April 1, 2017

ESPNChicago.com, Straight from the Cubs: How can we possibly top 2016? http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/43537/straight-from-the-cubs-how-can-we-possibly-top-2016

ESPNChicago.com, A plane ride with the champs? Cubs prospects fly first class for a day http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/43528/cubs-prospects-get-view-of-big-leagues-including-plane-ride-with-champs

CSNChicago.com, Cubs: Wade Davis' Takeaways From Trying To Defend A World Series Title http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/cubs-wade-davis-takeaways-trying-defend-world-series-title

CSNChicago.com, Why Cubs Won't Believe In The Hangover Effect After Winning The World Series http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/why-cubs-wont-believe-hangover-effect-after-winning-world-series

CSNChicago.com, How Cubs Have Dramatically Upgraded Their Bullpen Since Last Year’s Opening Day http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/how-cubs-have-dramatically-upgraded-their-bullpen-last-years-opening-day-davis-rondon-strop-montgomery-edwards-uehara-grimm

Chicago Tribune, Jason Heyward and rain delay speech that may have changed Cubs history http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-jason-heyward-speech-cubs-sullivan-spt-0402-20170401-column.html

Chicago Tribune, Stakes high for Cubs with Jake Arrieta and John Lackey possible free agents http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-cardinals-season-opener-spt-0402-20170331-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Successful start could allow Cubs to rest later for postseason http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-fast-start-cubs-notes-spt-0402-20170331-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras adjusts to expanded role http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-willson-contreras-cubs-spt-0401-20170331-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Albert Almora Jr. will likely start for Cubs in Sunday's opener http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-albert-almora-cubs-notes-spt-0401-20170331-story.html

Chicago Sun-Times, Bryzzo: Yin and yang of Cubs lineup look to make more history http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/bryzzo-yin-and-yang-of-cubs-lineup-look-to-make-more-history/

Chicago Sun-Times, Curse-buster? The story of a left-hander, an antler and a trophy http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/curse-buster-the-story-of-an-antler-a-left-hander-and-a-trophy/

Chicago Sun-Times, Maddon much more than your ordinary Joe http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/maddon-much-more-than-your-ordinary-joe/

Chicago Sun-Times, Only thing tougher than first title in 108 years: Doing it again http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/only-thing-tougher-than-first-title-in-108-years-doing-it-again/

Chicago Sun-Times, Like a late-night TV ad, the Cubs say, ‘Wait! There’s more!’ http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/like-a-late-night-tv-ad-the-cubs-say-wait-theres-more/

Cubs.com, Cubs end spring with win, ready to defend title http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/221706240/cubs-cap-spring-with-victory-over-astros/

Cubs.com, Schwarber after catching: 'Everything's good' http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/221708138/cubs-kyle-schwarber-feels-good-after-catching/

Cubs.com, Maddon optimistic Rondon will turn it around http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/221711590/joe-maddon-not-concerned-about-hector-rondon/

-- ESPNChicago.com Straight from the Cubs: How can we possibly top 2016? By Jesse Rogers ST. LOUIS -- Winning a World Series for the first time in 108 years is hard enough, but repeating as champions might be an even more difficult task. No National League team has won back-to-back titles since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds, although the Chicago Cubs could change that. They’re young, healthy and incredibly deep. Would winning a second consecutive title top 2016? Could last year’s historic run ever be surpassed? We set out to find some answers by asking those very questions to Cubs players on the eve of the regular season. Here’s what they told us: Miguel Montero: “We set the bar high. The first goal is to go back and win it again. To accomplish that, a lot of things have to go right. I see a lot of good teams not able to go all the way. We have the team to do it.” Carl Edwards Jr.: “We could go undefeated [he said with a smile]. That won’t happen, but we could have a better record. More guys on the All-Star team. Win in less than seven games. But I don’t think we’re trying to make it better. We just want to have fun, everyone play their role and see what the outcome brings.” Javier Baez: “It’s going to be tough. I don’t think 2016 is going to go away for a few years. But we have to focus on this year. There’s going to be a lot of talk of 2016, but when it’s time to play we have to play our game now and try to forget that for a few hours.” John Lackey: “You don’t have to top 2016. We just have to be better than everyone else in 2017. [Kyle] Schwarber is back. We got rid of Rossy [David Ross]. He stinks. He can’t hit. We should be better. I was just inside talking to Ross and he said that. ... Willson Contreras is better than he is. Let’s be honest.” Justin Grimm: “You go out and win another World Series. That’s how you top last year. ... We have to have even more fun. That’s how you get through the grind. Maybe I should strike a model deal. That’s how you top last year.” Joe Maddon: “The season reveals stuff about your team you’re not thinking about today. ... Not everything is going to be smooth sailing. I try to have them think properly so when it does go bad, we can fight through it. ... Last year is over. The World Series is done. Time to turn the page. It was wonderful. It was great. We learned some things. Let’s try to apply what we learned, but not rely on what happened in the past and believe we’re just going to replicate that just because we did it.” Jon Lester: “Even though you have accomplished things personally, you still want these [young] guys to accomplish things. That’s where that drive gets you. You don’t want to let your teammates down.”

Montero: “I just believe the guys are still hungry. They have more experience now. The young guys are no longer the 'young guys' anymore. They are All-Stars and World Series champs.” Tommy La Stella: “I think it's win another one. We got the monkey off our back. As far as I’m concerned the pressure is off and we can go out and play free and easy. We can give these fans their second championship in 109 years.” Mike Montgomery: “It’s going to be hard to top. What we did last year is unique in all of sports, but we just need to focus on bringing our best and we can be better.” Ben Zobrist: “I don’t think you can top last year because it was a 108-year drought, but the challenge now is to stay on top. That’s even a bigger challenge, but that’s not going to top 5-7 million people at that rally.” Addison Russell: “More consistency throughout the whole year. More wins, that would be nice, but playing more consistent baseball as a group. Doing the small things as a group. Getting a guy home with less than two outs. We weren’t perfect. That’s how we start to top 2016.” Grimm: “You get excited coming to the park. Everything is new. But it’s much less stress now. We did it once.” Montero: “Another World Series. That’s how we top it. Win 105 games instead of 103. Maybe another grand slam. Play the game and see what happens.” Zobrist: “If we get back to the World Series, we’ve accomplished something not many teams have done, and if we win it we are in some pretty elite company going back-to-back.” Schwarber: “It’s a really good ballclub. We know that. ... It’s going to be cool to see how it all plays out this season.” -- ESPNChicago.com A plane ride with the champs? Cubs prospects fly first class for a day By Jesse Rogers HOUSTON -- It was just one flight, and then two nights in a five-star hotel, but a dozen Chicago Cubs prospects got to experience a little bit of life with the world champions as the team concluded its spring playing exhibition games in Houston on Thursday and Friday. Being on the field at Minute Maid Park was fun, but the experience of traveling with the team will have the bigger lasting impression on the next generation of Cubs. “The flight was nuts,” infielder Chesny Young said. “Not sure I can talk about it. “There was loud music coming at you from all angles. Activity everywhere. I had to go to my hotel room after we landed and just kind of sit in silence. My mind was so going. I had to come down.” Others echoed Young’s description of the two-hour flight from Phoenix to Houston on Wednesday night. “Activity” was the polite way of describing a loud and busy scene with veterans leading the way. “There was definitely a lot of music going on,” former first-round pick Ian Happ said. “There was a little country, some Latin stuff. I was reading a book with headphones on so I kept to myself.” Happ was “in the corner” reading a new biography from HGTV’s Chip and Joanna Gaines, but Young was “on the aisle” so it was tough not to be distracted. “It’s not scary or anything like that but it’s different, and being around the guys is pretty cool,” Young said.

Manager Joe Maddon felt it was important for the young players not only to be around the veterans, but also play in a major-league ballpark. When they eventually get called up they’ll at least have something they can relate to having been on this trip. “We can’t forget what it’s like,” Maddon said of rookies experiencing big league life for the first time. “Sometimes you do forget. ... These guys don’t care if it’s an exhibition game or not.” It wasn’t just the flight or playing in a big-league stadium -- it’s the whole experience. Even today’s stars can relate to when they first came up and felt the big leagues. “You know you come to these super nice hotels and you pull up right next to a plane and then you get on it, it's like a fairytale land,” Kris Bryant said. “I mean it's playing baseball at this level. This is what you get to do for your job. Can you believe it?” Young added: “It is cool. I walked out on the field and checked it out before we played. Took it all in. We’re pretty lucky to be selected. We earned it and feel fortunate to be here.” But it’s still that flight which they might remember most: Sitting next to and with the world champions as they embark on their journey to repeat. That’s a memory in and of itself. “Way cool experience,” Happ said. “We had the one flight to Vegas but this was different. And it will be different flying commercial home. It won’t be like this on Southwest.” -- CSNChicago.com Cubs: Wade Davis' Takeaways From Trying To Defend A World Series Title By Patrick Mooney MESA, Ariz. — Wade Davis scanned the clubhouse in the spring-training complex and called the Cubs "a crazy talented group," saying there are 10 or 12 players who are among the best in all of Major League Baseball. That's where Davis would set the baseline, looking ahead at a roster layered with high-end talent, youth, versatility and playoff experience. Not finding a deeper meaning in how the Kansas City Royals went from losing a World Series Game 7 in 2014 to winning the 2015 World Series to finishing last season at 81-81. "I don't think I bought into that whole 'tired' or 'hangover' thing," Davis said. "I didn't think that was the case, because you get the whole winter to get rid of that and get after it." It still might have caught up to Davis, who made 140 appearances and pitched in 20 more playoff games during those two pennant-winning seasons combined. A flexor strain in his right forearm twice put the All-Star closer on the disabled list last year, when the Royals sunk to third place in the American League Central. "I don't think there was like a mentality that changed," Davis said. "We just didn't have all the pieces that we needed to have." Kansas City's season pivoted during a collision last May, when All-Star third baseman Mike Moustakas tore the ACL in his right knee and Gold Glove outfielder Alex Gordon broke his right wrist. The year after finishing third in the AL MVP voting, dynamic center fielder Lorenzo Cain stayed healthy enough to play in only 103 games. The pitching-and-defense formula didn't carry over for a team that put up a 4.67 rotation ERA and dropped from third to 17th in defensive efficiency. Davis doesn't care about Cactus League stats (14.40 ERA) and gets the benefit of the doubt after being such a lights-out reliever in the postseason (0.84 ERA, 46 strikeouts in 32.1 innings). Manager Joe Maddon has insisted that Davis looks good in terms of velocity, movement and mechanics, suggesting the injury concerns are overblown.

But again staying healthy will be a huge issue for a Cubs team that won the National League pennant at a time when the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't seem to truly trust anyone on their pitching staff beyond Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Kenley Jansen. The Cleveland Indians somehow made it to the 10th inning of a World Series Game 7 without Carlos Carrasco or a full-strength Danny Salazar. The dynamics of that entire playoff run might have changed if the ball Javier Baez hit off Johnny Cueto hadn't landed in the Wrigley Field basket for a 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 1. "There are definitely a lot of things that have to go your way in some situations," Davis said. "Sometimes, you just go out and beat the crap out of people. Sometimes, you need that flyball to drop or that ball to just go foul or whatever it might be. That's kind of the lucky part of the game." -- CSNChicago.com Why Cubs Won't Believe In The Hangover Effect After Winning The World Series By Patrick Mooney MESA, Ariz. – A team that barely understood the symbolism of goats and black cats – and a front office known for busting curses – won't suddenly believe in the hangover effect from winning the franchise's first World Series title since 1908. The Cubs play with flair and passion, but they try to take the emotions out of the decision-making process, so let's start with this: The projected Opening Night 25-man roster features 24 players who have already received World Series rings or will be getting one during the April 12 ceremony at Wrigley Field. Of those 25 players who are supposed to be introduced on Sunday at Busch Stadium, 11 have been All-Stars before. The non-All-Stars include: last year's major-league ERA leader (Kyle Hendricks); a National League Championship Series co-MVP (Javier Baez); and a World Series legend (Kyle Schwarber). "This is a way different animal, because we're so much younger," said old-school pitcher John Lackey, who already got some jewelry from the 2002 Anaheim Angels and 2013 Boston Red Sox. "Those were more veteran teams that I won with the last couple times, so I think the youth is really going to help us. "They still have energy. They're still trying to prove themselves. They're still trying to go to arbitration. They've still got a lot in front of them." If Bryce Harper becomes a $400 million player after the 2018 season – or Manny Machado lands the record contract as part of that winter's spectacular free-agent class – imagine what Kris Bryant might command on the open market three years later. But until then, a franchise once synonymous with dysfunction should be remarkably stable. The Ricketts family has talked about owning the team as a generational asset. The top of baseball operations – Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod – is under contract through the 2021 season. Last year Joe Maddon – a three-time Manager of the Year – wrote out a World Series Game 7 lineup that featured seven players between the ages of 22 and 27, plus Hendricks (26) as the starting pitcher. "Last year, it was this entire focus on doing something bigger than yourself, breaking this curse," Hoyer said. "All these guys signed for less money to come here to do it. This year, to me, it's got to be the same thing. We've got to put team above the individual. I think once the players feel entitled – or once the front-office people feel entitled – that's when the problems seep in. "How do we nip that stuff in the bud and make sure that our entire focus is on repeating? I think if we focus on just coming together as a team – like we did last year – it'll be fine. We're very talented. We have great guys. But when

those entitlements sneak in, you get in trouble, and all of a sudden it becomes about individuals here and individuals there. "If it becomes about the individuals the following year – or if people feel like they're not getting their due for what they accomplished or whatever it might be – that's when the problems can seep in." Lackey's competitive fire will have him throwing his arms up in frustration when the game's best defensive unit doesn't make a play. But he's also consistently seen these young players act as professionals and work with a sense of purpose, even as the endorsement deals pile up and the off-the-field distractions multiply. "Yeah, super-impressed with that whole situation," Lackey said. "These guys prepare well. They work hard. Obviously, the talent and the performance on the field speaks for itself. But the behind-the-scenes stuff, the maturity level, is very impressive, for sure." That homegrown core, clubhouse culture and big-market resources allowed the New York Yankees to build a dynasty in The Bronx, winning championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. No team has won back-to-back World Series titles since that Yankee three-peat. "It's a hard thing to win one, let alone do it two in a row," said Jon Lester, a three-time World Series champion. Lester pitched for the 2008 Boston team that lost an American League Championship Series Game 7 to Maddon's Tampa Bay Rays – and later got traded off the first-to-worst Red Sox at the 2014 deadline. That set the stage for a $155 million megadeal, the chance to make history in Chicago and another Opening Night start against the St. Louis Cardinals. "Every year is just so different," Lester said. "I don't think you can really put a blueprint out there and say: ‘Hey, this is how you repeat.' I think we just have to prepare and go out and play like we did last year. Obviously, that's hard to do, because defensively we set records, offensively we were pretty amazing and then we had the best pitching staff in the league. "I hope everybody has the same year that they did last year. That would be really, really awesome, but that's not baseball. There's going to be some ebbs and flows and we just got to stay healthy. "That's probably the biggest (factor) of all: Everybody stay healthy again and we have a really good chance." -- CSNChicago.com How Cubs Have Dramatically Upgraded Their Bullpen Since Last Year’s Opening Day By Tony Andracki Bullpens are such an X-factor that it’s no coincidence the Cubs and Indians made it all the way to the World Series by pushing some of the most dominant relievers in the game – Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen. We saw the way bullpens were used last fall, unleashed as early as the fifth inning, with closers getting more than just three outs. And, of course, some of the biggest postseason backlash centered around Orioles manager Buck Showalter not using elite closer Zack Britton in a wild-card loss. Even in saying bullpens are unpredictable by nature, just look at how much better this projected Opening Day bullpen appears to be on paper than the one the Cubs put together a year ago: 2016 Neil Ramirez Adam Warren Trevor Cahill

Clayton Richard Travis Wood Justin Grimm Pedro Strop Hector Rondon 2017 Mike Montgomery Carl Edwards Jr. Justin Grimm Pedro Strop Hector Rondon Koji Uehara Wade Davis Davis will have two former closers (Uehara and Rondon) setting up in front of him. There’s a potential future closer (Edwards), a middle-innings closer (Grimm), a guy who could probably close for at least half the teams in the majors (Strop) and a lefty who recorded his first career save in a World Series Game 7 (Montgomery). "When this all shakes out, everybody in that bullpen can be very capable to pitch at almost any time and that's a good thing," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We have all even or ahead guys, meaning they can all pitch well or effectively when the score is even or when you're ahead. "There are a lot of guys that are minus guys that pitch much better when you might be way up or trailing by a little bit and then all of a sudden, you see the best side of them. We have all even or ahead guys throughout the bullpen, which hopefully is going to mean we can spread out their workload." Going off 2016 stats, this group of seven relievers posted a stat line that looks like this: 3.05 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 10.6 K/9 in 341.2 innings. Those marks would've easily given the Cubs the best bullpen in the big leagues, as the 2016 season leaders in each category had a line of: 3.35 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10.1 K/9. "I've been here for five years and I feel like this is one of the best groups we've ever had right now," Rondon said. Of course, the season is not played on paper and the Cubs will assuredly need to rely on other pitchers outside the season-opening seven. Rondon is a specific point of concern right now after surrendering four runs in his final spring appearance Thursday night, running his official line to 14.73 ERA, eight hits, six earned runs in eight innings. Couple that with seven hits and five earned runs in 1.2 innings in the World Baseball Classic and you can see why Cubs fans are biting their fingernails with their ex-closer. But spring numbers are not everything, of course. Rondon had a 12.38 ERA and 2.37 WHIP in spring last year and wound up with a 1.72 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in the regular season before the All-Star break. The bigger concern here with Rondon is the triceps issue that hampered him in the second half of 2016 and limited his effectiveness in the playoffs, plus his overall medical history. For his part, Rondon has insisted he feels 100 percent this spring and the health issues are in the rearview mirror. Even if the struggles persist into the season, the Cubs have enough talent in the bullpen they can afford to let Rondon work through his issues in low-leverage situations.

Maddon and team president Theo Epstein have repeatedly mentioned how the Cubs have enough depth in the back end of the bullpen to allow a rotation of sorts in the closer and setup roles, because it's all about getting to October healthy. "This bullpen's got some serious power arms," said veteran left-hander Brian Duensing, who will start the season on the disabled list. "It should be a lot of fun." -- Chicago Tribune Jason Heyward and rain delay speech that may have changed Cubs history By Paul Sullivan The greatest weight room speech in Cubs' history finally was revealed in "The Cubs Way," author Tom Verducci's inside account of their championship season. It happened, as you may have heard, during the greatest rain delay in Cubs history, before the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series. "I know some things may have happened tonight you don't like …" Jason Heyward told his teammates. "We're the best team in baseball, and we're the best team in baseball for a reason. Now we're going to show it. We play like the score is nothing-nothing. We have to stay positive and fight for your brothers. Stick together and we're going to win this game." It worked, and the Cubs wound up winning the game and ending the greatest drought in sports history. Heyward didn't pull an Antonio Brown and put his speech on Facebook Live, as the Steelers receiver did with a fiery speech from coach Mike Tomlin that caused a major ruckus last winter. Heyward was just trying to fire up his teammates, and as far as he knew, no one was recording him or writing the words down. Nevertheless, those words will be remembered for eons as the ones that sparked the Cubs to their first championship in 108 years. When asked about the speech recently in the Cubs spring training complex in Mesa, Ariz., Heyward said he was unaware that it had been immortalized in print. He said in jest it may have been a "Pixar version" of what he actually had said, close to the real thing, as remembered by his teammates. "I didn't know there was a book, just like I didn't know there was a Lego thing," he said. "I don't look at that stuff." The "Lego thing" was a Lego video reenactment of Game 7 that included a Lego Heyward addressing his Lego Cubs teammates in a Lego weight room of Lego Progressive Field. When I asked him about the video at the beginning of spring training, Heyward said he had no idea what I was talking about. By the end of camp, someone had shown it to him. "It doesn't matter," he said. But wasn't it cool to see your speech in a Lego version? "I was there," he replied. "That was cool." Heyward insists the Cubs would have won with or without his speech, which may be true. But try as he might, Heyward never is going to be able to escape the fact that his words of wisdom will be part of a story retold for generations.

There's nothing wrong with being the Knute Rockne of the Cubs, and in truth, rain delays on the North Side never will be the same again after the 17-minute pause that refreshed. The Cubs thought so much of it they had T-shirts made this spring with a cartoon umbrella and the game's final score printed on the front. Before Game 7, perhaps the most memorable rain delay in Cubs history was Aug. 8, 1988, or 8-8-88 as it was known. A huge downpour interrupted and then postponed the first-ever night game at Wrigley Field and Cubs players Greg Maddux, Jody Davis, Les Lancaster and Al Nipper did belly flops on the wet tarp, later incurring $125 fines for their adventures. The Cubs also had a legendary rain delay without rain on Aug. 23, 1999, a night game against the Giants when the threat of rain held up the start for more than 90 minutes. It was eventually delayed for 3 hours, 45 minutes before being postponed, after which Giants owner Peter Magowan referred to the Cubs as a "bush league operation." And don't forget the delay of Aug. 4, 2008, when the Cubs were batting during a lightning storm at Wrigley and Astros first baseman Lance Berkman heard a loud crack of thunder, threw off his metal chain and sprinted into the dugout. But none of these incidents came during Game 7 of a World Series, where everything is magnified, and none of them included a famous speech that reached into the hearts of teammates and inspired them to victory. "The best rain delay of all-time," Anthony Rizzo called it. The next time it rains during a Cubs' game, don't look for fans to curse the sky. Instead they'll raise a glass and smile, thinking about Heyward and the weight room and a rain delay to savor forever. -- Chicago Tribune Stakes high for Cubs with Jake Arrieta and John Lackey possible free agents By Mark Gonzales As the 2016 World Series trophy was hoisted throughout the visitors clubhouse at Progressive Field last November, so were the expectations for the Cubs in 2017. "I don't want to sound like a (jerk), but that bar always has been there for me," said ace Jon Lester, who opens the Cubs' effort to become the first franchise to repeat as champions since the 2000 Yankees when he opposes the rival Cardinals at Busch Stadium. "I came from Boston, where if you didn't make the playoffs, it was all hell breaks loose. I love that. That's why I wanted to come here. That's why I wanted to be a part of this and wanted those young guys to experience that. Once you win, you don't want to go back the other way. And baseball is so funny and fickle about things to where you have unexpected years where people get hurt and that's part of the game." This season, the stakes again are high with starting pitchers Jake Arrieta and John Lackey potentially leaving after this season, as well as closer Wade Davis. The Cubs are hoping that reclamation project Eddie Butler can bolster the rotation in the near and long-term future, but they openly recognize their lack of major league-ready starting pitching depth. Anthony Rizzo, one of the oldest pillars of a franchise that was rebuilt starting in 2012, maintains 2017 isn't an all-or-nothing season. When reminded that he and his teammates rallied around David Ross' impending retirement last season, Rizzo replied, "Every year we want to win the World Series. To say it's all or nothing, it's kind of unfair.

"We're favored to win the World Series. So it's going to be a long grind. We know that, and it's about us coming together and doing it." Manager Joe Maddon, who declared the Cubs would be "talking playoffs" in his introductory news conference in November 2014, carefully explained what a successful season would look like. "Win Sunday's game," Maddon replied. "And then try to win Tuesday's game, and then try to win Wednesday's game. That's successful." Simply, Maddon prefers to stay in the present and illustrate only some of the past achievements, such as winning Game 7 of the Series after a 17-minute rain delay, on T-shirts that deliver a message about the process rather than the ultimate goal. "The trap always has been to talk about this in a larger sense," Maddon said. "I really trained myself, and I want our guys to do the same thing. That is to really focus on what's going on right now and what is controllable." The Cubs recognize that a fast start is only part of the journey to the title. At some point — likely in May — they will opt for a six-man rotation to relieve some of the workload Lester, Lackey, Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks have compiled over the past two seasons. Because of their Series triumph, the target on their backs has expanded. They could be perceived as vulnerable asthey needed three consecutive victories to avoid elimination in the 2016 Series after winning 103 games during the regular season. "It would be a disappointment," catcher Miguel Montero replied in response to a scenario of the Cubs failing to repeat. "You're built to win, and you want to win. We have what we need to win here again. We have to play good baseball again and have to do everything right again. "We know we can do it. But if it do -- Chicago Tribune Successful start could allow Cubs to rest later for postseason By Mark Gonzales The Cubs' 25-6 start in 2016 included taking two of three games in St. Louis in April. Ben Zobrist emphasizes another successful start would bode well for their chances of earning a playoff berth and setting themselves up for a long run in the postseason. "We don't want to get off to a bad start and then have to push in the middle of the season," Zobrist said as the Cubs open defense of their World Series title Sunday night against the rival Cardinals. "It was nice last year that we got off to a good start and so far ahead in the division. "When we did have a rough patch as a team, it didn't really hurt us that badly. We struggled badly in June and early July, and we were still up (6 1/2) games in the division, so that's how good we played in the beginning." Manager Joe Maddon has stressed the importance of more frequent rest, so a comfortable lead would allow him to substitute liberally. "We treat the first game like we treat the 162nd game and we want to win them all," Zobrist said. "But we have to play well at the start if you want to be able to relax at the end." Bring it on: Opening night starter Jon Lester likes that the Cubs are opening at Busch Stadium.

"That's a fun place to play," Lester said. "It's a good atmosphere, a great ballpark and one of my favorite ballparks. We're going up against one of our rivals. Guys are excited to get going and make it feel like we're playing for something again, as opposed to going through the motions (in spring training) and getting your at-bats and your innings. "What better way to start off than against the Cardinals." Whatever it takes: Left-hander Rob Zastryzny admitted he fibbed last August when he was asked if he could pitch in relief shortly after being promoted from Triple-A Iowa, where he started 14 games. But after posting a 1.46 ERA with a 1.054 WHIP in seven relief appearances with the Cubs, Zastryzny is ready for a swing role at Iowa. "They told me what they would like is for me to get people out, regardless of where they put me," Zastryzny said. "And instead of focusing on what my role may be, I'm focusing on that right now. "That was my ideal way to break into the league with a role like that, instead of them defining what I had to do and me putting pressure on myself to do it. It wasn't them telling me to try to throw this many innings. It was 'Try to throw this for a strike. Just go get that guy out.' It was simple." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs catcher Willson Contreras adjusts to expanded role By Mark Gonzales HOUSTON – Coach Mike Borzello described Willson Contreras' handling of the Cubs' starting pitchers in mid-season as the "ultimate introduction" as the rookie catcher helped navigate the rotation to the World Series. The duties now have expanded. "My mind is ready to go," Contreras said. Contreras growing knowledge of the starting pitchers , the scouting reports and what pitches work best in a given game has fostered the Cubs' faith in him. "He's such an amenable player. He's willing to be open-minded and try different things," said Borzello, who prepares the game plan and works with catchers. "He's so talented and willing to implement ideas. A lot of times players are stagnant and happy with where they're at, and he's always looking to get better and better." Spring training provided the perfect forum for Contreras, 24, to get fully acclimated to Jon Lester, who threw mostly to since-retired David Ross the last two seasons. "I'm also learning how he likes to call a game," Lester said. "Once we get into the regular season, you have a report to go about your business that way. And it's part of the game." Lester said he and Ross meshed well in 2013 en route to a World Series with the Red Sox despite Ross not catching him in spring training. "You figure it out as you go and adjust," Lester said. The bond between Contreras and Kyle Hendricks firmed up in a 5-0 complete game victory on Aug. 1. Teammates marvel at the ability of Hendricks, a Dartmouth College graduate, to memorize a scouting report — down to batters' tendencies, their swings and specific pitches in certain counts — before he looks at videotapes of opponents.

But Hendricks said he made several adjustments to complete that 123-pitch masterpiece he said was a turning point for their partnership. "We had a feel and a game plan," Hendricks recalled. "It's a process, telling him what you like to do. He's a student of the game, and he picks up the scouting reports quickly. He has a lot of energy and loves learning and talking the game." "I feel way better than last year," Contreras said. "I feel more confident in myself." Contreras' willingness to improve also has nurtured the faith in him pitchers and Borzello have expressed. "He's a hungry player," Borzello said. "He never thinks he has it all figured out. That, on top of his God-given ability, makes him what he is." -- Chicago Tribune Albert Almora Jr. will likely start for Cubs in Sunday's opener By Mark Gonzales Manager Joe Maddon remained coy about his opening night lineup, but it appears Albert Almora Jr. will get the start in center field. Neither left-handed hitter Jon Jay nor Almora has faced Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez, but Maddon reiterated Friday that playing time in center wouldn't be distributed on a straight platoon system. "We'll look at the matchups and see when are the right times to play Albert," Maddon said. "Albert has had a good camp. There are certain things that Albert does against certain types of righties that are really attractive." Jay also could be provided a better matchup in Tuesday's second game against curveball maven Adam Wainwright. Maddon did say pitcher Jon Lester would bat eighth Sunday. That would leave Almora blending in well with a lineup that features left-handed hitter Kyle Schwarber at the top of the order. Left is all right: Schwarber squatted on his surgically repaired left knee with no problems for three innings Thursday and plans to put stress on that knee most of the time he catches. Schwarber said the medical staff initially told him to switch legs to allow the knee to heal fully at the end of the 12-month recovery period. Schwarber admitted he should have caught a pitch that resulted in a passed ball but was otherwise pleased with his pitch framing and throwing out Marwin Gonzalez on a steal attempt. More rest for Russell? Maddon stressed the benefits of rest one day after shortstop Addison Russell returned after missing a week with lower back stiffness. Russell made a dazzling play and drove in three runs with a single and home run. "I'd like to be on the field every day if I could, but there's a bigger picture in the long run," said Russell, 23, who played in 151 games last season. "You save a couple of days here and there, and you might be that much better in the postseason. Of course, it's a little too early for that, but I'll take it day-by-day." Extra innings: Infielder Munenori Kawasaki, who the Cubs released Tuesday, has agreed to return to Japan to play for SoftBank, according to Sanspo.com. Kawasaki played 10 seasons for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks — now known as SoftBank.

-- Chicago Sun-Times Bryzzo: Yin and yang of Cubs lineup look to make more history By Gordon Wittenmyer HOUSTON — After the Cubs fell behind 3-1 in the World Series last fall, first baseman Anthony Rizzo went to work on the clubhouse. “All ‘Rocky’ stuff,” he told one of his co-conspirators. “We’re just going to go the distance and ingrain that in everyone’s head.” The music and the movie played before Game 5, and they won. Rizzo intensified the pregame show for Game 6, and they won again. “Every game. It was 5, 6 and 7,” he said, “playing motivational stuff, and each game was a little more animated.” Bryant and Rizzo celebrate the final out of the 2016 World Series. They're under club control together for five more seasons. By the time the team gathered for Game 7, Rizzo was naked and “animated,” jumping on things, “The Full Monty was Game 7,” he said. And what was Kris Bryant — the other half of “Bryzzo” — -doing? “Focusing,” Rizzo said. “Getting ready for the game. Getting loose at the same time. Not as loose.” According to manager Joe Maddon: “He’s laughing at Rizzo.” “I think we both have our own ways of doing things,” Bryant said, smiling. “They could not be more different,” Maddon said. “To me, that’s kind of the fun part about it, too.” The most fun for Maddon is connecting the All-Star hitters at the hip in his lineup, whether it’s in the 2-3 spots, where they’ll be Opening Day, or 3-4 on occasion. As the Cubs’ title defense opens in St. Louis, the Bryzzo Souvenir Co. opens for business again – paired in MLB commercials again, their on-field and clubhouse chemistry unmistakable, their popularity never higher. Their impact on the Cubs’ chances to repeat are only growing as they emerge as one of the top right-left, middle-of-the-order tandems in the game. “If you like it now, it’s going to keep getting better,” said Maddon, who brings up such historic comparisons as the Red Sox’ Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz and the Giants’ Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds when talking about his tandem’s potential so hitting together. They might already be the best right-left/left-right Cubs combo since the days of Billy Williams and Ron Santo or Williams and Ernie Banks. The reigning MVP in Bryant. The three-time All-Star in Rizzo, who finished in the top four in MVP voting the last two years. Ryan Braun-Prince Fielder 2.0. A neo-Chase Utley-Ryan Howard. Yin and yang. Beavis and Butthead. Or just Bryzzo.

“We’ve got to obviously do it again and again, keep doing it,” said Rizzo, 27. “Over time, I think it will be something. But right now it’s just us playing baseball.” In the meantime, their relationship gets stronger in a baseball sense, “business” sense (check out MLB’s new Bryzzo commercials) and personally despite opposing personalities. “He’s just a big old goofball, a big old kid,” said Bryant, 25, the homebody and college honor student once considered a Rhodes Scholarship candidate. “At times you think he’s the youngest one of the whole bunch here, just because he has a ton of fun playing the game. “He’s also someone I look up to and learn from every day. But we’re completely different.” Bryant says Rizzo tells him he wears “too much free stuff” and needs to go out more. He says he agrees to a point. “I don’t need to go out more,” he said. “I like being at home.” Rizzo can’t even get Bryant to join him for a beer. “Kris never has drank one sip of alcohol,” Rizzo said. Not even after promising he would if they won the World Series. “He says he did, but I don’t think so,” Rizzo said. If there’s any jealousy about MVPs for one guy or Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers for the other, it doesn’t show. “The better he gets, the better he makes me,” Rizzo said, “just by watching his approach and talking to him about the way he thinks, all the little things.” The one thing they have in common, said Maddon: “Both of these guys have not arrived at their zenith yet offensively.” -- Chicago Sun-Times Curse-buster? The story of a left-hander, an antler and a trophy By Gordon Wittenmyer ST. LOUIS – It might have passed for a scene from the old Andy Griffith Show except that Jon Lester is about 190 pounds bigger than Opie. But there on a trail near a fishing spot just outside of Denver, a father and son with their fishing poles happened upon a sight that believers in fate and fortune might mark as the beginning of the end of the Billy Goat curse. “It’s not like it’s been in the dugout as a rally cry for us,” said left-hander Jon Lester, who starts Sunday Night in St. Louis as the Cubs open their championship defense. “I don’t even think half the guys know they’re in my locker.” But the deer antler that Lester and his dad found that off day in Colorado two years ago has been at every game, in Lester’s locker, every day since that early April father-and-son discovery, since the Cubs beat the Rockies on Dexter Fowler’s ninth-inning home run the day after he brought it to the clubhouse – followed the next day by a walkoff win at home against the Cincinnati Reds. If you believe in magic or UFOs – certainly if you believe in baseball curses – consider the antler.

Nobody had any idea what the Cubs might do in Lester’s first season, coming off another last-place finish in 2014. Certainly nobody expected them to reach the National League Championship Series when catcher David Ross suggested Lester take the antler on the team’s second road trip. “So I just took them, and they’ve kind of just been riding along with us for two years,” Lester said. Two years, 199 regular season wins, 15 postseason wins and a curse-busting championship 108 years in the making. Lester, by the way, isn’t especially superstitious. He does wear the same style of undershirt for every start. “But I don’t have something I touch or something I do,” he said. “I try to keep everything the same. It’s kind of [about] routine. It’s not really superstition.” But the antler isn’t going anywhere. “They’ll stay with me,” he said. “Do I think that the antlers had anything to do with us winning? No,” he said. “But it’s something fun and cool. And you see it every year. There’s some team that has something in the dugout that is a [rallying point] of some sort. In 2002 it was the [Angels’] Rally Monkey. The Royals had the praying mantis for a while [last year]. “Maybe if you’re struggling you’re thinking about the rally mantis as opposed to you struggling, and you go out and all of a sudden you’re hitting or pitching well.” You won’t see the antler on the ballpark video board. Most won’t see it at all. But that doesn’t mean the power can’t be felt. “It’s just something that kind of started that nobody really knows about it, and I just throw them in my locker and it takes up a lot of my room on the road,” Lester said. The antler’s future? “Keep rolling,” he said. -- Chicago Sun-Times Maddon much more than your ordinary Joe By Rick Telander Chicago has had some legendary coaches and managers, as we should. We deserve the best. We probably haven’t had enough, but such is life. George Halas, Mike Ditka, Phil Jackson and Ozzie Guillen all won something big and captivated our town with their style and/or personality. We can go back to Cubs managers Cap Anson and Frank Chance — even if nobody alive watched them in action — and say they were among the great. Check their records. Moreover, the best Blackhawks coach of all time is still in full swing. That’s Joel Quenneville, with his three Stanley Cup titles.

Then we have Cubs manager Joe Maddon. He appears to be one of the greatest hires in the history of Chicago sports and a man worthy of joining the legendary crew, even if he only has been here 30 months. In two seasons with the Cubs, he has a .619 winning percentage in the regular season and a 15-11 record in the postseason and — oh, yeah — guided them to their first World Series championship in 108 years. That right there is enough for a statue. But Maddon might be a great leader for the long haul. Organizations do win titles — to use a little Jerry Krause jargon — but individuals make the difference. And Maddon is nothing if not an individual. He does odd things that might or might not be genius. You like magicians, sing-alongs, talent shows, funny clothes and Anthony Rizzo on the piano in spring training, singing a rock song terribly? Or do you think those things are stupid affectations? Well, Maddon digs them, digs being different, enthusiastic, funny and wacky. But he’s also focused and serious about what is a game kids start playing when they barely can run. Sure, Maddon had great talent last season. What a pitching staff, huh? How about youngsters such as Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Javy Baez? But nobody wins without talent. And lots of coaches lose with talent. To succeed is an art. A craft. A feel, more than anything. Here’s something odd: Maddon won the National League Manager of the Year award with the Cubs in 2015, not last season. The Cubs finished third in the NL Central in 2015, but they improved by 24 games over 2014 and made it all the way to the NL Championship Series before losing to the Mets. How sweet even that defeat was because the future was laid out: The young Cubs were ascendant. They would be the favorites to win it all in 2016. And they did. Yes, Maddon was criticized by everyone with eyeballs for overusing meteor-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman and giving the hook to starters too early there at the end. But good ol’ Joe hasn’t gotten upset or defensive about that valid criticism, saying only that — what the hell? — we won! Major League Baseball has taken a goad from the political-correctness police and declared that players dressing up as women is no longer funny or respectful (of course, it isn’t!) and that teams can’t make their rookies do it anymore. The MLB policy declares there will be no more ‘‘dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or other characteristic.’’ Shazam! Try finding a costume nobody can sue you about now! But it’s believed babies still don’t have an organized political group, even if age discrimination lurks. And dressing up like animals or, perhaps, vegetables still seems doable. The merry Maddon pranksters should continue on, if more delicately. Still, Maddon’s alleged juvenile playfulness should be seen for what it is: a thoughtful, reasoned manipulation in a profession that saps players’ vitality and will long before it saps their physical strength. Maddon has been in the game in some manner for more than 40 years. He’s not nuts.

Remember how crazy Jackson’s meditative practices were viewed? Ozzie’s cheerful chattering? Ditka’s volcanic passion? Not anymore. And Maddon needs to keep rolling with who he is and what he is. When, at the news conference announcing his hiring at the Cubby Bear across from Wrigley Field, he said he’d buy a shot of whiskey for everybody there — well, you knew this was different. This was not Dusty Baker or Dale Sveum. This was Joe. If Joe can maintain his Joe-ness, what a world the Cubs might have. -- Chicago Sun-Times Only thing tougher than first title in 108 years: Doing it again By Gordon Wittenmyer If anybody thought what the Cubs did last season was tough, consider what they’re up against this season. Trying to do it again. The Cubs vanquished their century-plus of ghosts with their historic World Series victory last fall, but to repeat — even with what many think is a better team — will take bucking an industry trend that only has become stronger in recent decades. ‘‘It’s a hard thing to win one, let alone two in a row,’’ said Cy Young runner-up Jon Lester, the Cubs’ opening night starter Sunday, who has three championships. ‘‘All we can do is play hard and do little things to get better and see what happens during the season.’’ If they reach the playoffs again, they’ll roll the dice on what has become a postseason crapshoot because of the advent of division play in 1969, the dawn of free agency in the 1970s and the addition of wild-card teams in the 1990s. ‘‘After a World Series, you do kind of either get complacent or get even hungrier now that you’ve tasted it,’’ Cubs president Theo Epstein said. ‘‘There’s no real in-between. I’ve never doubted for a second that our group of guys will be extremely hungry.” A repeat champion is so rare in baseball that it has happened only once in Cubs shortstop Addison Russell’s lifetime, when the Yankees won three World Series in a row from 1998 to 2000. The last time a National League team did it, not even pitcher John Lackey was around. In fact, the Big Red Machine of 1975 and ’76 is the only NL team to do it in the last 95 years. What makes anyone think this group of Cubs will be different, playing for a franchise that took 108 years just to win one? ‘‘This is a way different animal because we’re so much younger,’’ said Lackey, whose title with the Cubs was his third, each with a different franchise. ‘‘They were more veteran teams that I won it with the last couple of times. ‘‘I think the youth is really going to help us [avoid] a hangover because they still have that energy, they’re still trying to prove themselves, they’re still trying to go to arbitration, they’ve still got a lot in front of them.’’ The Cubs bring back their top four starting pitchers from the top-ranked staff in baseball last season. They bolstered their bullpen. They have reason to think Albert Almora Jr. and Willson Contreras might make the top

fielding team in 2016 a little better. And the NL most valuable, All-Star shortstop and two-time postseason hitting star are all 25 or younger. ‘‘That’s kind of unique in this game,’’ Lester said. ‘‘You don’t see teams like ours around this league.’’ But Lester’s 2007 Red Sox champions returned much of their core, won 95 games and had the lead in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series before the Rays, who were managed by Cubs skipper Joe Maddon, came back to eliminate them. ‘‘It’s hard to look at that year and say we had any problems,’’ said Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, who was Epstein’s assistant GM in that Red Sox front office. ‘‘That’s a pretty good follow-up year.’’ Hoyer said he and Epstein draw on that experience now, as well as on the experience of falling short the year after their curse-busting 2004 title in Boston, despite another 95-victory season for a team with more turnover. ‘‘If you try to keep things exactly the same, they’re going to change anyway,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘That’s life, and that’s baseball.’’ The Cubs are World Series favorites in Las Vegas again, despite history working against them. And if they stay healthy, it’s hard to imagine they won’t have a good shot heading into October. Second baseman Ben Zobrist, the World Series MVP last season after winning a ring with the 2015 Royals, said the length of the previous season and shorter offseason are among the factors that work against any team trying to repeat. ‘‘The Giants have been so good the last six [or] seven years, and you kind of saw after they won it every year, it was a lull for them. So we know it’s a great challenge for us this year, trying to figure out how to get back there.’’ Since the Yankees’ most recent run, the Giants have been the closest thing to a dynasty, winning in 2010, ’12 and ’14 but failing to make the playoffs in each of the years after those championships. Buster Posey waves to the crowd during the Giants’ 2012 parade. It was their second of three parades in five years — without so much as making the playoffs between championships. ‘‘It just shows you how difficult it is,’’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘Getting there is probably a little easier than winning the whole thing because so many variables are involved. Who’s the hottest team? Who’s got the hottest pitchers going? One pitcher can dominate, as you saw in ’14 [with Madison Bumgarner].’’ In 2011, the Giants lost heart-and-soul catcher Buster Posey to injury. In 2013, they didn’t pitch as well after their long ’12 season. In 2015, the Cubs knocked them out of playoff position in August. ‘‘It’s not one common denominator that’s going to keep you from getting there,’’ Bochy said. ‘‘You’ve got to stay healthy. Obviously, you need your guys to have their normal good years. But once you get there, it does become a bit of a crapshoot. ‘‘I don’t know if the best teams win it all the time. That’s why you have wild-card teams get in there. We’ve done it. Other wild-card teams have done it.’’ Bochy’s 2014 team was the fifth wild-card team to win a World Series and the 10th to reach one in 13 years. The Big Red Machine of Johnny Bench (5), Pete Rose (14) and Tony Perez (24) was the last National League team to repeat as World Series champion (1975-76). And if there’s any lingering hangover at all?

‘‘The more success you have, oftentimes the less hungry you become,’’ said Royals GM Dayton Moore, whose team lost Game 7 of the World Series in 2014, won the Series in ’15 and missed the playoffs last season. ‘‘Every major-league season presents tough challenges that every team has to overcome, and you have to have the same relentlessness that you had in pursuing the championship if you’re going to repeat.’’ Maddon tried to address that with his ‘‘uncomfortable’’ theme this spring. ‘‘The moment that you get comfortable with what you had done, then the threat is that you’re not going to push yourself to the point where you need to again,’’ he said. ‘‘All this [is] psychological crap I’m throwing at you right here, but all this stuff matters.’’ Said right fielder Jason Heyward: ‘‘The most important thing it did for me was just make me hungry and made me feel like this is obviously fun, that this is what you want. But don’t stop there. Challenge yourself to work hard, work smart and try to get back to that same position again.’’ -- Chicago Sun-Times Like a late-night TV ad, the Cubs say, ‘Wait! There’s more!’ By Rick Morrissey The ball lodged securely in Anthony Rizzo’s first baseman’s glove, the players sprinted deliriously toward the pitcher’s mound to celebrate the Cubs’ first World Series title in 108 years and everyone lived happily ever . . . Wait! That isn’t the end of the story! There was a massive parade and a party that took days to die out. Kris Bryant won the National League Most Valuable Player award. David Ross retired and didn’t go anywhere, though, oddly, his feet kept moving. Joe Maddon spent the offseason defending his decision to pitch Aroldis Chapman into the ground in the World Series. Dexter Fowler signed with the Cardinals, and Chapman with the Yankees. People continued to walk right past Kyle Hendricks, unaware of his reputation as one of the best pitchers in the major leagues. And everyone lived happily ever . . . No, no, no, that’s not the end of it, either. There’s more, in the present tense. Kyle Schwarber is still healthy, having gotten through spring training unscathed. Maddon is still defending his decision to pitch Chapman into the ground. Javy Baez is still looking for a permanent position on the field, which sounds like a preposterous plot twist but isn’t. And now the Cubs are talking about winning multiple World Series. Think about that. After all the decades of heartache, now they’re contemplating a dynasty. Most shocking of all, given their history, is that no one is laughing at them, checking for a fever or wondering if they need to be institutionalized. Multiple World Series titles? What a story that would be. The first tentative taps on the keyboard begin Sunday night in St. Louis as the Cubs take on the Cardinals in the season opener. No one knows how the tale will end. That’s the beauty of sports. The Cubs are the favorites to win the World Series, and they should be. They are the most complete team in baseball. But. But amid all the exclamation points are some question marks. Will Jason Heyward ever hit again? Does it matter if Heyward ever hits again? Will Schwarber keep hitting the way he has in his brief career? And what about the squat, powerful Schwarber batting leadoff? Will that end up being another brilliant Maddon idea or another head-scratching idea that Maddon quite possibly came up with during a fever dream in his RV?

And isn’t it time for the Cubs to run into that favorite sports cliché, adversity? Aside from Schwarber’s torn knee ligaments, which cost him almost all of the 2016 regular season, they didn’t have to deal with many injuries the previous two seasons. That’s like going five years without a jury-duty notice arriving in the mail. There are questions, but there also are facts. The Cubs’ starting pitching is excellent. I’m done wondering when John Lackey’s arm is going to fall off and when opposing hitters are going to figure out Jon Lester. Jake Arrieta will be a free agent after the season, so he has lots of motivation to put together a big year. Bryant, a great hitter, has turned into a good third baseman. Heyward is a great right fielder, and Rizzo is a great first baseman. The Cubs have the best infield in baseball, provided Baez is in it. There are a lot of “greats” and “bests’’ here. That’s what opponents are up against. And then there’s this: The Cubs seem so completely comfortable in the spotlight, it’s as if they were born for it. So the weight of expectations? Few teams in American sports history have had as much on their shoulders as the Cubs did last season, when they were the favorites to win it all and had a long, dark history to overcome. Back-to-back titles are difficult in professional sports. We’ll find out if the Cubs prepared as hard in the offseason as they did the offseason before. But pressure? I don’t think they’re feeling any of that. Desire is a bigger issue. The Cubs say they’re hungry for more, but no one ever knows how a team will respond to success. For the first time in ages, Chicago will get to watch how this franchise handles prosperity. The truth is that the vast majority of Cubs fans could have lived happily ever after following the team’s first World Series championship since 1908. But it’s also true that they’re human and that humans, by nature, always seem to want more. More money. More donuts. More World Series. Two straight? It could happen. And everyone could live even happier ever after. -- Cubs.com Cubs end spring with win, ready to defend title By Alyson Footer and Carrie Muskat HOUSTON -- In their final exhibition game of 2017, the Cubs prevailed over the Astros, 6-3, before 15,420 fans on Friday at Minute Maid Park. Most of the Cubs' scoring occurred in the fifth. Chicago loaded the bases against Tony Sipp, who was lifted for Ken Giles. Giles walked Matt Szczur to force in a run, and one out later, another run scored on a wild pitch. Chesny Young smacked a two-run single to center to put the Cubs up, 4-0. Until that breakout inning, both offenses were kept in check by sharp starting pitching. Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks held the Astros scoreless through five, scattering two hits and walking one to lower his spring ERA to 1.66. Hendricks won't pitch again until April 8 in Milwaukee, so he treated Friday's game as if it were his first start of the season. He went over a scouting report from last year with catcher Miguel Montero and did his same in-season pregame routine. "I really tried to treat it like my first start, and it felt good," Hendricks said. "You feel a lot more comfortable taking the mound with an idea of what you're trying to do instead of just working on your stuff. It was good to have that." The Cubs, who open the season Sunday night against the Cardinals, are ready to begin defense of the World Series championship. "You could see it -- everyone was high levels in the breakfast room," Hendricks said. "There was a lot of yelling and screaming, guys were pumped up. We're finally to that day. You feel it building up, you feel it coming, you see a light at the end of the tunnel, but now, being the last day, flying to St. Louis, you feel it coming."

Houston righty Joe Musgrove, whose solid spring earned him a spot in the rotation, did not allow a run over four innings of work. He retired the first eight batters he faced before yielding back-to-back hits to Jon Jay and Kyle Schwarber with two outs in the third, but he struck out Kris Bryant to end the inning. "I was really pleased with everything today," Musgrove said. "The slider was sharp. I had good fastball command. I was most pleased with my ability to command the top of the strike zone, which was kind of huge for me. That was the best I've felt all spring. I'm glad I'm going into the season feeling like this." "He's very focused, especially for a young player to come up and command the game the way that he does," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "I couldn't ask for anything more. We wanted him to have four innings. For a while, we thought we were going to have to send him to the bullpen to get more pitches because he was so efficient. I thought he was really sharp." The Astros scored their first runs in the sixth inning as Reid Brignac and pinch-hitter Yulieski Gurriel hit RBI singles. Cubs Up Next: After a day off, the World Series-champion Cubs begin defense of their title on Sunday night against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Jon Lester gets the start, his second Opening Day assignment for the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. CT. Astros Up Next: When Dallas Keuchel takes the mound for Houston on Monday, he will become the first Astros left-hander to make three consecutive Opening Day starts. Last year, Keuchel logged the Opening Day win against the Yankees in New York, allowing two earned runs on three hits over seven innings. -- Cubs.com Schwarber after catching: 'Everything's good' By Carrie Muskat HOUSTON -- If you watched Kyle Schwarber on Thursday night, he was sticking his right leg out when he was behind the plate. Remember, he had surgery on his left knee to repair two torn ligaments, and this spring, he's been extending the left leg. "We changed it for spring to give [the knee] time to get the complete healing," Schwarber said Friday. "They say it takes 12 months to be completely fine. When I catch, I'd rather be bending down on my left knee. I'll switch it up here and there. I'm mostly going to stay on my left." It's a good sign that Schwarber's left knee is strong enough that he can do that, considering it was uncertain whether he'd catch again after the injury, sustained in the third game of the regular season last year. "Everything's good," Schwarber said. Schwarber caught four innings in a Minor League game one week ago in Arizona, and he switched from left field to catcher in the sixth inning on Thursday against the Astros in an exhibition game at Minute Maid Park. "It was a good little tuneup," Schwarber said about Thursday's game. "Overall, I thought it was a good day for my second day back there in a live game, especially in a big league game. There were a lot of positives there. I made all the blocks, made a good throw down to second. I thought overall, I want to eliminate the mistakes, but it was a good day." Schwarber was charged with a passed ball in the sixth, which allowed a run to score, but he also threw Marwin Gonzalez out at second. "They kept running off me -- I said, 'Geez, take it easy, guys. It's the second game,'" Schwarber said, laughing.

Whenever he had an off-day in Spring Training, Schwarber would catch a bullpen session and do early work with the catchers. "Once I started to ramp up for the Minor League game, I'd start doing some blocking and getting back on my left knee to make sure it was fine," Schwarber said. "[Thursday] was that last mental hurdle to know I can do it still in the big leagues." The Cubs' new leadoff man, Schwarber and manager Joe Maddon have come up with their own message before each of his at-bats. Last year, Maddon would tell Dexter Fowler, "You go, we go." On Thursday, Maddon wouldn't reveal what he'll say to Schwarber, saying it was "X-rated." Schwarber wouldn't reveal it, either. "No messages," Schwarber said. "It's going to stay secret on my end." -- Cubs.com Maddon optimistic Rondon will turn it around By Carrie Muskat HOUSTON -- Cubs reliever Hector Rondon had a rough outing against the Astros, giving up four straight hits in the sixth inning before he was lifted on Thursday night. But manager Joe Maddon isn't concerned about the right-hander, who has struggled with his command this spring. "He's just been off this camp," Maddon said Friday. "I look at it from the perspective that he's healthy, and you look at the [radar] gun readings and they're pretty normal." Rondon was sidelined last year by a right triceps strain. "I'd be much more concerned if he was hurting, and he's not," Maddon said. "He knows he has to fix it. It's not like he's making excuses. "I always go back to the guy being healthy or not healthy. Sometimes, you just have to be patient. We'll see what happens when the games actually begin. Sometimes it's all veteran pitchers need, is to have the bell ring." Kyle Schwarber caught Rondon on Thursday. "It's there, his stuff is there," Schwarber said. "The good thing is it's Spring Training -- it's still Spring Training. We're about to roll into Game 1 [of the regular season], and then all the juices start flowing again and it's a whole new ballgame. I'm definitely not worried about the guy. He's got electric stuff." Worth noting • Maddon wouldn't reveal his Opening Night lineup for the Cubs' game on Sunday against the Cardinals, though the only real question is who will start in center field between Albert Almora Jr. and Jon Jay. "Right now, Albert, to me, is the more prototypical center fielder," Maddon said. "Albert's not just going to play only against lefties, and Jay won't always get the action against righties. We'll look at the matchups and see the right times to play Albert. Albert's had a good camp. There's certain things Albert does against righties, certain kinds of righties." So it won't be a pure platoon between the right-handed-hitting Almora and the lefty Jay in center for the Cubs. The Cardinals will start right-hander Carlos Martinez on Sunday night. "You can pencil in Almora if you like [for Opening Night]," Maddon said. • In his first game back in a week after being sidelined because of back spasms, shortstop Addison Russell made a nice defensive play Thursday and also hit an RBI single to right and a two-run homer.

"He looked comfortable, and he saw the ball well and he wasn't jumpy," Maddon said. "I loved when he got to a 2-1 count and then the line drive to right-center [for the single in the second] -- that, to me, was a really good at-bat. Once I saw that, I thought, 'He's fine.'" Russell said he felt good and didn't hesitate either on the field or at the plate because of his back. "I think I'm where I need to be at for the season," Russell said. The time off also helped sell the benefits of taking a day off now and then. "I would like to play as much as I can -- I'd like to be on the field every single day if I could," Russell said. "But there's a bigger picture there in the long run. Save a couple days here and there, you might be that much better in the postseason. It's a little too early [to talk about the postseason] right now, but we'll take it day by day." • Miguel Montero has been paired with Kyle Hendricks most of Spring Training, but Maddon said they will start the catcher depending on the opposing pitcher more than who the Cubs' starter is. "It benefits [Montero] and us to put him out there with the right pitcher," Maddon said. "Willson [Contreras] has Jon Lester, but otherwise it's wide open." --