It’s the second game of the Cubs/Sawx series, and the Cubs are already going for the series win. I guess that’s what happens when you win the first game of a series. No way they lose the next two, right? That never happens.
It’s another right-handed-heavy lineup for Dale Sveum today. At least Jeff Baker is 4 for 4 in his career off of Jon Lester.
Game Info
Boston Red Sox (31-33) at Chicago Cubs (22-42), 6:15pm CT on FOX.
Game Thread and Series Preview
The Game Thread lives here. You should participate in the madness. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts.
The Series Preview for this series lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Jon Lester (3-4, 4.57 ERA, 1.364)
versus
Jeff Samardzija (5-4, 3.96 ERA, 1.349 WHIP)
Boston Red Sox Lineup
1. Scott Podsednik, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, 1B
4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia,C
5. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
6. Adrian Gonzalez, RF
7. Ryan Sweeney, CF
8. Mike Aviles, SS
9. Jon Lester, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Reed Johnson, RF
2. Darwin Barney, 2B
3. Starlin Castro,SS
4. Alfonso Soriano, LF
5. Jeff Baker, 1B
6. Joe Mather, CF
7. Welington Castillo, C
8. Luis Valbuena, 3B
9. Jeff Samardzija, P
I hate Baker in the lineup, he SUCKS!!!!!!
Yeah even if Baker got hot really what would he bring back in a trade? Michael Bowden?? That’s a wasted spot in the lineup..
Go Cubs Go!!!
I think my grandma can hit and play defense better than Baker, and she’s blind!
Well, I guess for those of us who don’t live in the right part of country, we will not be able to watch this game on TV this evening. Instead, FOX will be showing the Astros vs. Rangers game out here in Colorado. Great. Wonderful. Oh, but wait, I can watch the game on MLB.tv an hour or so after the game has completed. I mean, seriously? Guess it better than nothing… Thanks FOX, for ruining Saturday baseball for me, week after week.
Go Cubs!! A few of my buddies who happen to be Red Sox fans are out in Chicago to see this series and I wasn’t able to make it. Sure hope I can give them a hard time when they return.
Over here in NC, I get to watch the Orioles vs. Braves. Which is really stupid considering they both get shown on MASN and MASN2 anyway. Good job FOX. If both those channels go down I can still catch a game that I don’t care about.
I am in Southern Cali, and I think I am getting Giants or Angels or Dodgers game. All I know is that I am not getting the Cubs. Sigh…
Dude Im with ya on this. I hope i can still root for Soriano, meaning I want him to go to the O’s haha
I definitely wouldn’t mind that. Then I might actually have some interest in watching the O’s.
Since people were talking about a trade with the White Sox, anybody want me to be on the lookout for anybody on their triple-A team? I’m going to be at the Knights game tonight.
All
Of their decent triple A players play for the whitesox already I believe
Soriano for Dunn with evening out of contracts so no money saved or lost…Dunn has his mojo back and can let cubs trade LaHair while rizzo has another year and half in minors to come up ready to go 2014
Do you forget to breathe sometimes? I sure hope I missed the sarcasm in that.
If you read the comments as satire they are quite enjoyable.
I agree with mg
Do this trade all day long, but the Sox would have to be crazy to go for it
Wouldn’t be surprised by that lol.
Whoops that was supposed to be on Andrewmoore4isu’s comment.
In minor league news, guess which $6 million pitcher has given up 5 runs(and counting) while not yet out of the second? It rhymes with Cerardo Goncepcion.
The whole “he’s just working on certain pitches” thing is a nice hope to cling to, but just because the coach says it to protect his pitcher doesn’t make me assume it’s true. And even if it is, a 20-year-old whose fastball is slow, wild and imminently hittable in the Midwest League is a depressing prospect, even if his breaking stuff is advanced.
Hill cleared waivers….”Whaddya mean no other team wanted me??!!!”
I hate listening to Buck and MacCarver,,,Cardinal suckups!! They think just because the Cubs are cutting salaries, that they are throwing in the towel..How stupid, to rebuild it, you have to do it the right way…When the Cubs get good again and it will be a lot sooner than the “more than 5 years” that MacCarver predictied, they’re gonna ezt some serious crow
.
Tim McCarver is all wet.
I am with you about listening to Buck and McCarver. How long did the two of them go on about Soriano not running the ball out. Surprise, when Pedroia was thrown out made it a point about running hard. I’m hoping that I don’t have to watch a Cubs/Cardinals game with these two calling it because it will be nothing a Cardinal suckup fest.
Toby, they blow..on a par with the Brennaman family..completely unprofessional
I can’t get on Soriano for not running out the ball because on replay it looked like he caught it then squirted out.
Seems like it’s feel sorry for Soriano these days. I don’t buy it one bit!
Soriano has been running out everything hard this year. Your first instinct when you see a linedrive go into a player’s glove is to stop. When Soriano noticed that the ball squeaked out started to run, but it’s more harder for Soriano these days to start his running up because of his knees. Even if Soriano ran the play out he would still have gotten thrown out.
So by your own admission, he has NOT run out everything hard in the past! I rest my case.
It’s no breaking news that Soriano did not run hard out of the batters box up everytime leading up to this year, but for fans to get on him on this one play is bit much. Soriano is not the first player to stop when they hit a linedrive at appears to be caught.
One play here, one play there, it can’t be dismissed.
If it were a consistant thing this season would be one thing, but Soriano has been playing hard and running the bases harder than he has ever with the Cubs.
Toby, respectfully disagree. he should have not quit on the play just cause he thought it was caught. he took his eye off the play and stopped, quit. I’ll say it again, if he’s hurt, fix it or sit. to me it was a stupid play on his part. what did he say last week “the team has lost confidence”. he has lost confidence as like Louie. or call it lazy.
I think Soriano could have made a good ballet dancer!(LOL)
So, you’re saying to keep running if a ball is caught. 100% of players would have done the same thing on the same play.
Michigan: How were the kids responses to the quote?
This is crazy! How come the Cubs can hit or out-hit with teams and not score runs?
What the hell can one get for a Randy Wells?(A good lawnmower?)
I came in late to watching the game. What’s up with the grass at Wrigley?
Concert a few nights ago.
In minor league news, brettjackson is now a verb for striking out swinging.
Brett Jackson brettjacksoned two more times so far tonight, though he does have a double too.
Ice cold.
Say it isn’t so.
Dude. You can’t just make up words. If you don’t follow the rules of the English language to a T, it could confuse your readers.
Ha! Not too many exclamation ponts either.