Field.
Came back to Chicago
The Cubs, leading the NL wild-card race, haven't played since Wednesday night in Montreal. They came back to Chicago to gauge the storm rather than go on to Florida.
Cubs player representative Mark Prior said Cubs president and CEO Andy MacPhail didn't want the team to get stuck down in Florida.
"I think most of the players agreed with that decision," Prior said. "The players were warned to keep their cell phones on and keep close and be prepared."
But the call to leave never came and now the Cubs and Marlins -- who played a tough seven-game NLCS 11 months ago -- must make up three games during the tight final month of the season.
Florida trails the Cubs by 21/2 games with San Francisco, San Diego and Houston all in the wild card mix.
Make-up game possible
There's a chance the teams will make up one of the postponed games when the teams meet at Wrigley Field this weekend with a doubleheader on either Friday or Saturday.
That means the Marlins would have to give up a home game, although there is a slight possibility they would be allowed to bat last in one of those games.
"I don't have any objection to that. Whatever is determined to be fair," MacPhail said.
The teams might also play a doubleheader on a scheduled off day Sept. 20 in Florida. That would mean the Cubs would play in Cincinnati on Sept. 19, fly to Florida for two games and then fly back to Pittsburgh to start a series with the Pirates the next day.
Making up a game Oct. 4, the Monday after the regular season ends is not as likely because that day might be needed for a wild-card playoff.
Off-day decision
By playing Sept. 20, players would have to agree to give up the off-day, which Prior said they would because of the tight schedule and the playoff chase.
"It's going to be tough on us, it's going to be tough on them," Prior said.
"I think the main thing and the most important thing is everyone is safe and concerned about what's really going to happen. The game of baseball, it'll move on and it'll go on, but a lot of people's lives are going to be changed as a result of this weekend," Prior said.
Baker said his rotation would probably remain the same. Carlos Zambrano is slated to pitch Monday when Montreal comes to Wrigley Field.
The four off days are rare at this time of the season when teams are allowed to call up players from the minors and expand their rosters.
"Negative effects are probably you lose some of your timing, it backs your pitching up," Baker said. "There could be, who knows eight or nine or 10 days since a guy has pitched."
There are positives, of course.
"Probably the fact it is September, you got extra people here, extra bodies, extra pitchers coming in," Baker said. "Plus it gives some guys some time to get their strength back and also to get healed."