On Deck: Bizarro World In The NL Central

The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Pittsburgh Pirates (4-2) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (2-4)-1:35PM Est.

It's only a week into the season, but seriously, how many of you thought the Pirates would be in first place and the Cardinals would be in last place at this point? Raise your hands. If you raised your hand, you are a liar and should be ashamed of yourself. What would your mother say? Anyway, it's a matchup of Ian Snell and Braden Looper. Snell was fantastic in his first start of the season against Houston, and Looper was decent against the Mets. Now whether or not Snell will experience the same success against the Cardinals now that Albert's got his groove back, that's a whole different story.


Chicago Cubs (3-3) vs. Houston Astros (1-5)-2:20PM Est.

It's the Cubs home opener, and Wrigley Field is sure to be packed. Unfortunately, I'm guessing the majority of that bleacher talent won't be there seeing how it's going to be 38 degrees with possible flurries at game time. The only thing colder than the Chicago weather is the Houston offense. The Astros have managed to score a whole 16 runs in their first six games. Will they be able to get their 2.7 runs a game against Ted Lilly? It won't be easy if Lilly pitches like he did in Cincinnati last week.


Minnesota Twins (4-1) vs. New York Yankees (2-3)-ESPN 7:05PM Est.

This game has an interesting pitching matchup, but not in any way that involves actual pitching. No. It's the pitchers themselves. There's the heartbroken Carl Pavano who struggled on opening day, and then there's the possibly drunk, judge-punching Knight of the Aruban Round Table himself, Sidney Ponson, making his debut as a Twin. I'm guessing both will throw no-hitters because that's just the way things work in baseball.