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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Cubs can tie history Sunday afternoon.
They are 4-20 in their last 24 games. The worst 25-game stretch in team history is 4-21. Cubs teams have "accomplished" this feat three times: in 1954, 1973 and 2006. It's not a stretch to think that this year's team can match that, and then perhaps exceed it as we go through June, where the Cubs are 1-8 so far.
I wish I had better news, but I don't. And once the team begins to make deals with players currently on the roster, it's only going to get worse. Let's say Ryan Dempster is traded. Who's going to take his place in the rotation? Chris Volstad? That won't be an improvement. Who's next on the starter depth chart? Rodrigo Lopez? Casey Coleman? Jay Jackson? About the only starter at Triple-A Iowa I'd really like to see is Chris Rusin, who might have a possibility of becoming a decent back-end starter.
Here's another review of Target Field I wrote for Baseball Nation; a few different things than what I wrote here yesterday (along with one additional photo of the ruined Metropolitan Stadium from 1983).
Happy Sunday, everyone.
Cubs lineup:
Johnson LF, Castro SS, DeJesus RF, Soriano DH, Baker 1B, Mather CF, Barney 2B, Stewart 3B, Hill C
Twins lineup:
Span CF, Revere RF, Mauer DH, Willingham LF, Morneau 1B, Plouffe 3B, Dozier SS, Butera C, Carroll 2B
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Ryan Dempster last faced the Twins as a starter 10 years and three days ago, June 7, 2002, when he was still with the Marlins and the Twins were still playing home games indoors. (Amusement value in that boxscore.) He made one relief appearance against the Twins while he was the Cubs closer June 25, 2006, though that was not a closing situation. Current Twins are 8-for-38 against him; most of that is Ryan Doumit, who is 4-for-23. In short, who knows?
Francisco Liriano has never faced the Cubs. He was so bad as a starter earlier this season that he was demoted to the bullpen after getting hit hard by the Angels on May 7. He had a 9.45 ERA at the time. He made a few decent (and one bad) relief appearances, and since being restored to the rotation has an 0.75 ERA, a 0.833 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts (and just three walks) in 12 innings. Clearly... (you know the rest).
Today's game is on CSN Chicago.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Twins site Twinkie Town.
Today's first pitch thread will post at 1:10 p.m. CDT and the overflows at 2:10, 3:10 and 3:55 p.m. CDT. If you need more overflows due to extra innings or rain delays, post them in the fanshot section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.