On Deck: Those Obnoxious 1st Place Cubs

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Chicago Cubs (12-6) vs. New York Mets (10-7) - 6:00PM Est. ESPN

If you think Cubs fans are obnoxious to begin with (as a White Sox fan I kind of agree with Marty Brennaman's assessment of Cubdom, but at the same time, I don't place the blame on all Cubs fans as much as the morons who frequent the bleachers. And Eamonn.), you should hang around them when they're in first place.

I mean, after beating the Pirates yesterday, the first question Aramis Ramirez had for the media after the game was "Did the Cardinals win?" Hey, Aramis? It's April 21st. Let's hold off on the scoreboard watching for now, okay? It's a little early to worry about blowing division leads, and besides, even if the Cubs do win the division and get to the World Series, they'll probably just throw it.

Speaking of throwing things, the Cubs will send Carlos Zambrano to the mound this evening, and Chicago's other "crazy Venezuelan" has pitched well so far this season. Zambrano is 2-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 2008, but at Wrigley he's 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three starts (compared to his 6-9 record and 4.96 ERA there last season).

The Mets, meanwhile, will be sending John Maine to the mound. Last season the Mets went 5-2 against the Cubs, but guess who the losing pitcher was in both of those losses. Yep, it was Maine who went 0-2 with a 10.76 ERA against Chicago last season.

Toronto Blue Jays (10-9) vs. Detroit Tigers (6-13) - 12:37PM Est.

Well, I like to include at least one game from each league in every On Deck, but there are only two AL games scheduled for the day, and the Red Sox and Rangers started too early for this blogger. (Sorry, but my mom didn't come downstairs and wake me up in time.) So I guess that leaves us with the Blue Jays and Tigers in some afternoon baseball. (Question: Are there any Jays fans out there that can explain to me why the Blue Jays always start their games at 12:37, 3:07, or 7:07 local time? What's with the sevens!?) The Blue Jays are looking to take three of four from the Tigers in this series, and they'll be turning to Shaun Marcum to do it for them, and keep their undefeated record in the post-Frank Thomas era in tact. Marcum is 2-0 on the season, and has never started against the Tigers, though he does have an ominous looking 7.36 ERA in three relief appearances. Armando "Baby Big Cat" Galarraga makes his second start for the Tigers in place of the injured Dontrelle Willis, and Detroit would like to see a performance just like the last one. Galarraga pitched 6.2 innings and allowed only two runs while picking up a victory over the Indians on Wednesday.

Atlanta Braves (9-9) vs. Washington Nationals (5-14) - 7:00PM Est.

This matchup pits the hottest team in the National League right now versus the coldest team in the league. The Braves have won their last four, and today turn to Tim Hudson to stretch the win streak to five. In his last start, Hudson only lasted 3 innings against the Marlins, but more alarming than the 4 runs he gave up was the fact his fastball never got out of the 80's, and there's some concern that something is wrong with Hudson. Tim denies it, but if there is anything wrong, the Nationals may be the medicine he needs. It's already his third start against Washington this season, and Hudson is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in those starts to improve his career numbers to 6-1 with a 1.11 ERA. As for the Nationals, remember when they started the season 3-0? Well, they're 2-14 ever since, but things are bound to turn around now that Dmitri Young has gotten rid of that darn afro. Matt "Odelay" Chico gets the start for Washington, and he's looking to pick up his first win of the season (0-3 4.81). Chico's pitched well in his career against Atlanta, sporting a 2.34 ERA, but is only 2-3 against them. It's the second time he's faced off against Hudson this season, and he allowed only 1 run in 8 innings in that game. Of course, the Nats lost 3-0.

Everybody Else

• Pirates vs. Marlins 7:05
• Reds vs. Dodgers 7:10
• Brewers vs. Cardinals 8:05
• Astros vs. Padres 8:05
• Rockies vs. Phillies 8:35
• DBacks vs. Giants 9:40