Open Thread: Cubs vs. Giants, Thursday 5/11, 2:35 CT

Normally, Barry Bonds takes the day off when there's a day game after a night game.

Not today. He's supposed to play. Obviously, he has never faced Sean Marshall. If Marshall attacks him the same way Z did last night, good things will follow.

A win today doesn't solve all the problems, but it would feel awfully good, to the players and to us, too.

Today's Starting Pitchers

S. Marshall Cubs vs. J. Wright Giants 2-0 W-L 2-3 3.12 ERA 4.61 26 SO 19 11 BB 16 3 HR 5 vs. SF -- vs. Cubs

Marshall's 3.12 ERA ranks 13th in the NL among all pitchers who qualify, and his 0.89 WHIP is second (only Pedro Martinez at 0.86 is better).

Another stat note: despite the fact that Michael Barrett has had only 1 RBI in the last two weeks, he still leads all NL catchers with 19, and is third in the majors (Victor Martinez, 23, Ramon Hernandez, 20).

More: Wright is the ninth straight RHP the Cubs have faced, and they will face all RHP vs. the Padres this weekend.

Matchups: John Mabry is 8-for-25 (.320) with 4 RBI lifetime vs. Wright. Jacque Jones is 2-for-9. What I'd do is start Mabry in RF, Theriot at 2B, and Walker at 1B.

Dusty Baker said before the season started that he'd pay more attention to matchups. We'll see if that is the case this afternoon.

Discuss amongst yourselves.