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ICYMI in the recap thread, the last time the Cubs were shut out in both games of a doubleheader was 52 years ago, April 29, 1962 against the Giants at San Francisco.
Game 1 and Game 2. It should be mentioned that the situations are similar -- a really bad Cubs team against a very good contending team, on the road. Jack Sanford, who started and shut out the Cubs in Game 1 that long-ago day, finished second in Cy Young voting, and Masahiro Tanaka, who won Game 1 today, could figure in the Cy Young conversation this year.
I wish I had different news, but I don't.
Also ICYMI, the Cubs today recalled left-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup from Triple-A Iowa. Rosscup will serve as the club’s 26th man for the nightcap of today’s split doubleheader against the Yankees. That's under a new rule allowing an extra player for such doubleheaders. Rosscup will head back to Iowa after the game.
Finally, the Cubs ran their record in parks called "Yankee Stadium" to 0-8 with the Game 1 defeat. They were 0-7 (two losses each in the 1932 and 1938 World Series, and a three-game sweep in 2005) in the old Yankee Stadium, and are now 0-1 in the new one.
The "good" news is that under the current scheduling scheme, the Cubs will likely not be back at Yankee Stadium until 2020. Try to enjoy this evening's contest anyway. In the meantime, caption the photo above. What are Rick(y) and the umpire saying to each other?
Cubs lineup:
Bonifacio CF, Sweeney LF, Rizzo 1B, Schierholtz DH, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Kalish RF, Barney 2B
Insert "other split squad" joke here.
Yankees lineup:
Gardner CF, Jeter SS, Beltran DH, Soriano LF, Solarte 2B, Suzuki RF, Sizemore 3B, Johnson 1B, Murphy C
This will be the first time Derek Jeter has played against the Cubs since 2005, as he was injured and missed the series at Wrigley in 2011. And Alfonso Soriano in left field? It's as if the Yankees are just taunting the Cubs.
Today's Starting Pitchers |
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Travis Wood, off to a good start this year, has never faced the Yankees. The current Yankee he's faced most is Carlos Beltran (6-for-20, two doubles, one home run). Wood will likely enjoy the cool weather (30s are forecast), as colder weather generally favors pitchers. (That's about all I've got for the Cubs' chances tonight.)
Prospect cautionary tale coming! Michael Pineda and Jesus Montero were two of the top young players in baseball when they were traded for each other in January 2012.
Pineda suffered elbow and shoulder trouble and didn't pitch in the major leagues at all in 2012 or 2013. Montero hit poorly in 2012 and 2013 and is currently in Triple-A.
That said, Pineda appears healthy now and has made two decent starts for the Yankees. The only Cub he has ever faced is Ryan Sweeney (0-for-1).
Tonight's game is on WGN.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Yankees site Pinstripe Alley.
For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.
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.