Izturis’ Big Hit? ‘That’s Baseball’

Telling Cesar Izturis that he wouldn’t be the Dodgers shortstop when he came off the disabled list in June was as difficult as anything Grady Little has done this season.

Telling Izturis he was traded to the Chicago Cubs five weeks later wasn’t nearly as tough.

“I was happy about it,” Izturis said. “I wanted to play my position.”

So it happened that he was in the eye of the storm in his first game against his former teammates. Uncharacteristically, he nearly gave the game away with his glove and won it with his bat, making an error in the ninth that enabled the Dodgers to tie the score, then hitting a single with two out in the 11th to bring home pinch-runner Juan Mateo with the winning run.

“That’s baseball, sometimes things don’t end up the way anyone planned,” he said.

Izturis was a welcome addition to the defensively challenged Cubs, but he pulled a hamstring Aug. 19. He did not start Tuesday but is expected to be in the lineup tonight and Thursday.

And he will be at shortstop.

“They’ve been treating me good,” he said. “It’s a team with tradition and they have good fans.”

Izturis, a Gold Glove winner with the Dodgers in 2004 and their starting shortstop from 2002 through 2005, sat out the first three months of the season recovering from elbow ligament replacement surgery. Rafael Furcal was signed to a three-year contract during the off-season largely because of Izturis’ uncertainty and was entrenched at shortstop when Izturis was healthy enough to play June 20.

“I have nothing against the Dodgers organization,” he said. “They treated me good. It was nobody’s fault. It was just the situation with the team.”

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Chad Billingsley’s simulated game was postponed until today because of rain. The rookie right-hander is still expected to make his first start since Aug. 27 on Saturday against the San Diego Padres.

Little, however, said he would have no problem starting left-hander Eric Stults if it rains today and Billingsley isn’t able to face hitters in a practice setting. Stults defeated the New York Mets on Sunday, giving up one run in six innings. Should Billingsley start, he would be allowed to throw only 80 to 90 pitches.

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Rookie first baseman James Loney hasn’t unpacked his suitcase since July 28, when he was at triple-A Las Vegas expecting to remain there until a September call-up.

Instead he has traveled nearly 16,000 miles in less than seven weeks.

Loney was promoted to the Dodgers on July 29 and spent two days in L.A. followed by three days in Cincinnati, three days in Miami and nine days in L.A. Then he was sent back to Las Vegas and spent four days in Tacoma, five days in Portland and three days in Colorado Springs before getting promoted again.

From there it was two days in L.A., three days in Milwaukee followed by four days in New York and the current trip to Chicago.

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The Dodgers won two coin flips and would host a playoff game against the San Diego Padres or San Francisco Giants should there be a tie for the National League West title.

steve.henson@latimes.com