Morning Marquee: Chicago Cubs drop opener to Cardinals; Short outing for Lester

Cubs drop opener; New video board get positive reviews

It wasn’t the debut the Chicago Cubs were hoping for, but the jitters are out-of-the-way, and the 2015 season is underway.

Jon Lester

wasn’t his normal, sharp self–as he was pulled after 4 1/3 innings. But it was the Cubs offense that sputtered against the Cards, going 0-for-13 with RISP. You can’t win if you don’t score. The good news came from the bullpen, as they once again looked strong, especially newcomers

Phil Coke

and

Jason Motte

.

We here at Cubbies Crib released out predictions for the Cubs yesterday, and we universally agreed that a Cub will win Rookie of the Year. After that we differed. We focused on the NL Central and the Cubs, as well as NL Award winners and finally the World Series participants. Check them out and see if you agree with our staff!

The Padres and GM A.J. Preller seem to have the gas pedal wedged to the floor, as he continues to look to turn the Friars into a contender. After a ridiculous offseason, the Padres traded for Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. in exchange for  Matt Wisler, outfielders Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin and Jordan Paroubeck, and the No. 41 Draft pick in June just prior to the Cubs opener.

The new video board at Wrigley Field received positive reviews, being called ‘perfect’ and ‘spectacular’. There was a concern it would take away from the charm of the 101 year old ballpark, but it fit in perfectly. It will be met with some criticism, but will help to increase revenue to improve the team in the coming years.

These and other stories from yesterday in baseball:

‘Lester, Cubs drop opener to Cards 3-0’ – Cubbies Crib

‘2015 Cubbies Crib staff predictions’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Padres add All-Star closer Kimbrel, Melvin Upton Jr.’ – Friars on Base

‘New Wrigley video board called ‘spectacular’, ‘perfect’ – MLB.com

‘MLB 15 The Show season simulation’ – Gamesided

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