Opening Day Eve: Let the Kids Play, No Worries on Lester, Lineup Guesses, More

March 27, 2019, by Brett Taylor Chicago Cubs

I suppose I could save these things for the Bullets in the morning, but come on. It’s Opening Day Eve. I can’t stop feeling hyped, and I have to do something with my hands. So I’ll type and click!

Major League Baseball released another installment of its Let the Kids Play campaign, and it’s star-studded, even if lacking in Cubs:

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1110990874043797504

Jordan Bastian put together a fantastic set of 13 items to whet your appetite for Opening Day:

The number 13 has been following me for the past 24 hours. So, here's 13 Cubs notes ahead of Opening Day: https://t.co/jgqKRvm1sI

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 27, 2019

I especially liked the bit from Theo Epstein expressing no concerns about Jon Lester getting hit around this spring, and he has no concerns for all the right reasons: “Veteran Spring Training. Stuff wise, it looks really similar to what he featured last year, when he was pretty darn successful. Last time I recall we played a game that counted, he went out and shoved in a very important, high-pressure situation. I expect him to do that on a number of occasions this year. I also expect him to have his duds, because that’s the nature of it. But, nothing that’s happened this Spring Training changes our faith in him at all. He got through it healthy. That’s the big thing.”
You are reminded that the focus in Spring Training is not maximizing results by digging deeply into scouting reports and doing everything you can – plan be damned – to get a guy out. You’re working on specific things and on arm strength. That’s pretty much it. Lester might stink this year, but it would be incorrect to say that Spring Training was any kind of harbinger.
I really cannot overstate how good this is, and how much it will make you smile about a fellow Cubs fan:

Going the distance. #EverybodyIn #MyCubsJourney @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/uGO1YRHXx0

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 27, 2019

A couple get-you-prepped pieces:

With less than 24 hours until first pitch on #OpeningDay, @dougglanville asks:

“Can the #Cubs turn the clock back to 2016?

READ: https://t.co/rrzeqqXlqD pic.twitter.com/6I99UVrf5m

— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) March 27, 2019

Less than 24 hours to first pitch. Give it a read: RT @ESPNChiCubs: One day away: What could go right — and wrong — for the Cubs in 2019 https://t.co/nau7lYIthE

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) March 27, 2019

Still a little while before she makes her season debut, but so far so good:

I can smell the fresh grass from here! pic.twitter.com/ksjYGICap8

— Wrigley Aerials (@WrigleyAerials) March 27, 2019

How about a lineup guess for tomorrow’s opener against lefty Mike Minor? He’s not a big split guy, it’s the opener, and Daniel Descalso was kind of behind the eight-ball this Spring, so I’ll go with some non-platoon options …