Series Preview: Cubs v. Brewers, April 10 – April 12, 2009
Up this holiday weekend is a tilt with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago Cubs visit for the Brewers home opener, and it should be beer-tastic. A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of hot chicks, too.
We’re Going Streaking
It’s only the second series of the year, so there isn’t much of a streakiness to speak of (wonder how long I can get away with that excuse?). The Cubs took two of three from the Astros to open the year, and the Brewers split their first two games against the Giants (and they’re, like, totally playing the third game right now as I type this. It’s 2-0 Giants in the 5th, in case you care).
Game Times and Broadcasts
- Friday, April 10 at 3:05 CT on WGN.
- Saturday, April 11 at 6:05 CT on CSN.
- Sunday, April 12 at 7:05 CT on ESPN.
Expected Starters and Lineups
It’s still early, so these lineups are likely to be, well, wrong. But they’ll be close.
Cubs
Starters: Rich Harden, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster
Lineup:
- Soriano, LF
- Fukudome, CF
- Lee, 1B
- Bradley, RF
- Ramirez, 3B
- Fontenot, 2B
- Theriot,SS
- Hill, C
- Pitcher
Brewers
Starters: Braden Looper, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan
Lineups:
- Rickie Weeks, 2B
- Corey Hart, RF
- Ryan Braun, LF
- Prince Fielder, 1B
- JJ Hardy, SS
- Mike Cameron, CF
- Bill Hall, 3B
- Jason Kendall
- Pitcher
Hot or Not and Whom to Watch
The Cubs have several players who were scorching hot in the first series of the season. Ryan Theriot, Aramis Ramirez, and Kosuke Fukudome (wait, what?) were particularly good. But the guy to watch in this series is undoubtedly pitcher Rich Harden. He stunk big time in Spring Training and his velocity was way down. Just warming up, or is the tear in his shoulder going to be a problem?
The Brewers have had solid performances thus far from Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron, but like the Cubs, the guy to watch might be that first game starter: Braden Looper. Not only are the Brewers counting on him to be a solid middle of the rotation starter (he doesn’t quite replace CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, though, does he?), but he’s coming off a pesky oblique problem.
Series She-View
And now the best part of the preview: if the teams were represented by beautiful women, who would they be, and what would the match up look like. I thought long and hard about who would represent the Cubs this year. Given the fact that she’s thrown out the first pitch, sung the Seventh Inning Stretch, probably likes the Cubs – oh, and the fact that she is a level of hot commensurate with the Chicago Cubs’ ability, I’ve chosen supermodel Marisa Miller. You’re welcome.
For the Brew Crew, though we almost went with Tyne Daly, who hails from Madison, we decided to go with a cadre of beautiful women enjoying brew. It’s a perfect fit: they start out young and fit (like young stars Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo), but after enough beers, they quickly wind up thick and portly (like Prince “the Vegetarian” Fielder).
So who do you like in this matchup?
Related posts:
- Series Preview: Brewers v. Cubs, April 12 – April 15, 2010 Finally, the 2010 season is upon us, and with it...
- Series Preview: Cubs v. Brewers, April 23 – April 25, 2010 It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs head...
- Series Preview: Nationals v. Cubs, April 26 – April 28, 2010 It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs welcome...
