Weary Cubs Return to Wrigley to Face Mets

After a day off for travel, the Chicago Cubs will be at Wrigley Field Tuesday to begin a three-game home stand against the New York Mets. This will be followed by three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. The Cubs can use nine games at home.

Joey Nowak has posted an article at MLB.com titled "With focus back on NL, Mets visit Cubs."

What Nowak is referring to is the interleague play that has been going on between the American and National League. It is fun for fans but it doesn't give teams a lot in the way of scouting for the season.

The Cubs in particular have been struggling. They have two pitchers on the disabled list in Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells, and just recently Matt Garza's arm tightened up. As if that wasn't bad enough, Marlon Byrd was hit by a pitch in the face and is expected to be out for awhile with broken facial bones.

Pitching for the Cubs this evening will be Ryan Dempster (2-4, ERA 6.91). Dempster has had problems this year. Mostly, he has given up runs early. He was tagged by Chicago manager Mike Quade as the pitcher for Opening Day over Carlos Zambrano, but Zambrano has out-pitched him so far this year. Dempster has shown signs of getting in a groove, but there has been more pressure due to injuries to the other pitchers.

The starting pitcher for the New York Mets will be Jon Niese (3-4, ERA 4.39). Niese hasn't done that well against Chicago, sporting a lifetime 1-1 record with an ERA of 6.75. Dempster hasn't fared much better against New York with an ERA of 5.58.

The current Mets team is batting .365 against Dempster.

The Cubs and Mets are sitting about the same position in their respective divisions. The Mets are six-and-a-half games behind the Phillies in the National League East while the Cubs are behind the Cardinals by seven games in the Central.

While it's early in the season, the games are becoming more and more important. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds are both tough teams, and if they "hit their stride," it will not bode well for any team sitting too many games behind them.

References:

MLB.com Website, Joey Nowak, "With focus back on NL, Mets visit Cubs"

MLB.com Website, "Ryan Dempster Statistics"

MLB.com Website, "Jon Niese Statistics"