June 2, 2017

Chicago Tribune, Cubs rotation seeks a return to dominance at home http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-notes-spt-0602-20170601-story.html#nt=oft03a-1gp3

Chicago Tribune, Dexter Fowler returns to Wrigley still a member of mutual admiration society http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-dexter-fowler-returns-cubs-cardinals-spt-0602-20170601-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Dexter Fowler's defection gives Cardinals-Cubs rivalry a jolt http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-cardinals-rivalry-dexter-fowler-sullivan-spt-0602-20170601-column.html

Chicago Tribune, 'Luckiest guy in the world!:' Anthony Rizzo gets engaged http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-anthony-rizzo-reveals-engagement-to-emily-vakos-20170601-story.html

Chicago Sun-Times, Starts and fits: Cub rotation big part of woes, key to what comes next http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/starts-and-fits-cub-rotation-big-part-of-woes-key-to-what-comes-next/

Chicago Sun-Times, Welcome back to Wrigley, Dexter Fowler — it’s too bad you can’t stay http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/welcome-back-to-wrigley-dexter-fowler-its-too-bad-you-cant-stay/

Daily Herald, Cubs, Cardinals both looking to get on track http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20170601/cubs-cardinals-both-looking-to-get-on-track

Daily Herald, Constable: Attendance at Wrigley Field is behind last year's pace http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170601/constable-attendance-at-wrigley-field-is-behind-last-years-pace

Cubs.com, Take 5: Identifying fixes for Cubs' problems http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/233764946/5-solutions-for-5-issues-plaguing-2017-cubs/

Cubs.com, Marshall, Zielinski to represent Cubs at Draft http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/233740060/george-brett-2017-mlb-draft-representatives/

ESPNChicago.com, Is meeting with rival Cardinals the remedy for Cubs' struggles? http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/44443/cards-series-looms-large-for-struggling-cubs

CSNChicago.com, What We Learned About The Cubs In May http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/what-we-learned-about-cubs-may-2017-schwarber-zobrist-rizzo-happ-arrieta-world-series

CSNChicago.com, How To Survive Playing At Wrigley Field When Cubs Are Getting 'Punched In The Teeth' http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/how-survive-playing-wrigley-field-when-cubs-are-getting-punched-teeth

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Chicago Tribune Cubs rotation seeks a return to dominance at home By Mark Gonzales Despite the Cubs going winless on their six-game trip to Southern California, manager Joe Maddon believes his rotation is on the verge of consistent success. "The starters are going in the right direction," Maddon said after Jake Arrieta allowed one run in six innings Wednesday against the Padres. The rotation will need to be at its best with some help from a suddenly unproductive offense as the Cubs face the Cardinals and one of baseball's deepest rotations this weekend. "Starting pitching is where it starts and ends," Arrieta said. He stressed the need for starters to set the tone and not fall behind early to put pressure on the offense. "If you're going to give up a run or two, keep it at that and not allow them to score three, four, five runs," he said. "Everyone knows if you're in a hole like that, it can be tough to climb out of." Arrieta is as optimistic as Maddon. He pointed out Kyle Hendricks made only one bad pitch in Monday's loss to the Padres — a grand slam to Hunter Renfroe. Hendricks finished May with a 3.34 ERA, best among Cubs starters. May gray: The Cubs finished May with a 12-16 record, with their starters posting a 4.98 ERA and their batters hitting .216 with an average of 4.21 runs per game. Javier Baez led the offense with a .302 batting average and 19 RBIs. Willson Contreras (.286) and Jason Heyward (.275) were the only players who hit higher than .241 with runners in scoring position. Extra innings: Cubs announcer Pat Hughes will be inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame on June 13 at Foley's NY Pub and Restaurant in New York. ... Former Cubs pitcher Sean Marshall and Zach Zielinski, son of late Cubs scout Stan Zielinski, will represent the team when the amateur draft begins June 12. -- Chicago Tribune Dexter Fowler returns to Wrigley still a member of mutual admiration society By Mark Gonzales The Cubs merely need to watch pregame ceremonies Friday to understand the value of perseverance. Dexter Fowler, who endured an unsettling free-agent period before returning to the Cubs and helping to lead them to their first World Series title since 1908, will receive his 2016 championship ring wearing the uniform of the rival Cardinals. "He's the right guy to adjust to any situation," said Addison Russell, one of several struggling Cubs who seek a rebound during this 10-game homestand. Several Cubs still admire Fowler for his unwavering concentration last season with the Cubs after a stressful offseason in which a multi-year contract failed to crystallize. Fowler's success and popularity resulted in the Cubs re-signing him on a one-year deal. Fowler essentially bet on himself and won big with a five-year, $82.5 million contract from the Cardinals last December.

"It's easy to put that facade up," said pitcher Jon Lester, who considered offers from the Giants and Red Sox before signing with the Cubs before the 2015 season. "I know the first go-around was tough for him and all the nonsense with the qualifying offer and other stuff. "He expected things to be different. But it's fortunate that he came back to us, it worked out and we had that journey together last year." The Cubs made a qualifying offer to Fowler after the 2015 season that assured them of a draft pick if he signed elsewhere. But a multi-year deal with the Orioles in February 2016 didn't crystallize, prompting Fowler to re-sign with the Cubs. Fowler shocked his teammates when he returned to his teammates on a spring training practice field while accompanied by in the company of President Theo Epstein. "I was surprised," Javier Baez said. "But we needed a leadoff hitter. It was tough to see him go through that winter without signing. But I learned a lot from him. I was very close with him." Jason Heyward, who was traded to the Cardinals from the Braves one year before he became a free agent and signing with the Cubs in December 2015, admired Fowler's longstanding goal of winning a World Series as well as maximizing his free-agent status after he came back to the Cubs for one more year. Heyward cited the case of Ian Desmond, the former Nationals shortstop who settled on a one-year deal to play the outfield for the Rangers in 2016 before signing a multi-year contract with the Rockies last winter as an outfielder-first baseman. "At least (Fowler) got to come back with a team he was familiar with," Heyward said. "It could have been worse." The Cubs already have played two series against Fowler in St. Louis, but the mutual respect remains firm. "They're awesome," Fowler said last month. "Epstein sent me a little (ring) design, so I had seen it before it was done. I'm eager to see it in person. "It's going to be awesome, to do it in front of the boys. We accomplished something that hadn't been done. To be able to experience that with them is awesome." Said Lester: "I hope, even though he went to the Cardinals, he's treated well and gets the ovation and the respect he deserves for doing what he did here. For him to come back to Chicago for the first time (as a Cardinal), I'm sure they'll be some nerves and excitement. I'm sure it will be good for him to get it out of the way." -- Chicago Tribune Dexter Fowler's defection gives Cardinals-Cubs rivalry a jolt By Paul Sullivan Four days after the Cubs' victory parade in November, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak was asked at the GM meetings about chasing the team that seemingly had been chasing the Cardinals forever. "I haven't slept well in about two weeks," Mozeliak said facetiously. "Look, it was great for baseball, an amazing run by Chicago and Cleveland, and it was a dynamic World Series. But my responsibility is to the St. Louis Cardinals and to our fan base, and certainly we're going to do whatever we need to be competitive and get better. But you look at what (the Cubs have) been able to accomplish, and it looks like they have a pretty long run ahead right now. So we have our work cut out."

One of the first things Mozeliak did last winter to close the 17 1/2-game gap was sign Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler to be his new leadoff man, giving Fowler a five-year, $82.5 million deal with a no-trade clause. The early returns haven't looked good for either the Cardinals or Cubs, who both trail the rebuilding Brewers in what appears to be a watered-down division. Still, it's not difficult to imagine the race coming down to the Cubs and Cardinals, with the Brewers in the middle of a rebuild. Are the Cubs taking the Brewers seriously? "I imagine the Cubs take everyone seriously," Brewers GM David Stearns said. Maybe. But the Cubs were just swept by the Padres, leaving them 0-6 on the West Coast trip and below .500 at 25-27. Fowler's return to Wrigley this weekend will remind anyone who needs to be reminded that the Cubs didn't look for a comparable leadoff man last winter and then went outside the box with Kyle Schwarber as his replacement. Early returns suggest Fowler was more important to the Cubs than some believed, though he has made less of an impact on the Cardinals than most in St. Louis hoped for. Last year the Cubs' leadoff hitters, mostly Fowler, led the majors with a .381 OBP and were seventh with an .815 OPS. They ranked 17th in batting average at .267. This season Cubs leadoff hitters, primarily Schwarber, ranked 28th in average (.210), 20th in OBP (.315) and 18th in OPS (.721) entering Thursday's games. No doubt the Cubs offense has slipped considerably since Fowler's departure, but almost the entire lineup has underachieved, even since Schwarber was removed from the top spot. For those who believe Fowler's presence would have prevented the Cubs' slide, one look at his numbers — a .230 average and .317 on-base percentage — should disavow you of that notion. The Cardinals' offensive woes aren't all Fowler's fault, though he hasn't exactly sparked the lineup, and manager Mike Matheny recently threatened to move him down. The Cardinals' leadoff hitters (basically Fowler) ranked 26th in average (.218), 22nd in OBP (.306) and 20th in OPS (.699) heading into Thursday's game. "You go, we go"? No go. It's still the first weekend of June, and anything can happen. And when the Cubs and Cardinals meet at Wrigley, as they have been doing for 101 years of the 125-year-old rivalry, anything usually does. Think of the Sandberg game, the Dusty Baker-Tony La Russa shouting match, Antonio "El Pulpo" Alfonseca belly-bumping an umpire or the Schwarbomb that landed atop of the right-field video board in the 2015 playoffs. Each is deserving of its own Wikipedia page, or at least a cool music video montage on the other video board. Fowler's ring ceremony before Friday's game will be a chance for Cubs fans to show their appreciation for his contributions to a moment they waited a lifetime to witness. He may even receive the biggest ovation of any Cardinal at Wrigley since Stan Musial knocked out his 3,000th hit in 1958. Fowler was just another veteran outfielder when he came to Chicago in 2015, but playing for the Cubs helped increase his wattage. The relationship he molded with fans suggests Fowler never will turn into a true Cardinals villain of the Jim Edmonds variety. Edmonds helped bring the Cubs a division title in 2008 and became a leader in the clubhouse but still couldn't shake the tag of being the ex-Cardinal Cubs fans loved to hate.

Cubs fans voted Fowler into the starting National League lineup of last year's All-Star Game even though he was on the disabled list and wouldn't be able to play. The e-stuffing of the online ballot box served as karmic payback for Fowler's surprising decision to return on a one-year "pillow" deal after feeling teams undervalued him during free agency in the winter of 2016. After leaving the Cubs in December, Fowler lost a sizable voting bloc when he traded in his blue uniform for a red one. In the first results of 2017 All-Star balloting, Fowler was a distant 11th among NL outfielders, well behind the Cubs' Jason Heyward (third), Ben Zobrist (fourth) and Schwarber (fifth). Nothing personal. But as far as Cubs fans' voting habits are concerned, he goes, they go. -- Chicago Tribune 'Luckiest guy in the world!:' Anthony Rizzo gets engaged By Phil Thompson Now that piece of World Series jewelry with the 108 diamonds that Anthony Rizzo received in April becomes only the second-most important ring in his life. The Cubs first baseman announced his engagement to Emily Vakos late Thursday with a ring emoji and a message to fans. "Luckiest guy in the world! She said YES. Future Mr. & Mrs. Rizzo," Rizzo tweeted. Congratulations poured in from fans and teammates such as Kris Bryant, Justin Grimm, Brian Duensing and mental skills coordinator John Baker. The tweet, which includes a picture of the couple with the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan as a backdrop, received more than 33,000 likes and 5,200 retweets in two hours. According to a Linkedin page under her name, Vakos is a real estate broker who graduated from Arizona State University. -- Chicago Sun-Times Starts and fits: Cub rotation big part of woes, key to what comes next By Gordon Wittenmyer Blame the Cubs’ awful production at the plate. The lineup certainly deserves plenty of it. Or blame the team’s poor start on an inexplicable decline in fielding at several positions (only three teams have allowed more unearned runs than the Cubs’ 27). Or even blame #FakeNews — the idea that this 25-27 start only seems so terrible because of unfair expectations after last season. But save the real blame and scrutiny for a rotation that might be “trending,” as manager Joe Maddon likes to say, but remains the biggest reason for the Cubs’ starts and fits. Dressed for success? Jon Lester and John Lackey may hold the the keys to where the Cubs' season goes from here. And the biggest cause for concern. And, maybe, the biggest chance for salvation. “It starts on the mound,’’ Kyle Hendricks said. ‘‘We’re the ones with the ball in our hands, so we’re the ones that have to stop it, regardless of how the offense is going.”

Hendricks, who led the majors with a 2.13 ERA last year, has been one of the bright spots since a rough three-start stretch to open the season. He has a 2.81 ERA in seven starts since then. But even he was tagged for five runs — including a grand slam — in his start during the Cubs’ just-concluded 0-6 road trip to Southern California. It was a four-batter sequence building to the slam that turned that game Monday after he had retired the first 10 Padres. That’s part of why Maddon keeps saying, “I think our starters are going in the right direction,” as he did again after Jake Arrieta’s strong start in a 2-1 loss Wednesday. But the Hendricks moment also underscores the lack of margin this team is working with and the kind of hard hits that are undoing a rotation that led the majors last year with a 2.96 ERA and 100 quality starts and returned its top four starters. “If we throw up zeros, we’ve got a good chance of winning,” Hendricks said. “Giving up four or five in five games, that’s not what we’ve got to be doing right now. ‘‘It’s not necessarily putting pressure on us, but it’s got to start with us on the mound.” The Cubs are still waiting for it to start. Two months in, the rotation has a 4.64 ERA (22nd in the majors) and 20 quality starts (25th). Brett Anderson was a poor replacement for fifth starter Jason Hammel before going on the disabled list early in May. Eddie Butler has been mostly disappointing as a replacement for Anderson. John Lackey, 38, had a scoreless seven-inning start in Colorado but a 5.90 ERA in his other nine starts. He has allowed 10 earned runs (including five homers) in 15„ innings since the start against the Rockies. The rotation didn’t have a quality start during the winless trip until Arrieta’s six-inning start. It allowed 26 runs in 23‰ innings the first five games of the trip (9.89 ERA). Arrieta has looked sharper in recent starts, adding some velocity and an effective curveball. Jon Lester threw the staff’s only complete game barely a week ago. And Hendricks might be in the midst of a strong run. But the home runs are up, the margin for error is way down, the questions are up and the front office is well down the road in its search for pitching help as it eyes the trade deadline less than two months away. “The quickest way that our season can get hamstrung is if we suffer an injury or two with our starting staff,” team president Theo Epstein said. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the current group of healthy starters — even swing lefty Mike Montgomery, who soon could get his shot to start. That group figures to be the key to whether the Cubs go anywhere this year, and how far. “Starting pitching is where it starts and ends,” Arrieta said. “If we’re able to alleviate some of the pressure and some of the thought that we’re going to have to score five or six runs to win today, then we’ll be OK. “That’s our job as starting pitchers, to set the tone.” --

Chicago Sun-Times Welcome back to Wrigley, Dexter Fowler — it’s too bad you can’t stay By Steve Greenberg ST. LOUIS — A few days before his return to Wrigley Field for a weekend series against the Cubs, Dexter Fowler flashed his signature ear-to-ear smile in the Cardinals’ clubhouse as he ticked off the items on his Chicago to-do list. “Win some ballgames, hopefully,” he said. “That always helps.” The Cubs, coming off a West Coast trip from hell, will have to take his word for it. “Probably kick it with Rizz and J-Hey. We might grab dinner or something.” Breaking bread with old pals Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward? Now that sounds like fun. “But you know what the biggest thing is, right?” Fowler said. “The biggest thing is getting that ring.” Ah, yes, that World Series ring. The Cubs will present Fowler with his before the series opener Friday. It’s certain to be a special moment for all involved — not to mention a reminder of how much the Cubs miss a player who gave them one of the best seasons of his career at the top of their lineup in 2016. Last season, at 30, Fowler delivered a team- and career-high on-base percentage of .393. And he sizzled through the first two months of the season, batting .317 with a .434 OBP as the Cubs entered June a full 20 games above .500. Think they could use a guy like that right about now? The 2017 Cubs, who stagger into Friday with a strange and unsettling record of 25-27, have had a stark absence of giddy-up at the top of their lineup. The only way it could be worse would be if manager Joe Maddon were writing his own name into the leadoff spot. Did the Cubs blow it by deciding not to re-sign the well-liked center fielder, who instead joined the Cardinals for $82.5 million over five years? We probably should stick with “no” for now. So many young stars on the Cubs, all of them of higher priority. But the fans sure miss the guy known to all as Dex. “They showed me so much love,” he said. “It’s going to be good to see them again. I can’t wait to see everybody in the bleachers.” And there’s no denying the Cubs miss Fowler, too. Fowler said all the right things during his time with the Cubs, never rocking the boat despite what felt to him like an endless stream of media questions and public speculation about his contract status and future. His mantra: Take what’s given to you and enjoy the time you have. In the end, though, the Cubs believed it was best to move on without him, and to think Fowler felt no pain or disappointment in that rejection is naïve. He’ll enjoy getting his ring, seeing former teammates, waving at the fans and all that good stuff. But the day will be a reminder for him, too — of who wanted him and who didn’t. “It’s good to be missed,” he said, “because that means you were wanted.” Fowler’s transition to the Cardinals hasn’t been as smooth as he or the team hoped it would be. Two months into the season, he’s “still trying to get accustomed to being over here.” His own slow start in the leadoff role — he’s batting only .230 with a .317 OBP — hasn’t helped.

Yet Fowler had six hits in three games last weekend in Colorado. In the Cards’ 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Dodgers, he smacked a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning. As he ran to the outfield for the top of the ninth, fans in the Busch Stadium bleachers greeted him like a hero. “He’s looking much better — he’s looking more like Dex,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I think we all know it’s going to be there. He just has to continue to do what he’s done for so long, so well.” Fowler was in a 1-for-25 slump when he got his first hit in the aforementioned series against the Rockies. It was a line drive that looked at first like shortstop Trevor Story might make a play on — more bad luck, Fowler figured. “I was like, ‘Aw, again?’ ” he said. “But then it went under his glove, and I was like, ‘Yes!’ I was excited about that. It might be shaking out a little bit for me. I obviously haven’t had any luck. Hopefully, it’s turning around.” If Fowler were still with the Cubs instead, would it have been easier for him to get it going? Would he have been able to hold together an offense that has been AWOL without him? It doesn’t really matter. He’s gone, and that’s that. But this weekend, he’s back. It’ll be nice to reconnect. “We experienced something that had never been done in 108 years,” he said. “You never take anything like that lightly. We had fun times over there. We were world champions.” It sure has a nice ring to it. -- Daily Herald Cubs, Cardinals both looking to get on track By Bruce Miles The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in the same boat. Whoever rights the ship first may be able to capture the one and only playoff spot that's likely to come out of the National League Central this season. Both teams have struggled to play .500 ball, with the defending world-champion Cubs being the bigger disappointment at 25-27 going into this weekend's series against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. If you were to read media accounts from each city, you could substitute the names of the teams and players for the other city and see how similar things have been for each club. To wit, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote this about the Cardinals earlier in the week: "The sputtering Cardinals must find strength in numbers to stay in the playoff race this season. This .500 team features more question marks than exclamation points. Injuries, illness and slumps have kept the lineup and bullpen in flux all season. "Quantity is not the issue for this franchise. The Cardinals have prospects stacked on top of prospects, creating considerable near- and long-term job competition. But can promoted players give this team a midseason boost? And will general manager John Mozeliak bundle some organizational surpluses into a significant trade package? That will determine if the Cardinals get back into postseason play. They still need an impact hitter for the middle of the order and another solid reliever for the bullpen." Sound familiar? It should. The Cubs are facing some of the same issues.

The saving grace for both teams is that no one is running away with the Central. The surprising Milwaukee Brewers, who are supposed to be rebuilding, entered Thursday leading the division, followed by the Cardinals and the Cubs. Nobody expects the Brewers to stay on top, which seemingly leaves the NL Central wide open for either the Cubs or their Gateway Arch rivals, the Cardinals, to take. Winning the Central looks to be a must, with a furious division and wild-card race shaping up in the West. So far, the Cardinals have been more proactive in trying to shore up things. They've done so by shaking things up. Earlier this week, they released veteran relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton, eating the remaining $3.75 million salary in 2017, minus the prorated minimum if another team picks him up. The Cardinals also engineered somewhat of a shocker, sending outfielder Randal Grichuk to Class A ball to get his swing in order. Grichuk, touted as the next big thing in St. Louis, had the game-winning hit against the Cubs on Opening Night in St. Louis. There have been calls for the Cubs to shake up things as well, but team president Theo Epstein told reporters this week that he's inclined to stand pat -- at least for now. If there's a player in a similar situation to Grichuk on the Cubs, it's outfielder Kyle Schwarber. The Cubs have resisted sending Schwarber to the minor leagues despite Schwarber posting a hitting line of .165/.286/.341 with 8 homers and 19 RBI. Grichuk was sent down after compiling 1,125 plate appearances in the major leagues since 2014. Schwarber, a postseason hero in 2015 and 2016, has 484 plate appearances in the big leagues. The Cubs did remove Schwarber from the leadoff spot on May 20. The Cardinals are having similar problems with the leadoff position, and the man on the spot is ex-Cub Dexter Fowler, who signed a five-year, $82.5 million free-agent deal in the off-season. Fowler has posted better numbers of late, going 10-for-30 over the previous week entering Thursday's game against the Dodgers. That included what turned out to be a game-winning homer Wednesday night. However, Fowler batted only .221 in May, and his season line heading into Thursday was .228/.313/.433, with 7 homers and 19 RBI. That performance has led to calls for the Cardinals to drop Fowler in the order and use Matt Carpenter at the top. There should be some feel-good emotion for Fowler this weekend. He will receive his World Series ring before Friday's game, and he could be the first Cardinals player in recent memory to receive a warm ovation from the Wrigley Field crowd. Part of that may be a little wistfulness from Cubs fans who might not mind seeing Fowler back in blue at Wrigley Field. By the numbers Cardinals Cubs W-L 25-25 25-27 BA .252 .235 OB% .324 .324 SLG% .406 .405

RISP .233 .211 Runs scored 210 240 Home runs 51 66 Run differential -2.0 0.0 ERA 3.75 4.08 WHIP 1.28 1.33 Source: Teamrankings.com. All statistics are through Wednesday. -- Daily Herald Constable: Attendance at Wrigley Field is behind last year's pace By Burt Constable When the Chicago Cubs open a 10-game homestand Friday at Wrigley Field with an afternoon game against those pesky St. Louis Cardinals, we fans will make some news. Friday should be the day that we push the Wrigley Field attendance past the 1 million mark for the year. Drawing a million fans by the start of June is a good indicator that the Cubs should lure 3 million fans to Wrigley again this season. But, just like the team, which is returning from a winless road trip with a lousy record of 25-27, those attendance numbers are a bit underwhelming. With an average of 38,619 fans per game, the 2017 Cubs are behind last year's pace, when Wrigley averaged 39,906 a game and drew a total of 3,232,420. Even last year's glorious World Series Championship run didn't set attendance records. Every season from 2004 through 2011, the Cubs drew more than 3 million fans, with 2008 (3,300,200) and 2007 (3,252,462) holding down the top two spots. The Central Division championship teams of 2008 and 2007 also set the marks for best average attendance with 40,743 and 40,154, respectively. With new seats added for this season, the Wrigley Field capacity is 41,268. But the team can squeeze in more when necessary. Last Oct. 22, when the Cubs won the National League pennant for the first time since 1945 with a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the attendance was listed at 42,386. For the three World Series games at Wrigley Field, the official attendance was 41,703 for Game 3, 41,706 for Game 4 and 41,711 for Game 5. The record for a Wrigley Field Cubs crowd was 46,572 paid and 47,101 in attendance when Jackie Robinson played his first game at Wrigley on May 18, 1947. A Robinson honor on the 70th anniversary of that game drew 36,023. The smallest crowd ever to see the Cubs at Wrigley was on Sept. 21, 1966, when just 530 people watched the bad Cubs beat the mediocre Cincinnati Reds 9-3. It's fun to be at Wrigley when the sun is shining, the bleachers are packed, and fans sport a party atmosphere. In 1984, my schedule allowed me to attend 23 games, 21 of which the Cubs won, including the memorable "Sandberg Game," when Ryne Sandberg hit home runs off Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter in the 9th and 10th innings to set the stage for a Dave Owen walk-off single that gave the Cubs a 12-11 victory before 38,079 screaming fans. But some of my best days at Wrigley Field were spent in the pre-1985 era, when bleacher seats didn't go on sale until the day of the game.

If you got there a couple of hours before game time, the ticket window across from the firehouse on Waveland would sell you great box seats, which were turned in by players who reserved tickets for wives and girlfriends who didn't show. In the late 1970s, if my college roommate and I each had 5 bucks, we could take the L from Evanston to Wrigley and back, buy Big Gulps from the 7-Eleven across from Wrigley and each buy a bleacher ticket. Sometimes, I'd go by myself. The Cubs averaged about 12,000 a game in those years, and there were days in the late 1970s and early '80s when only a few thousand would be on hand. The upper deck would be closed, and fans could spread out. The Cubs didn't draw 2 million fans in a season until 1984. Several times during those lean years, I saw Bill Veeck, the former White Sox owner who grew up at Wrigley Field and helped plant the ivy that covers the outfield walls in 1937, taking in a game from the center field bleachers. On hot days, Veeck took off his shirt. I remember talking to him once, when he opened the ashtray built into his wooden leg and deposited the ashes from his cigarette. Had there been giant video screens, 40,000 people in the park and a pennant race going on, I might have missed that. -- Cubs.com Take 5: Identifying fixes for Cubs' problems By Phil Rogers CHICAGO -- Welcome back to real baseball, Cubs fans. While the historic 2016 season wasn't perfect, it can seem like it in hindsight. A double-digit lead in the National League Central on June 6 allowed Joe Maddon's team to play on house money, and every time Theo Epstein had to buy a vowel, two or three of them would be uncovered. The postseason run was pure magic. Baseball isn't often like that. It's hard -- like the 2017 season has been for the Cubs. Just ask the 1997 Yankees, 2005 Red Sox or '06 White Sox. There are always teams like this year's Astros and Nationals ready to step up and grab your mojo. Maddon and Epstein can't put the genie back in the bottle. Dexter Fowler isn't returning as the leadoff man/center fielder (although he will be at Wrigley Field over the weekend with the Cardinals). Kyle Hendricks isn't going to lead the NL in ERA again. But for every issue, there is a solution. And here are five of them as we turn the calendar to June and look ahead to a 10-game homestand for the Cubs while trying to help them get ready for a late-June visit to Washington. Issue No. 1: The starting rotation has a 4.64 ERA, which ranks 22nd in the Major Leagues. It was the best in baseball, at 2.96, last year. Solution: Trade for Gerrit Cole. The Pirates aren't ready to hoist a white flag where the Jolly Roger flies, but the Cubs should have a big offer ready for when that time comes. Cole is a difference-maker, and he is under control for two years beyond 2017. Cole would join Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta to give the Cubs thump at the top of the rotation, lessening the load on John Lackey and Hendricks, and allow Maddon to use Brett Anderson or Eddie Butler only as sixth starters. The price would be somewhere between steep and exorbitant, but the Cubs could meet it -- even if Epstein had to swallow hard and deal Javier Baez or Ian Happ within the division.

Chris Archer would be an even better arm to land than Cole, as his contract runs through 2021, but the Rays are looking more like contenders than sellers (they've won 10 of 15 to go two games over .500). There are many half-measure moves that could also fill the need -- headed by the rental of a free agent-to-be like Yu Darvish -- but why not think big? Issue No. 2: Kyle Schwarber is human after all, hitting .164 with a -0.9 WAR, lowest among 34 players that have played for the Cubs this season. Solution: Send Schwarber to Triple-A Iowa. Because Schwarber rose so quickly, the 2014 first-rounder has two Minor League options remaining, making this a simple decision. It may not yet be the time to do this, however, as the Cubs are scheduled to face right-handers in their next eight games. So Maddon can play Schwarber every day awhile longer. But if Schwarber doesn't find his stroke soon, it will be time to give him a mental break, bring back role player Tommy La Stella and lock in Ben Zobrist as the regular left fielder. Another option is promote Jeimer Candelario to play third and shift Kris Bryant to left field. Issue No. 3: Team defense has gone from historically good to average, at best. Solution: Play your top defensive lineup on a regular basis. Stop moving Jason Heyward between right field and center field, locking him in at the corner. Turn center over to Albert Almora Jr., in the hope he'll become more consistent with more playing time. Baez hasn't replicated his brilliance from October, with far too many costly mistakes. But the daily issue is the decline in outfield defense with Fowler gone and Schwarber in left (-5 Defensive Runs Saved, per FanGraphs). Improved play out there would help the rotation and reduce the 4.6 runs per game opponents are scoring (1.2 more than last season). Issue No. 4: No one is getting big hits. The team is batting .209 with runners in scoring position, 29th in the Majors (ahead of only the Royals). Solution: None needed. Check back in a month. Clutch hitting runs in cycles and is only put under the microscope when real deficiencies seem to daily narrow games down to a handful of at-bats. We'll bet you didn't know it but the Cubs ranked 21st in the Majors last year by hitting .252 with runners in scoring position. Issue No. 5: The Cubs are missing Fowler in the leadoff spot. Solution: Take a long look at Happ there. He may not get on base as often as Zobrist, who is the safest replacement after the Schwarber experiment, but he's got a dynamic presence like Fowler. Happ has cooled off since his fast start, but he could respond to the chance to hit at the top of the order, not in the middle of it. There's no way the Cubs will again lead the Majors in leadoff OBP, as they did last year (.341). But they've raised that mark to .315, 21st in the Majors, since transitioning from Schwarber to Zobrist. They need to develop a long-term replacement for Fowler in that role, and Happ seems a good place to start. Can Maddon find regular playing time for Happ, Schwarber, Zobrist and Baez? That's a good question, and it may just lead us back to Issue No. 1. -- Cubs.com Marshall, Zielinski to represent Cubs at Draft By Mark Newman

Hall of Famer George Brett and 17 other former All-Stars will be among 54 baseball dignitaries representing the 30 Major League clubs at MLB Network's Studio 42 when the three-day MLB Draft gets underway on June 12. There's a bestselling author (Rick Ankiel) and the author of a perfect game (Dallas Braden). There's the pitcher who ended the Curse of the Bambino (Keith Foulke). There are two former Rookie of the Year Award winners in Ron Kittle and Gary Matthews, a National League Cy Young Award winner in Randy Jones, an NL batting champion in Michael Cuddyer, and a manager of World Series and World Baseball Classic champions (Jim Leyland). Major League Baseball announced the annual list of club representatives on Thursday, and as usual, it is a star-studded gathering from the past that will man the phones and help welcome the future on the first night of selections. Commissioner Rob Manfred will announce the first-round selections, and then the club reps will do the honors the remainder of the evening. In addition to Brett, former All-Stars on the Draft floor will include Felipe Alou, Bob Boone, Ron Cey, Cuddyer, Foulke, Ralph Garr, Jeffrey Hammonds, Joel Hanrahan, Corey Hart, Orlando Hudson, Randy Jones, Ruppert Jones, Kittle, Matthews, Lloyd Moseby, Mike Sweeney and Nick Swisher. There will be a lot of story-telling and a lot of phone calls to team war rooms. Tommy Lasorda, the 89-year-old Hall of Famer who has been a club-rep fixture at this event each year for the Dodgers, will not be able to attend following surgery last Thursday to replace a pacemaker. But in his place at the club's table will be Cey, one of his on-field fixtures at third base in the '70s and '80s. The MLB Draft has a rich tradition of family legacies being selected, and famous MLB families will be well-represented on the floor. Boone, the catcher on the Phillies' 1980 World Series champions and a former manager for Kansas City and Cincinnati, is the son of All-Star Ray Boone and the father of former All-Stars Aaron and Bret Boone. Alou is the eldest of the three Alou brothers from the Dominican Republic who each spent at least 15 years in the Majors, and the father of six-time All-Star Moises Alou. Jose Molina, representing the Angels, is one of the Molina brothers from Puerto Rico, including Yadier and Bengie, who became catching fixtures and regulars in the postseason. MLB Network and MLB.com will have live coverage of Day 1 of the Draft at 7 p.m. ET on June 12. MLB Network will broadcast the first 36 picks (Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A), while MLB.com will stream all 75 picks. MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, starting at 1 p.m. ET. Then, rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on June 14, beginning at noon ET. Prior to the start of the Draft, MLB Network and MLB.com will air a Draft preview show, starting at 6 p.m. ET. Of course, the previewing already is well underway. Go to MLB.com/draft to see the Top 100 Prospects list, projected top picks from MLBPipeline.com analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the complete order of selection and more. And follow @MLBDraft on Twitter to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying. Amateur players who will attend the Draft will be announced at a later date. The full list of Draft reps: Angels: Molina, Brian Tripp A's: Braden Astros: Enos Cabell, Mike Wickham Blue Jays: Moseby, Mike Tidick Braves: Jeff Francoeur, Garr Brewers: Hart, Gord Ash Cardinals: Ankiel Cubs: Sean Marshall, Zach Zielinski D-backs: Hudson, Rick Matsko Dodgers: Cey, Lon Joyce Giants: Alou, John DiCarlo Indians: Mike Jackson

Mariners: Jones, Rob Mummau Marlins: Juan Pierre, Bill Beck Mets: Todd Zeile, Claude Pelletier Nationals: Boone, Johnny DiPuglia Orioles: Jeffrey Hammonds, Tripp Norton Padres: Jones Phillies: Del Unser, Matthews Pirates: Joel Hanrahan Rangers: David Murphy Rays: Fernando Perez, Lou Wieben Reds: Austin Kearns, Larry Barton Jr. Red Sox: Foulke, John Pyle Rockies: Clint Barmes, Jesse Stender Royals: Brett, Sweeney Tigers: Jim Leyland, Murray Cook Twins: Cuddyer, John Wilson White Sox: Kittle, Kevin Coe Yankees: Swisher, Denis Boucher -- ESPNChicago.com Is meeting with rival Cardinals the remedy for Cubs' struggles? By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- This is where the Chicago Cubs are as June 2 dawns: two games under .500 after a disastrous 0-6 road trip, but looking forward to a new month and a 10-game homestand. If there was ever a time for the Cubs to reset their season, it’s now. We heard that kind of talk a lot last month, but after going 12-16, May won’t be remembered kindly. "Once we get back home, we have that off day to kind of decompress," Kyle Schwarber said Wednesday after the Cubs' latest loss in San Diego. "Just take that mental breather. It will be good to be back in Chicago and in front of the home crowd again and start a whole new fresh slate." Schwarber, more than anyone, could use that mental break. It remains to be seen if the day off the team enjoyed Thursday will help him snap out of his season-long funk (.165/.286/.341), but at this rate the Cubs will try to find anything positive. The biggest assists this week came from the other teams in the division. They were just as bad, at least until Thursday when the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers both won. Even so, not one National League Central team has a winning record over the past 10 games. As the Cubs begin a series with the rival Cardinals on Friday, Chicago is in third place in the division, three games behind first-place Milwaukee and 1.5 games behind second-place St. Louis. Only five games separate first and last place with four months to play. It illuminates the meaning of one of the oldest maxims in sports: You have to win games in your division to win the division. And this season it could have more meaning than ever. "It probably does," Cubs manager Joe Maddon admitted. "We’re just morphing into June right now. There’s a lot of time to go. If we were playing our best game in this position, I’d be a little bit more concerned. We have not hit to our potential yet, so I believe that our guys will. Then hopefully that will be a moot point."

Maddon can only offer hope because he can’t know for sure what’s going to happen. But as team president Theo Epstein put it a few days ago, the Cubs would have to "roll snake eyes" to be this bad on offense for the entire season. Positivity remains the name of the game inside the Cubs' clubhouse. "If you stay down in the dumps, it can drag you all the way down," Schwarber said. Along those lines, the idea of leadership has recently come up within the locker room. Mostly it’s been the press asking where it will come from. It’s not a bad narrative to explore considering every other aspect of the Cubs' performance at the plate has been examined. If it is all mental, then the voices speaking to the players can play an important part. Ironically, two of the Cubs' 2016 leaders, free-agent departure Dexter Fowler and retiree David Ross, will be at Wrigley Field this weekend. Fowler plays for the Cardinals now, but before Ross broadcasts the game from the bleachers for ESPN on Sunday night, he might be able to shed some light on what’s up with his old team. "There is a growth process going on," Ross said Thursday during a phone interview. "I think we all would be shocked if there was no dip in the growth. I would also be shocked if they didn’t bounce back from this and win the division. "Shocked." Ross echoed the sentiments of another leader who has seemingly taken on an even bigger role after the departures of others. At least publicly, Jason Heyward has become one of the main voices in the Cubs' clubhouse. Perhaps that’s no surprise, considering his Game 7 rain-delay heroics last season. His opinion comes from the experience of one who has struggled. He’s been there, but many of the young Cubs have not. What can a guy like Schwarber draw on when things go south? "When you don’t have swings, when you don’t have confidence, when you don’t have enough to go back to, it makes it tougher," Heyward said. "You don’t have that muscle memory built up." Is it possible that the young Cubs had too much success too early and now have to figure things out while trying to defend a title? There are worse scenarios, and of course they should be better for it when they come out the other side. But will it be at the cost of the division? "Just inconsistency of a young group," Ross said. "Some of that stuff is hidden when you get good starting pitching." Ross may have hit on something, because people may have forgotten (or didn't realize) that the Cubs were ranked 10th in the National League last season in hitting with men in scoring position. That’s better than 15th, where they rank now, but it’s not as if they lit the world on fire. In 2016, they pitched lights-out, and that covered a few offensive warts. This year, everything is being exposed. "You can’t slow the game down enough," Heyward said regarding the tough times. "You can’t slow life down enough." They might be saying the same in locker rooms across the NL Central. Those teams, though, must feel emboldened by the Cubs' play in first two months, while the Cubs feel fortunate that the Cardinals and Brewers can be overtaken with just a few days of good baseball. Plus, according to ESPN Stats & Information, 11 teams since 1996 have begun June at least two games under .500 yet have gone on to win the division. Another adage now applies -- every division game is worth two in the standings -- so this weekend provides a chance at a six-game swing if one team sweeps. It means the Cubs' West Coast debacle has to be forgotten quickly, and though Ross can only cheer from the bleachers -- like the rest of the fans this weekend -- he can offer advice from afar. The Cubs should take it.

"The main thing is keeping the sanity within the group," he said. "You can grow from these situations. "There is great leadership from the front office on down. I don’t worry about that. They’re just not getting the big hit. They will get it. I’m sure of it." -- CSNChicago.com What We Learned About The Cubs In May By Tony Andracki What a difference a week makes. This time last week, the Cubs were leaving Wrigley Field dressed like Ron Burgandy and Champ Kind and Joe Maddon was delivering lines about foot fetishes. The Cubs were feeling themselves...and LOOKING themselves. They had just wrapped up a 7-2 homestand, plowing through the likes of the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field and starting to play more like the 2016 version of themselves in all facets of the game: pitching, defense and offense. Now, the Cubs are enjoying a much-needed off-day to unwind from an 0-6 West Coast trip that saw them get shut out twice by the Los Angeles Dodgers, rock Clayton Kershaw but still lose the game and then get outscored 13-5 by the San Diego Padres, the only team that has a 0.0 percent chance of making the postseason by FanGraphs' metrics. In fact, it was the first time in 44 years the team with the most losses in baseball swept the defending champs this late in the season, as the Elias Sports Bureau pointed out. May was more than just the ups and downs of the last two weeks, however. Here are five things we learned about the 2017 Cubs in the season's second month: These aren't the 2016 Cubs. No, the Cubs are not struggling because David Ross and Dexter Fowler are gone. But things are definitely different this year, even though much of the roster is intact from the World Series run. A year ago at this time, the Cubs were sitting atop baseball with a 35-15 record and dominant +128 run differential. They're now 25-27, 2.5 games out of first place and have an even 0 as a run differential. The Cubs didn't lose their 27th game in 2016 until the last few days of June. All that being said, FanGraphs still pegs the Cubs with an 81.9 percent of making the playoffs and a 10.6 percent chance of winning the World Series. The American League style offense hasn't shown up yet. I thought the Cubs would take a step forward offensively with full seasons of Kyle Schwarber and Willson Contreras and a potential return to form. But that hasn't occurred. The Cubs woke up Thursday morning ranking 14th in baseball in runs scored, just two runs ahead of the rebuilding White Sox.

If you look at OPS, the numbers paint a much bleaker picture: The Cubs rank 23rd out of 30 with a .728 team OPS. And all this with Kris Bryant building off his MVP campaign by posting a .933 OPS and on pace for 34 homers, 106 runs and 109 walks. Ian Happ isn't the savior. The second week of May brought about what seemed like a revolution on the roster as Happ exploded onto the scene and became the latest in a long line of impact rookies immediately finding success in the big leagues. But even with that scorching start, Happ's average is down to .214 and his OPS sits at .741. He's also striking out in more than a third of his plate appearances (34.4 percent) even if he is walking at an above-average pace (10.9 percent). Those struggles are to be expected from a guy that played just 91 games above the Class-A level. Nobody figured he would basically average an extra-base hit a game forever. Happ's arrival has pushed one thing that may stick throughout the season: Moving Ben Zobrist to the leadoff spot. All along, it seemed Zobrist's skillset bore the closest resemblance to Fowler on the 2017 roster, but Joe Maddon always deployed Zobrist in that cleanup spot to help provide protection to Anthony Rizzo. When Happ emerged as an offensive force, Maddon was able to move Zobrist to the leadoff spot and bump the slumping Schwarber down a spot, utilizing Happ as the Rizzo protection (for a time, anyways). Obviously the short-term results haven't been perfect given the Cubs just lost six straight games and scored only nine runs on the West Coast trip. But overall, it seems Zobrist will be an ideal fit atop the lineup in the long run. The rotation has not found its groove yet. Coming out of spring training, pitching — namely the rotation — was the main concern regarding this Cubs team. Sure, there are a whole host of long-term pitching questions with this franchise, but focusing just on 2017, the question of depth has already shown itself. Overall, I thought the pitching staff would be solid because any fall back to Earth from the starting rotation would/could be offset by the plethora of high-powered options in the bullpen. Of course, that hasn't played out, but that's mainly because the starting rotation has taken an enormous leap backwards. Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks have had their ups and downs, but the real issue stems from the fact the four and five starters (John Lackey plus a Brett Anderson/Eddie Butler combo) have combined for just five quality starts in 20 tries. That's putting a lot of stress on the bullpen to get a lot of outs. The Brett Anderson experiment hasn't worked out and Eddie Butler may be 2-1 in four starts, but he's walked 13 batters in 18.1 innings and carries a 1.58 WHIP and 4.42 ERA. As Jake Arrieta said Wednesday, the Cubs' turnaround hinges on the starting rotation at least taking steps toward their 2016 form, even if they can't duplicate the driving force behind the 103-win campaign. Patience is key. It has to be. What else can the Cubs do? Maddon has already shaken up the lineup and there's always the risk his Madd Scientist ways can become stale or be tuned out by the players.

Theo Epstein's front office still has two months until the trade deadline and their top trade piece (Happ) is currently playing on a daily basis in the big leagues. Schwarber will not continue to struggle this much offensively. Neither will Addison Russell. Or Rizzo for that matter. Signs point to Arrieta being pretty unlucky during these first two months, even if his velocity is down. Jon Lester and John Lackey have long track records of success at a higher level than they're achieving right now. Apart from a rough start in San Diego (that was dragged down by a grand slam), Kyle Hendricks has been really good since the middle of April. The Cubs are simply too talented and deep to continue to play at a .500 clip for the rest of the season and they are fortunate to play in baseball's worst division, where no team has shown any indication of separating from the pack. If the same problems still exist to this level in next month's "what we learned" column, then you could convince me much more easily that it's time to "panic." But the baseball season is a marathon and we all knew the Cubs weren't going to just coast to a second straight championship. Let's see what happens in June. -- CSNChicago.com How To Survive Playing At Wrigley Field When Cubs Are Getting 'Punched In The Teeth' By Patrick Mooney SAN DIEGO – Anthony Rizzo didn’t walk over to the sound system and start blasting the “Rocky” theme song. But it still sounded like he was channeling his inner “Italian Stallion,” the way he tried to loosen up the Cubs during last year’s World Series run. “We’ve gotten punched in the teeth the last two months,” Rizzo said. “You’re going to get up or you’re going to stay down. It’s up to us to decide what we’re going to do. “I have full confidence in all of us that we’re going to get up and sprint and get this thing going, sooner than later.” Rizzo stood in Petco Park’s cramped, dimly lit clubhouse late Tuesday night, a few steps over from where Kyle Schwarber had hunched over a laptop studying video while still wearing his full uniform and Nike cleats after a frustrating loss to the last-place Padres. Roughly 12 hours later, Schwarber (.165 average) sat at the same table next to Willson Contreras, talking at length with catching/strategy coach Mike Borzello. It’s too simplistic and sort of misleading to call Rizzo the leader of this team. His All-Star production, roots planted in Chicago and above-and-beyond commitment to charity work and cancer research certainly make him a face-of-the-franchise player. But Rizzo’s clubhouse influence is better understood as an embedded competitive drive and a short memory. It’s the ability to forget about it and focus on the next pitch. It’s almost like playing with noise-canceling headphones, not feeling tight during those high-pressure moments. That’s exactly what the Cubs need after laboring through an 0-6 West Coast trip. Don’t bother wondering where this team would be with Dexter Fowler and David Ross when the Cardinals invade Wrigley Field this weekend. Even at 25-27 — the franchise’s lowest point since the end of a last-place season in 2014 — the nucleus of a World Series winner is still here.

“The most important thing is to not get down,” Jake Arrieta said. “Because if we do that, it’s going to continue to snowball and continue to go in this direction. A positive mindset has to be maintained to the best of our ability. And if we can do that and not let things linger, I think we’ll be OK.” Whether it’s Arrieta facing rounds of questions about his velocity and looming free agency, or a pressing lineup hitting .209 with runners in scoring position, or a defense that drifts in and out of focus (38 errors in 52 games), the Cubs are dealing with forces beyond mechanical adjustments or extra work in the cage. With that in mind, here are five takeaways from this week’s Cubs Talk podcast with John Baker, the former big-league catcher now working as one of the organization’s mental skills coordinators. • R-E-L-A-X. “Baseball’s an incredibly stressful game that’s inherent with tremendous amounts of failure,” Baker said. “It’s really hard for people sometimes to completely emotionally grasp what’s happening. We just played probably the most emotional game that all of these players (from 2016) will ever play in their lives in Game 7 of that World Series. “The famous quote from that game when you watch it is when Rizzo goes over to David Ross and he tells him how emotional it is and he says: ‘Hey, man, all you can do is breathe.’ What do you tell little kids when they get freaked out? Take a deep breath. Well, there’s science behind that and there’s also thousands of years of people investigating it.” • The Cubs certainly didn’t project Arrieta as a Cy Young Award winner when they made that change-of-scenery trade with the Orioles in July 2013, but they gathered enough sources to vouch for his personality and work ethic to believe that his raw abilities would be worth betting on. Weeks earlier, the Cubs zeroed in on Kris Bryant with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, sensing he could handle the nonstop attention and the weight of being seen as a franchise savior. “Our scouting department is fantastic,” Baker said. “It’s not just that these kids are the kind of people that have the physical capabilities to play baseball. (It’s doing) enough background to realize what kind of people these kids actually are – and what motivates them and drives them and what doesn’t freak them out — because that’s a big part of Wrigley Field. “I can remember as a visiting player, as a rookie, walking into that ballpark for the first time and seeing Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez and looking around like: ‘Oh my God, this has been around forever. Babe Ruth called his shot here.’ And then like missing a block in the dirt and it just kind of spiraling. “Those are things that happen to people. (But) they do such an incredible job (finding) guys who are not just great players, but like bulletproof, mentally tough kids who don’t freak out.” • Within three years, Schwarber has gone from first-round pick to hotshot rookie on a 97-win team to the disabled list to World Series legend to leadoff guy to platoon player to people wondering if he should get sent to the minors. Ending the 108-year drought only took some heat off the Cubs. “I’ve got some theories about winter,” said Baker, who played six seasons with the Marlins and Padres and still has a good sense of humor. “It makes people angry. And then summer, everybody gets hammered and goes crazy. I got those theories about Chicago. There’s a real strong sense of we got to get it all in when it’s hot, which I love about Chicago. “No, I think that the team has been there for so long and it’s such a fabric of (the city). It’s like the streets there. It’s like the buildings. The Cubs are Chicago. Losing for so long — I think people really related to that. Because of that, there’s a big media presence and there’s a lot of intense scrutiny on the players.

“There’s just a lot more attention on baseball in Chicago than there is in San Diego or Florida. And when you step onto the field, or you walk through the concourse at Wrigley Field, you can physically feel the difference.” • Baker played one season with the Cubs and became the popular backup catcher on an 89-loss team because of his ability to connect with pitchers, big-brother relationship with Rizzo, active presence on social media and a 0.00 career ERA. So just think about what the head rush must be like if you’re part of The Team in Chicago. “I can’t imagine,” Baker said. “I don’t want to call them problems. But when you think about things on that scale, you really have to consider like: ‘Well, what does Michael Jordan do?’ I don’t know, because this is novel territory for us. This is new ground for any team. Fortunately for us, we have a front office here that went through a similar thing in Boston. “It’s guidance from the top on how to handle things like this. Theo (Epstein and his guys) have been there before. They know the mistakes that they made the first time, and their plan has adjusted and shifted based on the information they got out of that.” • For all the Game 7 grief and daily dissections of his lineups and bullpen decisions, it took two full seasons and two months before a Cubs team managed by Joe Maddon experienced a six-game losing streak. “Joe’s kind of greatest strength is his discrimination, his ability to know when he doesn’t need to get involved,” Baker said. “There’s so much intelligence in being able to do that. Some managers or some coaches – people I’ve seen in the past — you could feel when they were nervous. Or you could feel when they were freaked out a little bit. “Joe’s kind of seen everything. He knows how to keep it cool and set the temperature so that guys can go out and just play and not be distracted by all the stuff around. That’s through knowing when to empower people to be themselves and to stay out of their way and let them play baseball.” Wrigley Field used to be a place where prospects would arrive with so much hype and then disappear. Now look at all the young players — Bryant, Addison Russell, Schwarber, Contreras, Albert Almora Jr., Carl Edwards Jr. and Ian Happ — the Cubs have incorporated on Maddon’s watch. “That’s what’s kept Joe Maddon so relevant and so good at this game,” Baker said, “his willingness to be open-minded and learn and to take in new information and try different things. “When these kids come up, they find that this isn’t some environment where you need to freak out. Everyone’s kind of relaxed, we got a smile on our face and we know that even though at a time like this when the team’s not playing well…they authentically care about winning baseball games in Chicago. “You see the stress that it wears on them, but you also see those same guys still showing up and punching the clock and still believing the best is yet to come. We’re only 2.5 games out and nobody’s gotten hot yet. That’s the language that you hear.” --