Game Time: 7:05 PM ET
TV: CSN, MLB Network
Pitching Matchup:
Braves- Jair Jurrjens(5-2, 2.59 ERA)
Cubs- Carlos Zambrano(3-2, 4.22 ERA)
Lineups:
Cubs
1. Alfonso Soriano, LF (.243, 13 HR, 26 RBI, .782 OPS)
2. Ryan Theriot, SS (.283, 5 HR, 22 RBI, .786 OPS)
3. Kosuke Fukudome, CF (.308, 5 HR, 20 RBI, .934 OPS)
4. Derrek Lee, 1B (.262, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .788 OPS)
5. Mike Fontenot, 3B (.230, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .701 OPS)
6. Reed Johnson, CF (.291, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .808 OPS)
7. Koyie Hill, C (.271, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .823 OPS)
8. Andres Blanco, 2B (.176, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .471 OPS)
9. Carlos Zambrano, P (.261, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .726 OPS)
Braves
1. Kelly Johnson, 2B (.254, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .759 OPS)
2. Yunel Escobar, SS (.295, 5 HR, 27 RBI, .821 OPS)
3. Nate McLouth, CF (.256, 9 HR, 34 RBI, .819 OPS)
4. Chipper Jones, 3B (.322, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .940 OPS)
5. Brian McCann, C (.302, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .889 OPS)
6. Garret Anderson, LF (.261, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .662 OPS)
7. Jeff Francoeur, RF (.251, 4 HR, 25 RBI, .632 OPS)
8. Martin Prado, 1B (.244, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .733 OPS)
9. Jair Jurrjens, P (.143, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .408 OPS)
That Braves lineup sure looks better than yesterday's with the addition of McLouth, and Chipper being back in the lineup. Add in that Jurrjens is on the mound, and this is going to be a tough one for the Cubs. Hopefully Zambrano is on top of his game finally.
It's raining in Atlanta. Honestly, I think it might be a good thing with those lineups, Jurrjens on the mound, and the short bench if this one were postponed.
Milton Bradley will not go on the disabled list with his strained calf, at least for the time being. They think he can at least pinch-hit tomorrow or Saturday. Yeah, we'll see about that.
Rich Harden's rehab going well, set to throw for Iowa Sunday.
Steve Stone's been on Tribune Live talking for the last ten minutes or so. Here's some highlights of what he's been saying...
- We knew what we were getting with Milton Bradley. The Dodgers exposed the Cubs' need for a left-handed run producer, but Bradley's never played enough games to be that guy. Raul Ibanez or Adam Dunn the safer pick.
- People are making too much of Derrek Lee's decline offensively. He's a Gold Glove first baseman and makes everybody else in the infield much better. The Cubs are lucky to have him.
- The Cubs are going to get a lot better. There's no way Milton Bradley and Geovany Soto keep hitting like this, and the bullpen is going to improve. The team as a whole is really underachieving.
- When asked where he would put Alfonso Soriano, "I'd try to put him on another team, but he has a full no-trade clause so that isn't possible." He went on about how Soriano is comfortable in the #1 so that's pretty much where he has to be, but you should have a lot more RBI than 26 when you have 13 home runs. His speed is becoming a non-factor, and he really takes the "warning" part of the warning track very seriously, as he backs off on plays at the wall a bit. He's concerned about Soriano's leg injuries, with 5 2/3 years remaining on his contract.
Rain looks like it's going to be there for awhile.
Randy Johnson gets win #300.
The Thigh finally cracked 1 million page views... and I'm pretty sure no more than 100 of those have been used to read our sports posts. It's a sad, sad world.
8:05 PM ET... still hasn't stopped raining. Len: "We're a long ways away from Cubs baseball...", if they play at all of course. As Justin pointed out in the comments, the Cubs don't play in Atlanta again this year so they'll do whatever possible to get it in tonight. Still, I'd prefer we had that problem with likely a better roster at that point, and possibly not having to face Jurrjens.
UPDATE(9:25 PM ET): According to Wittenmyer, the game is being postponed. They're just trying to figure out when to reschedule it.
UPDATE(9:33 PM ET): Game rescheduled for June 22nd.
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