Cubs vs. Angels at Tempe preview, Friday 3/2, 2:10 CT

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Yu Darvish won’t make his Cubs debut until Tuesday, but there’s no shortage of writing about him.

This article, for example. New Cubs catcher Chris Gimenez, who caught Darvish in Texas, shared some of his knowledge of the new Cubs righthander:

Gimenez remembered a game against the Yankees. The two had agreed on an approach before an inning. The hitter they hoped to avoid got on base, and against the next batter, Gimenez called for a cutter, which Darvish had said he wanted to throw. But Darvish did a double take at the sign and was called for a balk. He wanted a slider.

”He came in and started wearing me out, and I got in his face and I got upset,” Gimenez said. “I said, ‘Listen, I’ll be the first person to admit if I screw up. But if you told me you wanted to do this and I did exactly what you wanted me to do, and you’re mad at me, that’s when I have to stand up for myself.’ We talked it out, and it wasn’t a big deal -- it was a competitive moment. He wants to be successful.”

Sounds like exactly the kind of guy you want to have on your team. Really looking forward to seeing Darvish pitch.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Heyward RF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Russell SS, Schwarber DH, Baez 2B, Almora CF, Caratini C, Bourjos LF

A few notes about this lineup. First, Joe’s taking a look at Jason Heyward in the leadoff spot. Who knows? It might work. It’s also the first time we’ve seen any of the regulars play two days in a row, as Kyle Schwarber played left field Thursday. And, Kris Bryant is back in the lineup for the first time in several days.

Angels lineup:

Kinsler 2B, Trout CF, Upton LF, Pujols DH, Cozart 3B, Calhoun RF, Marte 1B, Simmons SS, Maldonado C

Most of the Angels regulars are in this lineup. The one guy everyone wants to see, Shohei Ohtani, will be throwing in an Angels “B” game today.

Jose Quintana will make his first spring start today. Cubs relievers scheduled today: Steve Cishek, Jen-Ho Tseng, Cory Mazzoni, Randy Rosario, Duane Underwood Jr. and David Garner.

We still haven’t seen Brandon Morrow in a spring game. Here’s some info about Morrow:

The prescribed number of spring appearances for closer Brandon Morrow is around five or six, [manager Joe] Maddon said.

So... maybe this weekend? The same article says Pedro Strop has been out with “a tender left calf.” Strop has yet to throw off a mound this spring.

Garrett Richards gets the call for the Angels. Angels relievers today: Jim Johnson, Blake Wood, Noe Ramirez, Eduardo Paredes, Jake Jewell and John Lamb.

Today’s game is on cubs.com with Len Kasper and Mick Gillispie. It’s being televised by the Angels network Fox Sports West. It’s also on MLB Network on a one-hour delay beginning at 3 p.m. CT.

MLB.com Gameday

Please note that during spring training, Gameday doesn't usually go pitch-by-pitch as it does during the regular season -- usually, it will update after each at-bat.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

Please visit our SB Nation Angels site Halos Heaven. If you do go there to interact with Angels fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

For spring-training games, we'll have a first-pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time (because I know how you all like overflow threads!). For today, that will be 2 p.m. CT and 3:30 p.m. CT.

These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher boxes and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.

Discuss amongst yourselves.