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Home , 1907 World Series, 1908 World Series, Jon Lieber, Julianna Zobrist, Lester Strode, Rick Sutcliffe

April 11, 2017

 Daily Herald, Cubs' banner raising a moment to remember http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170410/sports/170419864/

 Daily Herald, Rozner: Party at Wrigley only just beginning http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170410/sports/170419862/

 Daily Herald, Imrem: Will Wrigley's famous atmosphere change? http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170410/sports/170419851/

 Daily Herald, Constable: Banners rise, fall http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170410/news/170419857/

 Cubs.com, Gold Cubs, Gold! W flies, now bring on rings http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/223531630/cubs-raise-banner-for-home-opener/

 Cubs.com, Reign kings: Cubs party, walk off on Dodgers http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/223516152/cubs-walk-off-in-ninth-to-beat-dodgers/

 Cubs.com, Puttin' on the Rizz: Cubs star caps epic night http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/223617716/anthony-rizzo-hits-walkoff-in-cubs-home-opener/

 Cubs.com, Cubs relish homecoming, Wrigley environs http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/223517984/cubs-excited-to-be-back-at-wrigley-field/

 Cubs.com, Ricketts has old-school devotion to Cubs http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/223502312/tom-ricketts-has-old-school-devotion-to-cubs/

 Cubs.com, Cubs unveil Park at Wrigley before opener http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/223457000/park-at-wrigley-unveiled-before-home-opener/

 ESPNChicago.com, Inside a Cubs banner raising 108 years -- and a rain delay -- in the making http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/43646/inside-the-cubs-banner-raising-ceremony

 ESPNChicago.com, Banner moment: Rain doesn't damper Cubs' celebration http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19130275/chicago-cubs-wait-rain-delay-lift-world-series-banner

 CSNChicago.com, Cubs Pull Out Walk-Off Win Over Dodgers On Festive Night At Wrigley http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/cubs-pull-out-walk-win-over-dodgers-festive-night-wrigley

 CSNChicago.com, Relocated Bullpens Create Different Atmosphere For , Cubs http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/relocated-bullpens-create-different-atmosphere-jon-lester-cubs

 CSNChicago.com, Cubs Thinking Bigger And Better After Raising World Series Banner http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/cubs-thinking-bigger-and-better-after-raising-world-series-banner

 CSNChicago.com, ’s Fast Track To Legend: ‘I Could Have Never Really Dreamed Of Being Where I Am Right Now’ http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/kris-bryants-fast-track-wrigley-field-legend-i-could-have-never- really-dreamed-being

 CSNChicago.com, Doesn't Believe In 'False Narrative' Of Too Much Celebrating http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/joe-maddon-doesnt-believe-false-narrative-too-much-celebrating

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs' wacky, busy 'day off': , and more http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-kyle-schwarber-anthony-rizzo-cubs-day-off-spt- 0412-20170411-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs' Anthony Rizzo gives himself a night to remember http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-anthony-rizzo-20170410-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Anthony Rizzo's walk-off hit makes Cubs winners on celebratory night http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-dodgers-spt-0411-20170410-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs raise banner, expectations in a ballpark that will never be the same http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-banner-raising-world-series-haugh-spt-0411- 20170410-column.html

 Chicago Tribune, doesn't see complacency as an issue for 2017 Cubs http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-theo-epstein-cubs-not-complacent-notes-spt-0411- 20170410-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, New plaza outside Wrigley Field envisioned as neighborhood's town square http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-wrigley-field-plaza-opens-spt-0411-20170410- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs curious about effects of new bullpens under bleachers http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs---bullpen-switch-20170410-story.html

 Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs raise rare banner at Wrigley, embrace ‘more than baseball’ http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-raise-rare-banner-at-wrigley-embrace-more-than-baseball/

 Chicago Sun-Times, no longer thinking about swing as homestand opens http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/jason-heyward-no-longer-thinking-about-swing-as-homestand-opens/

 Chicago Sun-Times, Monday night fete ball: Cubs have ’em dancing in the aisles http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/monday-night-fete-ball-cubs-have-em-dancing-in-the-aisles/amp/

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Daily Herald ' banner raising a moment to remember By Bruce Miles

Nothing was going to dampen the spirits of Chicago Cubs fans Monday night.

Not a steady rain that poured down during the early-evening hours and certainly not a wind that shifted from warm to chilly in an instant.

This was the night the Cubs raised their championship banner, and what's a little waiting to Cubs fans?

The ceremony got under way close to two hours late, and members of all levels of the organization had their take on what celebrating the title meant and how the evening -- and the banner -- might unfurl.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the looks on everyone's faces as that banner goes up, players and fans alike," said team President Theo Epstein. "They say all glory is fleeting, and it is. But the flag will fly forever, and that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves will last forever, too. To me, that's what it symbolizes."

Four new flagpoles behind the center-field bleachers provided a hint that more than just the 2016 banner would be hoisted.

Hall of Famer raised the banner for the 1907 world championship. Fergie Jenkins did the honor for 1908. raised the championship banner from 2016.

Finally, Anthony Rizzo led his teammates as they put up the 2016 world-championship banner. Fireworks shot out from behind the videoboards, and the ceremony culminated with team owners Laura, Tom and throwing out ceremonial first pitches.

The cheers were thunderous.

"It's being part of something," said manager Joe Maddon. "It's being part of something bigger than you. That's the really impressive part about it. Of course winning a World Series and winning a World Series in Chicago with the Cubs for the first time in a long time and the fan base, the tradition, the city itself, the organization, it's just different."

Pressed as to why it's different, Maddon explained it from the point of view of a relative newcome. He arrived on the scene in the off-season of 2014-15.

"I've been to every ballpark in the big leagues now, and there are some really good ones," he said. "Great fan bases, wonderful traditions. But there is just something different about this place. Maybe it's just because the ballpark is in a neighborhood. It has something to do with it. I know Fenway is kind of like that, but not quite like this.

"Maybe the long-term suffering of the group's not having won in so many years. There's an intellectualism about this place also that I think is different. There's a passion about it. It really runs the gamut of all the spectrums of groups that are following this team and the reasons why. I didn't know that. I did not know that before I got here."

The players shared their experiences, too. World Series MVP won the 2015 championship with the , but doing it with the Cubs resonated differently.

"Recently, I had a guy basically cry on my shoulder, an officer from the city here," he said, relating how he ran into the man in St. Louis. "To see how emotional it makes people and how much it means to them that we were able to win, I think all the stories people share about their families, that they've experienced the Cubs with their families over all the years, they've lost loved ones that didn't get a chance to see it, it just reminds them of their loved ones. Those are the stories that touch the heart the most."

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Daily Herald Rozner: Party at Wrigley only just beginning By Barry Rozner

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.

Ladies and gentlemen, attend or not, come in or don't, the party that began Nov. 2 has displayed not the slightest sign of slowing down.

It continued in Wrigleyville Monday afternoon, or in some quarters Monday morning, and went all day, the masses well-oiled and well-deserving by game time, by then having witnessed the season of their dreams raised in brilliant colors above the bleachers in center field, a banner to fly as an eternal reminder of 2017.

There was the unusual pomp and circumstance at a ballpark that has never known such a celebration, the standard arrangement for teams that have played this tune many times before.

It's why you can't blame any Cubs fan that hasn't come down from the high of Game 7, as if Cleveland happened yesterday.

The World Series victory may have taken place five months ago, but the parade won't end until rings are handed out Wednesday night in front of the Dodgers, whom the Cubs dispatched here at Wrigley Field in Game 6 when bested .

And it's why you wouldn't blame the Cubs themselves if they wanted to be done with it all, if it was becoming something of a distraction more than a week into trying to defend their crown.

But as always antithetical, this group seems buoyed by the incessant attention, the inevitable conversation and hyperbolic hysteria that surrounds every one of them, every minute of the day.

Young players can be unpredictable and the Cubs have a young roster, the youngest group of position players in nearly 50 years to win the World Series.

Young players can become satisfied or selfish. They get fat on life and thin-skinned without praise. They focus on making money instead of making the most of a great situation.

Or, they can want more from baseball. They can fuel their hunger with the desire to win.

That defines the 2017 Cubs, no less interested in dominating than they were in 2016.

Is that abnormal?

"I think so," Cubs president Theo Epstein told us on Hit and . "I don't think there's anything normal or usual about our group of guys and I don't take it for granted. It's really not the norm, especially for millennials, to be so self-motivated and so team-first and hungry. No, it's not normal, but we appreciate it.

"In a way, it's really those guys and their approach to the game that created an identity for the organization."

The championship hangover that some teams suffer is real, both emotional and physical. Epstein tried to prepare for it, but he and his staff quickly found little cause for concern.

"We had an open dialogue about what happens when you win, and how there are dangers, but our guys don't really need it," Epstein said. "They did a ton of preparation in the offseason.

"They're low maintenance. We don't really have to do much. They kind of manage themselves. We're lucky to have young guys so incredibly focused."

Luck had little to do with it, but they needed a bit to open the season in Chicago, albeit two hours later and in 36- degree wind chill.

While rain delayed the banner ceremony Monday night, a full house stood as one and watched Game 6 of the NLCS on the colossal video board, this just hours after thousands stood mesmerized, watching a replay of Game 7 of the World Series on a huge screen in the new plaza.

As the tarp came up just past 8 p.m., and Cubs players started getting loose in left field, they stopped in their tracks to watch the giant video of dancing live on national TV.

And at 8:30, the entire team walked out onto the field and through the doors in the right field wall. As if emerging from the corn in "Field of Dreams," they arrived on the other side and at 8:36 raised their World Series banner, 159 days after they captured the flag.

But the weirder it gets, the more normal life becomes for a group of players immersed in a circus that refuses to leave town.

Not even rain could, well, rain on the Cubs' banner parade, which may last many more months before everyone is ready to move on to 2017.

It was just two years ago that was a disaster, bleachers closed and bathrooms unavailable as the national media -- justifiably so -- had plenty of fun at the Cubs' expense.

Since then, all they've done is rebuild a 100-year-old museum, make it a modern-day palace and win the World Series.

It's all lollipops and roses now.

And, oh yeah, rings.

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Daily Herald Imrem: Will Wrigley's famous atmosphere change? By Mike Imrem

OK, Cubs fans, the next move is yours.

Your wait for a World Series title is over. Cubs players raised the championship banner before Monday night's home opener.

Fireworks were launched. The Cubs paraded on the field with the Commissioners Trophy. Members of the Ricketts family ownership group threw out ceremonial pitches.

Then the Cubs and Dodgers actually played a game.

All that's left is Wednesday night's ring ceremony … so, what are fans going to do now?

Monday wasn't a good measure: Rain and the festivities made this a unique evening.

Manager Joe Maddon calls the normal atmosphere in Wrigley Field unlike any other place in the major leagues.

The question now is how different the new different will be from the old different because it will be different one way or another now that the Cubs finally won a World Series.

Will fans feel more urgency to win a second than they did to win a first? Or will they be more relaxed with the long wait over?

The Cubs' model -- as fashioned by club president Theo Epstein and general manager -- has been Boston.

The Red Sox went 86 years before winning a World Series in 2004 … and then along came 2005.

After losing the first two games of the playoffs to the White Sox, we arrived in Boston for Game 3 and turned on talk-radio there.

The mood was sort of resignation like, oh well, we won last year, we'll win next year, losing this year is no big deal.

Red Sox fans finally had their World Series championship like Cub fans finally have theirs.

Epstein and Hoyer were running baseball operations in Boston back then, just as they are in Chicago now.

"Yeah," Hoyer said Monday night when asked whether there was a different vibe around Boston the year after.

Even as the Red Sox qualified for the postseason again, the feeling sure seemed to be less life or death.

"Since we won (in '04)," Hoyer said, "one of the best things was (in '05) we were a normal team in the way fans looked at it."

Normal?

"I definitely don't think people reacted with less interest," Hoyer said, "but they reacted differently because they didn't expect the next shoe to drop (anymore)."

OK, so here the Cubs are, embarking on a season in which they can repeat as champions and maybe even take a step toward establishing a dynasty.

Maddon is playing mind games with his players, reminding them to not be comfortable with last season's success.

Ah, but Maddon can't circulate around the ballpark and city urging fans to maintain their competitive edge.

So, will the Wrigley Field faithful be as demanding as they have been in recent years, or more demanding, or less demanding, or what?

As Maddon says, these fans are different, but it's hard to tell yet whether their evolution will make them feel more or less urgent.

"I'm hoping it'll be more of the same," Maddon said. "I don't want them to be satisfied."

The Cubs manager hopes his hope will translate into Wrigley Field being as hungry as it was last season.

"It's hard to imagine it being any different," Maddon said. "They've been crazy. Every day driving up (to the ballpark) is like October (playoffs)."

It's your move, Cubs fans, as to how you respond to the year after the year before.

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Daily Herald Constable: Banners rise, bullpens fall By Burt Constable

Since that first Chicago Cubs Opening Day at Wrigley Field in 1916, the season's home opener has subjected Cubs fans to blizzards, monsoons, sleet, freezing temperatures, hail and a century of regret that last season wasn't "the year." Monday's Opening Night treated those fans to a first -- that dream-come-true of raising the 2016 World Series Championship banner.

Given how those 2016 Cubs benefited from a rain delay in Game 7 of the World Series that allowed them to refocus, it seemed fitting that Monday's ceremony at Wrigley was delayed almost two hours by sprinkles. When the Cubs raised banners for championships in 1907 and 1908, last year's National League pennant and the 2016 World Series Championship on new flagpoles next to the old scoreboard in center field as fireworks exploded, the crowd reacted just as they did during last year's postseason. They hugged, cried, cheered and captured it all on cellphones.

If those championship banners don't erase all the bad memories, the addition of those four new rows of seats down both foul lines obliterate one particularly haunting specter. Gone is the seat where a fan (I prefer not to use his name, which has become synonymous with Cubs' failure) reached for a ball down the left field line that Cubs left fielder Moises Alou was trying to catch during Game 6 of the 2003 playoffs. Since that fateful moment when the Cubs collapsed, blew a lead and the game and the series, fans have visited Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 113, and posed for selfies or even given interviews to reporters. Now there is no Seat 113. It's been swallowed up by progress.

"And that's a good thing," said a veteran usher. "We didn't want to talk about that, and now we don't have to. But we can still point out the 'Ferris Bueller' seats."

That iconic 1986 movie proves that not everything from the old days are gone, and one forgotten relic is back. The Shawon-O-Meter, a folding, cardboard sign used to keep track of the batting average of Shawon Dunston, the popular from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, is proudly on display in a glass case labeled "Cubs Legends." You can look at the case of Cubs history that starts in 1876 while drinking a gluten-free beer.

During the rain delay before the ceremony, the giant video screen towering above the left field bleachers showed last year's catcher, David Ross, performing live on TV's "Dancing With The Stars," and Game 6 of last year's NLCS, when the Cubs beat the Dodgers to earn that trip to the World Series,

"I was here when they clinched the pennant. That was wild," Bernie Nash, 53, a lifelong Cubs fan from Glen Ellyn who considers the banner-raising a nice bookend to the last time he was at Wrigley. He's sitting in a seat that used to be right next to the opposing team's .

"These are still good seats, and those seats up there," he says, motioning to the four new rows in front of him, "cost $150 more."

Fans John Conenna, 57, and his 29-year-old son, Vince, of Elk Grove Village bought seats online in the first row, which used to allow fans the thrill of practically sitting with the bullpen . "That's what I was hoping for," admits the younger Conenna, who coaches junior varsity hockey at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. "But I read that they cut out the bullpens."

The Cubs said it was for safety reasons. Players in the bullpen sometimes got hit by foul balls. Fielders sometimes tripped over the mounds while trying to make catches. An ump once got hit by an that got away from a bullpen catcher. And on May 16, 2000, a fan (possibly drunk) reached over the brick wall and stole the hat of Los Angeles Dodger catcher Chad Krueter, who responded by leading a contingent of Dodgers into the grandstand. The resulting melee made all the sports highlight shows.

It's as if those fans used to have beachside cottages on a friendly little lake, and they came back this summer to discover someone dredged the lake to accommodate a cruise ship, filled in the lakeshore and built condos in front of them.

The new bullpens are under bleachers, and fans can view them only on the video screen or through glass windows. "Please do not disturb the Cubs," reads a warning on the viewing area. "Kindly keep your off the glass."

I sat in those seats next to the old bullpen in 2011 when my youngest son and I were guests of another father and son, and the were in town. The relievers spent the first eight innings seeing who could flip or spit sunflower seeds across the foul line and into right field. As the 9th inning began, the bullpen catcher gave my son and his friend balls that legendary reliever had used during his bullpen tosses before he earned the in the 4-3 win over the Cubs.

Very cool memories. But then again, so is seeing the raising of World Series Championship banner above beloved Wrigley Field.

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Cubs.com Gold Cubs, Gold! W flies, now bring on rings By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- For the police officer who cried on Ben Zobrist's shoulder, and the endless stream of fans who have said "thank you" to Joe Maddon, and the many who wished their parents or grandparents were alive to see the Cubs win a World Series, Monday night was a chance to celebrate once again.

Rain delayed the ceremony nearly two hours -- which seemed fitting since the Cubs took advantage of a rain delay in Game 7 to regroup and beat the Indians -- but once it stopped, the players went out to the bleachers in their gold-trimmed jerseys and raised banners to commemorate winning the 2016 National League pennant and the World Series, as well as the 1907 and '08 World Series.

"You must enjoy the celebration," Maddon said before the Cubs walked off on Anthony Rizzo's ninth-inning single. "You should celebrate achievement always."

After a day off, the Cubs will receive their diamond-studded championship rings on Wednesday, which Maddon said should be the point when the team officially turns the page. But he's also enjoying the hangover from winning the franchise's first World Series in 108 years.

"I want [the players] to take the mental snapshots," Maddon said. "It's possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so don't miss out."

There was a moment of silence before the game for Major League Baseball executive Katy Feeney and former Cubs general manager , who both recently passed away.

The flags will flank the center-field scoreboard, and Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams took part. Sandberg and Jenkins each raised flags to signify the 1907 and '08 World Series championships, respectively, and Williams raised the flag for the 2016 NL pennant. The Cubs players, who had gone into the bleachers, then took turns raising the flag to celebrate the 2016 World Series, beginning with Rizzo.

Rizzo led the players back on the field while holding the World Series trophy, which he passed to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts. Tom, Todd and then each threw out a ceremonial first pitch.

The last time the Cubs won the World Series, Wrigley Field didn't exist, so Monday was a first. In 1909, the Cubs waited until June 3 to raise the NL pennant, doing so before a game against the Phillies at , according to historian Ed Hartig. Both teams walked out to center field to raise the flag. The Cubs players then went to home plate and manager was given an envelope containing $10,000 in playoff bonus money, which was to be split among the entire team.

The Cubs didn't raise the World Series flag until June 16, 1909, doing so against the Dodgers. However, the pulley snapped and the flag broke off and sailed into the left-field bleachers. The grounds crew was able to get the flag up during the game.

Hartig said it was common for teams to wait to celebrate rather than do so on Opening Day. However, the Cubs did raise the NL pennant flag on April 20, 1946, the home opener, rather than wait.

Maddon likes the rings but prefers the banners because they will be a permanent part of Wrigley Field.

"I know it's wonderful, but I've never been that much into jewelry and I do like banners," Maddon said. "They're seen on a daily basis, and I like that kids get to see that and they hear about it."

On Monday, Zobrist's wife, Julianna, sang "God Bless America," sang the national anthem, and the Cubs' owners, the Ricketts family, threw out ceremonial first pitches. Jenkins, Sandberg and Williams led the crowd in the seventh-inning stretch.

Now, a new generation is able to share their stories about the Cubs' World Series win. Ben Zobrist expected to see a few tears of joy among the sellout crowd at Wrigley Field.

"It's a special moment in Cubs history," said Zobrist.

Last week in St. Louis, a Chicago police officer approached Zobrist after he had lunch, and started to talk about how much the Cubs winning the World Series meant to his family.

"He just bear-hugged me and started crying on my shoulder," Zobrist said.

Maddon has gotten that response as well.

"It's a lot of gratitude, that's what I hear more than anything, and it's pretty much the same refrain from everybody we meet," Maddon said. "Nobody wants anything, which I love; everybody just wants to say 'Thank you.'"

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said the team split the banner and ring ceremonies so fans could enjoy each celebration on its own.

"I think it will prove to be a benefit to the fans," Epstein said. "More people can say they were there for one of the ceremonies. Hopefully, there will be special moments, and by the first pitch on Wednesday we can truly turn the page."

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Cubs.com Reign kings: Cubs party, walk off on Dodgers By Carrie Muskat and John Jackson

CHICAGO -- The Cubs didn't let a little rain ruin their party Monday night. They raised the banner to commemorate the 2016 World Series championship, hoisted the trophy one more time on the field, then beat the Dodgers, 3-2, on Anthony Rizzo's walk-off RBI single in a game that began nearly two hours late because of inclement weather.

With the game tied at 2 in the ninth against Sergio Romo, pinch-hitter Jon Jay singled and advanced on Tommy La Stella's ground out. Romo was replaced by Kenley Jansen, who struck out Kris Bryant. Jay stole third on the third strike, and Rizzo then slapped a single to left for the game-winner, his first RBI of the season.

"I'll remember this day for as long as I play baseball," Rizzo said. "The walk-off caps it off, but that pregame ceremony, I really, honestly didn't think it would be that [emotional]."

It was Rizzo's sixth career walk-off RBI hit.

"I executed my pitch, he fought it off; he was strong enough, and he put it in play," Jansen said of the cutter up and in to Rizzo. "How many times you gonna see him do that? Not a lot."

Neither starter got a decision. The Cubs' Jon Lester struck out seven over six innings, while the Dodgers' Alex Wood, subbing for injured Rich Hill, gave up two runs (one earned) over 3 2/3 innings.

The boisterous crowd of 41,166 could handle a delay. After all, it had been 108 years since the Cubs' last World Series championship. They not only raised banners for the 2016 NL pennant and World Series, but also flags to commemorate the 1907 and '08 World Series.

"It was a really special night for all of us," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

During the 1 hour, 56 minute wait before the game, the Wrigley Field video board showed David Ross' performance on "Dancing With the Stars" and also replayed the decisive Game 6 of the NLCS, which was probably not must-see TV for the Dodgers.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Hooked: The Dodgers were stymied by the Cubs' defense early in the game, but an by shortstop led to the game-tying run in the eighth. Los Angeles had runners at first and second with one out when pinch-hitter Chase Utley hit into a fielder's choice. Russell tried to turn a , but his throw to first was wild, and Logan Forsythe, who was on second, scored on the play. Maddon felt Justin Turner, who slid into second, made contact with Russell, which threw him off balance.

"From the replay, it looked like when he went to throw it, Turner clipped his leg," Rizzo said. "It was a good slide, a hard slide. I'm sure, going back, [Russell] would probably just hold [the ball]."

Defense: The Dodgers tallied in the sixth on 's RBI double, and had a golden opportunity in the seventh when Carl Edwards Jr. walked two batters and another reached on catcher's interference. took over and got Joc Pederson to fly out to right and pinch-hitter Andrew Toles to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Grimm punctuated the play with a demonstrative fist pump.

"Give [Grimm] some credit," Maddon said. "We had him warmed up before and sat him down for [Edwards], and when I thought it wasn't going well for C.J., we got him back up, and he did a great job."

QUOTABLE

"I think so. You can look at the National League, there's a lot of very good teams, but this is a team that brought its core, its nucleus, back, outside of a few players. Right now, they're the reigning champions." -- Manager Dave Roberts, when asked if the Dodgers had to go through the Cubs to get to the World Series

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Lester is the fourth Cubs to start both the team's season opener when on the road and its home opener. He joins Grover Alexander (1920, '22), (1986, '88) and (2000).

UNDER REVIEW

In the fourth, the Cubs loaded the bases with one out when Lester hit the ball to Justin Turner. He threw to Forsythe at second for the force on Javier Baez, but Baez was called safe. The Dodgers challenged the call, and after a review, it was overturned.

In the Dodgers' eighth, Turner was out at second on the force play, and the Cubs challenged the call, saying he slid into Russell. After a review, the call stood.

INJURY UPDATE

Dodgers left fielder Franklin Gutierrez left the game after the second inning and was being evaluated for a left hamstring strain. Gutierrez appeared to injure his leg trying to steal second base in the second, when he was thrown out by catcher as Puig struck out. His status is day to day.

Turner was hit on the hand by a pitch in the eighth, but he was removed in the bottom of the frame due to a sore quad he sustained on his hard slide into second.

"Probably minor, but in this weather, you've got to get him out of there," Roberts said.

WHAT'S NEXT

Dodgers: Brandon McCarthy will look to win his second straight start when the series resumes Wednesday following a day off on Tuesday. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits in six innings last Thursday against the Padres. First pitch is 5:05 p.m. PT.

Cubs: will make his first start at Wrigley Field after picking up the win in his first start, striking out seven over six innings against the Cardinals. He was 7-4 with a 2.62 ERA at Wrigley Field last year. The Cubs players will receive their championship rings prior to the game. First pitch will be 7:05 CT.

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Cubs.com Puttin' on the Rizz: Cubs star caps epic night By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- He was first to pull the rope to raise the World Series championship banner, and then carried the trophy symbolizing the Cubs' historic win across the field. Anthony Rizzo had to fight back tears during the pregame ceremony, then couldn't stop smiling as he capped an amazing night by delivering a walk-off RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning for a 3-2 win over the Dodgers.

"I'll remember this day for as long as I play baseball," Rizzo said.

Monday was the first time the Cubs were back at Wrigley Field since Game 5 of the World Series against the Indians. The team raised four banners to signify its championship seasons in 1907, 1908 and last year, as well as a flag for the 2016 National League pennant. Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams handled three of the flags, but Rizzo and the Cubs players took turns hoisting the World Series banner.

"I told the boys, I was going to punt tonight and watch the game from center field -- what a view," Rizzo said. "I've been up there, but with all the fans, there's a lot of energy. You see Ryno and Fergie and Billy raise the previous championships and the pennant, and to be up there and raise ours, that banner, it's history forever."

The Dodgers nearly spoiled the party by tying the game at 2 in the eighth. In the Chicago ninth against Sergio Romo, pinch-hitter Jon Jay singled and advanced on a ground out. Kenley Jansen took over and struck out Kris Bryant. Jay stole third on the third strike, and Rizzo then slapped a single to left for the game-winner.

"I executed my pitch, he fought it off; he was strong enough, and he put it in play," Jansen said. "How many times you gonna see him do that? Not a lot."

"Anthony really worked a veteran, mature at-bat against Jansen," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "If you just try to attempt to do what you normally do against that fellow, he's going to eat you alive. [Rizzo] stayed inside the ball, hit the ball the other way, didn't try to pull it, got the fatter part of the bat on the ball."

It was Rizzo's first RBI of the season, and his sixth career walk-off RBI. Good timing.

"Those guys aren't going to finish with one RBI -- same with Kris and a couple guys who are struggling," Chicago starter Jon Lester said. "Everybody is trying to get off to a good start and play well, but at the end of the day a win's a win."

For some of the Cubs players, the banner-raising ceremony marked the first time they'd ever been in the bleachers. Rizzo led them back onto the field, carrying the championship trophy.

"When we came back through with the trophy, I told myself, 'You have to look around just to see everybody's reaction,'" Jason Heyward said. "Those are moments you'll never get back. It was really special." So special, that Rizzo said he was "fighting back tears a lot."

"That pregame ceremony, I wasn't expecting to get hit with that many emotions, it was crazy," Rizzo said.

And historic. In case you missed it, the 2016 World Series championship was the Cubs' first in 108 years. "Being able to do that -- we're the only people alive to have ever done that," Rizzo said.

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Cubs.com Cubs relish homecoming, Wrigley environs By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Some of the Cubs players made a point to drive down Street to Wrigley Field on Monday to see what the new plaza area looked like. The Park at Wrigley was unveiled earlier on Monday, and it will provide a gathering place for fans as well as be a site for concerts, farmers markets and other events.

"There were so many people out in the rain," Chicago's Kris Bryant said. "I really enjoyed seeing the outside and the new plaza and what it looked like. That will be so fun for fans to experience. I think there's a lot of talk about the pace of play in the game, but you see fans here at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and they stay until midnight, I think that says a lot about the game, especially our fans. They're excited to be at the field."

Kyle Schwarber was just glad to be back at Wrigley.

"We missed it -- we missed being here," Schwarber said. "It feels like it's been a month that we've been on the road."

The home clubhouse features five new photos related to the World Series championship, including a photo of the trophy at the Grant Park rally, one of the champagne celebration in the clubhouse, another of the fans outside Wrigley Field celebrating the Game 7 win, and another of Ben Zobrist delivering the game-winning hit. The clubhouse also has new lettering, proclaiming the Cubs as the "World Series Champions."

What manager Joe Maddon liked best was a mural of a portion of the brick wall outside Wrigley Field that fans wrote messages on after the World Series win.

• Monday was the Cubs' first look at the new bullpens, which have been moved from along the foul lines to underneath the bleachers.

"I'm going to miss being on the field, from not moving on foul balls to [bullpen catcher] Chad Noble's routine that he does," reliever Mike Montgomery said. "It'll be different. In the end, I think we'll like it better."

Maddon thought switching the bullpens would be beneficial defensively. won't have to worry about tripping over the bullpen mounds chasing foul balls. However, Zobrist was eager to see how balls react coming off the new doors to the bullpens. When a ball hit the ivy-covered brick walls, it usually just dropped. Now, it may ricochet.

• For the season opener, Maddon made sure his lineup included the players who were key to the Cubs' Game 7 World Series win, and he did the same for Monday's home opener.

However, the Cubs' lineup was the first time this season he had the pitcher bat ninth rather than eighth. That move, Maddon said, was done because he didn't like the way it "looked" with Jon Lester batting eighth against Dodgers lefty Alex Wood.

• Brian Duensing struck out five and gave up one hit over two innings in his second rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa. The lefty began the season on the disabled list because of back spasms that limited him in .

• Cubs infielder Javier Baez will have a street named after him on Tuesday in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. The road will stretch along West Luis Munoz Marin Drive from Sacramento Avenue to Division Street along Little Cubs Field. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and 26th Ward Alderman Roberto Maldonado will attend the ceremony, and Baez will be accompanied by the World Series trophy. The first 50 fans at the event will get a wristband to have their photo taken with the trophy. The "Javy Baez Way" street sign will be unveiled at 12:45 p.m. CT.

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Cubs.com Ricketts has old-school devotion to Cubs By Phil Rogers

CHICAGO -- Tom Ricketts was the same as always on Monday, at least from the outside. He was humble, pleasant, accommodating and somehow able to both pay attention to details and enjoy the moment.

It's hard to know for sure how Walter O'Malley was on Opening Day at in 1956, after Johnny Podres won Game 7 of the World Series the season prior to give the Dodgers their first championship.

But under the O'Malleys -- Walter and his son, Peter -- the Dodgers grew into a close-knit powerhouse with family touches that extended from Los Angeles to Dodgertown in Florida. Baseball has entered an era of corporate ownership, but Ricketts is a throwback to earlier days.

"I've heard that reference from [Rick] Sutcliffe and some of the guys who had Dodger ties," Ricketts said before Monday's ceremonies. "What I think it comes down to, coming in those first few years and knowing it would take time to get a better team, just letting everyone know our personal reputation was on the line, [that] we really cared about people who were there. We cared about them knowing they were in a family business, and just being there in person."

Few owners have been at their ballpark -- and those in their Minor League system, as well -- as often as Ricketts since he and his family purchased the Cubs in 2009. There haven't been any days better than this one, when the Cubs raised a championship banner for the first time at Wrigley Field, which opened in 1914 as home to the 's .

Not only are the Cubs celebrating the 103-win season and Game 7 victory over the Indians, but also the third offseason of renovations to Wrigley Field. From players to front-office staff and stadium ushers, everyone carries themselves with pride these days.

"How transformational is that?" Ricketts asked about winning the World Series. "We get to put behind us all the curses and goats and Bartmans and stuff. It's all history. Everybody associated the word Cubs with 'loser,' even though there were some pretty good teams [through the years].

"Lovable or not was the question. If you were a fan, we were lovable losers; if you weren't a fan, we were just losers. It won't go back that way. The red 'C' now stands for being a good teammate, it stands for playing hard and it stands for 'champion.'"

Ricketts marvels at how fans have reacted to the Cubs' championship. His first memory of the team's parade and celebration -- attended by an estimated 5 million people -- is of a boy on his father's shoulders.

"[He was] holding up a sign that said, 'Grandpa, we did it,'" Ricketts said. "The thing I find most surprising and moving with being associated with the success of the Cubs is the Chicago Cubs are a member of the family to so many people."

Ricketts still can't believe fans covered the outside walls of Wrigley with chalk-written messages, including tributes to grandmothers and grandfathers who took them to their first games.

"It was purely organic," Ricketts said. "We washed it off the first time, then it came back, so we let it go. It's amazing how much it meant to so many people. It was a relationship that people still have with their parents and grandparents that aren't still with us. It was so powerful. There aren't words to describe it."

Wrigley Field has flown flags atop the center-field scoreboard signifying wins and losses since shortly after the scoreboard was constructed in 1937. The same flagpole is used for the American flag during games.

Because the foul poles are devoted to the numbers of retired players, the Cubs needed to do some construction to honor their 2016 championship. They built four flag poles in center field, two on each side of the scoreboard.

"Flags are one of our sub-specialties right now," Ricketts said, laughing. "We've got to get some more to put out there now."

Thanks to Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, the Cubs appear built to last. They have a deep, talented core of players and a team of scouts and coaches in place to keep the talent coming.

Epstein, who was the general manager when Boston ended its 86-year World Series drought in 2004, has said chasing subsequent titles wasn't the same as getting the first one. Ricketts acknowledges that dynamic, but he sees nothing but good sailing ahead for his franchise and its fans.

"It's a point well taken that you can only break the curse once," Ricketts said. "But Wrigley is a happy place, one of the 10 happiest places in the world, according to Conde Nast [magazine]. Even when the team wasn't very good, people enjoyed themselves at Wrigley Field. There's something about it. There's an aura, there's a vibe, there's feel that you have at Wrigley.

"That's our baseline, right? Then you put out a good team and that just goes up. If you put on a good team that's young and has the kind of guys that everyone loves, everyone wants to cheer for, I don't think it's going to go backward just because we're good. Maybe the next parade doesn't get quite as many people, but we have Midwest fans who appreciate the beauty of Wrigley and their relationship to the team. I don't think anything's going backward in terms of happiness at Wrigley Field."

The Dodgers won the World Series six times and captured the National League pennant 15 times before the O'Malley family sold the team in 1998. The count has begun for the Ricketts family.

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Cubs.com Cubs unveil Park at Wrigley before opener By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- The Cubs unveiled the new Park at Wrigley on Monday, complete with red brick, purple hyacinth, green grass, some seating, a new merchandise store and a place for the 2016 World Series trophy.

The Park is located east of Wrigley Field, and it is designed as a year-round gathering place, not just a meeting place on Cubs game days.

"Our vision was to create a neighborhood center where families, fans and visitors can find entertainment, unique and local food options and daily attractions in an urban park setting," Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney said. "The Park at Wrigley will be instrumental in hosting farmers markets, family movie nights and an ice rink. The goal is to offer our visitors a dynamic neighborhood entertainment destination."

Some fans took advantage of the new Cubs store on the plaza to purchase gold-lettered jerseys, which the players will wear Monday, when the team raises the championship banner, and again on Wednesday when they receive their World Series rings.

"This park is the embodiment of my family's commitment to being a good neighbor," Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said. "We are proud to create this space for the community."

The World Series trophy will be on display to the public starting Thursday in a room located on the ground floor of the office building next to the plaza. A statue of Hall of Famer is at the south end of the park, and the office building is at the north end.

The Park will host a farmers market every Thursday that there is not a game at Wrigley from 4-8 p.m. CT starting June 15. The Old Town School of Folk Music will provide bi-weekly morning and afternoon music programs starting June 13.

Music Box Theatre will host six sundown "Movies in the Park," beginning with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" on June 14. The Park at Wrigley is available for public and private event bookings. For additional information on hosting an event, guests may visit parkatwrigley.com.

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ESPNChicago.com Inside a Cubs banner raising 108 years -- and a rain delay -- in the making By Jesse Rogers

CHICAGO -- It just had to rain, right?

Weather forecasts for Monday’s banner night at Wrigley Field had been spotty for a week, so it came as no surprise that the Chicago Cubs would have to wait a little longer to raise their first championship flag since 1908. What’s another 90 minutes or so when you’ve been waiting a lifetime? And besides, it was another reminder of that night in early November when the Cubs scored two runs in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series to defeat the -- but only after a players meeting in the weight room of Progressive Field during a rain delay in Cleveland.

On Monday, the Cubs didn’t need any meetings; they just needed the rain to disappear before they could raise their banner in front of a sellout crowd. And the night ended in equally dramatic fashion, as Anthony Rizzo gave Chicago another cause for celebration with his walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in the Cubs' 3-2 win against the Dodgers.

After the game, Rizzo said he was overcome by emotions throughout the night and, at one point, was "fighting back tears."

"I wasn't expecting to get hit with that many emotions," he said. "It was amazing."

Here’s how the historic day and night unfolded (in Central time):

3 p.m.

By midafternoon, the tarp had come off the field after a morning of rain showers but it went right back on, canceling batting practice for the Cubs and their opponent, the . Another round of rain didn’t damper the spirits outside of Wrigley Field as the ribbon cutting on a brand new plaza went on as scheduled earlier in the day. Fans milled around outside as the new video board in the plaza replayed games from the World Series.

3:30 p.m.

The Cubs opened their locker room to the media for the first time in 2017, but it was something just outside the room that caught your attention. Hanging along the walls were new pictures from the 2016 playoff run, including the moments after the final game on the field, an aerial shot of fans celebrating outside of Wrigley and the World Series trophy on stage during the Cubs rally, but the last one -- which takes up an entire wall -- is Joe Maddon’s favorite. It’s a picture of the red brick wall on the outside of the stadium upon which fans wrote messages in the days after the World Series.

“My mind started racing when I saw that,” Maddon said. “I've been wanting to get that photograph and I didn’t know it was going to be there as we walked in. That would be the trinket I would like, a nice canvas photograph of that.”

3:45 p.m.

Inside the clubhouse, players were getting ready for their big night, alternating between talk of the banner ceremony and the upcoming ceremony on Wednesday, when they’ll get their rings. But for slugger Kyle Schwarber, the night had even more meaning. Remember, he only could DH in the World Series due to his knee injury so he wasn’t seen much during the home games.

“I haven’t really got to play at home in a year so it’s really going to be special when I walk out to left and see people in the bleachers,” Schwarber said. “It’s going to be a bit of a family reunion, I guess.”

Ben Zobrist was asked to recall special moments from fans since the native of won his second consecutive World Series. The “thank yous” haven’t stopped.

“Recently I had a guy cry on my shoulder,” Zobrist said. “An officer from the city here.”

4:30-6 p.m.

On the field, rain picked up, tapered off and then picked up again, but that didn’t stop singer Eddie Vedder and former star Chris Chelios from mingling with Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer and president Theo Epstein conducted interviews as the assembled media on the field was nearly as numerous as for a playoff game.

“They say all glory is fleeting, and it is, but the flag will fly forever and that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves will last forever too,” Epstein said. “That’s what it symbolizes.”

6 p.m.

It became clear about an hour before game time -- and 30 minutes before the banner ceremony -- that there would be a weather delay. It wasn’t raining at that moment, but a storm was slated to come through before the rest of the night was clear. The video scoreboard replayed the Game 6-clinching NLCS win over the Dodgers, shown, presumably, because the Dodgers were in town. Just as the final out was recorded, the rain came down hard. The raising of the championship banner would have to wait a little longer.

8:05 p.m.

While the Cubs and fans were waiting for the ceremony to begin, a fan favorite from 2016 appeared on the video scoreboard as David Ross took to the dance floor for Week 3's competition on “Dancing with the Stars.” The crowd roared when he danced, then a few moments later booed one judge when she was critical. A night to commemorate 2016 wouldn't be complete without an appearance by Grandpa Rossy, and the Wrigley faithful got it -- just not in the form anyone would have imagined a year ago at this time.

8:15 p.m.

The tarp came off the field and both teams finally were introduced along the foul lines. Zobrist’s wife, Julianna, sang "God Bless America" and Wayne Messmer performed the national anthem. Finally, the Cubs were ready to raise their banners.

8:30 p.m.

Cubs players and alumni headed out to the bleachers through the doors in center field. That’s where the team had erected four new poles where the banners would reside. First up was Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who raised a banner commemorating the 1907 championship; he was followed by another Hall of Famer, Fergie Jenkins, who raised the 1908 banner. Finally, Williams got the honor of raising the National League pennant from last year as the crowd awaited the final banner.

Led by Rizzo, one by one the Cubs got to tug on the strings that would hoist the final banner, reminding everyone of their dramatic seven-game World Series win over the Indians last fall. For Maddon, Wednesday’s ring ceremony will be nice but banner night is his favorite.

“I’m a banner guy,” Maddon said. “The ring’s a ring. I know it’s wonderful. I’m not that much into jewelry myself, but I do like banners. They’re seen on a daily basis by everybody. I like the idea of when kids come in they get to see that and then they hear about how the team hadn’t won in 108 years, and all of a sudden there is one at 5 or 6 years of age and they grow into being a Cubs fan even more.”

The banners might be there for all to see, but they’re a little small from the grandstand area, and though it was a windy evening on Monday, they didn’t seem to “fly” like other flags higher up on the foul poles. But the symbolism can’t be hidden. The Cubs achieved something historic last Nov. 2, and their banners will always be there as a reminder.

“The best part of last year is we all got to be part of something bigger than ourselves,” Epstein said. “[We] feel connected to each other and the fans and the organization and the city.”

9:01 p.m.

The Cubs and Dodgers began Game 1 of their three-game series, which was delayed 1:56 by rain and the banner ceremony.

12:38 a.m.

The night just had to end with Rizzo delivering the heroics. The leader of the young Cubs earned his first RBI of the season in walk-off fashion with just a smattering of fans there to see it. A 3-2 win after midnight in April isn't often memorable, but for these Cubs, on this night, it won't be forgotten soon.

Said Rizzo: "I'll remember this day for as long as I play baseball."

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ESPNChicago.com Banner moment: Rain doesn't damper Cubs' World Series celebration By Jesse Rogers

CHICAGO -- It was only appropriate that the Cubs had to wait out a rain delay before they could raise their 2016 World Series banner Monday night.

After all, it was a rain delay in Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians last season that led to a weight-room, players- only meeting before the Cubs scored two runs en route to an 8-7 win.

The Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers waited out Monday's rain and the ceremony, and after a nearly two-hour delay, the two teams took the field to play -- but not before the crowd recognized the reigning champions.

There was much less nail biting Monday. The rain delayed only the inevitable, as the Cubs raised not only their 2016 world championship banner but also banners from their previous two wins in 1907 and 1908. They also put up a flag commemorating their 2016 National League pennant.

"The best part of last year is we all got to be part of something bigger than ourselves," team president Theo Epstein said before the ceremonies. "[We] feel connected to each other and the fans and the organization and the city."

After the rain stopped, Cubs players and alumni marched out to the bleachers, where four new poles were installed for the banner raising. Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg got to raise the 1907 banner, and pitcher Fergie Jenkins did the honors with 1908. Outfield great Billy Williams pulled the strings on the NL pennant before players from the 2016 team raised the final banner commemorating the World Series win.

"We're excited to see the fans excited too," second baseman Ben Zobrist said. "There will be tears of joy, I'm sure."

Kris Bryant felt as though he was arriving for a playoff game. The reigning NL MVP saw fans braving the rain and jamming the neighborhood, particularly the sparkling new plaza outside Wrigley Field.

"This place is unlike any other,'' Bryant said.

When the team returned to the field, first baseman Anthony Rizzo was carrying the World Series trophy, which he handed off to owner Tom Ricketts near second base. Ricketts and his two siblings then threw out ceremonial first pitches.

"Just an honor for me, for my family, to be part of the city for the really bad times when the new ownership got here,'' Rizzo said after the game. "A lot of emotions. I was fighting back tears a lot.''

Bryant got the "MVP! MVP!'' treatment during pregame introductions. A loud "Let's Go Cubbies!'' chant reverberated through the ballpark after Wayne Messmer's rendition of the national anthem.

"They say all glory is fleeting, and it is, but the flag will fly forever, and that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves will last forever too," Epstein said. "That's what it symbolizes."

Cubs players will receive their rings in another pregame ceremony on Wednesday.

As for the game, Rizzo had a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a 3-2 Cubs victory.

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CSNChicago.com Cubs Pull Out Walk-Off Win Over Dodgers On Festive Night At Wrigley By Tony Andracki

Roughly four hours after Anthony Rizzo carried the World Series trophy out onto Wrigley Field to show off to the Cubs fans in attendance, the face of the franchise delivered the game-deciding hit.

New Cub Jon Jay scored the walk-off winner on Rizzo's two-out hit as the Cubs pulled off a 3-2 win in the bottom of the ninth in the Wrigley Field opener.

However, thanks to a rain delay that lasted nearly two hours, this Cubs victory came early Tuesday morning as most of the 41,166 fans in attendance had gone home to warm up and stay dry after a 36-degree windchill at first pitch.

It was a festive atmosphere at Wrigley - a "special night," as Joe Maddon, Jon Lester, Addison Russell and Rizzo all used that same phrase to describe the dreamlike sequence that played out at the "Friendly Confines."

Jay pinch hit for and led off the 9th with a single to right field. Pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella advanced Jay with a groundout to shortstop. Kris Bryant struck out to follow, but Rizzo fought off a tough pitch into the left-field corner to plate Jay.

Sporting another Maddon lineup that paid tribute to the World Series team, the Cubs jumped out to an early lead behind Lester with a Bryant RBI double in the third inning to score Kyle Schwarber.

The next inning, Russell came around to score on Lester's fielder's choice.

But the Dodgers mounted a comeback against Lester and the Cubs bullpen, plating solo tallies in the sixth and eighth innings, the latter coming on an Addison Russell throwing error.

Lester finished with just the one run allowed in six strong innings, striking out seven and surrendering four hits and a walk.

Wade Davis got the win after tossing a scoreless top of the ninth.

Rizzo summed up the night/early morning perfectly:

"I'll remember this day for as long as I play baseball."

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CSNChicago.com Relocated Bullpens Create Different Atmosphere For Jon Lester, Cubs By JJ Stankevitz

Monday marked the Cubs' first game without bullpens in the field of play at Wrigley Field, which created a different warm-up environment for starter Jon Lester.

A near two-hour rain delay and temperatures plummeting into the 30s didn't take away from the energy at Wrigley Field before the Cubs' 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pregame player introductions, the banner-raising ceremony and the team strutting the World Series trophy in from right field produced waves of roaring cheers from the standing-room-only crowd of 41,166.

But Lester was largely separated from the party, taking his pregame warmups into the surprisingly quiet confines of the relocated Cubs bullpen under the left field bleachers.

"When the doors are closed, it feels like you're in a offseason training facility throwing a bullpen with ESPN on the TV," Lester said.

So Lester had bullpen coach Lester Strode open the green plexiglass doors separating the bullpen from the left field warning track during his pregame routine Monday to get more of the music and crowd noise.

"It'll take a little bit of time," Lester said. "We're used to the other way. It'll take a bit of time and it really did help once they opened the doors. You still had the vibe from outside and you could feel that. It's nice warming up in a warmer environment than what it was outside. It'll take a little bit of time, it will. Any time you have change it's going to take a little bit to get used to it."

Consider it a stark contrast to the last game played here on Clark and Addison before Monday night, when Lester fired six tense innings in a win-or-go-home World Series Game 5 against the Cleveland Indians. Lester threw his warm-up pitches that October night down the left field line, only feet away from an anxiously-energized crowd hoping to see the Cubs send the World Series back to Cleveland.

The benefit, though, for starting pitchers of having the bullpens removed from the field is lessening whatever distractions may arise while preparing for a game. Monday was a prime example of that.

"For a night like tonight, it was good," Lester said. "It was good. You had the separation and definitely distanced yourself from the crowd and what was going on. But leading up to that point, it was nice to be on the field and see everything and the team being introduced and all the applause and all that stuff, so it was good. But it was definitely easy to separate yourself when you got into the bullpen and got ready for the game."

After emerging from under the bleachers, Lester fired six solid innings, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and seven . While he didn't get much of an opportunity to take in the pageantry of Monday's banner- raising ceremony, he'll get the full experience of Wednesday's ring ceremony.

"It was a special night," Lester said. "Definitely something that'll go down in my book as something that I'll remember for a long, long time. Now, I look forward to Wednesday and getting the fun stuff, getting the rings."

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CSNChicago.com Cubs Thinking Bigger And Better After Raising World Series Banner By Patrick Mooney

The Cubs walked across the grass on Monday night, like some sort of "Field of Dreams" update, and disappeared under the bleachers. rubbed his hands together as they approached Wrigley Field's iconic scoreboard. Three Hall of Famers – Ryne Sandberg (1907), Fergie Jenkins (1908) and Billy Williams (2016 National League pennant) raised the first three flags.

Surrounded by teammates, Anthony Rizzo then began pulling the cord that lifted the 2016 World Series banner, the ceremony running live on ESPN for a team that has crossed over into so many different parts of popular culture. A crowd of 41,166 that must have sat through parts of the 108-year drought waited out a rain delay that would last almost two hours before first pitch.

By 8:38 p.m., Rizzo emerged from the doors that break up the brick wall in right-center field, holding the World Series trophy above his head as AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll) blasted from the sound system.

"I wasn't expecting to get hit by that many emotions," Rizzo said, looking back after knocking a Kenley Jansen cutter into the left-field corner for a 3-2 walk-off win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. "I was fighting back tears."

To be honest, a franchise that doesn't really do subtle or understated created a championship banner that's kind of hard to see. But, whatever, there's room for more flagpoles at the beginning of this golden age of baseball on the North Side.

"The new generation of Cubs fans is spoiled," Jon Lester said. "Our guys are so young – as long as health stays on our side – I feel like we'll compete. Our goal every year is to win a World Series."

If the Dodgers didn't get enough flashbacks from the rain-delay theater on the giant video board – the Cubs showed highlights from last year's Game 6 of the NL Championship Series – Lester again looked like a co-MVP (one run allowed in six innings) against a lineup that has so many issues with lefties.

These two big-market teams appear to be on another collision course. The defending World Series champs started seven 27-and-under players, including an October legend (Kyle Schwarber), a reigning MVP (Kris Bryant), a Silver Slugger/Gold Glove first baseman (Rizzo), an All-Star shortstop (Addison Russell), a rocket-armed catcher (Willson Contreras) and two of the game's best defensive players (Jason Heyward and Javier Baez).

"We're all still hungry," Schwarber said. "We're not satisfied with what we did last year. Obviously, it was a great accomplishment. To bring it back to the city of Chicago was great. But now we got to do it again.

"We know the talent that we have. We know how good we could be for some years down the road. But no one can predict the future."

This night – which actually ended on Tuesday morning – would be bigger than the 25 guys in the underground clubhouse that opened last year with a hyperbaric chamber, an underwater treadmill, an infrared sauna and a party room for postgame celebrations.

One entrance to the clubhouse – around the corner from Joe Maddon's office and outside the press-conference room – now displays the image of the "WE DID NOT SUCK 2016" brick wall that filled up with spontaneous messages written in chalk after the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians last November.

Hanging out in the home before the game, you saw a rock star (Eddie Vedder), a Hockey Hall of Famer (Chris Chelios) and Fortune magazine's "World's Greatest Leader" (Theo Epstein). Watching David Ross on "Dancing with the Stars" became another rain-delay diversion on the video board.

"This is the lowest-maintenance group I've ever been around," Epstein said. "They handled the target on their back last year so well, and this year they're handling the fact that they won and avoiding that complacency better than I could've imagined.

"We don't have to do anything. They're just so focused and so hard-working. They understand that they need to approach this with all the intensity they did last year if they want to get back to a point where they can enjoy that special feeling late in the year again.

"It's been a total non-issue. When first pitch is thrown, they're locked in."

By the last pitch, there were rows and rows of empty green seats. The bleachers had cleared out to the point where you could see the garbage. Chairman Tom Ricketts stood in the first row off the on-deck circle as Rizzo beat an $80 million closer, pumped his fist, tossed aside his helmet and got mobbed by teammates between first and second base. After the biggest moment of their lives, the 2017 Cubs are just getting started.

"In a game like tonight versus a tough team, it builds confidence in our group this year that this is what we do," Rizzo said. "This is who we are."

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CSNChicago.com Kris Bryant’s Fast Track To Wrigley Field Legend: ‘I Could Have Never Really Dreamed Of Being Where I Am Right Now’ By Patrick Mooney

Kris Bryant doesn’t think the style of the Las Vegas home he bought and moved into in January naturally creates a man cave for a 17 Cubs jersey with gold numbers and letters. Even the National League’s reigning MVP would have to clear something like that with his wife, Jessica, before designing his own mini Hall of Fame.

“I had bought the World Series trophy,” Bryant said, referring to a smaller, replica version Tiffany & Co. makes. “There’s a perfect spot right when you walk in the house. There’s a foyer. You can put it on a table right there. ‘Can we put it here?’ My idea got shot down.”

The 2016 World Series banner flying next to Wrigley Field’s iconic scoreboard on Monday night represented both closure and a new beginning for generations of Cubs fans conditioned to expect disappointment. But Bryant never shows signs of frustration or lets you see him sweat, the balance of what super-agent Scott Boras has called the “classic fighter-pilot personality.”

No one sums up the franchise’s new identity more than Bryant, who shot a Red Bull commercial with a goat and got his own Adidas “WORTH THE WAIT” billboard in Wrigleyville before his big-league debut in April 2015.

Bryant is generally aware of the star-crossed history, but shrugged it off, because this is all he’s known in The Show: The Cubs have been under .500 just once, after last week’s Opening Night walk-off loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 200-plus games, five playoff rounds and the franchise’s first World Series title since 1908.

“I could have never really dreamed of being where I am right now that quick,” said Bryant, who got drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2013 after the Houston Astros took pitcher . “I was kind of in the right place at the right time (and) the people in charge wanted to rebuild and rebuild fast. I was just fortunate enough to be a part of it.

“It’s just a testament to all the people here and the hard work that myself and everybody puts into it. (Everyone) around here just makes it so easy to want to (get better). My motivation is at an all-time high every time I get to step into this clubhouse.”

Bryant stood in the state-of-the-art underground clubhouse before the NL Championship Series rematch against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a locker next to Anthony Rizzo, the yin to his yang and another slugger the Cubs have under club control through the 2021 season. A montage on the video board during the banner ceremony showed Bryant with a half-smile on his face as he fielded the ball and threw it to Rizzo for the final out last November.

“This place is unlike any other,” Bryant said. “It’s hard to put into words. But just coming to the field today for our first home game, it kind of felt like a playoff game all over again. Fans are walking through the rain to check out the new plaza out there and just experience it all over again.

“It just seems like there’s more excitement. As a player in this organization, that’s all you can really ask for. When you have sellout crowds and fans that are really passionate, it just makes it so much easier to go out there and play.”

The shelf in Bryant’s locker had his Bryzzo Souvenir Co. nameplate, his own bobblehead and a Kyle Schwarber bobblehead on display. Sports Illustrated magazines – with “How Perfect is Kris Bryant?” on the cover – were stacked in the extra locker. You know a Cubs team with so much social-media savvy will be posting images after Wednesday night’s ring ceremony.

“It depends how shiny it is,” Bryant said, “but I think it’s important to wear it and show it off. It’s been a long time to finally get that and we should all be really proud of it. I’m a big believer in that. You accomplish something like that – show it off.

“We did it. I’m sure right when we get it, all of us will be wearing it all the time. But as time goes on, hopefully we have more on our fingers.”

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CSNChicago.com Joe Maddon Doesn't Believe In 'False Narrative' Of Too Much Celebrating By JJ Stankevitz

The Cubs, in theory, may have a balance to strike this week between celebrating their 2016 World Series title and beating a Los Angeles Dodgers bunch that looks to be among their stiffest National League competition in 2017.

But manager Joe Maddon relayed the message he's given his group of defending champions: Enjoy the moment and don't get caught up trying to strike an unnecessary balance during Monday's banner raising and Wednesday's ring ceremony.

"You want a strong memory of what it was like and what it felt like," Maddon said. "Don't let it go too quickly. Don't get caught up in the really false narrative regarding -- of course we want to win, of course we want to win again -- but please enjoy it, please slow it down, please take time. It's possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity, so don't miss out."

The Cubs' festivities were delayed due to a nasty cold front rolling through Chicago, but after the rain ended -- and after fans applauded David Ross' latest performance on Dancing With the Stars, which was shown on the left field video board -- the 2017 Cubs were introduced in front of a crowd that didn't lose its energy in the wet, chilly conditions.

Chants of 'M-V-P!' rang out for Kris Bryant as the theme from "Rocky" played over the stadium loudspeakers. Fans sung along with Wayne Messmer during his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner while fireworks shot off from left and right field.

Following player introductions, the Cubs filed under the right field bleachers and watched as Ryne Sandberg, and Billy Williams raised banners for the team's 1907 and titles and the 2016 National League pennant. Anthony Rizzo then raised the 2016 World Series banner next to to Wrigley Field's iconic scoreboard, and a few moments later emerged from under the right field bleachers holding the World Series trophy. The Cubs strutted back to the field like rock stars.

Part of why Maddon feels comfortable telling his players to soak in all that adulation is that the third-year Cubs skipper said his team already has done well managing everything that comes with being a defending champion. Only two teams since 1980 have won consecutive World Series titles: The 1992-1993 Toronto Blue Jays and 1998- 2000 New York Yankees.

"We've already showed it through the first six games of the season," Maddon said of the Cubs' start. "I thought we showed it during spring training. I really was impressed with our guys during camp. And I mentioned it a lot out there, you would not even have known we had won the World Series if you had walked in our locker room just based on the guys cavorted, went about their business."

But while the focus before the game was on celebrating their 2016 achievements, this is a group that certainly recognized they still had a task ahead of them in the immediate future. For all the pregame pageantry during a constant standing ovation, there was still a baseball game to be played after it.

"(The banner) is going to be here for a long time, for generations of people to look back and realize that we did what we did will be super cool," left fielder Kyle Schwarber said. "But as us baseball players, I think we'll appreciate that more when we're done with this. Because we're worried about trying to get back there again and do it all over again, and that's what our job is to do."

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Chicago Tribune Cubs' wacky, busy 'day off': Kyle Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo and more By Phil Thompson and Tim Bannon

No rest for some of the weary Cubs.

After a late night Monday at Wrigley, Cubs players and brass are enjoying just their second break in the season schedule since opening night, but a few have packed their personal schedules with some unusual events, kind of taking the "rest" out of a rest day.

•Javier Baez and Mayor Rahm Emanuel will attend a Tuesday morning ceremony honoring Baez with a street sign in Humboldt Park. A stretch of Luis Munoz Marin Drive will bear signs for "Javier 'Javy' Baez Way."

•Anthony Rizzo will greet passengers at O'Hare Tuesday morning.

•Kyle Schwarber is scheduled to appear at Macy's on State Street at 12:30 p.m. on behalf Locker Room by LIDS and Majestic. He's planning to take questions from fans before signing posters and taking pictures with the first 100 customers to buy $35 in merchandise.

•Joe Maddon is set to toast his cover of Michigan Avenue magazine with a swank reception at Ocean Cut restaurant Monday evening.

•Theo Epsein will join Tom Verducci, author of "The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse" at the Standard Club, 320 South Plymouth Court, at 5 p.m.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs' Anthony Rizzo gives himself a night to remember By Mark Gonzales

Anthony Rizzo didn’t expect to be struck by so many emotions Monday night when he participated in the Chicago Cubs’ opening night ceremonies that commemorated the franchise’s first World Series title since 1908.

But Rizzo kept his composure with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning when he poked a single down the left field line to score Jon Jay and give the Cubs a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at damp and chilly Wrigley Field.

“I’ll remember this day for as long as I play baseball,” Rizzo said after collecting his first RBI of the season to cap a victory in which the Cubs rallied after blowing a 2-0 lead. “The walk-off (hit) caps it off, but that pregame ceremony, I honestly didn’t think it would be that amazing of a job the Cubs did and all that with the videos and tributes. It was amazing.”

Rizzo was caught off guard when Jim Oboikowitch, the Cubs’ manager of game and event production, told him that he would be raising the 2016 World Series banner and carry the Commissoner’s Trophy onto the field.

“Just an honor for me, my family, to be part of this city for the really bad times when the new ownership got here, and the really good times of emotions. I was fighting back tears a lot.”

Photos from the festivities ahead of the Cubs' home opener on Monday, April 10, 2017, at Wrigley Field. Rizzo had to battle against Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers’ closer who had struck out Kris Bryant but still needed one more out to bail Sergio Romo out of a jam after Romo allowed a single to pinch-hitter Jon Jay to open the ninth.

Under dreary conditions, Rizzo poked a pitch down the left field line for this first walkoff RBI since drawing a game- winning walk on Aug. 11 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Choke up and put the bat on the ball,” Rizzo said of his strategy. “(Jansen) throws a cutter that moves three feet and can be tight. He’s one of the best closers in the game, and you try to put the bat on the ball and hope for the best.”

Rizzo’s hit took some of the scrutiny off shortstop Addison Russell, whose throwing error allowed the tying run to score in the eighth. The Cubs were held scoreless after the fourth until Rizzo’s hit, and Carl Edwards Jr. threw only three of 11 pitches for strikes in the seventh in relief of starter Jon Lester, and Willson Contreras also was charged with catcher’s interference.

But Rizzo’s alleviated many concerns and brought a large degree of relief to an emotional night that reached its zenith when Rizzo and his teammates walked under the bleachers and up the stairs in right center to the new flag pole.

“We had this whole offseason to dissect it and realize how much it meant to so many people from all over the world, this country,” Rizzo said. “For them to enjoy that, for us to enjoy it, it was really cool. It was our first time back at Wrigley, and being here is special. But being here to do that, we’re the only people alive to do that.

“I told the boys I was going to punt tonight and watch the game from center field. What a view. You see Ryno (Ryne Sandberg), Billy (Williams) and Fergie (Jenkins), and then to be up there and raise ours, it’s history forever.”

Rizzo will try to keep his composure Wednesday night during the ceremony.

“I don’t know how you top tonight,” Rizzo said. “But then you get the ring, and it’s amazing. So we’re really looking forward to that. For me to give it to my dad and show him and how happy he’s going to be and my mom, and then show all my friends and family, it will be another special night.”

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Chicago Tribune Anthony Rizzo's walk-off hit makes Cubs winners on celebratory night By Mark Gonzales

While his Cubs teammates soaked in the glory of home-opener ceremonies, highlighted by the raising of the 2016 World Series banner, Jon Lester treated his assignment Monday night with the calmness of any other start.

That poise paid off in the sixth, when Lester was in jeopardy of losing the lead after many of the 41,166 fans who stuck around through a 36 windchill for the banner raising had departed.

Lester induced Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner to hit a fly to center field that was too shallow for Logan Forsythe to attempt to score from third.

And never was the synergy between catcher Willson Contreras and Lester so timely as when Contreras broke quickly to field a slow roller back to the mound and retire Scott Van Slyke to thwart the rally.

Although the Dodgers did wind up tying the score in the eighth on Addison Russell's throwing error on an attempted double play, the Cubs capped the party with Anthony Rizzo's walk-off single in the ninth that scored Jon Jay for a 3-2 victory at Wrigley Field.

Rain delayed the start by 1 hour, 56 minutes. That also delayed the highly anticipated festivities that included Cubs Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams raising the 1907 and 1908 World Series flags and the 2016 National League championship banner.

Cubs players walked under the bleachers in right-center to participate in the raising of the 2016 World Series banner, then returned to the field with the Commissioner's Trophy that first baseman Rizzo passed to Chairman Tom Ricketts.

Lester, who limited opponents to a .173 batting average with runners in scoring position last season, finished with seven strikeouts in six innings before passing his duties to right-hander Carl Edwards Jr.

Justin Grimm came through with clutch pitching in the seventh after Edwards' control deserted him.

Grimm induced Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson to hit a fly to shallow right, and pinch hitter Andrew Toles grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

For the most part, the elements did not affect the Cubs defense, a staple of their 2016 success. Contreras threw out Franklin Gutierrez on a steal attempt to complete a double play in the second. Javier Baez made a diving stop to retire Corey Seager in the fourth.

Jason Heyward, who is playing center field more frequently as manager Joe Maddon opts to start Ben Zobrist in right and Baez at second, coped with a twisting wind to catch a deep drive by Turner near the warning track in the fourth.

Left fielder Kyle Schwarber showed no signs of the left knee surgery that wiped him out for nearly the entire 2016 season by making a running catch to snare a drive by Yasmani Grandal to end the fifth.

Lester survived with narrow run support. Kris Bryant extended his hitting streak to four games by pulling a pitch down the left-field line to score Schwarber from first in the third inning.

Lester, who became the first Cubs starting pitcher to bat ninth this season, grounded into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded to score Russell for a 2-0 lead.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs raise banner, expectations in a ballpark that will never be the same By David Haugh

At 8:37 p.m. Monday, Wrigley Field changed forever.

And nobody at City Hall or in the neighborhood fought it or cared. Instead, a sellout crowd that waited for hours through a blustery April evening cheered wildly in their rain gear.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo led teammates into the bleachers, pulled on a rope and finally raised the banner Cubs fans had waited 108 years to see: "Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Champions." Fireworks lit the sky and fans rose to their feet.

As the flag on the pole closest to the right-field side of the scoreboard flew in the 8 mph breeze during the Cubs' 3- 2 home-opening victory against the Dodgers, the words on the banner could be hard to read, but one thing stayed perfectly clear: The place would never be the same.

"They say all glory is fleeting, and it is," Cubs President Theo Epstein said. "But the flag will fly forever and that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves will last forever too, and that's what it symbolizes."

This was when reality started to sink in on the North Side. The Cubs actually won the World Series.

This was when it hit you, the Cubs fan who swore it would never happen, sitting in familiar seats with an unfamiliar but warm feeling on a 41-degree night. This was the new normal, suggested by the sight of the Eamus Catuli sign on Sheffield Avenue reading: "AC 000000."

"For generations of people now to be able to see what we did is pretty cool," Kyle Schwarber said.

The biggest part of the offseason renovation around Clark and Addison had nothing to do with grand plazas, moved bullpens or Starbucks. The most drastic change involved the new mindset every Cubs fan now assumes walking through the same old gates. You can't see it, but many fans like Scott Bosley feel it, a sense something good will happen instead of the opposite feeling that had been ingrained into so many regulars.

"There's not as much anxiety like before," said Bosley, 60, a season ticket holder since 1982 — and a nephew of the late actor Tom Bosley. "I've relaxed. I watch it differently. There is nothing like the first time. It changes everything."

Gone is the pervasive dread when the Cubs find themselves tied in the late innings or boot a ground ball with the lead. Say goodbye to the sense of foreboding that used to hover over every section. Hello, happy thoughts.

Perhaps the 17-minute rain delay in Game 7 helped wash away so many years of expecting the worst from the Cubs. The best thing ever came next, and it followed the team back to Wrigley for 2017 and beyond. The overall mood seems better, the burden lighter and the goals bigger.

Welcome to Rickettsville, baseball Disney. The Cubs pulled off what months of construction and millions of dollars' worth of spending never could. They turned Wrigley Field into a place where dreams really do come true. The different perspective inside the 103-year-old ballpark wasn't just the new view from the bullpen.

When Rizzo re-emerged on the field after the ceremony hoisting the World Series trophy, his Cubbie swagger exemplified the confidence that now defines the organization. Players have no doubt they can meet the expectations that were raised in sync with the banner. Wednesday's ring ceremony will offer another gaudy reminder of what they are capable of accomplishing.

Since winning it all, the Cubs have celebrated their World Series victory at a parade, the Cubs Convention, the White House and Monday's banner-raising ceremony. There's no truth to the rumor the Cubs have hired behavior analysts to study all the celebrating so they can do it better next year. Epstein was asked why the Cubs decided to raise the banner and present the rings at separate games.

"That's a lot to put in one night," he answered. "After Wednesday, we can truly turn the page."

Rizzo helped start that process early Tuesday morning, hitting a walk-off RBI single to send what was left of the crowd home happy.

Monday was about pomp and circumstance, reflecting and reminiscing.

Manager Joe Maddon's mind started racing immediately when he stepped into the clubhouse and saw the wall covered with a portrait of the graffiti-covered brick exterior of Wrigley that fans covered during the playoffs. Across the top read this message: "WE DID NOT SUCK." Looking into the distance, Maddon imagined that image on a canvas in his house in Pennsylvania.

"That would be the trinket I want," Maddon said.

Maddon related how Cubs fans approached him in his downtown parking garage to express gratitude. Epstein could relate, guessing, "I've been thanked every day since it happened." Inside the clubhouse, Ben Zobrist shared a story about a law-enforcement officer crying on his shoulder because he was so moved by the Cubs' championship.

"Those are the stories that tug your heart the most," Zobrist said.

Every Cubs player seemed to have one. After this sentimental week, they surely will hear more.

"It's being part of something bigger than you," Maddon said of the ceremony.

It started late because of weather that delayed the game 1 hour, 56 minutes. Mother Nature made the Cubs' first celebration possible with the perfectly timed cloudburst over Cleveland, so apparently she wanted to return and make this party last as long as it could.

As the rain fell, the Cubs oddly played highlights on the giant video board from Game 6 of last year's National League Championship victory over the Dodgers — with the Dodgers in the opposing dugout. Why create bad baseball karma?

Player introductions finally began at 8:10 p.m., long enough for the Cubs to show former catcher and North Side cult hero David Ross take his turn on "Dancing With the Stars." When "Grandpa Rossy" gave a thumbs up after host informed him the show was being carried live at Wrigley, the crowd roared because, well, Ross would get applauded crossing the street in Chicago.

Julianna Zobrist, Ben's wife, hit all the right notes in "God Bless America." Wayne Messmer mastered the national anthem. The Cubs took the field in white uniforms with gold lettering and trim. Cubs legends Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams — all part of the pregame ceremony hoisting three other championship flags — enjoyed the pageantry as much as Maddon did.

"I'm a banner guy," Maddon said.

It's a constant reminder of what was. And what can be.

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Chicago Tribune Theo Epstein doesn't see complacency as an issue for 2017 Cubs By Mark Gonzales

Cubs President Theo Epstein has overseen the construction of major-league teams for 15 seasons, including three World Series champions, and he says he sees a special trait in the 2017 Cubs.

"This is the lowest-maintenance group I've been around," Epstein said Monday. "They handled the target on the back so well last year, and they're handling the fact we won and avoiding that complacency better than I could have imagined.

"We don't have to do anything. They're so focused, so hard-working, they understand they need to approach this with all the intensity they did last year if they want to ... enjoy that special feeling late in the year again."

After a 4-2 start heading into Monday's home opener, Epstein said complacency has been "a total non-issue."

"When the first pitch is thrown," he said, "they're locked in."

The Dodger way: The big-spending Dodgers haven't won a World Series title since 1988, and Epstein was quick to distinguish what the current Dodgers regime is attempting to achieve from what the Cubs accomplished after he took over in October 2011.

"They've been producing great young talent for a long period of time," Epstein said. "If you go back and look at some of the young studs they have in the big leagues that (former scouting director) Logan White and those guys brought in, and some of the guys that are still coming in the system, they're stocked.

"The Dodger tradition runs very deep, and with Andrew (Friedman) and his front office, we know they're going to be dynamic and will have more resources than anyone, and they're a big threat to the whole league for a long period of time."

The Dodgers won the first two of their four consecutive titles before Friedman arrived, while Epstein inherited a team that had finished fifth in the NL Central the previous two years — and would do so for three more seasons — as Epstein's staff built from the bottom up.

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Chicago Tribune New plaza outside Wrigley Field envisioned as neighborhood's town square By Paul Skrbina

The Cubs brought Game 7 of the World Series to Wrigley Field on Monday.

And this time not even rain could cause a rain delay.

Despite a somber gray sky and occasional sprinkles, fans were able to relive the franchise's first championship since 1908 before the home opener against the Dodgers, thanks to The Park at Wrigley, a plaza that opened Monday afternoon and abuts the still-being-renovated stadium on North .

A large video screen on the team's new office building facing the plaza showed the Cubs' historic 10-inning victory against the Indians at Progressive Field and showed off part of the third phase of the $750 million Project 1060. Fans again cheered 's leadoff and bemoaned Rajai Davis' tying shot.

Earlier Monday, Cubs officials, including Chairman Tom Ricketts and president of business operations Crane Kenney, joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of what the Cubs referred to as Wrigleyville's new town square and a year-round gathering place for neighbors, families, fans and visitors.

Ricketts' real estate development company designed and built The Park at Wrigley.

Members of the Four Star Brass Band huffed "Go, Cubs, Go" into trumpets, saxophones and tubas while marching toward the stage. A construction crew leaned on the concrete guts of the Hotel Zachary, to be completed in 2018 across Clark, while listening to dignitaries talk about the plaza.

Everyone watched a 60-second time-lapse video of the plaza's construction.

"See, Tom, I told you it would be easy," Kenney joked.

Kenney also reminded Emanuel that the Cubs did it without public funding like the White Sox and Bears received for their stadiums. But he added that he appreciated the city's support in other areas.

Ricketts was all smiles, too, as he took his turn at the microphone.

"This park is the embodiment of my family's commitment to being a good neighbor," he said. "We are proud to create this space for the community."

It will be used to host farmer's markets, family movie nights, concerts, an ice rink and more.

The first of six "Movies in the Park" is scheduled for June 14, a showing of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Others on the docket include "Rookie of the Year," "The Sandlot" and "Ghostbusters."

"That's a great idea. They've got to be part of the community," said Cubs fan Tom Burski of DeKalb, Ill. "They're such a big part. To make it work, they have to be cognizant of everyone who lives here."

Convincing people who live in the neighborhood that this was a good idea also proved fruitful, according to Kenney, who said 80 percent of respondents to a poll about The Park at Wrigley said they would visit the plaza this year.

If Monday was any indication, fans will come from far and wide.

Steve Lux, also from DeKalb, was among the first to see the plaza and said it was impressive. He said he attended his first Cubs game in 1950 with his grandfather. He was 6 months old and said he has been a fan of the team since.

"I don't remember it, but I heard they lost," he said while standing a few yards from the Trophy Room, where the 2016 World Series trophy will reside most of the time inside the new office building. A team official said fans will be able to take photos with the trophy for free.

National League MVP Kris Bryant said he couldn't believe his eyes when he drove past the finished plaza Monday.

"It looks awesome," Bryant said. "They did a really good job. It looks like a fun place to hang out. ... They added so much to the area.

"And there's a Starbucks there, which is great for us."

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Chicago Tribune Cubs curious about effects of new bullpens under bleachers By Paul Sullivan

Because of pregame rain at Wrigley Field, Cubs players didn't get a chance Monday to become accustomed to the new field conditions, which include less foul territory down the lines where the bullpens used to be.

The lack of bullpens on the field, Ben Zobrist pointed out, means no pitching mounds to contend with.

"That's easier," Zobrist said. "There's less over there to worry about. In the outfield, you've got to be even more careful when you're getting back to that part."

The new bullpen doors are made of green Plexiglas so that fans looking at them from the outside will see a green Under Armour ad, while the players inside can see the action, albeit with a tint.

So which is easier to bang into, bricks or glass?

"The ivy usually (cushions), from what said," Zobrist said, referring to the former Cubs reliever's catch in the vines last year while playing left field. "It depends on how flexible the Plexiglas is. We'll find out. It's not going to be comfortable to hit, so hopefully we don't have to do it very much. Keep the ball in front of us."

Zobrist said the biggest thing he was curious about is how balls will deflect off the glass.

"When it hit the ivy before, it pretty much deadened it," he said. "But it might do something different."

The Cubs bullpen includes folding chairs, TV monitors, two pitching rubbers and a small area made of artificial turf. The north side allows fans in the bleachers to see through when a barrier is not blocking their view.

A sign on the glass playfully likened the players to an exhibit at Lincoln Park Zoo: "Please do not disturb the Cubs. Kindly keep your paws off the glass."

Reliever Mike Montgomery said he liked the old bullpens, but time marches on.

"It'll be different," he said. "But in the end, I think we'll like it better."

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs raise rare banner at Wrigley, embrace ‘more than baseball’ By Gordon Wittenmyer

A security guard at Busch Stadium, a longtime Cubs fan, cried on 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist’s shoulder a few hours before the Cubs’ season opener April 2 in St. Louis.

“He just bear-hugged me and started crying on my shoulder,” Zobrist said. “I just said, ‘Wow.’ ’’

Left-hander Mike Montgomery, who got the last out of the historic Game 7 victory in Cleveland, spoke Monday about realizing as a newcomer last year how big the long-awaited championship was to Chicago.

“You realize this is more than baseball,” Montgomery said. “This is for an entire city and a culture. . . . You have fans come up and talk about their ancestors.”

Ancestors?

Maybe it had been that long. Maybe the anticipation did run that deep.

If nothing else, it made the hour-plus delay before the first raising of a championship banner at Wrigley Field feel like a nanosecond by comparison — the drama and ceremony dampened only slightly by the rain that pushed back the start of the Cubs’ 3-2 victory over the Dodgers in the home opener.

Anthony Rizzo’s single in the ninth inning drove in Jon Jay with the winning run. Jon Lester had a no-decision after pitching six innings. He allowed one run and four hits and struck out seven.

Before the game, Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams raised, in succession, new , 1908 World Series and 2016 National League championship banners on new flagpoles alongside the center-field scoreboard.

Then Rizzo raised the 2016 World Series banner as fireworks exploded behind left field and right field.

“You see the banners from 1907 and ’08 up there,” leadoff man Kyle Schwarber said. “For us to be able to have one that’s going to be up there for a long time, probably for as long as baseball’s going to be around . . . and for generations of people to look back and realize that we did what we did will be super-cool.

“But as baseball players, I think that we’ll appreciate that more when we’re done with it because we’re more worried about trying to get back there again and do it all over again because that’s what our job is, and that’s our goal.”

Oh, yeah. They also played a baseball game at Wrigley Field. Lester, whose $155 million free-agent signing before the 2015 season was the symbolic start of the Cubs’ competitive run, threw the first pitch to Dodgers second baseman Logan Forsythe nearly two hours past the scheduled game time.

By then, the seventh game of a 162-game schedule was barely an afterthought on a night that was all about remembering the history made by a team that returned nearly intact from that Nov. 2 finish.

“The best part about last year was we all got to be part of something bigger than ourselves, connected to each other and the fans and the organization and the city,” team president Theo Epstein said. “They say all glory is fleeting, and it is, but the flag will fly forever, and that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves will last forever, too. To me, that’s what it symbolizes.”

If the Cubs were in danger of taking a post-title hangover into 2017, they seemed to prove on a 4-2 opening road trip that focusing on the goal Schwarber talked about won’t be a problem.

“This is the lowest-maintenance group I’ve ever been around,” Epstein said. “They handled the target on their back last year so well. And this year, they’re handling the fact that we won and avoiding that complacency better than I could have imagined.”

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Chicago Sun-Times Jason Heyward no longer thinking about swing as homestand opens By Gordon Wittenmyer

Want to know what Jason Heyward thinks about his hitting a week into the season compared to his career-worst season at the plate last year?

Should’ve asked him weeks ago.

Because right now, he said, “I’m up there not thinking a whole lot.”

That might be the best thing the Cubs have heard from their $184 million outfielder since he began his offensive overhaul barely a week or so after the last piece of confetti fell on Grant Park.

“He knows we support him,” manager Joe Maddon said, adding his message to the big lefty is simple: “You look really good, just keep trusting what you’re doing. I think it’s outstanding.”

After a Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee that included a two-run triple and run-scoring single — and it took two diving plays and a leap at the center-field wall to prevent a five-hit game — Heyward entered the Cubs’ opening homestand 7-for-21 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

He also had a five-game hitting streak (he sat out a game during the six-game trip to St. Louis and Milwaukee) going into Monday.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive in the strike zone,” Heyward said, “look for opportunities to put good swings on the ball consistently and see what happens after that.”

He’s more relaxed these days, he said, and part of that is where the non-thinking comes in. All the brain work on the swing has been thought and rethought before the season began.

“I’m just really trying to focus on what the pitcher’s going to do, how they’re going to attack you, that kind of stuff,” he said. “Not thinking about the swing or anything like that, which is where you need to be as a hitter: go up there and do that and just try to be aggressive in the strike zone but be on time, relax and go up there one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time . . . try to hit it hard and see what happens.”

Maddon said he likes what he sees and just wants to keep watching it play out.

“I like where his hands are positioned; I like that his hands are more involved right now,” said Maddon, a former hitting coach. “He’s getting started sooner. He’s staying through the ball longer. I’ve seen natural progression from the beginning of camp, where I liked the setup to begin with. I thought it was entirely different than what I’d seen in the past, but I also wanted him to be patient with it.

“You’re not going to see results overnight. Everybody wants to pour water on something and have it turn into what they want. It doesn’t work that way.”

NOTES: Joe Maddon batted his pitcher ninth Monday for the first time this season. The reason: It also was the first time the Cubs faced a lefty starter, and Maddon said he didn’t like how the bottom of his lineup looked feeding into lefty leadoff man Kyle Schwarber with Jon Lester in the eighth spot.

◆ As he did for the season opener, Maddon used the eight position players for the home opener who returned from Game 7 of the World Series.

“This is all about the heartbeat,” he said. “We’re keeping math out of the lineup.”

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Chicago Sun-Times Monday night fete ball: Cubs have ’em dancing in the aisles By Rick Telander

At 7 p.m. the sky above Wrigley Field looked like one of those black horror clouds from which an alien spaceship usually descends, signifying the end of the world and/or the entrance of .

The home opener against the Dodgers was scheduled to start in five minutes, the big World Series banner festivities should have already begun and ended, but no movie action hero was there to save folks from disaster.

The big silver tarp, sponsored appropriately enough by Reynolds Wrap — ‘‘Trusted Since 1947’’ (just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Iggy Pop and David Letterman!) — covered the infield, and fans scattered for the protection of the concourse and rooftop overhangs as rain fell.

It got so cold that for a while you feared it might snow.

Chicago Cubs' Anthony Rizzo hits the game-winning single against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning Tuesda in Chicago. The Cubs won 3-2. | AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Sadly, there are things that even resident super-genius Theo Epstein can’t control.

The Cubs’ big celebratory night was partly sabotaged by the weather, reminding this veteran scribe of that glorious, hugely anticipated first night game in 1988, which was rained out in the third inning.

The only truly offensive part of the evening, a controllable one at that, was forcing the crowd to watch David ‘‘Grandpa’’ Ross perform live on the big left-field screen on ABC’s ‘‘Dancing with the Stars’’ during the delay.

How this show became cool I’ll never know. But when the former catcher was done with his delicate ballroom routine, pleading silently in the background, ‘‘Please vote!,’’ the screen blessedly went blank. Then came the huge message: ‘‘Call 1-800-863-3404 to vote for him and partner Lindsay Arnold!’’

Can I dial 1-800-ARMAGEDDON instead?

But the meaning of it all wasn’t lost in the storm because this was a simple night celebrating a simple message: ‘‘We Won!”

The first World Series title in 108 years is in the Cubs’ barn, secured last November in Cleveland.

The Cubs finally came out in their white pants and jerseys with the gold numerals and names. It was all to a heroes’ welcome, wonderful and deserved. Oh, and by the way, you can purchase similar jerseys in the Cubs store inside Wrigley for about $210, with tax.

Did I mention Wrigley Field is being slowly renovated and structures are changing all around it, including prices for everything from box seats to parking to that $6.50 hotdog I scarfed before the rain?

Yes, winning a World Series for a championship-starved populace like the Cubs Nation means you can just about set your price for Cubs-related goods and services in the future. It’s new territory, for sure.

Those who would like to cling to the old days had best take their nubby pencils and scorecards elsewhere, because big-stakes economics have arrived in Cubdom, and with it has come the pressure to deliver more and better stuff.

The new bullpens are here. So is the new office building, and the subterranean locker room. Cubs-owned boutique Hotel Zachary has girders up to the fifth floor just across Clark Street, with only three more floors to go. The grass plaza is here, with its shops and big-screen video board.

Such is the march of history. Those who lament it, move to the side. Those who wish the McDonalds on the corner of Addison and Clark and the greasy Yum-Yum Donuts shop next to the park were back where they were, for instance — well, some people wish we still lived in sod huts.

That Wrigley Field and the Cubs’ experience might now belong more to the wealthy than ever is a fact.

As has made us aware, the world is run by the rich. Live it.

But this was a night for joy, outside factors be damned.

Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg raised the 1907 World Series banner in center field. Fellow Hall member Fergie Jenkins raised the 1908 banner. And lastly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and his teammates hoisted the title flag from 2016. Then there were fireworks.

Who cared that the game had been delayed almost two hours and that it was now 41 degrees with a wind chill of 36?

‘‘There’s something different about this place,’’ manager Joe Maddon had said reverently of Wrigley Field before the game. ‘‘It’s always electric.’’

This was news to him when he first arrived in 2015 — the passion, the lore, the yearning.

‘‘I didn’t know,’’ he said. ‘‘I did not know.’’

And what do fans say when they see him on the street now?

‘‘They say, ‘Thank you.’ Always respectful. They don’t want anything — just to say, ‘Thank you.’ ’’

It’s blowing in the wind.

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