That team from up north makes their annual visit to the Southside this weekend. The Cubs feature the hottest hitter in all of baseball, Derek Lee. He would be running away with the NL Triple Crown if it wasn't for Dusty Baker batting a duo who have put together OBPs of .320 and .308 directly in front of Lee. It gets worse if you look at only June, when Cubs #1 & 2 hitters have OBPs of .205 and .275. Lee has hit .464/.511/.810 in June behind them. Way to optimize your line up Dusty.
The Sox send Freddy Garcia to the mound in the opener. He has had a very tough time getting out of the first few innings lately, but has been dominant as the game wears on. If I was Ozzie, I'd tell him the game started at 2; that way he'd be in top form for the first pitch around 10 after 3.
What's with the crazy start time anyways?
The Cubs counter with Sergio Mitre. He's a sinker baller who may have just figured it all out. Prior to his recent run, I thought he was a AAAA player, but he's showed me something lately. With Kerry Wood and Mark Prior on their way back, and the Cubs still hanging around the Wild Card race, I expect them to toss him in a package for an outfielder fairly soon.