Monday, May 24, 2004

Day off, looking ahead

Day off today. The Bucs are playing the Cardinals this week and then host the Cubs this weekend. We trot out Benson, Perez, and Vogelsong to face Suppan, Marquis, and Carpenter. That's a pretty even matchup.

The Cardinals are going to score their runs. Reggie Sanders will probably go off and Jim Edmonds will throw someone out at third or at home and Tony La Russa and Mac will make a dozen consecutive roster changes. Watch, one of these guys will put a pitcher in the outfield for an at-bat or walk the bases loaded on intentional walks to face the other guy's pitcher. It's always interesting when these guys get together.

The Bucs are working their way toward a most-productive and semi-regular lineup. My guess is Bay will settle into the three-slot nicely. It's hard to argue with Kendall-Wilson-Bay-Wilson at the top of the lineup. One of these days things are going to click as most of the positions settle into stable platoons or become the clear job of one player. We'll have to score some runs in St. Louis to keep the games close.

The Cubs don't seem to know who will pitch this weekend. With the day off today and a day off Thursday, they are being OK in the short run. It's doubtful that my fantasy will come true. Jimmy Anderson probably won't be called up in time to start against the Pirates. Meanwhile I'm sure Jim Hendry is on the phone with Seattle inquiring about Freddy Garcia.

No comments:

Post a Comment