The powers that be announced the Cubs schedule for next season on Wednesday, finally giving us something to look forward to. The immediate good news for 2012, is that the Cubs will in fact play in October, as they conclude the season with a three game set against division rival Houston.
As for Opening Day, the Cubs will begin the campaign at Wrigley, hosting the Nationals on April 5, before Milwaukee comes in for an early season four-game series just four days later. April could be the most difficult month for the Cubs, as while they'll only have 10 road games, they include trips to St. Louis, Miami and Philadelphia.
The trip to Miami should be interesting, considering the Cubs no longer have to play at Joe Robbie, where they seemingly struggled every year. Instead, they'll be the third opponent to play the Miami Marlins under the retractable roof, where oddly enough, the Cardinals will open the ballpark(right) with a one-off game on Opening Night.
The Cubs will play indoors plenty, 25 games total, as they will travel to Arizona twice, in the annual scheduling quirk that gives NL teams two road series against one non-divisional opponent. The Twins are also on the schedule, where for the first time ever, the Cubs get to play at the beautiful Target Field, beginning Friday, June 8. That series ends the season's toughest road trip, a 10-gamer that goes from San Francisco to Milwaukee, before ending in Minneapolis.
Rounding out June's Interleague slate is the annual road series on the South Side, and one of the most exciting, yet daunting home-stands in recent memory, when both the Tigers and Red Sox come to Wrigley in mid-July. It'll be the Red Sox' second trip to Friendly Confines during Interleague play, and the last time the Tigers were on the North Side, they spoiled Mark Prior's mid-season debut in 2006, knocking him around for eight runs.
The Cubs-Cards series will be spread out next season, with home-and-homes in April and July, a quick two-game set at Busch Stadium in May, and a three-game series at Wrigley in late September. As for the Sox, they come to Wrigley on May 18, before hosting the Cubs in a midweek series exact a month later. Lastly, the Cubs will face the Brewers 17 times, and none of those will be in September.
Here's the notable series on the docket for the Cubs in 2012:
vs. Milwaukee, April 9-12
at. St. Louis, April 13-15
at. Miami, April 17-19
vs. St. Louis, April 23-25
at Philadelphia, April 27-30
vs. Atlanta, May 7-9
at Milwaukee, May11-13
at St. Louis, May 14-15
vs. Philadelphia, May 16-17
vs. White Sox, May 18-20
at San Francisco, June 1-4
at Milwaukee, June 5-7
at Minnesota, June 8-10
vs. Detroit, June 12-14
vs. Boston, June 15-17
at White Sox, June 18-20
vs. New York Mets, June 25-27
at Atlanta, July 2-4
at New York Mets, July 6-8
vs. All-Star Game in Kansas City, July 10
vs. Arizona, July 13-15
at St. Louis, July 20-23
vs. St. Louis, July 27-29
at Los Angeles, August 3-5
at San Diego, August 6-8
at Milwaukee, August 20-22
vs. Milwaukee, August 27-30
vs. San Francisco, August 31-September 2
vs. St. Louis, September 21-23
at Arizona, September 28-30
vs. Houston, October 1-3
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