According to Cubs manager Jim Riggleman and Milwaukee manager Phil Garner, the Cubs-Brewers rivalry is already something special and should grow as the two teams compete in the National League Central.
“It was a bigger rivalry than I thought it would be when we played interleague games last year,” Riggleman said. “A lot of fans from Milwaukee came down here, and our fans went to Milwaukee. The games produce a lot of energy and excitement, similar to our games with the White Sox.”
“It’s going to be a good rivalry if we can win a few games from the Cubs,” Garner said. “We’ll have fans down here the way they used to travel to see us play in Minnesota.”
Garner helped develop the Milwaukee-White Sox series into an intense rivalry that included brushback pitches and bench-clearing shoving matches. The Cubs-Brewers rivalry, he said, will feature “a different type of intensity.
“I guess I was part of our rivalry with the White Sox,” Garner said. “There was a dislike between us. We viewed them as the bad boys down in Chicago.”
Garner on Wood: Kerry Wood faced the Brewers for the first time in a regulation game on Monday night. Garner remembers Wood striking out six Brewers in two innings in an exhibition game during the spring.
“Our scouting report on Wood says he has great stuff. His fastball explodes. His breaking ball is exceptional, and he strikes out a lot of guys,” Garner said. “Our game plan is to go out and try to put the ball in play.”
The Brewers also started the game taking pitches to see if Wood would throw strikes or fall behind on the count. Wood fell behind 1-0 on the first eight batters, and on 10 of the first 11.
Asked if Wood’s start in the majors reminds him of any pitchers in the past, Garner mentioned Nolan Ryan, Bert Blyleven and Dwight Gooden.
“I didn’t see Nolan when he came up, but the comparisons seem fair,” Garner said. “Wood’s curveball, like Blyleven’s, is electric. Gooden threw very hard and used both sides of the plate when he came up, but Wood throws harder. Yes, Wood throws harder than Gooden did.”
Signings: The Cubs announced the signing of six players who were drafted last week. Three of them were picked in the top-10 rounds. The Cubs have signed 21 draft picks, including eight chosen in the top-10 rounds.
The new signees: catcher Jeff Goldbach, Princeton, Ind., H.S., second round; third baseman Kevin Bass, Fayette, Ala., H.S., third round; second baseman Anthony Schrager, Stanford, sixth round; outfielder Mikel Moreno, Arizona State, 22nd round; outfielder Tydus Meadows, Vanderbilt, 27th round; pitcher Leonardo Torres, Metro State (Col.) College, 31st round.
Ouch! Milwaukee first base coach Doug Mansolino was hit on the left arm by a scorching line drive off the bat of Jeromy Burnitz, the third batter in the game. Mansolino shook it off and stayed in the game.
Farm report: Alan Zinter, batting .364 for Triple-A Iowa, hit a three-run homer, but Iowa lost 8-7 at Memphis Sunday. Shortstop Jose Nieves hit two doubles and a triple as Double-A West Tennessee beat Chattanooga 3-2 in 11 innings. Third baseman Nate Manning had four of the game’s 50 hits, including his 12th and 13th homers, as Class A Daytona beat Sarasota 16-15 in 10 innings.
