Ailing Ramirez hopes to return later this week

Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez will be in pain the rest of the season, but he said he'll play as much as possible and won't alter his style.

''I don't want to miss any more games,'' Ramirez said Tuesday after receiving a cortisone injection in his left shoulder to relieve inflammation. ''I've already been out a lot.''

Ramirez, who missed two months with a separated shoulder, hopes to return by Thursday or Friday after leaving the game Saturday in Colorado with shoulder pain.

The injury in May was the third time Ramirez had separated his shoulder in his career.

''I don't think I'm going to have surgery because it's more muscular now,'' he said, adding that he didn't think he returned too soon on July 6. ''[The Cubs] did not rush me, but I wanted to be back. I was pretty good two weeks ago. It just happens.''

Ramirez was hitting .286 with seven doubles, five home runs and 17 RBI in the 25 games since his return, but he had gone 1-for-18 in his last five games.

The pain occurs on his swings.

''I swing pretty hard,'' Ramirez said. ''When I finish my swing or [when I'm reaching for] a line drive over my head, but that's not going to happen too often. It's when I swing. I have a pretty good idea what I can do.''

Ramirez said he won't alter his swing or refrain from making a diving play in the field.

''I don't want to do that,'' he said. ''I always swing hard, and I don't strike out much. I just want to play the way I play.

''You can have an injury even if you're 100 percent, but that's not a concern. If I have to dive, I will. I'm out there to play, and I'll do what I have to do.

''I'm going to have to [play with pain]. Since I came back, I haven't been 100 percent.''

Jake Fox was at third base again and batted fourth Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies as manager Lou Piniella continued to juggle his injury-racked lineup.

''I've never had a separated shoulder, so I can't speak to it, but I'm sure it will cause him some discomfort from time to time,'' Piniella said.

''Let's hope he can play through it.''

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Photo: Aramis Ramirez says his shoulder pain flares up when he swings. ;