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Home , Brian Duensing, Jackie Robinson Day, Kris Bryant, Starling Marte, Travis Wood

April 16, 2017

 Chicago Sun-Times, After second loss to Pirates, Cubs not sweating slower start http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/bullpen-squanders-win-for-cubs-jake-arrieta/

 Chicago Sun-Times, extends quirky Cubs record with video board homer http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/jason-heyward-cubs-honor-anniversary-of-jackie-robinson-debut/

 Daily Herald, Maddon prefers the 'other Wrigley' as Cubs fall to Pirates http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170415/sports/170419114/

 Daily Herald, Cubs' Maddon looking for ways to utilize Almora http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170415/sports/170419092/

 Daily Herald, ' Heyward reflects as MLB honors Robinson http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170415/sports/170419096/

 Cubs.com, Bryant hits 2 HRs, but Cubs fall late vs. Bucs http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/224481156/andrew-mccutchen-hits-3-run-hr-in-7th-vs- cubs/?topicId=27118368

 Cubs.com, Bryant's 1st '17 HR hits Wrigley video board http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/224496866/cubs-kris-bryant-hits-first-home-run-of-2017/

 Cubs.com, Cubs, Bucs pay homage to http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/224510038/pirates-cubs-honor-jackie-robinson-at- wrigley/?topicId=27118368

 Cubs.com, Rizzo's words helped keep 'Henry Strong' http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/224481616/anthony-rizzo-reaches-out-to-fan-after-attack/

 Cubs.com, Trio of former Cubs to receive rings Monday http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/224481622/former-cubs-trio-to-accept-world-series- rings/?topicId=27118368

 CSNChicago.com, Cubs Collapse Under Bullpen Implosion Against Pirates http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/cubs-collapse-under-bullpen-implosion-against-pirates

 CSNChicago.com, Why And The Cubs Are Not Concerned With Velocity Dips From , Starters http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/why-joe-maddon-and-cubs-are-not-concerned-velocity-dips-jake- arrieta-starters-kyle-hendricks-world-series-lester-lackey

 CSNChicago.com, Explains What Jackie Robinson Day Means To Him And Why Black Kids Aren't Pursuing http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/jason-heyward-explains-what-jackie-robinson-day-means-him-and- why-black-kids-arent

 Chicago Tribune, Wind takes win out of Cubs' sails http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-pirates-spt-0416-20170415-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Jason Heyward happy to pay homage to Jackie Robinson http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jackie-robinson-cubs-notes-spt-0416-20170415- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Former Cubs to receive rings Monday http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-former-cubs--world-series-rings--20170415- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs view new Wrigley bullpens as mostly positive http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-bullpen-views-cubs-sullivan-spt-0416-20170414- column.html

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Chicago Sun-Times After second loss to Pirates, Cubs not sweating slower start By Brian Sandalow

Comparisons between the 2016 and 2017 Cubs are inevitable.

As the 2017 team tries to defend the Cubs’ historic World Series title, it will have to hear what the 2016 team did differently — and perhaps better.

One thing the 2016 Cubs did was start faster. But Kris Bryant won’t be losing sleep over that.

‘‘We’re not really worried about how we started off last year [25-6] compared to this year,’’ Bryant said. ‘‘Last year was kind of a fairy-tale year for us. It’s not always going to be like that, so it’s important to kind of realize that early on, so that we’re not hitting that panic button like we did around the All-Star break last year.’’

Bryant his first two home runs of the season — including one off the video board in left field — and Jake Arrieta left with the lead in the sixth , but the Cubs lost 8-7 on Saturday to the .

The loss dropped the Cubs to 6-5 and assured they’ll lose a series for time this season. That doesn’t mean they’re playing poorly, though.

‘‘We’ve actually played pretty well,’’ manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘The games haven’t been bad. That’s the laser- thin line between winning and losing.’’

The game should have been about Bryant’s power and about Arrieta managing to win with lower velocity. Instead, it was decided by the bullpen.

Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead three-run homer against (0-1) in the seventh to complete the Pirates’ rally from a four-run deficit.

The Cubs led 6-2 after three and 6-3 after six, but Brian Duensing and Strop couldn’t hold it. The Pirates pulled to 6-5 on a solo homer by Josh Harrison and an RBI single by Adam Frazier against Duensing before Strop walked Starling Marte ahead of McCutchen’s homer. The five-run inning gave the Pirates an 8-6 lead.

That didn’t entirely overshadow Bryant ending his brief power outage. His video-board homer against Tyler Glasnow gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead in the first, and his solo blast in the ninth against Tony Watson cut the Pirates’ lead to 8-7.

‘‘I don’t think he’s been really all that off, even when the numbers weren’t there,’’ Maddon said of Bryant.

As for Arrieta, he yielded solo homers to Francisco Cervelli in the second and Marte in the sixth but limited the damage with the wind blowing out. He allowed three runs and five hits, struck out five and walked one in 5⅔ innings. His stayed between 90 and 92 mph.

Arrieta’s velocity eventually will get back to where it normally is, but Maddon wants him to keep his command at its current level when it does. Arrieta’s breaking stuff has been more effective because he has been commanding his fastball better than he did in the second half of last season.

‘‘I kind of like where he’s at, quite frankly, because the delivery has been better and his strike-throwing has been better,’’ Maddon said.

Arrieta, who knows a thing or two about year-to-year comparisons, said he isn’t concerned about the 2016-vs.- 2017 issue.

‘‘We won the World Series last year, so there will be questions, but that’s just natural,’’ Arrieta said. ‘‘That comes with the territory. It’s a business of results, and we still expect really good results from the group we have this year.’’

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Chicago Sun-Times Kris Bryant extends quirky Cubs record with video board homer By Brian Sandalow

Kris Bryant extended his quirky Cubs record Saturday.

Bryant’s first-inning homer off Tyler Glasnow was the sixth all-time off the left-field video board, which was installed for the 2015 season. Four of those were hit by Bryant. The two others to drive one off the board are former Cubs (May 27, 2016) and then-Brewers slugger Chris Carter (Sept. 17, 2016).

“Is that a record?” Bryant asked. “I didn’t even know it hit the scoreboard until I got in the dugout. That’s what they were telling me, but I guess it does feel a little different. You feel like you really got it, so it’s nice. It’s a nice target, especially in batting practice and with the wind going the way it is.”

There was also some question about how well Bryant hit that ball.

Jake Arrieta marveled at Bryant’s power and didn’t think his teammate got all of it. The ball hit the lower-right corner of the screen. Arrieta’s evaluation made sense because the wind howled out all day and contributed to the six homers hit.

“I bet he would tell you, too, that he didn’t land on that ball as well as he can, which is even more impressive to see the ball off the scoreboard on a 75 percent swing,” Arrieta said. Bryant disagreed.

“I hit it pretty good,” Bryant said. “The easier I swing, I feel like those are the ones that go the farthest, so it’s important not to force it, especially today.”

Honoring Jackie

Everybody across baseball wore No. 42 jerseys to honor the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The of African-American -players, however, is declining.

According to a report by USA Today, only 7.1 percent of players are African-American, representing the lowest number since 1958. Jason Heyward had an interesting take on that drop.

“As far as going to college, I feel like any household that says, ‘Get an education, try and get out of here, do something better for yourself, start a family,’ those kinds of things, the scholarship numbers in baseball are really low,” he said. “You look at trying to go to college and better yourself and get a job and set yourself up for a career, even outside of sports, football has a lot higher numbers.”

Royal rings

Soler, Jason Hammel and all moved on to the Royals in the offseason and are owed World Series championship rings. They’ll get them Monday at before the Cubs’ game against the Brewers.

The three are able to get to Chicago because the Royals are off Monday in the middle of a homestand.

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Daily Herald Maddon prefers the 'other Wrigley' as Cubs fall to Pirates By Bruce Miles

Summertime returned to Wrigley Field Saturday.

That meant short sleeves and shorts in the stands and flags flapping out toward center field on the ballpark roof.

It also meant flyballs flying out of the place.

Even though he's a Florida guy, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon professes to liking the Wrigley Field that plays bigger, even though the trade-off can be a cold and biting wind.

Maddon's Cubs ran out to a 4-0 lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning and eventually let a 6-2 lead get away as the visitors came away with an 8-7 victory.

"Wow, yeah, just two different fields, isn't it?" said Maddon, whose team lost its second in a row to fall to 6-5. "They got more balls in the air than we did, and that's pretty much the tale of the game. That's why I prefer the 'other Wrigley Field.' I'd much rather pitching-and-defense Wrigley than the offensive Wrigley."

The Cubs got a booming 2-run homer from Kris Bryant off the videoboard in left-center field in the 4-run first. Bryant added a second, solo, homer in the ninth to make it a 1-run game.

But the Pirates picked up 4 homers, 2 off starting Jake Arrieta and 1 apiece off relievers Brian Duensing and Pedro Strop, who has a 9.00 ERA.

Arrieta did his best to contain the Pirates as he went 5⅔ innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs. He allowed a homer to Francisco Cervelli the second and one to Starling Marte to start the sixth.

"You just pray they don't get the ball in the air too many times, really, because I felt like the Cervelli homer, he was jammed a little bit and still got it out. Same thing with Marte, stayed inside the ball pretty well. But two flyballs which just left the yard. They were solo homers, which if you're going to give them up, you'd prefer nobody on base. But I don't know if you see a day where the wind blows out harder than it was today."

There's certainly no panic with the Cubs. They won their first three series of the season but will lose this one.

However, they will be compared to last year's world-championship team, which ran out to an epic 25-6 start to the season.

"I think our division's going to be competitive," Bryant said. "The Brewers and Reds, obviously, are doing a lot better this year. Everybody just wants to write them off, but they're very competitive teams, and obviously the Cardinals always play us tough. The Pirates, too. I think it's going to be a battle to the end, but we're not really worried about how we started off last year compared to this year. Last year was kind of a fairy tale year for us. It's not always going to be like that, so it's important to realize that early on so we're not hitting that panic button like we did around the all-star break last year."

Arrieta said it's a matter of framing the issue.

"It depends on the questions you guys ask, I guess," he said. "It doesn't matter to us. We won the World Series last year, so there will be questions. But that's just natural. That comes with the territory. It's a business of results. We still expect really good results from the group we have this year."

Of course, Maddon is going to paint a picture as warm and sunny as Saturday's summerlike landscape.

"It's crazy," he said. "We could be almost 10- or 11-0 right now with just a knock or two here or there. We've actually played pretty well. The games haven't been bad. And that's the laser-thin line between winning and losing, man. It's just been that close. Every game has been kind of like today's game.

"I have so much faith in our guys. As we kind of catch our second wind post , post emotional homecoming week and all that kind of good stuff, getting a feel around the ballpark right now, something a little bit different. Our fans have been so wonderful. I think as we settle down and get our emotions back in check, we're going to be just fine."

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Daily Herald Cubs' Maddon looking for ways to utilize Almora By Bruce Miles

Last year, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon fielded questions nonstop about how he was going to get Javier Baez into the lineup more often.

Expect those questions this year about outfielder Jr.

"It's a little bit different with Albert," Maddon said Saturday. "It's just based on, 'Is there a hole? Is there a place to put him in there?' I'd love to get Albert out there more often. I think he's really ripe and ready. It's probably analogous because it's a lot like I thought with Javy, too.

"Even when I first met Javy a couple years ago, I thought we were a better team with him on the field as we were sending him back to -A. Albert's that kind of a guy, too. I think you might be better whenever he's on the field just because what he lends to the defense in the outfield."

Like many of Maddon's roster "problems," this is a good one to have. But he must also fit veterans such as into the lineup.

"Having said all that, these other guys are going to play," he said. "It's almost like between Javy and Albert right now, who you want to play, regardless how to manipulate center field, right field and second base. There's the triangle now.

"I want to be patient with that. I know Albert's gong to be patient. Albert's time is coming. Albert's time is coming for many years. He's a young man. He's going to be a really good player for a long period of time. "

Liking Schwarber at leadoff:

Kyle Schwarber has batted leadoff in each of the Cubs' 11 games. Joe Maddon says he likes it that way. Schwarber entered the day having 4.68 pitches per plate appearance, second in the to the Pirates David Freese (4.73).

"He's doing his job from that perspective," Maddon said. "He's come up with a lot of opportunities to drive in runs in spite of hitting in the leadoff spot. Furthermore, my concern was always that he would not be pitched to elsewhere in the batting order. Even hitting 1 with (Kris) Bryant and (Anthony) Rizzo behind him, the other team has chosen not to pitch to him on occasion which furthermore indicates it's the right spot for him to be.

"I love it, actually. It's kind of nice to see him walk there to start the game. He's always mentally involved. He doesn't take a pitch off. I think everybody feeds off all that."

Getting their rings:

Former Cubs Jason Hammel, Jorge Soler and Travis Wood will come to Wrigley Field Monday and receive their World Series rings. Each plays now for the , who have an off-day Monday.

This and that:

Kris Bryant hit the left-field videoboard with his first-inning . Of the 6 homers to hit the board, Bryant has 4 ... The Cubs hit for the cycle in the first inning ... was hit by a pitch for the fourth time, which leads baseball.

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Daily Herald Chicago Cubs' Heyward reflects as MLB honors Robinson By Bruce Miles

Jason Heyward hiked up his uniform pants to show a lot of blue socks as he ran out to his position in center field Saturday.

He was joined by his Chicago Cubs teammates Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist.

The fashion statement was a tribute to Jackie Robinson, whom saluted Saturday on the 70th anniversary of his breaking the modern-day color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Players around MLB wore No. 42 on their backs, Robinson's number with the Dodgers.

"Some things the game won't let you forget, which is awesome," said Heyward. "It's going to bring people together for a common reason, the game we love to play and love to watch as fans.

"It's one of the fun things about this game, you get to pay homage to a historic moment like this."

The number of black players in the major leagues has declined steadily in the last several decades, down to about 7 percent. Heyward is one of those players, and he cited several reasons for the low number, including a lack of college scholarships (11.7 per baseball team in Division I) and more options open to young athletes.

"As far as going to college, I feel like any household that says, 'Get an education, try to get out of here and do something better for yourself, start of family' and those kinds of things, the scholarship numbers in baseball are really low," he said. "There's not a lot of opportunity there. You look at trying to go to college and better yourself and get a job and set yourself up for a career even outside of sports, football has a lot higher numbers in that.

"So I feel like you're going to send more people in a direction where there's more opportunity. And, it hard's to make it in baseball regardless. You just want a better opportunity to make it."

Heyward said he does see kids playing baseball.

"As far kids playing in inner cities, I feel like there are a lot playing," he said. "Especially in Georgia, where I grew up, there's a lot of kids playing baseball, African-Americans playing baseball. It's all about pursuing that dream and having the means to do it and also being lucky and being able to make it."

Heyward was bitten by the baseball bug early.

"Football was always out in our household," he said. "My dad said no, just because it's a contact sport and all that stuff, really dangerous. Basketball, he played in college. His uncle played at UCLA. Baseball was the sport that he loved because of the Mets in the 1980s: , (Darryl) Strawberry, the team that won in '86.

"It was the sport he wanted me to try. I tried it at an early age. At 8 years old, I think, we won a World Series. We got to travel the country a little bit. It was rec ball, not really travel ball, competitive in the same nature that it is today.

"Travel ball allowed me to go see baseball games in other stadiums. I got to see Ken Griffey Jr. play, Alex Rodriguez with the Mariners, Randy Johnson. Once I saw that, I was like, 'I want to do this forever.' It just stuck. Here we go."

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Cubs.com Bryant hits 2 HRs, but Cubs fall late vs. Bucs By Adam Berry and Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Saturday was a day at Wrigley Field when the hitters were giddy and the pitchers just held their breath every time a ball went in the air.

The Pirates found the jet stream more than the Cubs, hitting a season-high four homers, including a three-run go- ahead blast by Andrew McCutchen with two outs in the seventh inning to post an 8-7 victory on Saturday. The Cubs countered with Kris Bryant's 451-foot homer off the left-field video scoreboard in the first. He added a solo shot in the ninth.

"They got more balls in the air than we did, and that's the tale of the game," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

Pittsburgh trailed, 6-3, in the seventh before the five-run rally, capped by McCutchen's homer off Pedro Strop. As he crossed home plate, McCutchen tipped his cap, something he always does to recognize his wife, Maria, but it was fitting to do so on Jackie Robinson Day. McCutchen picked up the gesture from watching the movie "42," about Robinson.

"He's a dangerous hitter. He knows himself very well," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's had some success here. He's a motivated man. I know Jackie Robinson Day plays for everybody. It plays for him."

The Cubs opened a 4-0 lead in the first when they hit for the cycle, including Bryant's blast. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player, Bryant crushed a ball off the video board when he launched a 2-0 pitch from Pirates starter Tyler Glasnow to left. had doubled to set up Bryant, and added an RBI triple and scored on Jason Heyward's single that inning.

"You have to play the elements here," Bryant said. "When it's cold and windy and blowing in, you have to scratch across a run. Today, the first inning was great but you never know if that's enough."

The video board was installed at Wrigley prior to the 2015 season, and now has been hit six times, including four whacks by Bryant. He didn't come close to it with one out in the ninth when Bryant launched the first pitch off Tony Watson into the basket rimming the left-field bleachers. It was Bryant's eighth career multi-homer game.

The wind was blowing out of the southwest at 24 mph. Francisco Cervelli, who hit one home run all of last season, notched his second of the year in the second inning as the ball dropped into the center-field bleachers.

"Anything's possible, especially when you've got winds blowing out the way they were blowing out," McCutchen said. "You can hit a fly ball and it goes out. We did that today."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Start me up: The Cubs' bullpen was unable to support starter Jake Arrieta, who was in line for the win. According to Statcast™, both Arrieta's sinker and four-seam fastball are down more than 2 mph from last year's average. The Cubs are OK with that, because he's shown better command. That wasn't the case with Strop, who walked a batter before serving up McCutchen's homer.

"I'm OK with the being hit with a home run as opposed to the fastball," Maddon said of Strop. "That's his pitch at that moment. He just got it in a bad spot. Give McCutchen credit. I liked the choice of pitch, the execution wasn't there."

Arrieta saw the flags blowing out, and knew it would be a tough day.

"You just pray they don't get the ball in the air too many times," Arrieta said. "I don't think you see a day where the wind blows harder than it did today."

Gone with the wind: McCutchen had the Pirates' biggest hit of the day, blasting a go-ahead, three-run shot to left field in the seventh inning. But the rally started with a big fly from Josh Harrison, his first of the season. Harrison swatted a 2-2 slider from Brian Duensing and let the wind carry it a Statcast-projected 403 feet to center field. The ball came off Harrison's bat at 96.7 mph, according to Statcast™, with a launch angle of 27 degrees. The probability of that ball landing for a hit, let alone a home run, was 42 percent. But it sailed over the center-field wall, pulling the Pirates within two.

"You know the flags being like that helps you in certain situations, but you still don't want to try, because that's when you swing and miss. Just worry about making hard contact," Harrison said. "Get a pitch and put a swing on it. Sure, we would have liked to hit one on the barrel and hit it on the street, but at the end of the day, it's about staying short and staying within yourself."

QUOTABLE

"We're not worried about how we started last year compared to this year. Last year was kind of a fairy-tale year for us, and it's not always going to be like that. It's important to realize that early on so we're not hitting the panic button like we did at the All-Star break last year." -- Bryant, when asked to compare last year's 17-5 start in April to this season

"This is a sweet win. I'll keep this one in my pocket for a while. Just a nice win in this ballpark. … We've had some challenges early. As we talk about here, you act as if you haven't had challenges. You need to act as if. They went out there today, 6-2, and they still acted as if we've got this game. We're going to figure this out." -- Hurdle

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

• The blustery wind kept the on their toes: Heyward, playing center, had to run 112 feet to catch John Jaso's fly ball in the Pirates' seventh.

• Pirates center fielder Starling Marte has homered and stolen a base in 12 games since the beginning of the 2013 season, the third-highest total in the Majors during that span behind only (14) and (13).

UNDER REVIEW

In the Cubs' half of the third inning, Russell tried to score from third on ' grounder to third baseman David Freese. The Cubs challenged the call, saying Cervelli, the Pirates' , violated the home-plate collision rule by sticking his leg out, and also challenged that Cervelli didn't tag Russell. After a review, both calls were upheld.

WHAT'S NEXT

Cubs: will close the Cubs' series against the Pirates on Sunday. Lester is looking for his first win of the season. He's given up two earned runs over 11 innings in his two previous outings. Last year, the lefty was 10-2 with a 1.74 ERA at home. First pitch is set for 1:20 p.m. CT.

Pirates: Jameson Taillon will get the ball against the Cubs. The 25-year-old right-hander has pitched well in his first two starts, allowing two runs over 13 innings against the Red Sox and Reds, but has gone unrewarded. Taillon is still looking for his first win of the season, in a game slated to start at 2:20 p.m. ET. --

Cubs.com Bryant's 1st '17 HR hits Wrigley video board By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- When Kris Bryant connects, Cubs manager Joe Maddon can hear it.

"It's a different sound," Maddon said of the noise the reigning National League Most Valuable Player makes when he hits a home run. "It's got a deep, bassy sound to it. When a ball is well-struck, and you're on field level, it's absolutely an impressive, incredible sound, and he's got it."

Maddon heard it twice on Saturday as Bryant hit his first home run of the season, a 451-foot shot off the left-field video board in the first inning, and then added another in the ninth that just reached the basket rimming the left- field bleachers. However, it wasn't enough as the Cubs lost, 8-7, to the Pirates at a windy Wrigley Field.

"You have to play the elements here," Bryant said. "When it's cold and windy and blowing in, you have to scratch across a run. Today, the first inning was great, but you never know if that's enough."

The Cubs hit for the cycle in the first inning as Kyle Schwarber doubled to set up Bryant's homer, Addison Russell hit an RBI triple and Jason Heyward added an RBI single to open a 4-0 lead. It was the sixth time a player has hit the left-field video board; Bryant has now done so four times.

"Is that a record?" he asked.

Right now, he's the leader in that category. Saturday marked his eighth career multi-homer game.

"I didn't even know it hit the scoreboard until I got in the dugout," Bryant said of his first home run. "I guess it does feel different -- you feel like you really got it. It's a nice target out there, especially in batting practice and the wind blowing out."

According to Statcast™, the ball traveled 451 feet -- Bryant's fourth-longest of the Statcast™ era -- and had an exit velocity of 105 mph. Bryant's second homer had an exit velocity of 89.9 mph and a launch angle of 33 degrees -- a combination good for a hit probability of just 6 percent.

"He would tell you he didn't land on that ball as well as he can, which is even more impressive to see the ball off the scoreboard on a 75 percent swing," Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta said of Bryant's first blast. "It re- emphasizes the fact that on a day like today, you want to keep the ball on the ground if possible. You know the hitters will be antsy to elevate the ball and get it in the air."

They were.

"We were all giddy seeing the wind blowing out," Bryant said. "Everybody wants to overswing, and swing at pitches you're not supposed to swing at just to get the ball in the air. We're all victim of it."

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Cubs.com Cubs, Bucs pay homage to Jackie Robinson By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Jackie Robinson played 93 games at Wrigley Field, the only current Major League stadium he played a game in. That makes Saturday an even more special day for Jason Heyward.

Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day, with each player wearing No. 42 to honor the man who broke the color barrier.

"I feel it takes you back and you feel like you're playing at that time for a day," Heyward said of wearing No. 42. "One of the fun things about this game is you get to pay homage to an historic moment like this. ... There's no better way to do this."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he and Don Zimmer, who was a teammate of Robinson's from 1954-56, would talk about Robinson as well.

"'Zim' always talked about how good of a player Jackie was, and how hard he played, and what a good teammate he was," Maddon said.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle felt Saturday's events were a "wonderful tribute to a man who made a difference in life."

"The challenges he went through, the connections that were made moving forward to open the game up for African-Americans and then it expanded globally. The moment that Pee Wee Reese put his arm around him in , and embraced him when he was going through another wave of verbal assaults -- it's what makes the day special; what makes the game special," Hurdle said. "Our ability and our desire to continue to honor him is the part I really embrace."

Heyward and Pirates Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison wore special cleats to honor Robinson as well. Heyward and Ben Zobrist planned to wear their pants high as Robinson did.

"To be able to turn the other cheek and go play, and find some sanity playing the game and be strong for himself and his family -- obviously he had a lot of impact on someone like myself and the game and things on and off the field for a lot of people," Heyward said. "But at that time, he didn't know exactly who it would affect. To be able to go through those things without knowing how much you're going to do for a lot of people says a lot about a person's character."

Heyward is aware there aren't as many African-Americans playing baseball now, but feels there just aren't the opportunities.

"Guys want to go to college, they want to be able to have sports pay for their education," Heyward said.

"Everybody's family can't afford to take out a loan."

Football was never an option for Heyward, because his father felt the sport was too dangerous.

"Baseball was a sport he loved because of the Mets in the 1980s, Dwight Gooden and ," Heyward said.

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Cubs.com Rizzo's words helped keep 'Henry Strong' By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- When Anthony Rizzo reached out in February to Henry Sembdner, the young boy was in a coma after being assaulted in school. On Saturday, Rizzo and Sembdner, now 13, got to meet in the Cubs' dugout.

"He's a pretty amazing guy," Sembdner said of Rizzo.

Sembdner was attacked after he bumped into another student in the hall of Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, Ill., in February. He was placed in a medically induced coma after sustaining head injuries and facial fractures. Rizzo heard about the incident and reached out on Twitter, posting, "Heard you are a big @Cubs fan Henry. When you are better I have a couple tickets and BP passes waiting for you at Wrigley. #StayStrong"

The school found out, and everyone wore Cubs gear to show support. Rizzo followed up on Twitter with a post on Feb. 6: "Heard Henry's school will be wearing @Cubs gear tom to show their support Wear ur gear & I'll RT pics. Let's all show our support #StayStrong"

On Saturday, Sembdner was accompanied by his parents, Henry and Karen, and his two sisters.

"At the time Anthony tweeted, [Henry] was still in a coma and that support was huge," dad Henry said. "It meant a lot."

The family heard from schools in Canada and Scotland that were showing support for the youth.

"We were able to say, 'Look at this, this is incredible,'" Karen Sembdner said. "This incredible person who is known worldwide reached out to us, and he's such an inspiration for everyone, and not just kids."

When Henry finally got to go home, they made sure Rizzo knew via Twitter: "@ARizzo44 #HENRYSTRONG You heard it here first ... Henry is Home!"

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Cubs.com Trio of former Cubs to receive rings Monday By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Pitchers Jason Hammel and Travis Wood, and outfielder Jorge Soler will make a trip back to Wrigley Field on Monday to receive their World Series champion rings. The trio now plays for the Royals, and were not part of Wednesday's ring ceremony.

They will have their own ceremony on the field before the Cubs play the Brewers.

The three could've waited until April 24, when the Royals come to Chicago to play the White Sox, but would not have had a chance to be celebrated on the field.

Hammel went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 30 starts for the Cubs, while Wood posted a 2.95 ERA in 77 games. Soler batted .238 with 12 homers and 31 RBIs. Hammel and Wood signed with the Royals as free agents; Soler was traded to Kansas City for closer Wade Davis.

This and that

• Last year, Cubs manager Joe Maddon eased Javier Baez into action with spot starts. Albert Almora Jr. is going through the same adjustment.

"I think you might be better whenever Albert is on the field, just because of what he lends to the defense in the outfield," said Maddon, who is inserting Almora in center when he plays Jason Heyward in right and Ben Zobrist at second.

"Albert's time is coming," Maddon said. "He's a young man; he'll be a really good player for a long time."

Heyward was expected to play more center field last season before returned to the Cubs. He won his fourth playing right field.

"There's no doubt when [Heyward] is in right and Albert's in center, that's a really nice warm fuzzy [feeling] on the bench," Maddon said.

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CSNChicago.com Cubs Collapse Under Bullpen Implosion Against Pirates By Tony Andracki

It wasn't Jake Arrieta's velocity dip that burned the Cubs Saturday afternoon.

And it's hard to blame the 24 mph winds blowing straight out to centerfield, creating a great hitters' environment at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs bullpen served up five runs in the top of the seventh inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to pull off an 8-7 win over the defending champs.

After Arrieta surrendered three runs in 5.2 innings and departed with the Cubs up 6-3, Brian Duensing and Pedro Strop were lit up in the seventh with the big blow a three-run homer off the bat of Andrew McCutchen on a 2-2 Strop slider.

Strop has now allowed eight baserunners, four runs and two homers in his four innings on the 2017 season, so are the Cubs concerned?

"Honestly, I'm not," Joe Maddon said. "He looks normal to me. He's got great stuff. He deosn't have good stuff. He's gonna be fine. He's gonna work through it. He'll get through it on the other side and that slider's gonna be where it's supposed to be.

"I'm OK, honestly, with the slider being hit for a home run there as opposed to a fastball. That's his pitch in that moment. He just got it in a bad spot and give McCutchen credit. I like the choice of pitch, the execution wasn't there."

The Cubs offense also sputtered late after jumping out to a big lead early on with four runs in the first and two in the third.

Kris Bryant hit the scoreboard on a two-run shot in the first inning and Addison Russell drove in three with a triple and a .

But the Cubs' bats went silent from there until Bryant's shot into the basket in left-center with one out in the ninth inning.

The Pirates started off the game flat with a crucial error, passed ball and misplays in the outfield but they turned things around to win their second straight against the Cubs.

This is the first series of the 2017 season the Cubs have dropped. The finale comes Sunday afternoon with Jon Lester pitted against Jameson Taillon.

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CSNChicago.com Why Joe Maddon And The Cubs Are Not Concerned With Velocity Dips From Jake Arrieta, Starters By Tony Andracki

Step off the ledge, baseball fans.

Joe Maddon and the Cubs are not concerned with Jake Arrieta's low velocity early in 2017.

In fact, it actually may be by design, at least in part.

Across the board, each one of the five Cubs starters has seen a dip in velocity the first two times through the rotation this season.

Arrieta has seen the biggest drop, going from an average of 93.6 mph on his in 2016 to just 91.4 mph entering Saturday's start.

Maddon said before Saturday's game he wouldn't be monitoring the radar gun at the bottom of the giant video board in left field throughout Arrieta's outing.

"Honestly not at all," Maddon said. "I kind of like where he's at quite frankly because delivery has been better and his strike-throwing has been better. I would much prefer 91, 92 and an occasional 93 located than a 94, 95 out of the shotgun. It's a much better way to go."

Arrieta sat at 91-92 mph for most of Saturday's outing, but actually dropped to 88 and 89 mph in his last two innings of work. He finished with five in 5.2 innings and gave up three runs and two homers, though the 24mph wind blowing straight out helped contribute to the longball.

"I thought he ran out of gas there at the end," Maddon said. "The velocity wasn't as high, but the location was good and the movement on the fastball was very good, the was good. I thought he pitched well."

Led by pitching coach , the Cubs have also devised a pitching plan for every pitcher — namely their starters — designed to keep them strong and fresh down the stretch.

That's why the starting pitchers made their debut so late into spring training and the Cubs were extra cautious after last year's World Series run that saw guys like Arrieta and pitching into late October/early November for the first time in their career. Jon Lester (33) and (38) aren't getting any younger, either.

The Cubs can also afford to play things safe in April with an -style lineup, the game's best defense and a deep bullpen packed with current or former closers helping supplement the work of the rotation.

Plus, Maddon and Co. already have eyes set on another long postseason run and are working toward that already, even in mid-April.

The Cubs woke up Saturday morning with the lowest ERA in baseball (2.47). Yes that's a small sample size, but something's clearly working even with a dip in velocity.

"Jake was throwing harder in spring training. So was Kyle," Maddon said. "These guys are going to get back to that number, but I want them to be at that number locating the ball like they can with that kind of movement. That's what they do.

"Jake's been really good. It's been fun watching from the side. Even though the number is not as hot [on the radar gun] so far, the hitters' reaction has not been good. I'd much prefer bad hitter reaction.

"Velocity is a beautiful thing, but my goodness, these guys, if it's not thrown in the proper spot, these hitters will get it."

Last season, Arrieta struggled to get his mechanics right after ending 2015 with the most superhuman run (0.75 ERA in 15 second-half starts) the game had ever seen en route to the National League Cy Young Award.

Arrieta was still the toughest pitcher to hit in the league last year, but walks became an issue and Maddon routinely pointed to a lack of fastball command as the main cuplrit.

As Arrieta saunters his way toward free agency and the first — and possibly only — megadeal of his career, his fastball command and cross-body delivery have fallen in line in the early going.

"Most of the time, I'm not concerned about physical mechanics going awry, but last year with him, I was," Maddon said. "I thought he was off mechanically the way he was starting, even with his posture with how he started.

"That was leading to spinning off the ball, turning off the ball, being awkward. More than trying to back off [velocity] at any point, I never really considered that. So right now, his posture and how he's starting is really good. He's repeating his delivery.

"That's what I love, man. He's on balance with his finish and the ball is going where he wants it to go with killer movement. The velocity is coming back — you watch. That's not the issue. I much prefer he continues to dot the edges with movement as opposed to try to throw the ball harder."

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CSNChicago.com Jason Heyward Explains What Jackie Robinson Day Means To Him And Why Black Kids Aren't Pursuing Baseball By Tony Andracki

Jackie Robinson Day is one of the best annual Major League Baseball traditions where everybody around the league dons a No. 42 uniform.

Jason Heyward held court at his locker Saturday before the 2017 iteration of Jackie Robinson Day and explained what the event means to him.

"It's great to be able to have it every year," Heyward said. "Some things, the game won't let you forget, which is awesome. It brings people together for a common reason.

"We love to play; we love to watch as fans. It's awesome to be able to put differences aside and have that common ground, share that passion for one game. It's a step in the right direction, I feel like, to be reminded of things like that."

Heyward is going throwback with his look for Saturday, wearing high socks as homage to the style of the trailblazer who helped bust down the color barrier in .

It's also notable for Heyward he gets to experience Jackie Robinson Day at Wrigley Field, the only current MLB stadium Robinson played at (he hit .295 with a .400 on-base percentage in 93 career games at "The Friendly Confines").

"To get to do it here, at this stadium," Heyward said. "The history that's here, as well. It's just really cool. I feel like it takes you back and it makes you feel like you get to be playing in that time for a day.

"It's one of the fun things about this game is you get to pay homage to a historic moment like this, especially for off the field, the impact it had as well."

Heyward also spent a lot of time discussing his thoughts on why black players are not more prevalent in baseball.

Only 7.7 percent of MLB players are black in 2017, which is only up a tick from the 6.7 percent in 1956, Robinson's final season.

Major League Baseball is more diverse than it's ever been with 34.6 percent of active players on the 2017 roster registering as non-white.

But why aren't there more black players in the game?

For starters, five black players began the year on the disabled list, which skews the numbers.

Heyward offered other ideas:

"As far as college, I feel like any household that says, 'Get an education, try to do better for yourself, start a family,' those kinds of things — the scholarship numbers in baseball are really low," Heyward said. "There's not a lot of opportunity there. You look at trying to go to college and hopefully get a job and set yourself up for a career — even outside of sports — football has a lot higher numbers.

"I feel like seeing more people in a direction where there's more opportunity. It's hard to make it in baseball regardless."

So what can baseball do?

"I don't know," Heyward said. "Talk about people trying to have a job after school. As far as playing a sport, guys want to go to college and have sports pay for their education some. Everybody's family can't afford to take out a loan. People still have to pay back loans well after they're out of school.

"I couldn't tell you where to being as far as getting guys into college. As far as kids playing in the inner cities and in general, they're playing. Especially in Georgia, where I grew up. A lot of African-Americans are playing baseball.

"It's all about pursuing that dream and having the means to do it and also being lucky and being able to make it."

Heyward's passion for baseball originated as a kid. His father outlawed football in the household because of the violent contact involved in the sport, but baseball was always the favorite of Heyward's dad, who was a Mets fan in the 1980s in the heyday of Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry.

Heyward himself said he really got into the game traveling around the country playing as a kid and watching Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson.

"Once I saw that, I thought, 'I wanna try and do this forever,'" he said. "It stuck and here we go."

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Chicago Tribune Wind takes win out of Cubs' sails By Paul Skrbina

Much to manager Joe Maddon's — and the Cubs' — chagrin, Saturday's game against the Pirates was not played at the "other Wrigley Field."

Saturday's Wrigley Field was home to wind gusts measured at 24 mph toward left field when Jake Arrieta threw the first pitch, a 92 mph fastball to the Pirates' Adam Frazier, at 1:21 p.m.

By 4:36 p.m., the old, green scoreboard in center field, the one the team's World Series flags flanks, read: Pirates 8, Cubs 7.

That's mostly because the Pirates took more advantage of the conditions and hit four home runs, the last of which put to rest visions of a Cubs victory as Andrew McCutchen admired his three-run rocket to left in the seventh inning off Pedro Strop.

When McCutchen crossed the plate, the Pirates had an 8-6 lead after scoring five times in the inning.

"Just two different fields," Maddon said. "They got more balls in the air than we did; that's pretty much the tale of the game.

"That's why I prefer the other Wrigley Field. I would much rather the pitching and defense Wrigley than the offensive Wrigley."

Maddon's preference for calm weather conditions may have been swayed early in the game, though, thanks to Kris Bryant.

Bryant hit Tyler Glasnow's 92 mph, first-inning fastball for his first home run of the season, a 451-foot job that is the second-longest in the majors this year. It's flight wasn't interrupted until it hit the large video board that casts a shadow over Waveland Avenue in left.

That blast, measured at 105 mph upon exit, was one of four hits in a four-run first inning during which the Cubs hit for a team cycle to stake starter Jake Arrieta to an early lead before the crowd of 41,814.

Bryant's homer was the sixth to hit off the board since it was installed before the 2015 season, of which the third baseman is responsible for four.

"Is that a record?" Bryant said with a half-smile afterward.

Bryant, whose second home run went into the basket in left-center field in the ninth, said he was unaware until he reached the dugout that the ball had hit the board.

"I'm the leader of scoreboard hits," he joked. "It's a nice target, especially in batting practice."

Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a double down the left-field line before jogging home on Bryant's blast.

Ben Zobrist reached on an Adam Frazier error before Addison Russell tripled him in to make it 3-0. Russell then scored on Jason Heyward's RBI single past a drawn-in infield.

Russell doubled in Anthony Rizzo and Zobrist in the third to complete the Cubs' scoring.

"Today, the first inning was great," Bryant said. "But you never know if that's going to be enough."

Saturday, it wasn't.

Arrieta struck out three of the first four he faced, but Francisco Cervelli's home run in the fourth was a preview of things to come.

In the third, Frazier tripled and Starling Marte knocked him in with a single and Marte followed that up with a homer of his own in the sixth, cutting the lead to 6-3.

Arrieta, whose velocity has been down a tick since spring training, exited after 52/3 innings and 98 pitches. Maddon suggested Arrieta was "running out of gas," and the right-hander didn't disagree.

"You just pray they don't get the ball in the air too many times," he said. "I don't know if you see a day when the wind blows out harder than it was today."

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Chicago Tribune Jason Heyward happy to pay homage to Jackie Robinson By Paul Skrbina

Jason Heyward couldn't think of a more appropriate place than Wrigley Field to play on Jackie Robinson Day.

The Cubs' home since 1916 is the only remaining major-league ballpark in which Robinson played.

The Dodgers Hall of Famer appeared in 93 games at Wrigley, where he batted .295 with five home runs and 43 RBIs. His last game here was Aug. 30, 1956, when he walked twice during a 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Cubs.

On Saturday, every major-leaguer wore Robinson's No. 42, which is retired across baseball, to commemorate him becoming the first African-American player in major-league history 70 years to the day earlier.

"I feel like it takes you back and makes you feel (as if) you (are) playing in that time for a day," Heyward said before the Cubs faced the Pirates. "One of the fun things about this game is you get to pay homage to a historic moment like this, especially for the impact it had as well off the field."

Heyward hiked up his pants for the game in honor of Robinson, while right fielder Ben Zobrist did likewise for the same reason.e Hyward also mentioned seeing the movie "42" a couple of years ago and that it still resonates.

"His teammates said, 'I think one day we're all going to wear 42 for you.'" Heyward said. "We're still doing it. It's pretty cool."

Royal guests: Former Cubs Jason Hammel, Jorge Soler and Travis Wood will receive their rings Monday at Wrigley Field, a team official confirmed.

All three are members of the Royals, who are off that day.

Hammel and Wood signed as free agents with the Royals, while Soler was traded for closer Wade Davis.

Trophy day: Scores of fans began lining up outside Wrigley Field early Saturday morning, as the first 10,000 received miniature World Series trophy replicas.

The giveaways were selling for roughly $100 on eBay before the game began.

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Chicago Tribune Former Cubs to receive World Series rings Monday By Staff

Former Cubs Jason Hammel, Jorge Soler and Travis Wood will receive their World Series rings on Monday night at Wrigley Field.

The three players are all with the Royals, who have an off-day on their homestand. --

Chicago Tribune Cubs pitchers view new Wrigley bullpens as mostly positive By Paul Sullivan

When the Cubs released a video last week of the new bullpens under the Wrigley Field bleachers, they highlighted a "fun feature" in which fans would be able to watch the pitchers warm up behind a glass window.

It was seen as a concession to critics who complained the switch from the field to an enclosed area would deprive fans of ever seeing the pitchers getting ready for the game, a longtime Wrigley tradition.

They even put a sign on the glass outside the Cubs' bullpen reading: "Please do not disturb the Cubs. Kindly keep your paws off the glass."

But so far, the Cubs pitchers and their opponents have warmed up in privacy. A green metal barrier has been pulled down over the bullpen windows all week, including Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Pirates.

Arrieta had the barrier down when he threw a side session earlier this week and when he warmed up Saturday, but doesn't mind if fans watch him get ready.

"If they're bothering you, hitting on the glass like you're at the zoo, maybe lower the (barrier) down," Arrieta said Friday before his first Wrigley start. It's going to take a little adjustment period."

Fan access aside, the bullpens have worked out well so far, with minor complaints.

"I actually liked it," said Arrieta, who is to make his first Wrigley start this season on Saturday. "I'm usually not a big fan of indoor throwing in general at all, just because the environment, the atmosphere (is different). You feel closed in, and the ball comes out of your hand a little differently. Visually it's different, but there are a lot of nice things about it."

The biggest adjustment has been going from a warm, quiet room to a chilly, noisy field.

"It's a little weird, kind of being quiet in there when a bunch of crazy stuff is going on outside," John Lackey said. "But it wasn't that big of a deal."

Arrieta said the climate-controlled setting should benefit the relievers and help keep them loose.

"It was done really well," he said. "The mound is really, really nice and pretty much mimics our game mound, or as close as they could get it. The lines are straight, so you're not throwing off-set to the plate, four inches this way or that way.

"All things considered, they did a tremendous job with it. It's really neat how they put it under the bleachers. One drawback is they took away some of the foul territory and we didn't have much as it is. But at the end of the day it's going to be a good thing for Wrigley."

Arrieta was skeptical about the plans when he first heard them, saying he preferred to warm up under game weather conditions.

"I'm always skeptical of indoor throwing, or half-indoor, half-outdoor," he said. "But my (side sessions) felt great and I didn't feel off because of the surroundings. From my first experience it was good. I know some guys are on the same page as me. Some guys are a little less happy about it. But it will grow on them."

The players look out on the field behind tinted green glass windows that fans see as the Under Armour ad on the green doors in left and right.

The Cubs did not invite the media to check out the bullpens, but an impromptu visit before the home opener revealed the home bullpen had three folding chairs in the first row of the window and two in the second, next to a small platform.

Justin Grimm quickly pronounced "dibs" on the platform.

"I took over the back platform," he said. "I put one chair in the middle of it and said 'This is my platform. Don't get on it.' I kind of play king of the hill."

Seeing out of the windows is OK in the daylight, but Grimm said the sight is "tough at night because of the vinyl protecting the Under Armour sign."

"But we have nice TVs in there to check it out," he added.

As for the fans watching through the windows, Grimm conceded the pitchers prefer to keep the barriers in place, at least for now.

"We keep it closed just in case we do something we're not supposed to do," he said with a grin. "We might have to open it up in the summer days."

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