Cubs will watch Cardinals get championship rings

The Cubs begin their first road trip of the season Friday, and it starts in St. Louis.

The Cardinals will celebrate Opening Day with a 2:15 p.m. game.

On Saturday, they’ll will celebrate their 2011 world championship by getting their rings — in front of the Cubs.

Cubs manager Dale Sveum said that doesn’t bother him.

“I don’t know if it’s tough to watch,” Sveum said Thursday. “I think you give anybody respect for winning the World Series. There’s got to be one team every year that wins it and gets their rings and raise a banner like that. You give everybody the respect they deserve. They’re the best in the world right now. They’re the best team in baseball. They’re the world champions.

“You’re going to be out there. You’re going to have to watch it. Hey, you want other people watching you do it someday, too. It’s fun day, no question about it. I’ve been able to do it (as a Red Sox coach). It’s very, very fun.”

Of course, Sveum is new to the whole Cubs-Cardinals rivalry. And he revealed something about his days as a Brewers coach.

“That was more of our big series and our big rivalry, playing the Cardinals,” he said. “People talked about the Cubs. We got more, way more, up for playing the Cardinals than anybody else.”

Pitcher Matt Garza said watching the Cardinals get their rings should have an effect.

“It should be more of (ticked) off, because we could have knocked them out of the playoffs last year … and we kind of handed it over,” Garza said of a couple of late-season losses in St. Louis. “I think it should be more motivation than anything because it (the ring) could have been somebody else’s if we had played better.”

Byrd sits out:

Center fielder Marlon Byrd did not play Thursday. He has opened the season 1-for-21 (. 048), but Dale Sveum said Byrd figures to play Friday.

Reed Johnson started and was 1-for-4, an RBI single.

“Like I said before, he’s real rotational,” Sveum said of Byrd’s swing. “He’s got to get a little more linear in his swing to be able to handle pitches away. It’s all rotational now, where the bat comes in and out of the strike zone too quickly.”

Clevenger impressing:

Rookie Steve Clevenger started at catcher and doubled his first 2 times up and singled later. He had a pinch double Wednesday.

Clevenger is 3-for-3 in his first 3 career pinch-hitting appearances, dating to last year.

The last Cub to have 3 hits in his first 3 pinch-hit at-bats was Neifi Perez, in 2004.

Dale Sveum likes what he sees from the left-handed hitting Clevenger, who is 6-for-9 overall this year.

“He can hit; he can swing the bat,” said Sveum, a hitting coach by trade. “Even the last inning, he didn’t give the at-bat away. He knew the hole was open and took a little sinker and hooked it through the hole (for a single). He’s a smart hitter. He knows what he’s doing.”