It’s feeling so very real now. I am even more excited and nervous than I was this morning.
The first Chicago Cubs lineup of 2016 is out, and just allow the fullness of it to wash over you:
- Dexter Fowler, CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Jorge Soler, DH
- Miguel Montero, C
- Addison Russell, SS
Where’s the break in that lineup? Where are you, as the pitcher, feeling like you can easily string together a couple outs without serious risk of damage?
[adinserter block=”1″]Nowhere. That’s where. That doesn’t mean the Cubs will score a ton of runs tonight, of course, but man that’s a gorgeous lineup.
As expected, Kyle Schwarber is the starter in left field, not Jorge Soler. It says some things about Soler’s continued adjustments out there, as well as Schwarber’s progress, I’d think. Here’s hoping Soler mashes the ball tonight, and at least fills that DH role well while there’s an opportunity.
The rest of the lineup looks more or less like we expected, with the Zobrist-Bryant section the only question. I like this version just fine, as that number three spot is actually not necessarily quite as important as the number five spot.