Game 2: another opportunity

Everyone is getting geared up for Game 2 tonight. It’s a late start because of the TBS schedule, 8:37 p.m. Central, so we’ve been left anticipating this game all day.

Today’s lineups

DODGERS

Furcal, SS
Martin, C
Ramirez, LF
Ethier, RF
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 2B
Blake, 3B
Billingsley, RHP

CUBS

Soriano, LF
Theriot, SS
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
DeRosa, 2B
Edmonds, CF
Soto, C
Fukudome, RF
Zambrano, RHP

We’ll be talking to Lou at the bottom of the hour, so stay tuned for more.

Bullish on Z

Trailing by a game and facing the Dodgers’ most consistent pitcher in 2008, Big Z is going to be the Cubs’ leader and horse tonight. Here’s Carlos on postseason lessons learned, his health and pitching in October.

On postseason experience: You know, sometimes experience don’t count, you know? There’s people that have a lot of experience in the playoffs and still haven’t performed as good. Just, like I said, if you prepare and you attack the opponent and you come to the ballpark ready and you play good, you’re going to win that day.

On the key to having no-hit stuff tonight: Strike, first pitch, strike, and challenge the hitters. Sinker. If my sinker is working, everything will be different.

On his health: Yeah, I am. I’ve been playing catch and I’ve been feeling good. Everything is good for me. Just the fact that I wasn’t able to throw strikes in the situation that I have to throw strikes, that’s it.

On pitching on a cold fall evening: I’m ready. I think it’s not that cold like in April. I think it’s just 70, 60 degrees, like spring training. It’s chilly, it’s nice, and just we prepare the same way we prepare in spring training. Just be ready for anything and go out there and don’t think about if it’s cold or hot.

Plus, you know, when I start warming up, I don’t feel that cold. It can be 20 degrees and I don’t feel it.

On dealing with the pressure of the World Series drought: No. I mean, I don’t think so. I don’t think like that. These players this year, we are at this stage of 100 years. We are responsible to break this 100 years that we don’t win. But if we think about that and we keep that in our mind, it would be too much pressure for us. We don’t think about that. We just think that we have a good team and we can win it all.