Tomorrow afternoon, the Yankees and their fans get to experience the long, and often criticized tradition of Friday matinée baseball at Wrigley Field. Weekend match-ups such as this validate interleague play because two of the most iconic franchises in Major League Baseball will play in the second oldest ballpark in the country. Despite all the history and tradition, the reality is the Yankees should continue their recent hot streak by beating a weak Cubs team.
The 2011 Chicago Cubs are a bad baseball team. They’re 11th in the National League in runs scored and rank below the league average in most offensive categories. Their pitching is worse; the Cubs rank last in the League with a 4.74 team ERA. Those two things combine for a 28-40 record, “beat-out” only by the Astros for worst record in Baseball.
Over the weekend the Yankees will throw Garcia, Burnett, and Sabathia (arguably their three most reliable starters currently in the rotation) against Doug Davis, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells. Combined, the three Yankees starters have an ERA 6 runs better than that of the Cubs’-trio. Both Garcia and Burnett should benefit from facing the poor-hitting Cubs. Against teams that are sub .500 with lousy offenses, AJ is 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA and Freddy is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA. Furthermore, the Yankees have scored 9 or more runs in 4 of their last 7 games played without a healthy Derek Jeter or Russell Martin. The Yankees will look to continue their scoring trend on their two-city National League Central trip.
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Side Note: Had Derek Jeter not been sent to the DL on Tuesday, he would have likely been the second Yankee going for a career milestone at Wrigley Field. The last time the Yankees visited Wrigley, Roger Clemens was trying for (and denied) his 300th career win.
Andrew Rotondi
NYYUniverse.com Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @Yankees_talk
