Game 1 NLDS / Dodgers @ Cubs
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
SP | Ryan Dempster | SP | Derek Lowe |
| 17-6, 2.96, 187 K,76 BB, 206.2 IP | (2008) | 14-11, 3.24, 147 K, 45 BB, 211 IP |
(Playoffs) | 5-4, 3.34, 43 K, 23 BB, 67.1 IP | ||
LF | Alfonso Soirano | SS | #Rafael Furcal |
RF | *Kosuke Fukudome | C | Russell Martin |
1B | Derrek Lee | LF | Manny Ramirez |
3B | Aramis Ramirez | RF | *Andre Ethier |
C | Geovany Soto | 1B | *James Loney |
CF | *Jim Edmonds | CF | Matt Kemp |
2B | Mark DeRosa | 2B | *Blake DeWitt |
SS | Ryan Theriot | C | Casey Blake |
P | Ryan Dempster | P | Derek Lowe |
The calender page flips to October and the Cubs are in the unfamiliar position of being the favorites. Well maybe not the favorites to win it all, I think that honor belongs to the Angels or Red Sox, but certainly the team to beat in the National League. TBS will wax poetic about curses and goats and I'll set the over/under line on a Bartman clip at top of the third. And I'll roll my eyes with each and every mention.
But here we are, on the cusp of the playoffs with a Cubs team that is as good as many of us have ever seen; on the heels of a season that exceeded even the loftiest of expectations. Is this the team to break the drought? I don't know, but I sure do believe it is.
As for today's game...
I think Game 1 is actually the toughest match-up for the Cubs, on the blind assumption that Zambrano and Harden are healthy and ready to let loose. Lowe's been tough at Wrigley and has a good post-season track record. Compare that to Ryan Dempster, who has also been good at Wrigley, but has all of one inning of post-season experience. And not be all doom and gloom, but since the inception of the Wild Card, the team winning Game 1 has gone 34-18.
Well here it is, baseball's second season...may it treat the Cubs as well as the first.
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