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Going Gets Tougher, Can The Cubs Keep Going?
GAME 49 PREVIEW
CHICAGO CUBS (24-24) at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (26-23)
Dodger Stadium, 7.10pm CT, TV: ESPN, FSN2
These days a week of games hosting the Astros and Rockies is about as easy as they come. The Cubs played some good ball, their oppositions some quite bad, but the sum total of it all was the Cubs going 5-2, the minimum requirement in my eyes, and with that dragging themselves back up to five hundred for the first time since the terrible losing streak that began the month.
Now though we'll see what the Cubs are really made of. They've largely squandered a pretty comfortable schedule thus far, and being at five hundred, even despite the injuries, is not something of which they should be proud. Now the next three weeks bring encounters with nothing but good to excellent teams. The Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Marlins and Yankees; this is a nineteen game stretch born to give us a better idea of just where we stand. Are hopes of playoff baseball unfounded?
Newsflash - Dusty Baker picks same lineup two days in a row! Sadly, that means more Neifi Perez batting second, and less Todd Walker playing second. If I didn't know better, I'd say Dusty's given Walker's job to Jerry. If so, it's great that Dusty's come to the realisation that getting on-base by whatever means possible is a good thing. It's not so great he's not yet realised he doesn't need to relegate Walker to pinch-hit home runs to do so. Hairston for left field!
Maybe Walker's still hurting though. In which case, Dusty, carry on. And carry on Cubs, too, let's run this winning streak to four!
| SP *Wilson Alvarez | SP Greg Maddux |
| 2B Jerry Hairston | SS #Cesar Izturis |
| SS #Neifi Perez | RF Jayson Werth |
| 1B Derrek Lee | CF *JD Drew |
| 3B Aramis Ramirez | 2B Jeff Kent |
| LF Jason Dubois | 1B Olmedo Saenz |
| RF *Jeromy Burnitz | LF *Ricky Ledee |
| CF *Corey Patterson | 3B Antonio Perez |
| C Michael Barrett | C Jason Phillips |
| Pitcher's spot | Pitcher's spot |
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