CHICAGO — It’s raining here now, and the forecast calls for showers all day, turning to thunderstorms tonight. But, as a cynical old colleague of mine used to say, at least it’s windy.

I will be surprised if the Twins and White Sox play tonight. Looking ahead, the forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain Friday in Kansas City, a 40 percent chance Saturday, and partly cloudy Sunday, with a high of 53 degrees.

For the players, that would feel like Fort Myers.

As a rule, rainouts are never good. But I don’t think the Twins would mind one or two over the next three days. They are beat up and sick right now.

Jason Kubel told us he’s been feeling flu symptoms (stomach and head), which explained why he had a full plate of food but wasn’t eating much after his six-RBI game last night. Justin Morneau didn’t feel great coming to the ballpark Wednesday, and with a 12-4 lead in the eighth inning, Manager Ron Gardenhire rested him by moving Mike Lamb from third base to first base.

Remember, when Michael Cuddyer got hurt, the Twins also lost their primary backup at first base. So when Lamb went to bat in the ninth inning, Gardenhire asked second baseman Brendan Harris if he’d ever played first.

“He said, ‘Not in a game, but yes.’ ”

Harris meant he’d never played first base in a big league game. He’d done it in winter ball.

Well, on the next pitch, Lamb fouled a ball off his right instep. It was hard enough that Lamb left the game, letting Nick Punto finish the at-bat.

Without missing a beat, Gardenhire turned to Harris and said, “Try his [first baseman’s] glove on.”

So the Twins finished their 12-5 victory with Harris at first base, Punto at second, Matt Tolbert at third and Adam Everett at shortstop.

Lamb had X-rays taken but was diagnosed with a bruise.

“That doesn’t feel good on a warm night,” Gardenhire said. “You can imagine how it feels on a cold night.”

Actually, Delmon Young fouled a pitch off his foot earlier in the game, too.

So the weather forecast is rough for the next three days of this trip, but it’s actually coming at a good time for the Twins. In today’s notebook, I noted how it might help with their pitching dilemma, too.

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