Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets Preview, Friday 9/9, 6:10 CT: A Former Rival

by Al Yellon on Sep 9, 2011 4:00 PM CDT in Chicago Cubs Game Threads

Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs along with teammates Carlos Pena and Aramis Ramirez walk back to the dugout after Pena hit a three-run home run scoring Ramirez and Castro during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)

Thanks again, MLB schedulers. It has been more than 16 months since the Cubs last played in New York -- so long ago that eight players who played in that April 22, 2010 game in a Cubs uniform aren't in the organization any more. (Chad Tracy? Jeff Gray? Those guys were Cubs for about five minutes, I think.)

Nevertheless, here we are with another series against a team that used to be a hated division rival. Now we see them in passing, every year or so, and they seem to have different uniforms every time we see them. (Check out the Mets lineup from that game last year, too.)

Cubs lineup:

Castro SS, Barney 2B, Ramirez 3B, Pena 1B, Soriano LF, Byrd CF, LaHair RF, Soto C, Coleman P

Mets lineup:

Reyes SS, Turner 2B, Duda RF, Wright 3B, Pagan CF, Bay LF, Evans 1B, Thole C, Pelfrey P

Today's Starting Pitchers


Casey Coleman Cubs	vs.	Mike Pelfrey Mets

2-7	W-L	7-11
6.61	ERA	4.68
51	SO	93
38	BB	59
7	HR	19
vs. NY	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2011 - Casey Coleman	2-7	17	13	0	0	0	0	64.0	81	49	47	7	38	51	6.61	1.86

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2011 - Mike Pelfrey	7-11	30	29	2	0	0	0	171.0	189	96	89	19	59	93	4.68	1.45

Trust me. You don't really want to look at Casey Coleman's only career start and appearance against the Mets. Don't click on the link. Just don't. (And you're going to anyway, right? Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Mike Pelfrey has made two career starts vs. the Cubs, one in 2009 and one in 2010. He has a career 0.60 ERA and 0.80 WHIP against them, and only two players currently on the team (Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto) have had anything more than a single off him. Clearly, we are doomed.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago Plus (check local listings!) and SNY. Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin' Avenue.

Today's first pitch thread will be up at 6:10 p.m. CDT and the overflow threads will post at 7 pm, 8 pm and 8:45 pm CDT. If you need more overflows due to extra innings or rain delays, post them in the fanshot section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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Comments

Win this series for Ron Santo and his hairpiece!

We'll miss you Big Boy. #10 for Hall of Fame.

by mrcubsfan on Sep 9, 2011 4:03 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

Friday night, non-contenders, angry fanbases, on the Plus channel...

There will be more people in the stadium than the total TV audience.

"I'm not a broadcaster! I'm me!"--Ron Santo

by chilango2 on Sep 9, 2011 4:05 PM CDT reply actions

LaHair's being tried out in right now eh?

by Nunyabidness on Sep 9, 2011 4:06 PM CDT reply actions

I think it's more that ...

right’s the only place he can get at-bats without Quade having to make the truly awful (not) decision of benching Soriano or Pena.

Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

by elgato on Sep 9, 2011 4:11 PM CDT up reply actions

or Blakey

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Sep 9, 2011 4:31 PM CDT up reply actions

does Lahair have a nickname yet?

by cozmotaylor123 on Sep 9, 2011 5:41 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Hairy?

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Sep 9, 2011 5:42 PM CDT up reply actions

LaLa?

Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.

by daver on Sep 9, 2011 5:43 PM CDT up reply actions

cant wait for him

To drop that in an interview.

by cozmotaylor123 on Sep 9, 2011 5:45 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Well it looks like

Lahair is putting the Colvin experience on hold!!!

Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!

by Notsnud on Sep 9, 2011 4:06 PM CDT reply actions

LaHair in RF rather than Colvin...

Quade is finally figuring things out.

You know life is good when you hear "Die Hard 5" is in production. Yippee ki-yay, &%^##(&(#&%-ers !

by Easy Ed on Sep 9, 2011 4:10 PM CDT reply actions

It's happening!

Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

by elgato on Sep 9, 2011 4:11 PM CDT up reply actions

Was there ever a doubt?

You know life is good when you hear "Die Hard 5" is in production. Yippee ki-yay, &%^##(&(#&%-ers !

by Easy Ed on Sep 9, 2011 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions

so how are we going to be able to see how LaHair could handle the Cubs misguided throws at 1B

Oh that is right, players like Pena have:

" have been here working hard all year. You look for opportunities [to play everyone] and mix and match.’’

those guys who were instrumental in burying this team 20 games under .500 and further those guys with BA averages below the Mendoza line with RISP! Yeah those guys like Byrd, Soriano and Pena.

A friend once told me: "I don't buy the idea that a team learns anything from a loss, the only thing they learn is how to lose games."---Knight

by Ivy Walls on Sep 9, 2011 5:27 PM CDT up reply actions

No, if he were figuring things out, LaHair would be in LF and Campana would be playing

by ClarkFan on Sep 9, 2011 4:32 PM CDT up reply actions

Yes, LaHair is not a right fielder,

he will have to hit to be a passable left fielder, certainly can’t be much worse in coverage than Soriano.

by jpeters407 on Sep 9, 2011 5:09 PM CDT up reply actions

As long as Yonder Alonso plays LF for the Reds...

Soriano will never be the worst LF in the league.

You know life is good when you hear "Die Hard 5" is in production. Yippee ki-yay, &%^##(&(#&%-ers !

by Easy Ed on Sep 9, 2011 5:11 PM CDT up reply actions

Look over Yonder!

Seriously, Yonder, look over — you just missed a fly ball!

Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.

by daver on Sep 9, 2011 5:14 PM CDT up reply actions

Dave Kingman

wasn’t that bad on D in the late 70’s.

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Sep 9, 2011 5:34 PM CDT up reply actions

Yes, he was.

Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation

by Al Yellon on Sep 10, 2011 8:11 AM CDT up reply actions

If Colvin never returns to at least his 2010 level,

some will talk about a shattered bat that ruined a promising career. Others, including the stat geeks that wrote him off three years earlier will say he never had big league ability in the first place. My view will be that Q’s inept managing and Dome’s outrageous contract combined to deny Colvin the regular AB’s he needed at the start of this year. A cost-controlled left-handed power bat – really a great lefty swing – became another potential casualty of the Quade Experiment.

"Elder White! Look at the talent on those Cubs!" Harry Caray, KMOX Radio, 4/22/62

"And you have to wonder – What's the matter with Broglio?" Harry, KMOX, 5/24/64

by ernaga on Sep 9, 2011 5:37 PM CDT up reply actions

oh boy...

I'm a happy panda.

by jesus christos on Sep 9, 2011 6:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Forever ruined by Q.

Seriously, find me one player who succeeded long term with K and BB ratios as bad as Colvin. The best the Cubs could hope for is a Francoeur type career.

John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.

by rlpete on Sep 9, 2011 8:48 PM CDT up reply actions

Jim Hickman is one, Sammy is another...

Francoeur may be a third. As a lefty with power, Colvin may have had more potential value going into his second MLB season than any of these hitters. Obviously, in order to remain in the majors, Tyler will need to show the same season-by-season improvement in his K to BB ratios that these others did.

"Elder White! Look at the talent on those Cubs!" Harry Caray, KMOX Radio, 4/22/62

"And you have to wonder – What's the matter with Broglio?" Harry, KMOX, 5/24/64

by ernaga on Sep 9, 2011 9:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Neither Hickman nor Sosa were as bad as Colvin..

… in not taking walks. Hickman, in fact, walked 93 times in his best year, 1970, and had a career .335 OBA on just a .252 batting average.

Sosa, meanwhile, didn’t have his best years until he learned to take some walks; he is one of only two Cubs to walk 100+ times in a season in the last 50 years (Gary Matthews, the other).

Carlos Pena might become the third; with 18 games left he has 88 bases on balls.

Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation

by Al Yellon on Sep 10, 2011 8:13 AM CDT up reply actions

LaHaterz be hatin'!

But LaHair be hittin’ — seventh!

Baseball is pitching, offensive production, baserunning and defense.

by daver on Sep 9, 2011 4:30 PM CDT reply actions

It must be a CUBBIE occurrence that the Cubs are playing this weekend in NYC...

…when soldiers with automatic rifles are patrolling all over NYC and stopping all manner of cars, buses, and trucks coming into the city. Gee, wouldn’t it be funny if they stopped the Cubs team bus and sent them away!

"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.

by zevkalman on Sep 9, 2011 4:31 PM CDT reply actions

Isn't that the title for the documentary on the 2011 season?

Clearly, we are doomed.

by ClarkFan on Sep 9, 2011 4:31 PM CDT reply actions

Cubs-Mets

Remember in 1984 when Mets were up and coming and Cubs beat them out was intensity in those series!! I miss the rivalry, which was clearly No. 2 to Cardinals, and Brewers and rest of NL Central don’t compare…was something about the NY/Chi thing.

Mets have 2 WS and 2 other WS appearances in their 50 years…not bad, but you’d think a big market team would do better. they appear to be treading water lately.

PS I always kinda liked Bobby V.

by QuincyCub on Sep 9, 2011 5:34 PM CDT reply actions

DCubs lineup

Crawford 7 Watkins 4 Cerda 5
Bour 3 Rohan 0 Burgess 9
Szczur 8 Soto 6 Noble 2

Harman 4.47

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Sep 9, 2011 5:42 PM CDT reply actions

wondering .....

how many cubs will stand outside the dugout for the national anthem on 9/11

by walterj on Sep 9, 2011 5:43 PM CDT reply actions

No game post tonight?

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Sep 9, 2011 6:09 PM CDT reply actions

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Sep 9, 2011 6:12 PM CDT reply actions

Bench?

LaHair will probably sit some because he’s coming through and Q will be afraid of putting him in in place of some vets in the future. I could see him in LF though.

by mixandmatch on Sep 9, 2011 9:43 PM CDT reply actions