I have a feeling Lenny Harris might be a factor in this series. :shifty

And Lenny Harris hits a pich-hit walk-off HR to win game 7 of the NLCS, against the team the released him at mid-season..."

 

Priceless.

Good, good. Lenny getting done would be good. I actually like our bench more than theirs. Our offense is much, much better than theirs - they have a strong OF, but we could limit their offensive production by keeping Lofton off base.

 

Prior and Wood are going to be a handful. But the Cubs bullpen is shaky. They know it, we know. That is our big key to success I think. In games against Wood or Prior, if we can make them throw a lot of pitches in those initial games, and scrap a couple of runs - with our speed, very possible - we can work our way into their bullpen. Then, it is a whole new ballgame. The team that uses its bullpen first is going to be the one in trouble in this series - the Cubs because their bullpen will give it up. Us, because that would mean our starters got rocked and eventhough we have talent in our pen, we dont want to run the risk of overusing them. Cant have Urbina and Fox pitching night after night, but we may have to. Someone in our pen has to step up.

 

Here is the lineup we are most likely to see from the Cubs:

 

K. Lofton, CF

M. Grudzielanek, 2B

S. Sosa, RF .931 OPS

M. Alou, LF

A. Ramirez, 3B

E. Karros, 1B

A. Gonzalez, SS .489 OPS

D. Miller, C .686 OPS

 

It seems that the bottom of the lineup could be a good rally killer. Miller though is a wily vet, but will share duty with Bako. We have to handle Sosa similar to Bonds - dont allow anyone to get on base in front of him. I dont think Sosa is as dangerous a hitter as Bonds, but then again, who is? Grudz does not frighten me at all - he did bat .314 and only had 64Ks in 481Abs. Pretty solid, but not scary. I think Lofton is their catalyst. He has speed and a little pop, plus he has experience from last season with the Giants and seems to rise to the occasion. Got to keep him off base and frustrate him with nothing to hit. Alou can be dangerous - he could get hot, as we all know. But he could struggle. Karros is a little past his prime but a solid vet.

 

The key batters to watch out for are Sosa, Lofton and Ramirez. Ramirez hits well at Wrigley (.282 4HR in 142ABs). But again, nothing to be scared of.

 

For us, I think Lee is going to blow up (.385 1HR in 13ABs). He has to watch out for the K though, and we will see he and Enc K a lot I am afraid with Prior and Wood. But either Prior or Wood, mark my words, are going to struggle this series. I am betting it is Wood.