As I write this, Billy Wagner is applying the Verne Gagne sleeper hold to the Cardinals, thereby securing a 6-1 Mets victory in the opener of the 2007 season. The Cubs' magic number over the Cards will be down to 162.

I used to like it when the MLB opener always took place in Cincinnati. It's not that I have any particular fondness for Cincinnati--I think of it as a less glamorous Milwaukee--it's just that I enjoyed the quaint tradition. Baseball doesn't have enough of those anymore.

The Cubs have won their last four openers, including two at Cincinnati, by an average score of 14-5. The Carlos Zambrano/Aaron Harang match-up on Monday is a repeat of last year's opener, when the Cubs blitzed the Reds with five first-inning runs en route to a 16-7 victory.

Lou Piniella's first-ever Cub lineup card:

Soriano (instead of '06 Opening Day starter, Juan Pierre), cf
Murton, lf
Lee, 1b
Aramis Ramirez, 3b
Jones, rf
Barrett, c
DeRosa (instead of Todd Walker), 2b
Izturis (instead of Ronny Cedeno), ss
Zambrano, p

A potentially wicked lineup, 1 through 6, maybe even through the 7th spot if DeRosa imagines he's still hitting in The Ballpark At Arlington this season.

I'm thinking 85-77, three games better than the Cards.



1 Comment:

  1. Cubnut said...
    No, it's not just you. He definitely over-enunciates Matt Mur-ton...and many other names. It's one of the qualities that makes him sound so much like a chemistry teacher from one of those 1950s film strips we were forced to watch in school.

    And yes, down deep I do know better.

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