Cubs historical sleuthing: Early 2000s edition

Recently, I put a call out for readers to send in photos they’d like me to sleuth, and I’ve received some good ones.

This photo, sent by Joseph Boyle, was pretty easy to sleuth, given the clear shot of the scoreboard, with matchups easily readable.

It was taken pre-bleacher expansion, so that dates it to before 2006. Also, “SAN FRANCISCO” is clearly visible on the board. For a time in the 1980s and 1990s, the team inexplicably abbreviated that as “SAN FRAN” rather than make the letters thinner and fit the entire city name. That ended after 1996.

No. 33 is the starting pitcher for the Cubs. That number has been worn by a lot of forgettable Cubs, especially in that era, among them Ramon Morel,…