Doug Glanville, who some of us may remember wore the blue pinstripes during his Major League debut in 1996, and also in 1997 and 2003, wrote a great opinion piece for the New York Times about the first game played after the attacks on our nation.

Seven years ago this week — Sept. 17, 2001, actually — my team, the Phillies, played a key game against the Atlanta Braves inside a packed Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The electricity in the stands was stunning. The pre-game ceremony showed off one of the biggest American flags I had ever seen, and the video presentation was one of a kind.

Because the three upcoming games would most likely make or break our season, we expected the series to bring Phillies fans from far and wide to support our efforts. At this point, every game counted — we were neck and neck with the Braves for the division title with only two weeks remaining. Even under the circumstances, though, we never expected this degree of support.

But we realized that the fans came out only partly to see a playoff race.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/opinion/18glanville.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

From the Tribune Blogs...

 

NEW YORK - According to a source who has seen the Major League Baseball master schedule, the Cubs will play their 2009 home opener April 13 against Colorado.

Also, spring training is expected to last seven weeks instead of the normal six weeks because of the World Baseball Classic.

Of course, this is the home opener.  I'm not sure if it's the 'true' first game and if the season starts later because of the WBC.

http://blogs.trb.com/chicago-breaking-news/2008/09/cubs-to-open-09-season-against.html

It seems like the two games played at Miller Park have started up the blasphemous talk of replacing Wrigley Field among the journalists and even players.  Among some of the quotes from the article...

There's no doubt the Cubs enjoyed their two-day stay in the Brewers' home clubhouse at Miller Park, and not just because they allowed only one hit in two victories over Houston.

After his no-hitter Sunday, Carlos Zambrano went as far as to say: "This is a beautiful ballpark. Gosh, I wish we could have a new ballpark."

Jason Marquis loves Wrigley, too, but wouldn't mind a replica built on the current site.

...

"If I had a personal choice, I think they should knock Wrigley down and build a replica in the exact same spot to give it that same feel. The same colored seats, same ivy, same wall, and throw up a Jumbotron, but have it look like a replica of the scoreboard that's up there now, try to give it the same feel, in the same spot. I wouldn't be opposed to that."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-17-cubs-brite-chicagosep17,0,1561611.story

Forget the no-hitter, this is the true sign of success.  Zambrano has been recognized in a MLB Game of the Year and the broadcast is available for a small sacrifice of 1.26gb of your hard drive, and 1.99 of your precious earnings...

September 14th, 2008: Chicago Cubs 5 at Houston Astros 0 F -- The only thing that frustrated Carlos Zambrano Sunday night was his at-bat in the seventh inning. He struck out and looked as if he were about to snap the bat across his knee. But he stopped himself. "I was feeling too good to do that," Zambrano said with a smirk. "I saw Lou's face. I said, 'No, not today.'" Zambrano remembered in time that he's a pitcher first. He looked it. Making his first start in 12 days, the right-hander threw his first career no-hitter and the first by a Cubs pitcher in 36 years as Chicago beat the Houston Astros, 5-0, in a makeup game played in front of a very pro-Cubs crowd of 23,441 at Miller Park. "Carlos made it special for them and for us," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

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MLB.com Reds blurb:

Though Dusty Baker has seven extra callups at his disposal, he has to be careful how to use them. He'll try to manipulate his lineup in Wednesday's finale vs. the Brewers.

MLB.com Brewers blurb:

CC Sabathia's start in Wednesday's series finale against the Reds was initially questioned, but now that they're facing a sweep, the Brewers realize they need their ace.

This game is on FSN Ohio, WMLW 41, AFN, Extra Innings, and MLB.tv

Probable Pitchers:

Shawn Estes - #55 LHP
* (1-1) 3.33 ERA 14 SO
Estes, out since May 29 with a fractured left thumb, was activated from the disabled list on Monday. The 35-year-old will be a free agent after the season, and the Padres want to get a look at him as they move forward with an eye on 2009. Estes is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA in five games this season, including four starts.

Jeff Suppan - #37 RHP
* (10-7) 4.49 ERA 77 SO
Suppan capped off a stellar August with a seven-inning, two-run performance against the Pirates. The right-hander finished the month 5-0 and struck out twice as many batters as he walked. Suppan said he used the movement on his fastball to his advantage and mixed in a changeup to keep hitters off balance. He'll need to do the same against the Padres, against whom he is 5-3 with a 5.66 ERA in his career.

Tidbits
Estes flew out of Los Angeles before Wednesday's game at Dodger Stadium so that he didn't have to take the red-eye charter from Los Angeles to Milwaukee late Wednesday night. The Padres weren't due to get into Milwaukee until around 5 a.m.

(Bulk of information taken from Padres Game Story)