February 13, 2019

• Daily Herald, State of the Cubs: Maddon wants Cubs to 'Own It Now' https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20190212/state-of-the-cubs-maddon-wants-cubs-to-own-it- now

• The Athletic, Theo Epstein dives headfirst into thorny subjects as Cubs camp opens https://theathletic.com/815363/2019/02/13/theo-epstein-dives-headfirst-in-thorny-subjects-as- cubs-camp-opens/

• The Athletic, Letters from camp: Wouldn’t this be a good time for the Cubs to sign another free agent? https://theathletic.com/815298/2019/02/12/letters-from-camp-wouldnt-this-be-a-good-time-for- the-cubs-to-sign-another-free-agent/

• Cubs.com, Cubs open camp with high expectations https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-spring-training-camp-opens/c-303846844

• Cubs.com, Epstein details rigorous expectations for Russell https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/theo-epstein-discusses-addison-russell/c-303864044

• ESPNChicago.com, Cubs to 'enhance' domestic violence training ahead of Addison Russell's return http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25982773/cubs-enhance-domestic-violence-training-ahead- addison-russell-return

• NBC Sports Chicago, Theo Epstein passionately responds to Joe Ricketts' racist emails: 'All fans are welcome' https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/theo-epstein-passionately-responds-joe-ricketts-racist- emails-all-fans-are-welcome-islamophobia-leaked-emails

• NBC Sports Chicago, Cubs leaving the door open for another potential bullpen addition https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-leaving-door-open-another-potential-bullpen- addition-brach-montgomery-barnette-alzolay-kimbrel-harper

• NBC Sports Chicago, Joe Maddon explains 'own it now' slogan for 2019 Cubs https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/joe-maddon-explains-own-it-now-slogan-2019-cubs

• Chicago Tribune, Column: The Cubs are starting a new TV channel in 2020. Here's what that means for fans. https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-marquee-tv-channel-debut- sinclair-what-to-know-20190213-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, What to watch for at Cubs spring training today, when pitchers and catchers hold their 1st workout https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-spring-training-joe-maddon-yu- darvish-20190213-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Theo Epstein says Cubs will have 'incredibly high standard' for Addison Russell and will try to make amends for Joe Ricketts' 'ugly, disgusting' emails https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-theo-epstein-addison-russell- joe-ricketts-20190212-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Cubs and Sinclair team up to launch regional sports network in 2020 https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-cubs-sinclair-regional-sports-network-20190212- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, 5 takeaways from Cubs spring training on Tuesday, including a setback for Adbert Alzolay https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-pitchers-catchers-report-spring- training-20190212-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Cubs might add a moderately priced free-agent reliever https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-theo-epstein-free-agent- 20190212-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Column: Baseball is back — except for the 100 or so remaining free agents. Is this the new normal? https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/ct-spt-cubs-free-agents-spring-training- 20190212-story.html

• Chicago Sun-Times, Same cast of Cubs takes it from the top again — this time with urgency https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/same-cast-cubs-spring-training-urgency/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs’ Theo Epstein confronted Joe Ricketts’ hate head on — and it was very good https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-cubs-joe-ricketts-theo-epstein-islamophobia- diversity-joe-maddon-tom-ricketts/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Addison Russell in ‘bottom of the second’ in efforts to return to field for Cubs https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/addison-russell-bottom-of-second-inning-return-cubs- domestic-violence/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs’ Theo Epstein condemns Joe Ricketts’ racist emails https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-theo-epstein-condemns-joe-ricketts-racist-emails/

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Daily Herald State of the Cubs: Maddon wants Cubs to 'Own It Now' By Jim O'Donnell

Where once a World Series championship was a dream too far, the password now is "reckoning."

Cubs fans, thaw those broken hearts because it's trying time again.

Four months after a 95-68 season ended with a retro-ivy 13-inning loss to Colorado in an NL wild-card game, the chase begins anew for Joe Maddon and his crew of blue.

Pitchers and catchers were required to report to the club's spring training complex in Mesa on Tuesday. They'll begin workouts Wednesday. All position players are due in Sunday with the Cubs first full practice on Monday.

Two seasons removed from the wonders of a 2016 title, the team is facing a year of itchy expectations. Joe Maddon -- accused by some of failing to impart a sense of urgency from gate-to-wire in 2018 -- made it clear Tuesday that he's crafted his own new motto: "Own It Now."

"A big part of our success this year is going to be the fact that we own each moment," the Cubs manager said. "And if you take the word 'now' and flip it around, it becomes 'won.'"

One could prove to be the loneliest number for Maddon, 65, who is in the fifth and final year of his contract with no renewal talk on tap.

He essentially has all critical touch caps back from last season. That was the group that lolled to a 16-15 start, finally baboomed to the top of the NL-Central on July 14 and stayed there until the closing weekend.

The final days proved brutal. The Cubs split their last two regular-season games with St. Louis when a sweep would have bagged the division crown. They then lost a tiebreaker to streaking Milwaukee at -- when a win would have meant a push into the NLDS instead of the sudden 2-1 TKO by the visiting Rockies.

Biggest surprise among Tuesday's check-ins at Sloan Park was Addison Russell. It was the veteran shortstop's first on-field appearance alongside teammates since his 40-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic abuse policy was announced Oct. 4.

He took batting practice on a side playing field.

Russell's suspension was retroactive to Sept. 21. That means he will not be eligible for reinstatement until Game 30 of the new season, scheduled for May 3, vs. the visiting Cardinals. Javier Baez will likely be the stopgap shortstop.

Theo Epstein, the Cubs president of baseball ops, spoke about Russell when he chatted with reporters Tuesday, saying, "Addison is well aware that he's been given a conditional second chance. He's really taken things to heart. But we still have a long way to go."

In terms of personnel for Opening Day -- March 28 at Texas -- the Cubs spring thing doesn't have far to go. Much attention will be focused on Yu Darvish, the six-year, $126 million signee who was sidelined and underwent elbow surgery after only eight starts in his first season with the organization.

If Darvish is indeed back, he'll be a vital factor in a Cubs starting rotation that should include Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, $20 million man Cole Hamels and Jose Quintana.

That quintet will push Mike Montgomery and Tyler Chatwood into the bullpen. That's also where a gaggle of recovering (Brandon Morrow, elbow surgery), new (Brad Brach and Tony Barnette) and peripherals will hope to be around to "Own It Now" when the money throwing begins.

Despite the fact almost 100 free agents remain unsigned -- marqueed by Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and closer -- Epstein and associates are not expected to break budget any time soon.

This despite the fact that the respected Baseball Prospectus projects the Cubs finishing 81-81 and tied for third and last in the NL-Central with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

If that comes to be, the password at Addison and will be: "breakup."

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The Athletic Theo Epstein dives headfirst into thorny subjects as Cubs camp opens By Sahadev Sharma

MESA, Ariz. – Sports are often seen as a respite from the real world, but it has never really been possible to “stick to sports.”

For those hoping the start of spring training would allow for talk to strictly be about baseball, that wasn’t the case at Sloan Park where president Theo Epstein, general manager and manager Joe Maddon addressed multiple controversial issues Tuesday afternoon.

When asked about the suspended Addison Russell, Epstein seemed quite prepared to handle the topic, speaking for minutes on end without interruption. Epstein addressed not just what is expected of Russell internally, but also how the organization as a whole is attempting to step up and lead by example in the thorny issue of domestic violence.

“We still have a long way to go,” Epstein said. “Addison is well aware that he’s been given a conditional second chance by this organization. There are a lot of standards we’re going to hold him to. He has to continue to put the work in to become a better a person, a better citizen, better teammate, better member of society, better father. The good news to report at this juncture is that he’s really taken things to heart and has put a significant amount of work in. He’s fully and enthusiastically complied with everything has put in front of him as far as therapy and counseling going forward.

“Beyond that he’s reached out on his own to engage with a therapist, someone he’s still in contact with three to four times a week and that relationship will continue long after the mandated therapy is done,” Epstein said. “He is going to speak to you guys before the start of position-player camp. I think that’s an important step. I believe you’ll see someone who takes full accountability for what happened and will be happy to share with you the work he’s putting in.”

How Russell handles speaking to the media next week will be just another step in this process. When the allegations of domestic abuse first surfaced in June 2017, Russell denied them through a statement and refused to address any further questions on the subject. When his ex-wife Melisa Reidy came out with a blog post last September detailing the verbal and physical abuse inflicted on her, Russell once again denied the allegations via statement. However, despite having not spoken on the subject since accepting his suspension, it’s become clear that Russell is no longer denying that these events occurred. How he addresses the issues now is important.

But it can’t stop there.

“As long as Addison continues to put that work in and continues to meet the standards we’ve laid out for him, then we’ll support him on this path,” Epstein said. “And I should say, it’s at least as important, if not more important, that we’re also continuing to support Melisa, who was the victim in this whole affair. We continue to stay in touch with her, support her and give her the resources she needs as well.

“Beyond that, as an organization we’ve taken this plague of domestic violence to heart. We talked a few months ago about trying to play a small part into attacking this problem. From an organizational standpoint, we’ve really stepped up and enhanced our training. By the time spring training is over, every single employee in this organization will have gone through enhanced domestic violence training. Every major league player, every major league coach, every major league staff member, every minor league player, every minor league staff member, every member of the front office will have gone through a pretty rigorous domestic violence program to increase education and awareness. That process has already started with the folks back in Chicago. I think we’ve already had over 130 employees who have gone through the training. It’ll continue here in Mesa in spring training. We’ve added an elective healthy relationship program for the players’ families. It’ll be part of sort of the initiation for players’ wives. I think that’s important.

“We’re also making sure that those who face the players’ families outwardly, such as the head of our family program, go through even more training. A 40-hour training program which is the standard to become as expert as you can in domestic violence detection, awareness, prevention, education. We’re going to make sure that also someone that travels with the team goes through that same 40-hour training program. Experts say you can never say domestic violence will never happen again here. But you can still take every step necessary to ensure that this is the safest possible workplace so that we have the smallest possible chance of any domestic violence occurring within these walls.”

Beyond that, Epstein said the Cubs have reached out to a number of groups who are doing work to prevent and eliminate domestic violence. They’re engaged with Family Rescue, an organization based out of Chicago that, according to their website, has been “providing progressive services to survivors of domestic violence for over 30 years.” They’re also enhancing an existing 20-year charitable relationship with House of Good Shepherd, a residential domestic violence recovery facility, including committing capital to build a safe space for kids who are living on their campus.

“We took our pledge to try to become a small part of the solution very seriously,” Epstein said. “Knowing that this happened on our watch and that we’re not just trying to support Addison. We’re trying to support Addison if he continues to put the work in, to support Melisa, to improve this organization to make it the safest possible place and then also to do our part in trying to attack the problem that faces all of us in society more broadly.”

Epstein didn’t shy away from another controversial topic when the leak of Joe Ricketts’ racist and Islamophobic emails were brought up.

“I’m realistic about the fact that this happened and it put our fans in a position to have to even consider a connection between those kinds of ugly views, disgusting views, and their favorite team,” Epstein said. “The fact that happened is really upsetting. That also contributes to the obligation that we feel to show that that’s not what we’re all about. That we stand for the opposite. It’s not just words, but it’s actions. We have to go live it. We have to go prove it. We have to make sure all our fans feel welcome and feel embraced and we look forward to doing that. There’s no other way to put that.”

Epstein said he wasn’t interested in talking about the things they’ll do in the future in this regard.

“Words are cheap and actions mean a heck of a lot more,” Epstein said. “I don’t want to sit up here as some sort of a PR operation and say, ‘No, here’s what we’re doing in response,’ because I think that lessens the impact and meaning overall. After we’ve put some of these programs in place with respect to domestic violence, if asked we’ll be a bit more comfortable talking about it. But we’re still early in the process. I’d still rather let our actions take hold rather than come out and use talking point to get around the issue. That’s not possible. That’s not the right approach.”

Epstein has already been clear that this year will be a reckoning for the team on the field. How they perform in that arena will tell us a lot about the direction the organization will take going forward. How they address these off-field issues, starting with what Tom Ricketts and Russell themselves have to say next week and then continuing on to the actions of the organization going forward, will be critical as well.

“I hope our actions as an organization, how we treat people, how we treat our fans, how we run the organization will speak for itself over the course of the year,” Epstein said. “Because we have this additional burden now to prove what we’re all about.”

Epstein went on to point out that the Cubs’ slogan of “Everybody In” means more to him than just a catchphrase. That there could be some who may not feel welcome in baseball or Wrigley Field seemed to really bother Epstein.

“Diversity is to be celebrated,” Epstein said. “Every different background is to be respected. Everybody’s welcome. Everybody In.”

And while sports and the real world may never truly be separate, Epstein hopes that for just a few hours a day, the Cubs can once again find a way to provide that escape so many desire.

“The reality of the situation now is some of our fans are forced into a position where there are other things they have to think about,” Epstein said. “We need to demonstrate through our actions that we believe in ‘Everybody In’ and walking through the turnstiles of Wrigley Field is a sanctuary from some of the broader problems in the real world. And that baseball is a diverse, welcoming institution the public trust that is here for all.”

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The Athletic Letters from camp: Wouldn’t this be a good time for the Cubs to sign another free agent? By Patrick Mooney

MESA, Ariz. – Welcome to spring training, where it’s 70 degrees and sunny and Cubs officials still couldn’t escape the negative vortex surrounding this team. That traditional sense of renewal and optimism – all those glossy postcards and feel-good stories from Arizona – will have to wait.

Joe Maddon, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer walked into a windowless room with white walls around 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday. As they sat at a table in front of at least seven TV cameras, baseball almost became an afterthought. The team’s brain trust spent nine-plus minutes on Addison Russell’s domestic violence suspension, almost eight minutes on Joe Ricketts’ toxic email account and roughly five minutes on the game’s simmering labor tensions.

Near the end of a press conference that stretched past the 47-minute mark, Epstein was asked about the possibility of a big-name free agent signing a short-term, high-dollar deal.

“You mean for us?” Epstein said.

Bryce Harper might have fixed a broken offense and anchored the new TV network the Cubs are planning to launch at this time next year. Manny Machado could have taken over for Russell at shortstop and created another All-Star infield alongside Kris Bryant, Javier Báez and Anthony Rizzo. Craig Kimbrel would have stabilized the bullpen and strengthened Maddon’s hand as the manager plays out the final year of his contract.

But the budget given to Epstein’s baseball operations department – north of $200 million — doesn’t have enough flexibility to make a huge splash this offseason, even though the Cubs are in the middle of a seven-year window to win multiple World Series titles.

“I think we’ve been really clear this winter about sort of the landscape we’re operating in,” Epstein said, “and the different areas that we can improve the team and the different resources available to us and how we’d have to be sort of creative and value-based and try to tackle all areas that we could in an artful way. This probably wasn’t going to be a winter where we threw money at problems.

“I’m not going to talk about any specific free agent or class of free agents, but I think you can sort of extrapolate the approach we’ve taken so far this winter is probably, going forward, what’s most realistic for us.”

After an offseason that sometimes felt like double middle fingers to Cubs fans, there is no new player or PR spin that will immediately fix this. There were not a lot of laughs or smiles or softball questions at this welcome-to-camp press conference. Russell and chairman Tom Ricketts will soon have to sit through their own media sessions and try to make amends with Cubs fans who can’t unsee what Russell’s ex- wife wrote on her blog, or the emails that show what Ricketts’ father thinks of Muslims, African- Americans and former President .

Epstein admitted that the Cubs are an easy target with their “Everybody In” marketing slogan, stressing that the organization now has to prove it with actions, not words. Winning always helps, and two months ago at the Las Vegas winter meetings Hoyer was already saying, “I’ve never wanted a season to start quicker.”

Even Maddon, with white hair sprouting from his head, appeared to be much more subdued than usual while unveiling his overarching message/T-shirt concept for the 2019 Cubs: “Own It Now.”

“A big part of our success this year is going to be the fact that we own each moment,” Maddon said. “And if you take the word ‘now’ and turn it around, it becomes ‘won.’”

It may not feel like it now, but no team has won more big-league games across the last four seasons, and the next moment will be Wednesday’s first formal workout for pitchers and catchers in Mesa, where the Cubs might have the National League’s most accomplished rotation. Whether or not Epstein and Hoyer close a deal by then, sources have signaled that the Cubs are trying to land another relief pitcher, though not a top-of-the-market closer like Kimbrel.

“We’re still in touch with a lot of the free agents out there and their representatives,” Epstein said. “I’d say there’s a possibility. We’ve been active lately in the reliever market. There have been some quality

relievers out there on pretty affordable deals. And I think there’s always a chance that we manage to squeeze one more in to give Joe a number of quality options and depth.

“We’d love to be in a position where we can withstand a couple of injuries in spring training and still put a really quality bullpen out there, so that’s one area where the market’s been pretty soft and pretty slow-developing and we’ve been active. We’ll stay in touch with everybody.”

The Cubs will have to take it slow with Brandon Morrow, the supremely talented, injury-prone reliever who saved 22 games before last season’s All-Star break and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in November.

And the year of homegrown pitching has already experienced a setback, with Hoyer announcing that top prospect Adbert Alzolay “felt a little something in his side” after slipping during a bullpen session last week. Hoyer said Alzolay will be “about two weeks delayed” while the Cubs proceed with “an abundance of caution.” Alzolay got shut down with a strained lat muscle after only eight starts at Triple- A Iowa last year.

“Other than that,” Hoyer said, “I think that we’re largely ready to go.”

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Cubs.com Cubs open camp with high expectation By Jordan Bastian

MESA, Ariz. -- The daily sense of urgency officially begins right now for the Cubs. On Tuesday, Chicago's pitchers and catchers were required to report to Arizona, marking the first step in Spring Training's six- week build toward Opening Day.

After a winter with little roster turnover, the Cubs' leadership has made it known that there needs to be a renewed focus from the players in hand in order to learn from last fall's swift postseason exit. With contract extension talks on hold, manager Joe Maddon plans on leading the way with a more hands-on approach, and he'll do so with an overhauled coaching staff.

For Maddon, his players and the organization, this is a critical campaign. And a World Series ring is the goal.

"We've talked about it a lot. We did not like the way the season ended," Maddon said during a 45- minute press conference Tuesday. "And when you have that extra month to really mull things over, you get more determined to get back, more determined to prove yourself again. I've had a lot of conversations with different guys during the winter time and some even recently, and to the man -- I mean, everybody -- we want to make a statement this year.

"We want to get back on track -- meaning, of course, making the playoffs -- but the goal every year is to play the last game of the season and win it. And that's no different again this year. So, in order to get to that point, we have to own each moment."

That last comment plays into the mantra that Maddon is working on for the 2019 campaign. The manager said "Own it now" is a slogan he has been brainstorming about in recent weeks. Maddon explained that he liked the idea of taking ownership of every single pitch, at-bat or play. As a bonus, he liked that the word "now" is "won" in reverse. Expect to see that motto on T-shirts in the near future.

A slogan will not win more games, but Maddon said it is important to reiterate and emphasize a concept built around urgency.

The players are certainly on board in that regard.

"I think after the last few years, maybe it was a little bit expected where were going or where we should end up," Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks said after Tuesday's informal workout. "It's never taking anything for granted. I don't think [complacency last year] was that extreme, in a way. Obviously, we were giving it everything we had. We just dealt with some adversity last year, some tough stretches. And I think we'll be able to use that to our advantage, just going through another year together."

Chicago's relief corps will garner much of the focus during the preseason in terms of roster competition. Closer Brandon Morrow (right elbow surgery in November) is expected to miss the first month of the season, opening a spot in the 'pen. The Cubs signed righties Brad Brach and Tony Barnette, added a handful of non-roster invitees and have an assortment of rostered relievers who all will be jockeying for position.

Atop the list of storylines on the position-player front will be the progress by Kris Bryant, whose power dropped off last season due to a shoulder issue. The third baseman is healthy and without limitations, but will remain under the microscope throughout camp. Daniel Descalso will arrive as the Cubs' most notable offseason investment (two years and $5 million guaranteed), offering leadership for the clubhouse and a versatile defender for the infield.

Shortstop Addison Russell (suspended until May 3 for violating MLB's Domestic Violence Policy) is on the restricted list, but will be able to go through workouts this spring with the Cubs. He also is still going through a treatment program that is being closely monitored by MLB and the team. The Cubs plan on making Russell available to reporters early in camp to discuss the serious situation and the steps he has taken behind the scenes.

The Cubs experienced a litany of setbacks in '18 (injuries and a second-half collapse by the offense being the main issues) and still managed to win 95 games. That was not, however, enough to win the , or enough to advance beyond the Wild Card Game.

The players want to remember how that ending felt, and carry that with them into this season.

"You certainly want to get started," Bryant said last month. "It's kind of good for us to go through that and get our teeth kicked in a little bit on our field -- Game 163 and then the Wild Card Game. It was really good for us. I think ultimately we'll all learn from it and come out with a chip on our shoulder, definitely."

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Cubs.com Epstein details rigorous expectations for Russell By Jordan Bastian

MESA, Ariz. -- Addison Russell went through a normal morning workout at the Cubs' spring complex on Tuesday, but there is nothing routine about the shortstop's current situation. Once the regular season arrives, Russell will have a series of important steps to complete before being permitted to take the field again.

Russell is currently on the restricted list and will be ineligible to return to the Cubs until May -- after his suspension for violating MLB's Domestic Violence Policy is fulfilled. In the meantime, Russell can be a full participant in Spring Training workouts and Cactus League games, while continuing to work with the team and MLB on a treatment program for his off-field behavior.

During a wide-ranging press conference on Tuesday, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein addressed Russell's situation.

"Personally, I think we're doing the right thing," Epstein said. "I understand people who are upset and think we should've just moved on. But I can at least pledge to those people that we're taking this on earnestly, that it's important to us, that they're not just words; they're actions. And I will continue to be transparent with you and with our fans about everything that we're doing to try to attack this problem of domestic violence and we will continue to hold Addison to an incredibly high standard or he won't play a regular-season game as a Chicago Cub ever again."

While discussing the matter, Epstein provided more details about the steps the Cubs are taking:

• Beyond complying with MLB's program, Russell continues to meet with a therapist multiple times per week. The shortstop will also sit down with reporters within the next week to answer questions. Epstein said that Cubs have also maintained contact with Russell's ex-wife, Melisa Reidy, throughout this process.

• The Cubs have instituted "enhanced domestic violence training" for all of their employees throughout both the Major and Minor Leagues. More than 130 employees have already completed the training and the rest will complete it by the end of Spring Training.

• All employees who work with players' families or travel with the team will go through an extended 40- hour training program aimed at improving domestic-violence detection, awareness, prevention and education. Players' families will also have an "elective healthy relationship" program available to them.

• The Cubs have worked with the Family Rescue organization on forming the training programs, and they continue to team with the group for other initiatives. Epstein said the team is also working with the House of Good Shephard, a Chicago-based group that assists victims of domestic violence.

"Experts say you can never say domestic violence will never happen again here," Epstein said. "But you can still take every step necessary to ensure that this is the safest possible workplace and that we have the smallest possible chance of any domestic violence occurring within these walls."

No big-ticket surprises Working with limited room in their budget, the Cubs were not major players on the free-agent market this offseason. Chicago is still in contact with free-agent relievers, and Epstein said the team might still "squeeze one more" into the bullpen competition. What will not be happening, however, is the Cubs suddenly becoming a surprise player in the ongoing Bryce Harper sweepstakes.

"I think we've been really clear this winter about sort of the landscape we're operating in," Epstein said, "and the different areas that we can improve the team and the different resources available to us. And how we'd have to be sort of creative and value-based and try to attack all areas that we could in an artful way, and that this probably wasn't going to be a winter where we threw money at problems. I'm not going to talk about any specific free agent or class of free agents, but I think you can sort of

extrapolate the approach we've taken so far this winter as probably going forward what's most realistic for us."

Darvish unrestricted Right-hander Yu Darvish (returning from right elbow surgery in September) threw off a mound at the Cubs' complex on Sunday and went through a workout during Tuesday's informal morning practice. Manager Joe Maddon expressed excitement over Darvish's physical condition in comparison to this time last spring.

"He's looking really good right now," Maddon said. "He looks physically outstanding and conversationally he's in a really good place. It's just wonderful to have him well, just to get him out there and continue to fully support him. I'm eager to watch him play, man. He looks that good. His bullpens have been that good also."

Alzolay behind schedule Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer revealed Tuesday that top pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay (ranked No. 2 among MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Cubs Prospects) will begin camp roughly two weeks behind the rest of the pitchers. Hoyer said that the 23-year-old Alzolay, who was limited to eight starts last year due to a right lat injury, tweaked his side during a mound session last week.

"We're going to slow him down," Hoyer said of the right-hander. "[We're using] an abundance of caution after last season."

Epstein addresses Ricketts situation Epstein also took time on Tuesday to condemn the language used by Joe Ricketts (founder of TD Ameritrade and the father of Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts) in a series of emails released last week. Tom Ricketts already issued a public rebuke of the contents of the e-mails and is slated to meet with Cubs media within the next week to speak on the matter, as well as other issues surrounding the ballclub.

"I'd just like to take a moment to join Tom in stating unequivocally that the views expressed in those e- mails have no place in our organization, in the sport of baseball or in society overall," Epstein said. "And join him in condemning racism and Islamophobia in all forms. The emails were upsetting to read and especially upsetting to think that some of our fans were sort of put into a position where they had to even consider a connection between their favorite team and some of those types of views. And I just wanted to make that clear. I know I speak for all of us. That's where we stand.

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ESPNChicago.com Cubs to 'enhance' domestic violence training ahead of Addison Russell's return By Jesse Rogers

MESA, Ariz. -- The are taking steps to "enhance" their domestic violence training and awareness in the wake of shortstop Addison Russell being suspended for 40 games late last year after violating the league's domestic abuse policy.

Russell will be a full participant in spring training but will sit out the first 28 games of the regular season to complete his suspension. In the meantime, the Cubs are making sure their entire organization is better educated on the subject.

"We've taken this plague of domestic violence to heart," team president Theo Epstein said Tuesday from spring training. "We've really stepped up and enhanced our training. By the time spring training is over, every single employee in the organization will have gone through enhanced domestic violence training. Every major league player, every major league coach, every major league staff member. Every minor league player, every minor league staff member [and] every member of the front office will have gone through a pretty rigorous domestic violence training program to increase education and awareness."

Russell's ex-wife, Melisa-Reidy Russell, went public with allegations of domestic abuse in September. The 25-year-old shortstop is the first prominent player to return to his old team after a lengthy suspension for domestic violence.

"We're probably in the bottom of the second inning," Epstein said regarding the issue. "We still have a long way to go. Addison is well aware he's been given a conditional second chance by this organization."

Epstein acknowledged some fans still aren't happy with the team's decision to bring back Russell, but the organization believes it's doing more good than harm, including reaching out to local organizations that deal with domestic violence as well as staying in touch with Russell's ex-wife.

"I can pledge to those people, we are taking this on earnestly, that's it's important to us, that they're not just words, they are actions," Epstein said. "We'll continue to hold Addison to an incredibly high standard or he won't play a regular-season game as a Chicago Cub ever again."

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NBC Sports Chicago Theo Epstein passionately responds to Joe Ricketts' racist emails: 'All fans are welcome' By Tony Andracki

MESA, Ariz. — For a moment, it looked like Theo Epstein was simply going to sidestep the Joe Ricketts topic at the Cubs' initial spring training press conference Tuesday afternoon.

When the issue of the racist and controversial emails from the patriarch of the Ricketts family was broached, Epstein started by saying Tom Ricketts, Joe's son and the chairman of the Cubs, would meet with the team on the first full day of spring camp and address the players then.

A lot of team presidents may have decided to leave the discussion at that. After all, it's a very sensitive topic and is only related to baseball because Joe Ricketts' money purchased the Cubs.

But not Theo Epstein.

Once again, Epstein showed that the Cubs could not dream up a better frontman for their organization.

At least a half-dozen times since the Cubs' 2018 season ended in disappointing fashion, Epstein has met with the media and passionately discussed a host of sensitive issues, from the team's collapse and lack of urgency to the Addison Russell situation to the Joe Ricketts emails.

After bringing up Tom Ricketts' future plans to address the team, Epstein took the opportunity to explain his own stance:

"Since you asked the question, I'd just like to take a moment to join Tom to state unequivocally that the views expressed in those emails have no place in our organization, in the sport of baseball or in society

overall," Epstein said. "And join him in condemning racism and Islamophobia in all forms. The emails were upsetting to read and especially upsetting to think that some of our fans were put into a position where they had to even consider a conneciton between their favorite teams and some of those types of views.

"So I just wanted to make that clear. I know I speak for all of us — that's where we stand. I think we all grow up in a bubble in some form or another and part of growing up is getting outside of that bubble. And for us and for almost everyone in this building, baseball has been a great vehicle to help us grow and to get outisde of our own little world and to start to appreciate difference and to start to celebrate diversity and to start to understand different people's perspectives.

"When you play baseball, when you work in baseball, when you're around baseball every single day, you're forced to be exposed to and start to understand and respect everybody's different backgrounds. And to appreciate and celebrate difference and diversity. It's been such a force for good, for helping us expand our own views, help us develop empathy. If you want to win, in baseball, you have to embrace diversity fully. Being around people from different backgrounds has to help you increase your empathy and understand people, or else you won't last long in this game.

"Honestly, that's what I think of when I think about baseball. When I think about the Cubs, I know it's an easy target right now, our slogan — Everybody In — but that's genuinely what I think about. When you look across our clubhouse, when you look at our front office, when you look at how we treat each other, when you look at how much respect we have for people of different backgrounds. We do stand for everybody in and so now that this has happened, I think the burden falls on us even more, not just to talk about it but to show it.

"All fans are welcome. Diversity is to be celebrated. Every different background is to be respected. Everybody is welcome. Everybody in. Now we have a greater burden to show it. But I think this organization is up for that and that's something that we look forward to doing over the course of this year."

Epstein was again given something of an exit off the highway of the topic, asked by a reporter if he just chalked the whole thing up as one person's thoughts and opinions. But instead, he doubled down, talking again about the terrible position it put some fans in thanks to the "ugly" and "disgusting" views expressed in the email by the patriarch of the family that owns their favorite team.

Epstein wants all fans to feel welcome and make sure everybody knows he and the Cubs stand on the opposite side of those emails and they want to show it with their actions, not words. They want to prove they believe diversity is important in every aspect — from running a team/business to the fans.

"Every single one of our fans should feel as welcome as the next," Epstein said. "One of the great things about baseball, when you walk through the turnstiles and you come into the ballpark, you should be able to set aside the problems of the real world for 3-3.5 hours and just enjoy the game. The reality of the situation now is some of our fans are forced into a position where there are other things we have to think about.

"We need to demonstrate through our actions that we believe in Everybody In and that walking through the turnstiles at Wrigley Field is a sanctuary from some of the broader problems of the real world and that baseball is a diverse, welcoming institution and it's here for all."

Similar to how he's approached the Russell domestic violence situation, Epstein would prefer to let the Cubs' actions take the lead because "words are cheap." Instead of sitting up there and spouting off how the organization plans to rectify this wrong, he instead wants to prove it with their actions.

The day Joe Ricketts' emails were leaked, Tom Ricketts made a phone call to a Muslim-American organization to set up a meeting.

"Not as a PR effort," Epstein said, "but just to say clearly, 'We need to talk. We need to tell you how seriously we're taking this. We know this is a major issue and we want to start the conversation so we can get this right.' And not just announcing we're holding a day of appreciation so we can say, 'everything's better.' No. That might come down the road, but as part of a broader program of ourtreach.

"I hope that our actions as an organization, how we treat people, how we treat our fans, how we run the organization will speak for itself over the course of the year because we have this additional burden now to prove what we're all about."

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NBC Sports Chicago Cubs leaving the door open for another potential bullpen addition By Tony Andracki

MESA, Ariz. — Only pitchers and catchers were required to report to the Cubs' complex in spring training this week, but if you looked at the sheer number of players on the field Tuesday morning, you could easily draw the conclusion that every hitter had shown up as well.

Only that wasn't the case. The Cubs simply have an army of pitchers in spring training.

Of the Cubs' 40-man roster, 26 are pitchers and they've added 14 more in non-roster invitees to spring training. All these guys won't finish camp with the Cubs, of course, but they've created plenty of competition for a bullpen in flux.

And they might not be done yet. Theo Epstein said at Tuesday afternoon the Cubs are leaving the door open for another relief addition.

"We're still in touch with a lot of the free agents out there and their representatives," Epstein said at the Cubs' first press conference of spring training. "I'd say there's a possibility. We've been active lately in the reliever market. There have been some quality relievers out there on pretty affordable deals. I think there's always a chance that we manage to squeeze one more in to give Joe [Maddon] a number of quality options and depth.

"We'd love to be in a position where we can withstand a couple injuries in spring training and still put a really quality bullpen out there. That's one area where the market's been pretty soft and pretty slow- developing and we've been active. We'll stay in touch with everybody."

The Cubs didn't have a new reliever to showcase at the fan convention this year, but since that mid- January weekend, they've reached agreements with veteran right-handers Brad Brach and Tony Barnette on major-league deals. There are also some notable guys with extensive big-league experience inked to minor-league deals like George Kontos and Junichi Tazawa.

Epstein's front office hasn't yet added a left-hander to a big-league deal to replace Justin Wilson and Mike Montgomery is still likely the first man up from the bullpen if one of the Cubs' starters go down to injury.

If you were to project the Cubs' Opening Day bullpen right now, it might look something like this:

Pedro Strop Steve Cishek Carl Edwards Jr. Mike Montgomery Brad Brach Tony Barnette Brian Duensing Brandon Kintzler

That includes Brandon Morrow injured and Tyler Chatwood in some unknown role.

But question marks surround so many of these guys, from the down 2018 campaigns by veterans Duensing and Kintzler to the health of Barnette (a shoulder injury ended his season after July 3) to the late-season fades from Cishek and Edwards last year.

It's certainly not hard to see Epstein's logic in leaving the door open for more potential competition, especially with very few young pitchers knocking on the door from the minor-league system.

Adbert Alzolay is still the organization's top pitching prospect by most measures, but the Cubs announced he will have a delayed start to spring training after injuring his side while slipping during a throwing session a week ago, so don't expect the 23-year-old to blow everybody away and earn a job in the big-league bullpen out of camp.

As for the hopes that the Cubs may somehow reach a short-term, high-money deal for some of the stars on the market (like Bryce Harper or Craig Kimbrel), Epstein effectively shot that down.

"I think we've been realy clear this winter about the landscape we're operating in and the different areas that we can improve the team and the different resources available to us and how we'd have to be creative and value-based and try to tackle all areas that we could in an artful way," Epstein said. "This probably wasn't going to be a winter where we threw money at problems.

"I'm not going to talk about any specific free agents or class of free agents, but I think you can extrapolate the approach we've taken so far this winter is probably going forward what's most realistic for us."

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NBC Sports Chicago Joe Maddon explains 'own it now' slogan for 2019 Cubs By Tony Andracki

MESA, Ariz. - Joe Maddon had an extra month to work out his standard slogan for the new year ahead, but he probably didn't need it.

Maddon's phrase for 2019 - "own it now" - could've been hatched in mid-October and that's not at all critiquing the slogan. It's just that the main narrative around the Cubs hasn't changed since the first hour of the offseason when stunned players hung around at their lockers and talked about the lack of urgency at times throughout the season.

The Cubs' main talking point all winter has been trying to find that "urgency" and "edge" every single day in 2019 and showing up to the ballpark every morning/afternoon with a mission in mind. We saw this team accomplish that feat in 2016 but haven't seen it consistently in the two years since.

That's why Maddon wants to provide a constant reminder to maintaining that approach.

"If you're thinking about owning it now, you can think about ownership as part of the team, you can think about owning the exact moment that you're in - whether it's the at-bat or pitch," Maddon said as the Cubs officially kicked off spring training Tuesday. "A lot of it has to do with the present tense.

"To own it, I think our guys really understand that concept. Just a matter of remphasizing it, putting it out there, giving it a definition and a big part of our success this year is gonna be the fact that we own each moment. So I thought, 'own it now,' take the word 'now' and turn it around, it becomes 'won.' If we get in the habit of owning the moment, we have a pretty good chance of winning it by the end of the year."

Again, Maddon isn't reinventing the wheel here. This is the same stuff we've heard for months - whether from him, Theo Epstein's front office, the rest of the coaching staff or the players.

The Cubs are certainly providing a united front and appear to all be on message, but you can forgive fans if they're sick of hearing about it right now.

The only problem: The Cubs can't do anything but *talk* at this point. Spring training is here, but even the exhibition games don't start for another 10 days and the first meaningful game won't come for more than 6 weeks.

The 2019 Cubs will be judged and analyzed on their on-field production, but they can't rush the clock to March 28 any more than winter-weary fans can.

All they can do is make sure they're all on the same page when the games actually count.

"When you have that extra month to mull things over, you get even more determined to get back, more determined to prove yourself again," Maddon said. "I've had a lot of conversations with different guys during the winter and some even recently and to a man, everybody, we want to make a statement this year, we want to get back on track. Meaning, of course, making the playoffs.

"The goal every year is to play the last game of the season and win it and that's no different again this year. So in order to get to that point, we have to own each moment. There's a real good look about them right now. We're all motivated to get back to play that last game of the year and win it. It's really been an interesting offseason, whether it's texting or calling or actually studying the millennial concept. All this stuff is kinda interesting. But I know our guys are ready to go."

The Cubs don't like the bad taste in their mouth left by last fall's early exit and they've spent all winter trying to channel it into something productive.

"Had we not done anything this winter, we were going to return a highly motivated group of players," Epstein said. "We've tried to really focus it and it started with a process of being really honest about everything that happened and why we fell short. Being accountable - each of us - for our roles in that.

"When you fall one game short, 90 feet short, you have to look in the mirror - I know I have - and say, 'there are a lot of things I could've done better so that we would've won that one extra game.' I think our players - all of us - have gone through that same process. And then the next step is making adjustments and our players have taken that to heart. Each player individually has gone out this winter to work on their weaknesses and really make adjustments and come back as better players.

"And then the last step is coming out and executing with urgency. That starts today, the first day of spring training."

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Chicago Tribune Column: The Cubs are starting a new TV channel in 2020. Here's what that means for fans. By Phil Rosenthal

So the Cubs finally have unveiled their long-anticipated, much-discussed plan to start their own cable television channel.

The Cubs’ will launch in partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2020.

What else can I tell you?

This is going to cost me, isn’t it?

Yep, but you knew that already. It’s a cable channel. The Cubs and Sinclair will negotiate carriage agreements with cable and satellite carriers such as Comcast, RCN, Dish and DirecTV, as well as streaming services available in the ballclub’s designated market,

Those sort of deals typically include a monthly fee charged year-round for each of a service’s subscribers — whether they watch the channel or not.

How much?

We don’t know yet. It could be in the range of $5 per subscriber per month, but that’s only informed speculation. Whatever the Cubs and Sinclair charge will be passed along to cable and satellite consumers.

Naturally. What if I’m a cable customer but don’t want to subscribe to a Cubs channel?

It probably doesn’t matter. Marquee will seek to be treated like ESPN, which is subsidized by all cable customers in their bills each month regardless of whether they watch it. Until actual deals are struck, however, no one knows for sure how it will play out.

That’s doesn’t seem fair.

That’s the TV biz these days. The media world has changed. Everything costs.

But baseball games on over-the-air TV don’t cost me anything if I use my digital antenna.

Good point. But you’re not going to see many Cubs games on over-the-air TV once Marquee launches.

What?

You’ll still get some Saturday regular-season games on Fox-32 as part of the broadcast network’s MLB national TV package. Apart from that, you’re out of luck because everything else will be on cable.

But WGN and …

After this season, the Cubs are saying WGN-9 and ABC-7 no longer will broadcast games. Games that aren’t in an exclusive window for one of MLB’s national partners, such as Sunday night on ESPN, will run on Marquee.

None of this sounds very fan-friendly.

The Cubs would argue a channel dedicated to the Cubs should be a fan fantasy, and in theory, the money from the channel could help pay for players and improve the team.

So this isn’t just something to make money for the Ricketts family.

I’m not their accountant. For all I know, proceeds could be earmarked for upgraded internet security to ensure family emails aren’t made public. They get to run the team the way they want.

What if I’m a cord-cutter and don’t subscribe to cable, satellite or some other service?

It’s possible Marquee may become available via live streaming for those who either don’t subscribe to cable or whose TV provider doesn’t come to terms on carrying the channel. It’s too early to know.

Wait, you’re saying my cable or satellite carrier might not pick up this service?

Don’t forget that’s a lot of money to add to people’s bills at a time when people are thinking about abandoning traditional cable and satellite TV for streaming services.

It’s not as though Marquee is the only channel out there. This may not be a slam dunk for the Cubs and Sinclair.

But there are a lot of Cubs fans.

True, and there will be pressure on service providers from those fans to pick up Marquee. Sinclair also is expected to try and leverage its nearly 200 local TV stations around the country as well as Tennis Channel to get deals done with cable and satellite providers. There still may be some holdouts, though.

Still, we’re talking about the Cubs.

In Los Angeles, they were talking about the Dodgers and that team’s channel asked – and continues to ask after two straight National League pennants – for a carriage fee high enough to cover the amount the channel has promised the ballclub. Plenty of carriers have balked, meaning fans across wide swaths of Southern California still do not have access to the bulk of the team’s games on TV.

Sinclair sounds familiar. Why do I know that name?

It’s the nation’s largest TV station owner. It’s a partner in Jerry Reinsdorf’s multi-platform sports network, Stadium, along with Tennis Channel.

I don’t think that’s it.

Sinclair has been mentioned among the bidders trying to purchase the Fox regional sports networks from Disney, which is being forced by regulators to sell the channels to gain approval of its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets.

Maybe. But I feel like it’s something else.

It pushes a lot of commentary with a conservative slant and failed in its bid to buy Tribune Media, the parent company of WGN-9 and WGN-AM 720, because what should have been a politically friendly Federal Communications Commission objected to what it saw as potential "misrepresentation or lack of candor" in the company’s application.

Bingo.

The Cubs have said Sinclair will have nothing to do with content, just distribution. Programming will come from the team’s in-house Cubs Productions.

Every indication is that current Cubs announcers Len Kasper and will remain in place. It’s expected there also will be roles for radio’s Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer.

Anyone else?

It is still a year away. Crane Kenney, the team’s president of business operations, told reporters at the Cubs Convention last month he expected it to be operational in time to carry all home spring training exhibition games next year.

What other programming will be on Marquee besides Cubs games?

The Cubs say there will be extensive pregame and postgame shows, archival games and other shows, as well as some other local sports for when it’s not baseball season. There probably will be biographical programs featuring old Cubs and programming highlighting ballplayers’ non-baseball activities.

Some saw the “talk show” Ryan Dempster hosted at the Cubs Convention – in which Kris Bryant called St. Louis “boring” – as a harbinger of a possible Marquee show for Dempster.

The Cubs also conceivably could cut a deal for, say, proprietary content from the Bears, though obviously not their games.

What happens to NBC Sports Chicago after this season?

With the end of its original 15-year deal in which the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks have been equity partners, NBC Sports Chicago will relaunch with the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks as its main attractions.

Look for it to cover the Cubs extensively, but it will do so without games. And remember you’re already paying for that channel.

I miss the superstation. If I live outside the Cubs’ official MLB market, will I be able to get Cubs channel?

Kenney said at the Cubs Convention that the Cubs have asked permission to make their home TV feed available in neighboring areas. But he said MLB rejected the proposal even after other Midwest teams said they had no objection.

Knowing they have to sell this channel next season puts a lot of pressure on the Cubs to win this season, doesn’t it?

That’s for sure.

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Chicago Tribune What to watch for at Cubs spring training today, when pitchers and catchers hold their 1st workout By Mark Gonzales

Wednesday marks the first workout for Cubs pitchers and catchers, but don’t expect any gimmicks or fireworks as they embark on their mission to rebound from last season’s abrupt exit from the postseason.

A businesslike approach is expected as the five projected starting pitchers throw their bullpen sessions, with Yu Darvish getting most of the attention after returning from elbow surgery.

Manager Joe Maddon reiterated Tuesday he will perform more coaching duties, but his specialty primarily pertains to the hitters.

“My graduate degree was in hitting,” Maddon said. “My undergraduate (work) was in catching and base running. I want to get involved in the hitting overall.”

Maddon has gotten involved in a subtle manner in the past, such as working with Kris Bryant 10 days before he returned from a left shoulder injury on Sept. 1.

“I like to coach,” said Maddon, who emphasized he wouldn’t interfere with the work performed by new hitting coaches and Terrmel Sledge. “When you coach players, you’re watching the game and it’s a different kind of emotion internally.

“You are just a little more involved in that moment when you coached someone.”

There’s been a lot of hoopla about position players reporting early, but that’s common in several camps. Furthermore, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist are among the players who haven’t reported and aren’t required to arrive until Monday’s first full-squad workout.

Chairman Tom Ricketts is expected to address the team prior to that workout.

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Chicago Tribune

Theo Epstein says Cubs will have 'incredibly high standard' for Addison Russell and will try to make amends for Joe Ricketts' 'ugly, disgusting' emails By Mark Gonzales

Addressing two controversial subjects from a tension-filled winter, Cubs President Theo Epstein elaborated Tuesday on ways the organization could improve through Addison Russell’s domestic violence suspension and the publication of Joe Ricketts’ offensive emails.

Epstein, speaking a day before Cubs pitchers and catchers conduct their first workout of spring training, carefully lent his full support to Russell, the shortstop who must sit out 28 more games of a 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.

As for Ricketts’ emails, in which the patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs shared and endorsed racist and Islamophobic jokes and conspiracy theories, Epstein said it was “upsetting to read” what he termed “ugly, disgusting views” that “have no place in our organization, in the sport of baseball or in society overall.”

Responding to those who believe the Cubs immediately should have released Russell, who worked out with teammates Tuesday, Epstein said: “I personally think we’re doing the right thing. I understand people who are upset and think we should just move on, but I can at least pledge to these people we’re taking this on earnestly and it’s important to us, that they’re not just words.

“They’re actions, and we’ll continue to be transparent with you and our fans about everything we’re doing to try to attack this problem with domestic violence, and we’ll continue to hold Addison to an incredibly high standard or he won’t play a regular-season game as a Cub ever again.”

Epstein emphasized that the Cubs will continue to lend support to Russell’s ex-wife, Melisa Reidy, and will require every team employee to undergo an “enhanced” program on domestic violence prevention.

Russell, 25, will speak with reporters before the first full-squad workout Monday for the first time since accusations surfaced Sept. 20 on his ex-wife’s Instagram account. He will be eligible to rejoin the Cubs on May 1, but they still could release him even if he completes MLB’s treatment program.

Russell appeared more muscular and looked at ease as he took batting and fielding practice, spoke with teammates and shook hands with a cameraman and a reporter.

“He’s been given a conditional second chance by this organization that there are a lot of standards we’re going to hold him to,” Epstein said. “He has to continue to put the work in to become a better person and a better citizen, better teammate, better person in society and better father, and the good news to report at this early juncture is he has really taken things to heart and has put a significant amount of work in.

“He’s fully and enthusiastically complied with everything (MLB) has put in front of him as far as therapy and counseling going forward. Beyond that, he’s reached out on his own to engage in a therapist, someone he’s stayed in contact with three to four times a week, and that will continue long after the mandated therapy is done.”

Epstein said the Cubs have resumed their support of Family Rescue Inc. — which provides shelter and services to domestic violence survivors in Chicago — after a lengthy absence and have made a more active commitment to working with the House of Good Shepherd, which assists families affected by domestic violence.

He preferred to let future actions dictate the organization’s steps to heal wounds caused by the disclosure of Ricketts’ emails. Chairman Tom Ricketts, Joe’s son, is expected to address the issue with players during his annual speech before the first full-squad workout.

Epstein said he joined Tom Ricketts “in condemning racism and Islamophobia.”

“The reality of the situation is that now some of our fans are forced into a position where there are other things they have to think about,” Epstein said. “We need to demonstrate through our actions that we believe in ‘Everybody in’ (one of the Cubs’ slogans) and walking through the turnstiles at Wrigley Field is a sanctuary from some of our problems in the real world. Baseball is diverse, welcoming … a public trust that is here for all.”

Epstein said he hoped the team’s intention to make amends speaks more than any statement, adding that a day at Wrigley Field to honor the Islamic community would be only part of the solution.

“Diversity is important everywhere,” Epstein said. “Not just because it’s the most important thing to do, but it helps you win. If you’re not diverse, you don’t have the benefit of different backgrounds, different histories, different perspectives, which is what you need collectively to get to the right answer.

“It applies to our fan base as well. Every part of our fan base should feel as welcomed as the next. One of the great things about baseball is you walk through the turnstiles and come though the ballpark for three to 3½ hours and just enjoy the game.”

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Chicago Tribune Cubs and Sinclair team up to launch regional sports network in 2020 By Robert Channick

The Chicago Cubs are teaming with Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch a regional sports network in February 2020 that will become the exclusive television home of the Cubs.

The Marquee Sports Network will air the full regular season schedule, expanded pregame and postgame coverage, classic broadcasts from the archives and other local sports programming.

It marks the end of more than 70 years of over-the-air broadcasts for the Cubs, and the beginning of an ambitious endeavor to sell cable and satellite providers on the value of the carrying the new regional network — no sure thing in an increasingly fragmented world of cable TV.

But if all goes according to plan and cable providers from Southwest Michigan to Iowa — Major League Baseball’s designated home broadcast turf for the team — agree to carry the new network, viewers will have no choice but to watch local Cubs games on pay TV.

“We’ve been looking at this for a while,” said Crane Kenney, president of business operations for the Cubs. “We think the new network is going to give our fans unprecedented access and a richer, deeper connection to the team.”

Having their own channel will enable the Cubs to have all of their programming in one place, versus splitting the games between two broadcast stations — WGN-Ch.9 and WLS-Ch.7 — and sharing

coverage with the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox on NBC Sports Chicago, formerly Comcast SportsNet, the regional sports network formed in 2004.

NBC Sports Chicago announced a multiyear media rights deal last month with the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox.

Change has been in the air for several years. The Cubs signed five-year deals with WGN and WLS after the 2014 season, with the plan of launching the regional sports network beginning in 2020. The team also ended its longtime national platform on WGN America after the 2014 season.

Part of the Cubs’ motivation is the potential of earning higher broadcast rights fees. “As those games come to cable, which is generally a more lucrative place for games to air, there’s an assumption that the team would benefit from that,” Kenney said.

But in the five years since the Cubs planted the seed of the regional sports network, the pay-TV landscape has changed dramatically, with cord cutting and skinny bundles squeezing the carriage fees cable companies are willing to pay for even sports, long the most valuable programming commodity.

That is where the Cubs’ partnership with Maryland-based Sinclair, the country’s largest TV station owner, comes into play. Sinclair owns 191 TV stations and the Tennis Channel, which gives it leverage in negotiations with cable and satellite providers such as Comcast, DirecTV and Dish.

Since acquiring the Tennis Channel in 2016 for $350 million, for example, Sinclair has doubled its reach to 60 million homes.

“We have strong relationships with cable companies and satellite operators,” said Sinclair’s president and CEO, Chris Ripley. “That is a key function we will fill here.”

Ripley expressed confidence in getting not only cable and satellite providers, but streaming services to sign up for the new Cubs network. Negotiations are underway, he said.

Bob Leib, a Wisconsin-based financial consultant to professional sports teams and owners, said sports broadcast rights continue to have value for teams, even as the media landscape shifts. The bottom line is viewers still want to watch the Cubs and most are willing to pay up to do so, he said.

“The fan subscriber's insatiable demand for game programming creates a built in tolerance for price increases,” he said.

Live sports programming traditionally charges the highest fees on pay TV, led by ESPN, which received an average of $7.46 per subscriber per month last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

NBC Sports Chicago received about $4.20 per subscriber per month last year, ranking 10th among regional sports networks, according to S&P Global.

Both ESPN and NBC Sports Chicago are expected to increase their fees to cable providers this year.

Ripley did not provide a per subscriber fee target, but said the new Cubs network will charge a competitive price to cable providers, and ultimately subscribers.

“The Cubs perform at the top end in terms of ratings and loyalty fan base,” Ripley said. “They will always fetch premium pricing for premium programming, and the market will ultimately determine what that price will be.”

Neither Ripley nor Kenney would disclose the economics of the network partnership agreement, but both Sinclair and the Cubs have a significant stake in its success, they said.

The Cubs represent Sinclair’s first foray in a regional sports network. Sinclair is also kicking the tires at Fox, which is divesting its regional sports networks as a requirement of its pending merger with Disney.

Last year, Sinclair saw its proposed $3.9 billion deal to buy Chicago-based Tribune Media crumble under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission over potential "misrepresentation or lack of candor" in its application.

The broadcaster also generated a lot of pushback over its conservative-leaning local news product.

Ripley said the Cubs network should be much less controversial.

“This is a totally different strategy and genre,” he said. “It’s sports, not news, so there won’t be any politics around this.”

Launching a sports network could provide a big return for the Cubs and Sinclair, but it’s not without its risks.

The Los Angeles Dodgers provide a cautionary tale with their own network, launched in 2014 with Time Warner Cable. SportsNet LA has paid off big for the team, earning a reported $8.35 billion over 25 years. But it remains unavailable in most Los Angeles homes after most cable and satellite providers balked over higher over carriage fees. Charter Communications bought Time Warner Cable in 2016.

Still, cable providers need good programming, said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp, a Chicago-based sports consulting firm. “They desperately need compelling content to limit cord cutting,” he said. “Live sports generally and the Cubs specifically are vitally important in the effort to stop the bleeding of subscribers and remain relevant as delivery systems change.”

Kenney expressed confidence that Cubs fans will still have plenty of ways to watch the team.

“We expect to have more distribution with the new network than we have today,” Kenney said. “We feel pretty confident about the desire for our product.”

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Chicago Tribune 5 takeaways from Cubs spring training on Tuesday, including a setback for Adbert Alzolay By Mark Gonzales

Here are five things we learned as the Cubs opened spring training Tuesday:

1. Cubs President Theo Epstein and players lent support to suspended Addison Russell.

Several teammates chatted with Russell on a back field during an informal workout.

Russell will miss the first month of the regular season as he completes the terms of his 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic abuse policy, but Epstein stressed that Russell has been sincere in his attempts to improve as a person through the early steps of his program.

“We still have a long way to go,” Epstein said during a 47-minute news conference with manager Joe Maddon and general manager Jed Hoyer. “Addison is well aware he’s been given a conditional second chance. … He really has taken things to heart. He has fully and enthusiastically complied with everything MLB has put in front of him.”

2. Epstein condemns Joe Ricketts’ emails.

Epstein didn’t hold back in condemning the racist and Islamophobic emails of Ricketts family patriarch Joe Ricketts.

“The views expressed in those emails have no place in the organization, the sport of baseball or society overall,” Epstein said. “And I join (Chairman Tom Ricketts) in condemning racism and Islamophobia.”

He said it was “upsetting to read” what were “ugly, disgusting views.”

Epstein also said in baseball, “if you want to win you have to embrace diversity.”

He said the burden falls on the Cubs organization to embrace diversity in all facets.

3. Cubs will lead the majors in T-shirts

After last season’s quick exit from the playoffs, Maddon said he likes “Own It Now” as his slogan for 2019.

“I wanted guys to own it,” he said. “A big part of our success this year is that we own each moment.”

He noted that if you turn “now” around, it spells “won.”

Maddon said the slogan will be on full display once the design of the t-shirts conveying the words “Own It Now” is completed. Many of Maddon’s slogans and themes are printed on t-shirts and distributed to players on a frequent basis in past seasons.

4. Kyle Hendricks turning disappointment into hunger

Hendricks said much of the sting has subsided from the loss to the Rockies in the National League wild- card game.

“Now it’s turned into motivation, and guys are hungry,” he said. “They’re motivated and working hard. We all know what happened last year, and we don’t want it happening again. So I think guys are extra motivated in a way, if you can be, so that’s adding to the excitement level and the energy.”

Hendricks had to pitch in relief in the 13th inning of the wild-card loss and allowed three straight two- out singles that scored the go-ahead run. But what gnaws at him more is that the Cubs didn’t advance deep into the postseason for the fourth consecutive season despite having a five-game division lead with 28 games left.

“You don’t want to remember (the sting of losing) necessarily,” Hendricks said. “We use it as motivation in a way. We know what can happen now — good and bad. It hones our focus. We know what we have to do, day after day.

“So we have to come into camp, take it day by day and know what we have to do today to accomplish. But you can’t look too far ahead. It taught us a lot about our group, and we’ll be able to use that later in the year.”

5. Another setback for Adbert Alzolay

The Cubs aren’t shy about their quest for pitching depth, which became even more important after Hoyer revealed that top pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay will be sidelined for about two weeks.

Alzolay was projected to start the season at Triple-A Iowa. Development is important to him after he missed the final four months of the 2018 season because of a lat injury.

Alzolay hurt his side after slipping off the mound during a bullpen session last week. He is projected as a midseason callup, but the time lost to injury doesn’t help his chances of gaining experience in major- league camp.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs might add a moderately priced free-agent reliever By Mark Gonzales

The Cubs might be able to add one more free agent, but don’t expect it to be a big-ticket player such as Bryce Harper.

“We’ve been very clear this winter about the landscape we’re operating in, the different areas that we can improve the team, the different resources available to us and how we’d have to be creative and value-based and try to attack all areas we could in an artful way,” President Theo Epstein said Tuesday.

“And this probably isn’t a winter where we threw money at problems, so I’m not going to talk about any specific free agent or class of free agents. But you can extrapolate the approach we’ve taken this winter as probably going forward what’s most realistic for us.”

The Cubs are likely to add a reliever — but only at a cost that suits them.

“There’s always a chance we manage to squeeze one more in to give (manager) Joe Maddon more quality options and depth,” Epstein said. “We’d love to be in a position to withstand a couple injuries and still put a quality bullpen out there.”

Top pitching prospect sidelined: Adbert Alzolay, who hasn’t pitched since May 29 because of a lat injury, will miss about two weeks after hurting his side while slipping during a bullpen session two weeks ago.

The Cubs are enforcing an “abundance of caution” due to Alzolay’s injury last season, general manager Jed Hoyer said. Several publications ranked Alzolay, 23, as the organization’s top prospect, but he threw only 39 2/3 innings for Triple-A Iowa last season.

Alzolay is targeted to return to Iowa but could get a midseason call-up.

Other pitchers who will have their work tailored because of injuries are closer Brandon Morrow, who underwent elbow surgery in November, and newcomers Kendall Graveman and Collin Rea.

Own it now: Maddon is in the final stages of completing the presentation of his 2019 slogan — “Own It Now.”

“If you think about owning it now, you can talk about ownership as part of the team, you can think about owning the exact moment you’re in — whether it’s the at-bat, the pitch, just about owning it now,” Maddon said. “And a lot of it has to do with the present tense. And if you look at the word ‘now’ and spell it backward, it means ‘won.’

“So if we get in the habit of owning the moment, we have a pretty good chance of winning it at the end of the year. So ‘own it now’ is something I’m going with.”

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Chicago Tribune Column: Baseball is back — except for the 100 or so remaining free agents. Is this the new normal? By Paul Sullivan

Spring training was once a time for teams to forget the past and focus on what’s ahead.

But this is the second straight season when unsigned free agents are bountiful, and many teams could completely change their outlook with one or two signings.

Is the game changing for keeps, or is it just a blip in the long history of escalating player salaries?

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who will be a free agent after 2020, said he wasn’t sure what the free agent glut means for the future of baseball.

“It’s interesting for sure,” Hendricks said Tuesday on the first official day of Cubs camp. “We want to play against the best competition. I think there are a lot of teams that could improve by adding guys that are out there. It’s definitely a strange coincidence what’s happening right now. I’m not sure if it’s going to last or not. It’s just one of those things (where) we’re kind of sitting back and waiting also, with everyone else.”

Justin Verlander, on the other hand, thinks it’s more than a strange coincidence. The Astros ace on Monday tweeted “the system is broken,” referring to the 100 or so remaining free agents.

“They blame ‘rebuilding’ but that’s BS,” Verlander tweeted. “You’re telling me you couldn’t sign Bryce or Manny for 10 years and go from there? Seems like a good place to start a rebuild to me. 26-36 is a great performance window too.”

Of course, the Astros had a $26 million payroll at the start of 2013 when they were in the midst of their rebuild, while Verlander was signing a seven-year, $180 million extension with the Tigers that made him the highest-paid pitcher in the game. He currently makes $28 million. But back in ’13, Verlander wasn’t publicly complaining about rebuilding teams like the Astros declining to sign free agents to 10-year deals and pocketing the savings while their young players developed. Like everyone else, he probably assumed salaries would continue to skyrocket, as they did until 2017.

The Cubs also profited by rebuilding, winning the World Series in 2016. They are a team that could improve by signing a prime-time free agent such as Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, not to mention closer Craig Kimbrel. But the team says it isn’t budging from its budget.

Cubs President Theo Epstein said Tuesday “there’s always a chance we manage to squeeze one more (reliever) in to give (manager Joe Maddon) a number of quality options and depth” in 2019.

“That’s one area where the market has been pretty soft and pretty slow-developing and we’ve been active,” he said. “So we’ll stay in touch with everybody.”

But no big signing appears likely for the Cubs before the start of the regular season. Epstein said they’ve been transparent about trying to find “value-based” free agents this offseason, and to do so in “an artful way.”

Asked whether it’s a problem for MLB to have so many free agents unsigned as spring training begins, Epstein predicted things would be “re-ordered” by the time the next collective bargaining agreement is agreed upon by MLB and the players’ union.

The current five-year contract runs through 2021.

“I do empathize and feel for the players who are still out there, who don’t know where they’re going to be with spring training starting, and how tough that is on their families,” Epstein said. “It’s not easy to get to free agency. … There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into that. It’s a moment guys have been looking forward to their whole lives, and when it doesn’t pan out exactly the way they’d imagined (it’s difficult).

“I know we’re talking about millionaires here and everything. It’s not one of society’s great problems, but I still feel for these guys.”

General manager Jed Hoyer said the offseason signings have been “creeping later and later” over the last decade and that something needs to change.

“We’ve probably reached a point where it’s gone way too far,” he said. “Certainly it’s not in anyone’s best interests to have animosity, labor strife, talk of work stoppage, things like that.”

A signing deadline would be a start, though it’s unlikely to be considered by the union.

After Hoyer addressed the players’ discontent, Epstein added there is “zero animosity” between Cubs management and players, suggesting “the cure to a lot of ills is just to talk through it, and put yourself in the other party’s shoes” to get a better understanding of each other.

Hendricks, for one, said he understands Cubs management’s thinking in keeping to their budget.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “And if you look around the team, we have the guys. I think we have the guys to get it done, and it has been that way through the years. It’s just executing on the field.

“That’s what it comes down to, so if you can’t make improvements there, this is where you have to make improvements, coming out to spring, getting ready for our games to start and taking it day by day.”

We won’t know until October whether the Cubs’ strategy works.

But at least baseball is back, and for that we can all be thankful.

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Chicago Sun-Times Same cast of Cubs takes it from the top again — this time with urgency By Gordon Wittenmyer

MESA, Ariz. — Just as Cubs manager Joe Maddon and the front-office big shots began to push their chairs and microphones back from the table to depart in what already had been a 45-minute news conference, one grouchy beat writer caused groans across a packed interview room Tuesday by insisting on one more question.

“I’d hate to see you at a dinner party,” team president Theo Epstein. “And I won’t.”

Be that as it may, the team’s annual media event to open spring training was rightfully spent in large part on addressing the impact of ownership patriarch Joe Ricketts’ racist and Islamaphobic emails and the status of shortstop Addison Russell regarding his domestic-violence suspension.

And while another chunk of the unusually sober-minded spring kickoff involved the potential for labor conflict after another ugly offseason for premier free agents, the elephant not in the room had gone ignored.

Bryce Harper anyone?

With the big names still out there as camps open across Florida and Arizona, could a short-term, high- value deal be considered if that becomes a desirable Plan B for one of those big free agents who were looking for 10-year deals?

“You mean for us?” Epstein said.

He might as well have stopped there instead of offering a reminder of the budget issues that kept the Cubs from adding much of anything in the offseason beyond a backup infielder (Daniel Descalso) and some relief help (Brad Brach).

“You can sort of extrapolate the approach we’ve taken this winter as probably going forward what’s most realistic for us,” Epstein said.

At which point, an apparently confused reporter suggested he didn’t answer the question.

“I think I did answer it,” Epstein said.

See: “You mean us?”

It is against this backdrop that the 2019 Cubs, who look remarkably like the 2018 team, begin the work of returning to the deep part of October without significant reinforcements for the first time since their run began — with only themselves to make it happen, or to blame if they don’t.

Epstein said they’re staying in touch with some free-agent relievers, hoping to “squeeze” one more into the budget.

But it’s basically the same group that experienced a World Series hangover in 2017 and stopped scoring runs down the stretch last year that faces a prove-it season of “reckoning.” Epstein has put off extension talks with Maddon, who is in the final year of his contract, until the end of the season and promised a more results-oriented evaluation of the Cubs’ core.

As spring training starts, the Cubs are talking a lot about urgency and about a rotation that on paper looks like a significant strength if healthy. They’re talking a lot about taking the angry, bitter emotions from last season’s abrupt ending in the wild-card game and channeling it into renewed purpose this year.

“Had we not done anything this winter, we were going to return a highly motivated group of players,” Epstein said, echoing Maddon’s sentiments.

The T-shirts for those sentiments were already on display as players worked out ahead of Wednesday’s first official camp drills. The shirts spelled out “CUB” across the chest, with three vertical words starting with each of those letters: “Courage,” “Urgency” and “Belief.”

And Maddon has more T-shirts in the works with this year’s slogan: “Own it now.”

“It’s still in the finishing stages,” Maddon said. “If [you] think about owning it now, you can talk about ownership as part of the team, you can think about owning the exact moment that you’re in, whether it’s the at-bat, the pitch — just owning it now. A lot of it has to do with the present tense.

“I think our guys do understand that concept. A big part of our success this year is going to be the fact that we own each moment. And if you took the word ‘now’ and turn it around, it becomes ‘won.’ If we get in the habit of owning the moment, we have a pretty good chance of winning it by the end of the year.”

Or having a lot more to own by then.

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs’ Theo Epstein confronted Joe Ricketts’ hate head on — and it was very good By Rick Morrissey

MESA, Ariz. — One of the annual rites of Cubs spring training is learning what slogan manager Joe Maddon has attached to the upcoming season.

Last year it was ‘‘Everybody In,’’ which is a first cousin of ‘‘All In.’’

For atonement purposes, perhaps the Cubs’ slogan this year should be ‘‘Allah In.’’

The Joe Ricketts scandal continues to follow the team, with his Islamophobic emails taking up a large portion of a news conference Tuesday featuring Maddon, president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. Ricketts is the billionaire father of Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and the man who funded his children’s quest to buy the franchise in 2009.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say the Cubs are trying to distance themselves from Joe Ricketts’ opinions (among them, ‘‘Muslims are naturally my [our] enemy’’). They’re trying to confront those opinions head-

on. They’ve realized his worldview is antithetical to what major-league baseball, a mix of different races and cultures, purports to be all about. And they want to do something about it.

They’re grabbing his bullcrap by the horns.

‘‘When you play baseball, when you work in baseball, when you’re around baseball every day, you’re forced to be exposed to and to start to understand and respect everybody’s different backgrounds and to appreciate and celebrate difference and diversity,’’ Epstein said.

‘‘It has been such a force for good, for helping us expand our own views, helping us to develop empathy. If you want to win in baseball, you have to embrace diversity fully. Being around people from different backgrounds has to help you increase your empathy and understand people, or else you won’t last long in this game. That’s honestly what I think of when I think about baseball.’’

As the years have gone on, Maddon’s rah-rah slogans and T-shirts have led to some eye-rolling, but ‘‘Everybody In’’ wasn’t a bad one. It was about players and coaches being on the same winning page. When Joe Ricketts’ views were unearthed, the slogan became the two-word definition of hypocrisy.

‘‘I know it’s an easy target right now, our slogan,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘ . . . But that’s genuinely what I think about when you look across our clubhouse, when you look in our front office, when you look at how we treat each other, when you look at how much respect we have for people of different backgrounds. We do stand for ‘Everybody In.’

‘‘Now that this has happened, I think the burden falls on us even more, not just to talk about it but to show it, that all fans are welcome. Diversity is to be celebrated. Every different background is to be respected. Everybody is welcome. Everybody in. Now we have a greater burden to show it, but I think this organization is up for that, and that’s something that we look forward to doing over the course of this year.’’

Joe Ricketts’ leaked emails didn’t just offend Muslim-Americans; they offended Cubs fans of all backgrounds. That’s what the organization is up against. Joe Ricketts might not be associated with the team, but he’s the man who helped bring the members of the Cubs’ ownership group into this world. In that sense — the only sense that matters — they’re inseparable.

‘‘It put our fans in a position to have to even consider a connection between those kinds of ugly views — disgusting views — and their favorite team, and the fact that that’s happened is really upsetting,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘That also contributes to the obligation we feel to show that that’s not what we’re all about and that we stand for the opposite.’’

Epstein said the Cubs will follow an actions-not-words approach in dealing with the issue. It will go beyond Tom Ricketts’ recent meeting with Muslim-American groups, he said. And that means looking through the lens of diversity to scrutinize the entire organization, including the front office, Epstein said. A 2018 report from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida showed a drop-off in major-league teams’ hiring of minorities and women from the year before. The Cubs are better than others, but Epstein has vowed to be an industry leader.

‘‘Diversity is important everywhere, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because it helps you win,’’ he said. ‘‘If you’re not diverse, you don’t have the benefit of different backgrounds, different histories, different perspectives, which is what you need collectively to get to the right answer, whether it’s within a front office or inside a clubhouse or on a coaching staff or anywhere in the organization.

‘‘And it applies to our fan base, as well. Every single one of our fans should feel as welcome as the next. One of the great things about baseball is when you walk through the turnstiles and you come into the ballpark, you should be able to set aside the problems of the real world for three, 3½ hours and just enjoy the game.

‘‘The reality of the situation now is some of our fans are forced into a position where there are other things that they have to think about.’’’

Maddon said the slogan for this season is ‘‘Own It Now.’’ It refers to ‘‘owning the exact moment that you’re in, whether it’s the at-bat, the pitch — just owning it now,’’ he said.

Right now, the Cubs are trying to own the response to a scandal. It’s all they can do now that hate has crawled into the light.

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Chicago Sun-Times Addison Russell in ‘bottom of the second’ in efforts to return to field for Cubs By Gordon Wittenmyer

MESA, Arizona — Maybe he’ll be back in May. Maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll be a distraction if and when he does return.

“It’s always potentially there; I can’t deny that,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday.

For now, troubled shortstop Addison Russell is one of the early arrivals for spring training among the position players. He took batting practice with teammates Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, Ian Happ and others on the day pitchers and catchers were due to report.

With most of his 40-game suspension for domestic violence left to serve, and a non-guaranteed contract that allows the Cubs to cut him for a small fraction of the value during camp, Russell’s mid-term status with the club remains uncertain.

“I said at [the Cubs] Convention we were at the top of the second inning with this process,” team president Theo Epstein said of the “conditional second chance” Russell has been given. “As we get here this week to start spring training, we’re probably in the bottom of the second inning. We still have a long way to go.”

Russell is expected to meet with media late in the week, in the days ahead of full-squad workouts that start Monday.

Maddon said he plans to address the team about Russell’s standing before full-squad work starts and said Russell will address the team, as well.

And if they didn’t already know it from the responses throughout the winter, all involved know the public backlash they face with every turn of this ongoing story will be strong — especially if Russell meets and sustains the “incredibly high standard” the Cubs have put on his conditional employment and returns to the field in May.

Regardless of the outcome with Russell, the ugly chapter for the organization has led to the Cubs initiating a companywide domestic-violence program that has seen 130 employees already go through

it, Epstein said. Every employee, including players, coaches and managers at all levels, will complete the program by the end of spring training, he said.

An elective “healthy-relationship” program also has been added for players’ families, he said, and those in the organization who work directly with the families are assigned a 40-hour training program.

“That’s sort of the standard to become as expert as you can in domestic-violence detection, awareness, prevention, education,” said Epstein, who added the team will have one of those more deeply trained employees on all road trips.

“We took our pledge to try to become a small part of the solution very seriously,” he added, “knowing this happened on our watch. And we’re not just trying to support Addison. We’re trying to support Addison if he continues to put the work in, to support Melisa [Reidy, Russell’s ex-wife], to improve this organization and make it the safest possible place, and also to do our part in trying to attack the problem that faces all of us in society more broadly.”

Prospect Alzolay sidelined

Top pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay, who missed a potential major-league debut last year because of a season-ending lat injury in May, won’t be able to full participate in camp for “about two weeks” after experiencing pain in his side last week when he slipped on the mound during a bullpen session, general manager Jed Hoyer said.

“We’re going to slow him down of an abundance of caution after last season,” Hoyer said. “Other than that, I think we’re largely ready to go.”

Closer Brandon Morrow already was expected to miss the opening weeks of the season as he continues to recover from postseason elbow surgery.

None of the non-pitchers appear to have any health issues that would slow them down, Hoyer said.

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs’ Theo Epstein condemns Joe Ricketts’ racist emails By Madeline Kenney

Team president Theo Epstein on Tuesday condemned Cubs ownership patriarch and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts for his racist emails, calling them “upsetting.”

Epstein acknowledged that Ricketts’ emails, which were revealed by the website SplinterNews.com last week, were filled with “ugly, disgusting views” that don’t represent the Cubs’ beliefs.

“The emails were upsetting to read and especially upsetting that some of our fans were put into a position where they had to consider a connection of their favorite team and some of those views,” Epstein told reporters in Mesa, Arizona.

Epstein promised “action” to embrace diversity.

“Diversity is important everywhere,” said Epstein, who also vowed that the team’s actions will speak louder than words. “Not just because it’s the right thing to do. Also because it helps you win.”

Many Cubs fans, especially those who are Muslim, felt betrayed and hurt after Ricketts’ leaked emails revealed racist jokes and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Team chairman Tom Ricketts made a step in amending the Cubs’ relationship with the Muslim community last week after he met with the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The local Muslim group said the Cubs promised to follow “concrete steps” to make things right.

Major League Baseball said it was aware of Ricketts’ comments, which it called “extremely offensive and completely at odds with the values and principles” of the game.

Shortly after the emails were made public, Ricketts said he deeply regretted them and apologized ‘‘for some of the exchanges.’’ Tom Ricketts tried to distance the team from his father, who approved the cash portion of the family’s leveraged $845 million purchase of the Cubs in 2009.

Cubs pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Mesa, Arizona, on Tuesday.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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