Cubs vs. Mets Preview, Friday 6/14, 6:10 CT: Someone Our Own Size

Remember that old childhood saying? "Pick on someone your own size!"

After playing 10 of the last 12 games against teams with winning records (and going 4-8 in those games), the Cubs will face a team this weekend that actually begins the series with a worse record than they have. The Mets are 24-37, the Cubs 26-38, though that did not stop the Mets from winning two of three in Wrigley Field last month. Perhaps this weekend will be different.

Also, ICYMI when it was announced about an hour or so before this post went up, Henry Rodriguez will join the Cubs' bullpen tonight; Brooks Raley was optioned back to Iowa, so Raley's two-day stay with the Cubs consisted of warming up in the 14th inning in case he was needed Thursday had the game gone longer.

Just a hunch, but I don't think we've seen the last of Brooks Raley in a Cubs uniform this year. As for Rodriguez, he will wear uniform no. 62. Let's hope that replicates the good Bob Howry, not the bad Bob Howry.

Cubs lineup:

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

"I know!" says Dale Sveum. "Since Anthony Rizzo is in a slump, let's drop him in the lineup! Because doing that worked so well for Starlin Castro!" #not

Mets lineup:

Valdespin 2B, Murphy 1B, Wright 3B, Duda LF, Byrd RF, Buck C, Quintanilla SS, Lagares CF, Marcum P

Marlon Byrd is on target to have the best year of his career. Raise your hand if you knew that was going to happen when the Cubs traded him away last year.

Today's Starting Pitchers

Edwin Jackson Cubs vs. Shaun Marcum Mets vs. NY -- vs. Cubs

At last, Edwin Jackson threw in his last start the way we all hoped he would when he was signed to that... well, you know. Jackson actually had another decent start, against the Mets, May 17 at Wrigley Field, allowing three runs in 6⅔ innings. The Cubs couldn't score enough in that game for Jackson to win. He allowed solo homers to Daniel Murphy and David Wright that afternoon.

The Cubs faced Shaun Marcum quite a bit in his two years in Milwaukee; last year Marcum threw 10 innings in two starts vs. the Cubs and gave up six earned runs. Marcum's last outing was an eight-inning relief appearance in the Mets' 20-inning marathon last Saturday against the Marlins. He struck out seven and gave up just one run, but of course, in an extra-inning game, that was enough to lose. It was Marcum's best outing of 2013. Current Cubs are hitting just .190 (23-for-121) against him, so we're probably doomed.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

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.

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.