Got my first glimpse of this year’s version of the Cubs at Yankees Stadium in the first game ever played in the new ballpark. It’s a good thing that the games were exhibitions because the Cubs were soundly trounced. Hopefully when these two teams meet in the Word Series (as predicted in last Sunday’s New York Times), the result will be quite different. In the game I saw, Lou didn’t start either Soriano or Ramirez, and he pulled Derrek Lee out after only a few innings, so it is pretty clear that he wasn’t playing to win…at least that’s what I was telling myself. And there were some bright spots, like seeing new acquisition Milton Bradley get on base several times and Micah Hoffpauer look like a hitting machine. But it was troubling watching the Yankees tee off on Ted Lilly like he was throwing batting practice.
The Yankees were clearly playing to win. They fielded their regular season starting line-up, including Derek Jeter’s debut in the lead-off position. They also seemed very pumped up to be playing in their new home, and wanted to put on a show for the home crowd. I have a feeling that Pinella, knowing this would be the dynamic, fielded the B team just so the Yankees couldn’t show them up.
So, what about the stadium? It’s VERY impressive, but not necessarily in the all the right ways. Continue reading “New Stadium, New Look Cubs?”