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Home , Addison Russell, Chris Gimenez, Iowa Cubs, Scott Harris (baseball)

March 28, 2018

 Chicago Tribune, keeping Cubs' opening day lineup under wraps http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-opening-day-lineup-notes- 20180327-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Victor Caratini builds bond with Cardinals seriously injured by his line drive http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-victor-caratini-daniel- poncedeleon-20180328-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Theo Epstein looking for new advantages as more teams utilize analytics: 'You have to get really creative' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-theo-epstein-analytics- 20180327-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs Joe Maddon enthused about defensive improvement for 2018 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-defensive-improvement- 20180327-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Transportation woes spoil Joe Maddon's otherwise sunny http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-joe-maddon-car-20180327- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Joe Maddon's non-profit organization, The Hazelton Project, wins national award http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-joe-maddon-hazleton-award- 20180327-story.html

 Chicago Sun-Times, Cost & effect: Why ’s value remains high halfway through Cubs megadeal https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cost-and-effect-how-jon-lesters-value-has-held-strong- halfway-through-megadeal/

 Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs veteran Chris Gimenez caught off guard by roster decision, vows to be ready https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-veteran-chris-gimenez-caught-off-guard-by-roster- decision-vows-to-be-ready/

 The Athletic, The insecurities and motivations that keep driving Jon Lester: 'I hate to lose' https://theathletic.com/290667/2018/03/28/the-insecurities-and-motivations-that-keep-driving- jon-lester-i-hate-to-lose/

 The Athletic, Cubs assistant GM Scott Harris loves his job, even when it causes him personal embarrassment https://theathletic.com/289498/2018/03/27/cubs-assistant-gm-scott-harris-loves-his-job-even- when-it-causes-him-personal-embarrassment/

 Cubs.com, Maddon thrilled by Cubs' 'unique' camaraderie https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/joe-maddon-talks-highs-lows-of-cubs-camp/c-269803270

 NBC Sports Chicago, Cubs 2018 Power Rankings: Preseason edition http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-2018-power-rankings-preseason-edition-schwarber- darvish-bryzzo-happ-quintana

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Chicago Tribune Joe Maddon keeping Cubs' opening day lineup under wraps By Mark Gonzales

Manager Joe Maddon has a good idea of what his opening day lineup will look like Thursday in Miami, but he’s not about to reveal it soon.

“I don’t want to put it out there too soon,” Maddon said Tuesday, not wanting to give the Marlins any scouting advantage. “I’d rather just wait.”

The Cubs’ lineup against right-hander Jose Urena is likely to be comprised of center fielder , third baseman , , , left fielder , , right fielder , Javier Baez and pitcher Jon Lester.

Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless inning in the Cubs’ 4-2 loss to the Red Sox, and Strop retired nine of the 10 batters he faced this spring despite not making his debut until Thursday.

The Cubs aren’t expected to announce their 25-man roster until Thursday morning, but indications are Strop, who missed much of spring with a sore left calf and flu-like symptoms, and will be on it.

Hawk’s seal of approval: Maddon was pleased most about the interaction of his players during spring training, especially when discussing subjects other than baseball.

His feelings were reinforced by comments he heard indirectly from Hall of Fame , who spent the second half of spring training serving as a guest instructor.

“He was talking the other day about how this group lacks the high ego guy, that there’s an egoless feel about this group,” Maddon said. “That’s high praise, coming from the Hawk.”

Resting for regular season: Jose Quintana threw three innings but only 35 pitches in his final start of spring training. He said was how Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey designed it.

“Now every game counts,” said Quintana, who won’t make his season debut until Saturday night against the Marlins. “We’re going to be ready for major-league games. I’m excited. (Tuesday is) the last game, and everyone is excited. We have good energy. It’s good to have everyone ready, so let’s do it.”

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Chicago Tribune Victor Caratini builds bond with Cardinals pitcher seriously injured by his line drive By Dan Wiederer

Daniel Poncedeleon knows it might sound silly, but the competitor within him often emerges when he thinks about the moment that threatened his life.

Ask him about that terrifying afternoon last spring. Ask him about that Triple-A game in Des Moines, — versus . Ask him about how he so quickly went from the pitcher’s mound at to an operating table at a nearby hospital, and he begins by scolding himself.

Why did he groove that fastball? Why didn’t he react quicker when the ball came right back at him?

“I get mad at myself,” Poncedeleon says.

That two-seam fastball came in the second inning May 9, an offering to then-Cubs prospect Victor Caratini. It was belt high over the center of the plate.

“Good pitch for me,” Caratini says now. “Right down the middle.”

In the next 1.2 seconds, an orchestra of sounds resounded — the wood of Caratini’s bat, the crack of Poncedeleon’s skull and a horrified gasp from around the stadium.

Then silence. Terrified, stomach-knotting silence.

Poncedeleon, then 25 and a promising prospect in the Cardinals organization, initially was oblivious to how dire things were. His first thought was that he had suffered a concussion. He had no comprehension that Caratini’s line drive had dented his right temple, that his brain had begun to swell instantly.

“I knew I got hit in the head,” Poncedeleon says. “I just didn’t think it was that bad. I told our trainer I should get up and walk to the locker room.”

Caratini collected his single and slowly walked toward the mound.

“Scary,” he says. “Just a really tough moment.”

An ambulance rushed Poncedeleon to the hospital. Doctors hurried to treat the pitcher. Poncedeleon felt increasingly woozy and began vomiting.

“This is pretty bad,” he remembers thinking. “By that point my brain wasn’t working very well. It gets kind of splotchy after that.”

Emergency surgery was imperative to lessen the swelling in Poncedeleon’s brain, to control the bleeding.

After collecting four hits and two RBIs in a 3-1 Cubs victory, Caratini learned of Poncedeleon’s condition and instantly felt distraught.

“I messed with his life, ya know?” Caratini says.

The Cubs prospect also felt a responsibility to reach out. He visited Poncedeleon and his family in the hospital that first night.

Poncedeleon’s father flew in from . His now-wife, Jennifer, who had been watching the game on a web feed, raced to Iowa from Florida with their newborn son, Casen.

Caratini made recurring pop-ins to offer food and Gatorade and as much support as he could.

“I told him, ‘If you need anything, I’m here for you and your family,’” Caratini says. “I wanted them to be more comfortable.”

Comfort zone Poncedeleon doesn’t remember Caratini’s first visit. But when they connected again at the hospital, he sensed Caratini’s apprehension.

“This is a game,” Caratini reiterates. “It’s to play and have fun. I don’t want to mess with his life, with his wife, with his family.”

Says Poncedeleon: “I was just hoping he didn’t feel bad for what happened. He hit the pitch where I threw it. He did what he was supposed to. You could tell he didn’t want to say anything wrong, but I told him it was my fault.”

With the Cardinals pitcher spending two weeks in intensive care and another several days in inpatient rehabilitation, the Iowa Cubs pushed to take care of some of the travel expenses for Poncedeleon’s family.

Caratini, now the Cubs’ new backup catcher, organized a team fundraiser. His wife prepared a handful of Latin dishes and brought them to the hospital: chicken, rice, beans, just the right spice.

“Way better than hospital food,” Poncedeleon says. “That was great.”

It was a small bond but one Poncedeleon deeply appreciates.

“Victor is a genuinely good person,” he says. “The next time I see him, I’ll give him a hug.”

‘Let’s hope he makes it through surgery’ Poncedeleon first saw his accident a week or so after surgery, when his boredom sent him reaching for his phone. There on the internet was the replay: the two-seamer, the line drive at his head, his collapse.

“If you watch,” Poncedeleon says, “I got my hands up. And I was an inch away from catching that thing or at least deflecting it.

“So I was mad at myself: ‘Why can’t you be quicker? Why can’t you finish better?’ Right down the middle (with the pitch). It was all my fault.”

That thought bounced around Poncedeleon’s mind as he laid in his hospital bed plowing through Sudoku puzzles. Ultimately he needed a CT scan to get clearance to fly. And it was then, he says, that the imaging of his brain demonstrated the gravity of what had happened. He could see the crack in his skull and the swelling and shifting of his brain.

Poncedeleon has shied away from thinking about how close he came to dying. Jennifer, he says, is more likely to bring it up, to reflect on the terrifying nature of the incident and their ultimate good fortune. She recalls those initial words from Cardinals trainer Scott Ensell.

Let’s first hope he makes it through surgery.

“She gets reflective every night,” Poncedeleon says. “She asked me one night how I’d like to be buried. I was like, ‘Man, that’s a dark question, but since you asked, don’t spend any money on me. Just throw me in the river or something.’ ”

For now, Poncdeleon’s focus has returned to his climb toward the major leagues. He recently returned to the mound at spring training in Florida and since has been sent back to the Cardinals’ minor-league camp.

He and Caratini stay in touch, connecting a few times per month, mostly by text.

“Of course I root for him,” Caratini says. “I want him to have a good season, to try to get the call-up and make the big-league team.”

That’s Poncedeleon’s goal. And there’s no question he eventually would love the opportunity to have an on-field reunion with Caratini.

“I just can’t throw him a fastball right over the plate,” Poncedeleon says.

Adds Caratini: “I will still try to hit the ball, but maybe not right back up the middle.”

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Chicago Tribune Theo Epstein looking for new advantages as more teams utilize analytics: 'You have to get really creative' By Mark Gonzales

When Theo Epstein became of the Boston Red Sox in 2002, he and Billy Beane of the Athletics sought market inefficiencies to get ahead of the competition.

That strategy, largely through analytics, helped the Red Sox win titles in 2004 and 2007, but since then many teams have tried to catch up by adding research and development specialists.

“There’s no doubt the landscape is a lot flatter now,” Epstein said Monday night. “Most organizations are operating basically with the same data streams, same numbers.”

Epstein said that balanced landscape can direct you through three avenues.

“One, you have to look deeper if you want to find a proprietary source of information if you want information or data that another team doesn’t have,” Epstein said. “You have to get really creative, whether it’s neuroscouting or stuff going on with some office somewhere they protect deeply with top -secret confidential info that a team maybe can keep a competitive advantage for a couple years before it becomes publicly available.”

Epstein also stressed the importance of developing a smooth path of communication from the front office to the coaching staff to the players with the right staffing and methods.

“A lot of the information is only as impactful as it can be if it’s put into play on the field on a nightly basis, knowing the team across the field is making adjustments on you,” Epstein said.

Finally, Epstein emphasized the game is still played by human beings.

“So if everyone has the same information, you want to put a premium on a humanistic approach understanding people,” he said. “Putting them in a position to succeed and supporting them as human beings and individuals and the chemistry of the group as a whole.”

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Chicago Tribune Cubs manager Joe Maddon enthused about defensive improvement for 2018 By Mark Gonzales

The Cubs’ hopes for a return to the World Series isn’t limited solely to rebound seasons from players on an offense that barely changed its personnel from 2017.

They anticipate their defense will return to 2016 form, which took the pressure off a rotation that relied heavily on its ability to induce soft contact when it wasn’t relying on dazzling defensive plays.

“You can absolutely feed off your defense,” manager Joe Maddon said before the Cubs finished exhibition play Tuesday with a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox. “You can create a lot of energy in this game off your defense.

“We didn’t create as much last year, (but) I believe we look like we did a couple of years ago. We have to keep people well. It’s not easy to replace Gold Glove-caliber players on defense. I do believe you’re going to see a lot more this year.”

The Cubs were plus-37 in defensive runs saved in 2017 — a 70-point dip from the previous season. They also committed 95 errors — 52 throwing — and allowed a -high 121 stolen bases.

It didn’t hurt that the Cubs performed some fundamental drills before batting practice Monday, and Maddon said he might have a refresher course or two during the course of the regular season.

“I wanted four more days of home games (in spring training),” Maddon said. “What I didn’t like was the scheduling toward the end. I’m not a big fan of night games in spring training. It’s about getting your work done.”

Maddon didn’t have any gripes about individual work, as Kyle Schwarber — minus 30 pounds he carried last season — looked more agile and comfortable after being graded as a minus-9 in defensive runs saved in 2017.

After playing various positions, Ian Happ looks more comfortable in center field, where he has taken more direct routes on balls hit in the gaps and in front of him.

It also helps that the addition of Yu Darvish and his ability will take some pressure off the defense. At the same time, newcomer Tyler Chatwood’s knack for inducing groundballs could provide a fit at .

“Plus, we have guys who have a reputation of eliciting weaker contact, and weaker contact creates bigger defenses,” Maddon said. “All that stuff hopefully creates part of our fabric this year, and offensively we’ll be better off just because we’re more experienced. I like what’s going on there.

“But the more controllable part of the game is that, if you are a really good defender and do your work and you’re locked in the day, which these guys are, you’re going to play good defense every day.”

Any pressure to reduce Jason Heyward’s playing time is countered with his Gold Glove-caliber defense in right field. Heyward has won four consecutive NL Gold Glove awards and also is an exceptional defender in center.

“Hitting is going to wane,” Maddon said. “It’s going to come and go. But the defense, if you’re taking care of business and you’re good, should show up.

“Same thing with pitching. If you’re good and healthy, it should show up. You’re going to have your bad moments, of course. But on the mound and on the field, the more controllable part of the game we’re really good at it.”

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Chicago Tribune Transportation woes spoil Joe Maddon's otherwise sunny spring training By Mark Gonzales

On the field, spring training ran about as smoothly as possible for Cubs manager Joe Maddon.

But off the field, Maddon was harnessed by transportation issues.

Maddon was bummed that his 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon, complete with a “great” stereo system, was saddled by air conditioning issues, forcing him to drive a rental car for the first two weeks of spring training.

The other issue, which was much more annoying to Madddon, were the problems with his recreation vehicle that he resides in Mesa.

“The Aqua-Hot (heating system) wasn’t working,” Maddon said. “The TV went out. The heated floors were an issue.

“That was the worst part about camp.”

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Chicago Tribune Joe Maddon's non-profit organization, The Hazelton Project, wins national award By Mark Gonzales

Cubs manager Joe Maddon filled out Tuesday’s lineup card more than 12 hours in advance.

Maddon admitted he worked ahead so he could spend much of his pregame attention on a video streaming of the third annual Renewal Awards in New Orleans presented by The Atlantic and Allstate.

The Hazleton Foundation, founded by Maddon, was one of five major award recipients from nearly 3,000 applicants. The non-profit groups were selected for their “innovative, grassroots approach to driving change in their communities and bringing progress to the country.”

Maddon’s foundation, based in his hometown of Hazleton, Penn., provides services for thousands of economically disadvantaged children to participate in low-cost educational, cultural and sporting activities.

The foundation purchased and renovated a community center in 2013 and recently surfaced its floor with funds. The organization has attempted to alleviate tensions among Hazleton’s growing immigrant population and longtime residents.

The Hazleton Project and other major non-profit winners — based in Oakland, Calif., Austin, Texas, Memphis and New Orleans — will receive a $20,000 stipend designed to further their work.

“It’s the prestige of knowing we’re headed in the right direction, and we are making a difference,” said Maddon, who watched his cousin Bob Curry accept the award.

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Chicago Sun-Times Cost & effect: Why Jon Lester’s value remains high halfway through Cubs megadeal By Gordon Wittenmyer

MIAMI — If you thought the Cubs winning the World Series was a baseball rarity, get a load of what might be unfolding as lefty Jon Lester takes the mound Thursday in their season opener against the Marlins.

Starting the back half of his mega-deal with the Cubs, Lester looks like a threat to challenge the long- held baseball wisdom that long-term deals for free-agent are, by definition, bad contracts in waiting.

He has averaged 32 starts per season, made an All-Star team and came within a few votes of winning the National League in 2016.

He’s also 34 and only halfway through that $155 million deal, so he hasn’t completely cleared the -Mike Hampton zone yet.

But after a brief stretch on the disabled list with a lat injury late last season, Lester had his healthiest, strongest, smoothest spring as a Cub. And that “aging well” theory the front office talked about when Lester signed has played out so far, as Lester continues to reinvent himself.

“I remember him in Boston throwing 98 [mph],” said general manager , who was an assistant GM with the Red Sox when Lester broke in. “He’s learned how to compete exceptionally well with a much more varied arsenal than he had back then.

“Because of the fact that he’s already evolved somewhat once, I think he’ll be able to do it again.”

Whether he does — whether he even throws another pitch — it’s hard to argue that Lester hasn’t delivered full return on his value, at least as measured by the Rule. If the Cubs can win just one World Series, it was said when Soriano signed an eight-year, $136 million deal after the 2006 season, it would be worth it no matter what he did after that.

“I think you have to be careful thinking that way when you go into a contract,” said Hoyer, who has teamed with Cubs president Theo Epstein on their share of bad free-agent contracts, from Julio Lugo and Carl Crawford in Boston to Edwin Jackson in Chicago. (The jury is still out on Jason Heyward’s eight- year pact.) “Jon’s been everything we could have asked for, and it goes beyond just the fact that we have a ring. He’s provided amazing stability for our team. He’s won huge games, and the kind of games he was brought in to pitch.”

Lester has nine postseason starts with the Cubs, another two postseason relief appearances, a 2.53 postseason ERA and appearances in the NLCS in all three of his seasons in Chicago. He was the co-MVP of the NLCS in 2016 on the way to that long-awaited championship, pitching three innings of relief in Game 7 of the World Series.

“I think none of this happens — ’15, ’16, ’17 — without us signing Jon,” Hoyer said.

Lester says that’s not enough.

“The reason I signed here was to win a World Series,” he said. “We’ve done that one out of three years, so I feel like the first three years have been a success.

“With that being said, I think there’s some unfinished things. I feel like we’re in a position to compete and succeed year in and year out, which we’ve done. If we keep doing what we’re doing right now, and I keep making my starts and pitching, everything else takes care of itself.”

Making those starts means 200 innings to Lester. That’s what made the lat injury as frustrating as anything else for him last season; it ended his streak of 200-inning seasons. It might also be why he pushed through the injury for several starts before eventually relenting and getting help from the medical staff.

It’s about durability — a focus, if not an obsession.

“That’s a big thing. That’s what we get paid to do. We get paid to pitch,” he said. “That’d be like paying a position player a bunch of money that never plays. That’s why I do everything that I physically can to be prepared on that fifth day to pitch.

“Last year, there came a point where I was hurting the team and I couldn’t fight through things anymore. When you do pitch a little banged up, keeping your team in the game has to be there. If you’re going to be out there like I was and constantly putting them behind the 8-ball early in games and then hurting our bullpen by only going four or five [innings], that’s not doing our team any service. That’s why I said something.”

Maybe that compromised finish is why Lester has taken on a look this spring that makes teammate say “he’s on a mission.”

Lester doesn’t use phrases like that.

“But, yeah, throughout my career I’ve taken the ball,” he said. “At the end of the day, I can’t control anything else. I can just control showing up.”

When it comes to long-term contracts, that’s usually what counts most. And it has most often counted against the Cubs, whether it was ’s health issues or ’s career slide after signing a five-year extension in 2007.

Not that Lester is looking for some kind of franchise’s-best-contract award.

“If, at the end of the day, that’s said, hey, that’s great,” he said. “But it’s not something I’m worried about. I want to walk away from this game knowing that, one, I was prepared every five days and, two, that guys say I’m a good teammate.

“That’s all, at the end of it, that I would want.”

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs veteran Chris Gimenez caught off guard by roster decision, vows to be ready By Gordon Wittenmyer

MIAMI — After a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox in their final exhibition game Tuesday, the Cubs take a day off Wednesday before making their roster official ahead of Thursday’s season opener against the Marlins.

With all the roster candidates wrapping up camp healthy, no surprises are expected — at least none since second-year catcher Victor Caratini was awarded the backup-catcher job over veteran backup Chris Gimenez.

“I still think I match up very well with what I need,” said Gimenez, who has the added value of familiarity with new starter Yu Darvish, having been Darvish’s one-time personal catcher with the Rangers.

The Cubs agree with Gimenez. And the move might yet be temporary, depending on how much playing time manager Joe Maddon can find for Caratini, one of the organization’s top 10 prospects, who presumably would benefit from regular at-bats.

“The consensus was that he was ready, and there’s no denying that at all,” Gimenez said. “He deserves a chance, and I think they’re just going to try to see if they can make it work with the amount of at-bats he might potentially or might not be getting.”

Gimenez opens the season at Class AAA Iowa.

Extension talks tabled

As it has done every spring since taking charge, the front office explored contract extensions for some young core players this spring, but it was unable to reach agreements.

“We’ve made it clear that we’d love to extend some of these guys,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “I won’t go into who we’ve talked to over the course of the spring. But obviously we have a lot of good young players, and we’d love to keep them longer than the six or seven years we control them. And we’ll keep talking to them.”

Nothing appears close, and talks typically go dormant once the season starts.

This and that

Right-hander Cory Mazzoni, a reliever acquired on waivers from the Giants in November, was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers.

• Setup man made his fourth and final appearance, allowing a two-out double to in a scoreless inning. He’s expected to be on the roster for the opener.

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The Athletic The insecurities and motivations that keep driving Jon Lester: 'I hate to lose' By Patrick Mooney

MESA, Ariz. — After leaving Dodger Stadium, Jon Lester went back to the team’s hotel in downtown Los Angeles and purposely watched the highlights and postgame analysis on ESPN and MLB Network. The Dodgers had just taken control of the 2016 NLCS, threatening to ruin a dream season with back-to-back shutouts that put all the pressure on a Cubs team feeling the weight of 1908.

“I wanted to hear the negative,” Lester said. “I wanted to hear everybody jumping off the bridge. Nobody said it was going to be easy.”

Lester would later call it “The Game.” In facing Hill, the ex-Cub with the big curveball, three- time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, the Cubs had managed only five singles and would go scoreless for 21 consecutive innings in that NLCS.

“When you get into the playoffs, you never see, ‘Roll, roll, roll,’” Lester said. “That happens very seldom, if ever. But that game, we just got our asses kicked. And it was like, OK, now everybody’s going to come out and say, ‘Well, maybe they’re not that good. They can be beat by good pitching.’

“And then you look at what we did after Game 3, now we’re up 3-2 going home and now everybody wants to jump back on. That’s what I like. Plus, you get everybody’s opinion. You get everybody’s opinion when the good team falls.

“Everybody wants to tell you what you did wrong: ‘You should have done this.’ But then those guys don’t eat their words when it comes back around and you win. It’s fun to see, because I knew we were fine. Everybody in the playoffs, they do this …”

Lester started gently moving his hand up and down while standing in front of his locker at the team’s Arizona complex one morning in spring training.

“The teams that don’t do this,” Lester said, dropping his hand to signal a dive off a cliff, “and then have to climb back up are the teams that usually win. Just like the season, if you’re able to ride that roller coaster and make it a kiddie roller coaster, you usually have a good season. If you start making it the Six Flags…same thing in the playoffs. If you’re able to minimize that — and ride that wave — you’re usually OK.”

Lester didn’t mention that the Cubs might’ve been down 3-nothing in that best-of-seven matchup if he hadn’t pitched so well in Game 1, or how they flew back to Chicago in a great mood because he won Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, a performance that made him the NLCS co-MVP alongside Javier Baez.

It didn’t matter that Lester had already won two World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox and been at the center of a bidding war in which the Cubs guaranteed $155 million and didn’t even make the biggest offer.

Lester is the calm in the middle of the storm — and the guy still looking for those slights on the TV shows with talking heads.

There are times when Lester looks like he wants nothing do to with any reporter — and suddenly a 15- minute, one-on-one interview flies by.

Lester’s body language on the field can make it seem like he’s constantly on the verge of a temper tantrum — and yet his postgame press conferences are always filled with thoughtful, entertaining, big- picture answers, even after 12 seasons in two of baseball’s most intense markets.

Lester can scowl, scream and curse on the mound — and then go to his Twitter account and joke about his problems throwing to first base.

Lester is, well, human. He survived a cancer scare earlier in his career and now seems so much older than 34, because he has been around so long and enough Cubs players are closer in age to Loyola’s Final Four team.

But this much isn’t complicated. It’s easy to see where Lester will be drawing motivation in the second half of that six-year megadeal, which begins Thursday with an opening-day assignment at Marlins Park in Miami. The big-game lefty is coming off a down season (13-8, 4.33 ERA) in which he didn’t reach 200 innings (180-plus), went on the disabled list for the first time in six years (lat tightness/general shoulder fatigue) and still had the guts to perform in three playoff outings (1.88 ERA).

“There are so many negative people in this world,” Lester said. “It’s easy to do behind a phone or behind a computer screen. It’s easy to write that stuff. But I think everybody has to be motivated in their own way.

“I know for me, I’ve always been the guy that people have always said, ‘Well, he’s not a true No. 1 or he’s never won 20 games or he’s never won a Cy Young.’ You can’t control winning 20 games. I can’t control winning Cy Youngs. All I can control is what I do, day in, day out and how my teammates perceive me.

“I try to use the negative that people say about me [and turn it into] a positive. And say, ‘OK, I can’t do this or I’m not a true No. 1. OK, well, I’m going to go out and continue to do what I do.’ At the end of the day, you look up and it’s fairly decent years.

“I’ve talked to guys that have won multiple Cy Youngs and have never won a World Series and they’ll trade those in — in a heartbeat — for a ring. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of three of those and hopefully a couple more. That, to me, is the ultimate. People come into my house and they want to see my trophies. They don’t want to see personal accolades.”

Yes, Lester bought the Tiffany & Co. replica World Series trophies for his home in Georgia, proudly displaying what those Red Sox teams did in 2007 and 2013 and the history the Cubs made in 2016.

“Even when I was a kid, I hated to lose,” Lester said. “It didn’t matter if I was playing soccer or , football, baseball, H-O-R-S-E in the backyard. I hate to lose. When we lose, it drives you that much more. And then when you win, it’s like, ‘OK, I’ll take my time and enjoy it, but I want to do that again.’

“Like I told ‘Rizz’ [Anthony Rizzo]: ‘You got to carry me for at least one more.’ I kid with him: ‘I’d love to get the thumb ring.’ But I want at least one more before I’m done.”

All around the Cubs, the feeling is that the hangover is gone, a vibe and sense of mission that reminds them of 2016. As his old buddy might say, Lester didn’t come here for a haircut.

“I was talking to [ catcher] Brian McCann this offseason,” Lester said. “It’s like: ‘Bro, you were right.’ You can’t describe the feeling when you’re on that field after Game Whatever and you’re jumping up and down and the season’s finally over and we did it.

“It still gives me goosebumps to talk about it. To go through the season, 162 games, and to accomplish that at the end, man, it’s like a drug. You want to do it and keep doing it.”

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The Athletic Cubs assistant GM Scott Harris loves his job, even when it causes him personal embarrassment By Sahadev Sharma

It’s not unusual for Cubs assistant general manager Scott Harris to find a dozen tasks on his to-do list before he’s even eaten breakfast.

On one of these busy days before his recent promotion, general manager Jed Hoyer walked into Harris’ office. In the middle of his desk, the young executive’s phone began to vibrate. Both of them look down at the phone and see a name pop up. Harris recoiled in horror.

Harris knew the jig was up. Soon everyone would know that the young man with big dreams had his mother listed in his phone as “Mommy.”

Needless to say, that didn't go over well for the baby-faced executive.

Soon enough, Harris’ colleagues had wrangled his mother in on the joke and she happily wrote him a long, loving note — signed “Mommy” of course — that was read in front of a large group of Cubs employees.

Harris rolls his eyes at this story, or the one recounted in an ESPN the Magazine story about being forced to eat bread and/or cake during critical points of games, but he knows it's all part of working for the high-stress, high-enjoyment Cubs. As the youngest member of the city's most famous sporting management team, Harris has to roll with the punches. But he can deliver them too.

“It’s important to understand how stressful these jobs are and how closely you have to work with people in a front office to be successful,” Harris told me. “You’re talking about 15-, 16-, 17-hour days, especially during the season. If you don’t like each other, it’s quickly going to become dysfunctional. I think it’s important for us to keep each other grounded. When people get called the 'Greatest Leader of All Time,' it’s important to cut them down to size.”

But the aforementioned leader, Theo Epstein, didn't promote Harris to assistant GM this offseason just to be the butt of jokes. He's got a bright future in the game, whether it's in Chicago or somewhere else.

“He’s really bright and a really hard worker,” Epstein said. “He has a strong, well-rounded executive background. But you wouldn’t know by hanging around him. He’s not one of these guys telling you where he got his degree, that he went to business school, that he worked in the commissioner’s office, that he knows the rules better than you. He’s really easy to get along with, people like being around him and he just makes the group better by being a great team player. That’s super important. And it goes a long way. Especially if you’re going to move fast at a young age. People can be jealous of that and look for ways for you to piss them off. But it’s hard to find a way for Scott Harris to piss anyone off.”

Of course, in this front office, it also doesn’t hurt that he can take a joke.

When the Cubs hired Harris in 2012 as their director of baseball operations at the tender age of 25, many were taken aback at the team’s decision to bring in someone so young. However, those on the outside looking in weren’t alone in their concerns.

“He was probably a little bit younger, little bit less experienced than we were probably hoping for during the process,” Hoyer said. “He came into the interview and I think we all were really drawn to him. What we all said is that he has a really fantastic way about him. He seemed to interact with every person in the office flawlessly. But we still had some concerns just based on experience.”

Any doubts that Epstein and Hoyer may have had were quickly allayed by the rousing recommendations they got from around the league.

“We talked to people in who had worked with him closely,” Hoyer said. “Including a good friend who said, ‘Trust us, this kid is fantastic. He’s going to take this job, with it and never look back. This is one where you just need to believe us that he’s going to be outstanding.' I think that’s exactly what we’ve seen. They were right. We gave him the opportunity and he’s done as well as we could imagine.”

Harris’ path to a front office was one that was unheard of 20 years ago, but has become quite common recently. The son of two doctors (a urologist and an OB-GYN, so he certainly dealt with his fair share of jokes well before Epstein got ahold of him), Harris grew up in Redwood City, California, and played soccer and lacrosse in high school. He stopped playing baseball in middle school – something he called one of the biggest regrets of his life – because there wasn’t much need for undersized ballplayers whose lone carrying tool was speed. He went to UCLA where he majored in international economics and played club lacrosse.

While at UCLA, Harris saw the changing landscape of front offices in baseball and realized he might have an opportunity there.

“When I was in college, I wrote letters to every team,” Harris said. “Every president or GM. I didn’t know anyone in the game, so this was a pipe dream. I got a few letters back and had a few serendipitous encounters with people in the game. One was with .”

Rosen was a former AL MVP who had a stellar career cut short by leg and back injuries. He went on to have a successful run as an executive, having stints as team president for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and eventually the . Rosen and Harris grew close and as Harris continued to pursue a career in baseball, he kept coming back to Rosen for advice and guidance.

Eventually, Rosen helped Harris get his foot in the door when he took an internship with the on the business side in 2008. Harris took his finals early, moved out to D.C. and worked a three-month internship before returning back to UCLA where he eventually graduated, but continued writing letters to teams in hopes of finding some work on the baseball side of things. (Harris wrote a letter to Epstein, but his future boss never got back to him.)

Eventually, Harris ended up with a baseball operations internship with the which he parlayed into a full-time job in the commissioner’s office. While working in New York, Harris got into Columbia University’s business school. A year later, the Cubs came calling. Harris’ father is a lifelong Cubs fan who grew up in Highland Park and passed along his passion for the team to Scott. The decision seemed easy, but his parents, both of whom see great value in higher education, were a bit skeptical about him taking the job.

“They’re important influences to me because they’re very good at keeping me grounded,” Harris said. “We get exposed to so many bucket-list items in this job, but when I talk to them on the phone about their days – saving lives and conducting surgeries – it instantly trivializes everything we’re doing day-to- day. They’re really important presences for me and remind me of what’s really important.”

Harris convinced them it was the right move, but also promised to finish business school. He took the job, moved out to Chicago and enrolled in Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. For Harris, balancing his new job and school in the fall wasn’t too difficult. It’s not as if the Cubs were playing many games past September at that point in time. However, the spring semester presented a challenge.

With his role in the Cubs front office, Harris was expected to be with the team for the entirety of spring training, so all of February and March he needed to be in Arizona. Harris solved this issue by loading up on Saturday classes in the spring. While most everyone else had wrapped up their days, Harris would take a red-eye every Saturday morning and land in Chicago around 5 a.m. He’d catch a quick snooze, take a bus to campus and spend all day in classes before taking another red-eye back to Arizona and getting back to work Sunday. It was that type of work ethic which allowed Harris to climb up to the role of assistant GM, a position that became official in January.

“From day one, they’ve never seen age, they just saw ability,” Harris said of Epstein and Hoyer. “They gave me the space and guidance to grow into this job and I’ll always be grateful to them for that. They’ve accomplished everything in this game already that someone like me would set out to do. In this front office especially, I learn so much from them every day. You can’t buy experience, but you can try hard to learn from other people’s experience. I can’t imagine learning from better leaders than them.”

Harris certainly appears deserving of all that’s come his way. However, a well-educated, white male is hardly a rare sight in a front office. All the praise Harris receives is well-earned, but perhaps what sets him apart from all the other highly thought of up-and-coming executives in the game is who he works for. Epstein is a man constantly under the microscope. His right-hand man, Hoyer, has watched as Epstein morphed from learning on the fly as the youngest general manager the game had seen to that point to the World’s Greatest Leader. Instead of the stress and pressure of trying to end the two most infamous droughts wearing on him and breaking him down, Epstein has consistently pushed his game to another level, proving to be a great executive and, yes, an exceptional leader.

Now Harris has a chance to follow in his footsteps. No one has been anointed next in line behind Hoyer if Epstein wraps up his storied career after this current five-year contract ends after 2021. But if one were to make a list, Harris’ name could very well be number one with a bullet.

“Scott understands the opportunity that he’s been given,” Hoyer said. “He’s able to watch what Theo does in different situations, whether it’s talking to an agent, a player, a room full of coaches, strategizing at 2 a.m. before the trade deadline…whatever the situation. Scott and everyone in the office have been given a tremendous opportunity to watch and take notes and think about how they’d handle themselves in that same situation. I know Scott’s never going to take that for granted and certainly hasn’t.”

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Cubs.com Maddon thrilled by Cubs' 'unique' camaraderie By Maureen Mullen

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon was happy overall with how camp went for his team this spring.

He was most pleased with the way the team has jelled.

"The camaraderie, the coming together of the group," Maddon said. "Four years together now, really unique. A unique camp in the way that the guys interacted, meaning they're getting together as a group, talking about subjects outside of baseball. They're becoming even better human beings just by interacting with each other.

"I have nothing to do with it, nothing. It's about them. I really like the empowerment that I think our players feel from our office, the manager's office, the coaches, as well as the front office. It's a unique situation as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if it exists anywhere else. This is the first time I've felt it to this level here. So I'm most pleased with the interaction of the group. … They care about one another, and it's really impressive to watch that."

But there were also downsides, mostly of the automotive variety.

"I got a 1985 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon, [and] I couldn't get the air conditioning fixed," Maddon said. "Eventually by the end of it, I did. So I had to drive the rental car and not my car for maybe two weeks of the camp, which was kind of a bummer, because I got this great stereo system also. So that may have been the worst part about camp.

"The other part was the RV itself [which Maddon lives in during Spring Training]. I had to get people coming out to repair the RV, like the [heating system] was not working right, my TV went out, the heated floors were an issue. That was the worst part about camp."

Quintana ready Left-hander Jose Quintana made his final tuneup before the regular season on Tuesday against the Red Sox. He went three scoreless innings, giving up two hits as the Cubs lost, 4-2.

"I felt pretty good out there," Quintana said.

Maddon had said on Monday he expected Quintana to go four innings, throwing about 60 pitches. But the lefty went just three innings, with 35 pitches, 24 for strikes. The shorter-than-expected outing was not health-related, though.

"After the third, [Maddon] said, 'How do you feel?'" Quintana said. "'I'm good.' He said, 'Alright, that's it.'"

Strop update Right-hander Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless fifth inning on Tuesday, allowing one hit. His spring debut had been delayed until last Thursday by a tender left calf and the flu. Overall, Strop didn't allow any runs or walks over his three spring appearances, with one hit and two over three innings. Maddon wanted to see him in a game one more time before the season starts on Thursday.

HIP, hip, hooray Maddon was also happy to share the news that his charitable foundation, the Hazleton Integration Project (HIP), based in his hometown of Hazleton, Penn., is one of 10 national winners of The Renewal Project, which recognizes "local organizations driving positive change in their communities and bringing progress to the country."

"HIP repurposed a former Catholic school building to create the Hazleton One Community Center," according to The Renewal Project website. The facility provides "a central location to create productive opportunities for economically disadvantaged children. These kids participate in a variety of no-cost or low-cost educational, cultural, and athletic activities."

"It's the prestige in knowing that we are heading in the right direction and we are making a difference," Maddon said.

Up next The Cubs have an off-day Wednesday before Opening Day on Thursday, when they will face the Marlins in Miami at 11:40 a.m. CT. Left-hander Jon Lester is scheduled to make his third Opening Day start for the Cubs after getting the nod in 2015 and '17. Lester faced the Marlins once last season, at Marlins Park, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts over seven innings to earn the win. Right-hander Jose Urena will start for Miami. Watch every regular-season game live on MLB.TV.

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NBC Sports 2018 Power Rankings: Preseason edition By Tony Andracki

Every month throughout the 2018 season, we'll rank our top Cubs players based off trends and overall impact to the team's pursuit of another World Series.

Let's kick things off with the preseason edition:

10. Addison Russell 9. Kyle Hendricks 8. Jon Lester 7. Kyle Schwarber 6. Ian Happ 5. Jose Quintana 4. Anthony Rizzo 3. Yu Darvish 2. Kris Bryant 1. Willson Contreras

10. Get ready for a Russell bounceback season. Think 2016, but better.

9. The Professor may have started Game 1 of the 2017 NLDS, but he'll continue to be underrated in this Cubs rotation packed with studs.

8. Surprising that the team's Opening Day starter would be so low on this list, but Lester is coming off his worst season since 2012 and just turned 34 in January. That's not saying he doesn't have anything left, just that right now, the arrow is pointing down a bit.

7. You might've heard, but "Schwarbs" dropped some weight. He's primed for a huge comeback season.

6. The last time the Cubs played a meaningful baseball game, Happ was the most popular name considered to be traded away this winter for pitching. Now, he's everybody's favorite choice to lead off and play every day...somewhere.

5. Quintana changed the fortune of the 2017 Cubs the very second he walked through the door. He could be the ace of the staff by the time the 2018 postseason rolls around.

4. The face of the Cubs. Probably an insult that Rizzo's not higher on this list, especially given how remarkably consistent he's been the last four years:

2014: 32 HR, .386 OBP, .913 OPS 2015: 31 HR, .387 OBP, .899 OPS 2016: 32 HR, .385 OBP, .928 OPS 2017: 32 HR, .392 OBP, .899 OPS

3. The Cubs were already going all-in with World Series expectations in 2018, but the signing of Darvish ramped that hype up to an 11.

2. Bryant is one of the most valuable players in the game and despite coming off a down year in the RBI column, he increased his walk rate and drastically reduced his strikeout rate for the second straight season. He just keeps getting better and better.

1. Contreras has flashed his light-tower power this spring and looks like a man possessed. He may just be the most important player on the Cubs this season given the lack of depth behind him and how important he is at handling the pitching staff, keeping the running game at bay and providing lineup support to Bryzzo.

Don't be surprised if Contreras finishes the year as the league's top catcher.

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