Cubs vs. Reds Preview, Saturday 5/25, 3:10 CT: Another Day, Another Game

Here's an interesting quote from Alfonso Soriano, which he said after the Cubs were swept in Pittsburgh:

"You think we're going to win that game 3-O, and in five minutes, [we're down] 5-3," Soriano said Thursday. "I went to sleep at like 6 o'clock in the morning, just thinking about that game. There's nothing you can do about it. [Wednesday], we didn't do anything to win that game. [The Pirates' Francisco Liriano] is good, and he pitched a very good game. But I'm tired of losing, frustrated.

"Sometimes, you just think too much," Soriano continued. "I get frustrated when you see that happen, because I'm tired of losing. I don't want to be on a losing team and have a bad record."

So does this mean Soriano would be more amenable to a trade? Of course, that means you'd have to find someone to take a player who's not having a very good year. His .690 OPS is lower than he's had in any full season, and he has walked just five times in 175 plate appearances.

I don't know what the answer is. Like Soriano, I don't think this team is nearly as bad as its record. But the record is what it is, meaning trades are likely coming.

Cubs lineup:

DeJesus CF, Castro SS, Rizzo 1B, Soriano LF, Schierholtz RF, Castillo C, Valbuena 3B, Barney 2B, Wood P

Reds lineup:

Choo CF, Cozart SS, Votto 1B, Phillips 2B, Bruce RF, Frazier 3B, Robinson LF, Hanigan C, Bailey P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Travis Wood Cubs vs. Homer Bailey Reds vs. Cin -- vs. Cubs

Travis Wood faced his former team twice in 2012. One outing was really good; the other, not so much. He's also faced them once already this year; he threw pretty well in another Cubs defeat. Current Reds are hitting .270 (17-for-63) against him with four home runs.

Homer Bailey faced the Cubs four times last year and the Reds won all four games. That's probably all you need to know about the Cubs' chances today; current Cubs are hitting .254 (35-for-138) against Bailey. Doom time, most likely.

Today's game is on WGN.

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 Reds site Red Reporter. Be careful over there, though.

Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.