Cubs figure to get up for Yankees

Things should be hopping at Wrigley Field over the next three days.

The New York Yankees are coming to town.

The Bronx Bombers will make their first visit to Wrigley Field since 2003. Back then, the Cubs took two of three on their way to the National League Central title. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter won’t make a run at 3,000 hits this weekend because he’s on the disabled list.

But the visit will be a homecoming of sorts for Yankees manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Girardi played in two stints for the Cubs, and Rothschild was their pitching coach from 2002 through last year. He resigned to take the Yankees job last fall.

“I have more experience from my time with Oakland, where we saw a lot of them,” said Cubs manager Mike Quade. “We saw them in the playoffs. It’s another historic franchise, similar to the Boston situation, only we’ve got them here. ...

“It’s going to be a fun weekend and a (heck) of a challenge. Anytime you go up against a franchise that’s had that kind of success and has had that kind of history, given the history of this place, that’s what it should be, and that’s what it will be.”

The Cubs were part of a similar buzz last month, when they visited Fenway Park to play the Red Sox. Like the Red Sox, the Yankees have a powerful offense.

“It’s a Boston-esque group,” Quade said. “We know that. It’s a challenge in general for the club, but it’s extremely challenging for pitchers to grind through those kind of lineups.”

Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano was a Yankee from 1999-2003.

“That’s good motivation for us,” Soriano said. “We beat the first-place team in our division (Milwaukee) three out of four games. Now, the Yankees are coming to town. Everybody thinks the Yankees are the best team in the world. That gives us motivation because we can beat those guys and have a good end of the month.”

Party time:Right fielder Kosuke Fukudome flashed a sense of humor Thursday after hitting a home run off Brewers lefty Daniel Herrera. Fukudome came into the game with only 4 career homers off lefties since coming to Major League Baseball from Japan in 2008. #147;I think I#146;m going to have to have a party,#148; he said. Letting the kid play:Rookie infielder DJ LeMahieu got credit for another hit in Wednesday#146;s game after the official scorer changed an error to a hit Thursday. That made LeMahieu 3-for-4. Mike Quade was asked if LeMahieu could get more regular playing time. #147;I think so, but there#146;s too many guys on this club who have earned the right to get into the lineup,#148; Quade said. #147;Blake (DeWitt) has been playing great, has done a nice job in left. Sori (Alfonso Soriano) is back. Bake (Jeff Baker) has done a good job coming back.#147;But as excited as you might be for a kid like DJ, these other guys have done a pretty (darn) good job for us. So we#146;ll mix and match. He needs to play, period, whether it#146;s here or wherever. We#146;re going to take a look at how this plays out the next week or so. Maybe he plays so well, like he did last night, that we find a place for him every day.#148;