Ah, players weekend … the one time of the year, MLB says “Hey kids, go out there and have fun.” Wear unique clothes, get called by your nickname, AND GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM CAUSE ONCE MONDAY HITS IT’S BACK TO BUSINESS, GOT IT?!
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Murph, 2B
- El Mago, SS
- Tony, 1B
- Zorilla, RF
- Schwarbs, LF
- Happer, 3B
- Willy the Beast, C
- Millsy, P
- Tico, CF
With the exception of, perhaps, Millys and Tico, I’m guessing your all capable of making out those names. But if you’re not, it goes Murph, El Mago, Tony, Zorilla, Schwarbs, Happer, Willy the Beast, Millsy, and Tico. Clearer?
Against Matt “Harv” Harvey (cool nickname, bro), the Cubs are rolling with a pretty expected lineup, with one notable exception: a lack of Jason Heyward.
For the second straight game, the Cubs outfield is Heyward-less and I don’t think that’s a random fluke. Both Anthony DeSclafani (yesterday’s starter) and Matt Harvey (today’s starter) carry traditional splits, meaning, all things equal, you’d definitely want all the lefties in there you can get:
Harvey v. L: .264/.328/.489 (.349 wOBA)
Harvey v. R: .255/.305/.429 (.313 wOBA)
Instead, it’s Albert Almora out in center field, with Ian Happ in right and Kyle Schwarber in left. The Cubs will still have five left-handed batters in there, including five of the first six batters (Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ), but it easily could’ve been six, by sliding Heyward or Happ into center and keeping Almora on the bench. I wonder if something’s up with Heyward.
Finally: Willy the Beast is EASILY the best nickname of the bunch … behind El Mago, of course. As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (1:20 CT).