May 12, 2017 Chicago Sun-Times, Will Eddie Butler make his mark? Cubs sure could use the boost http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/will-eddie-butler-make-his-mark-and-give-the-cubs-a-needed-boost/ Chicago Sun-Times, Are Cubs a trade partner for White Sox? Theo says don’t bet on it http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/are-cubs-a-trade-partner-for-white-sox-theo-says-dont-bet-on-it/ Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs superfan ‘Woo Woo’ says team kicked him out of Wrigley Field http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-superfan-woo-woo-says-team-kicked-him-out-of-wrigley-field/ Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs IF Jeimer Candelario stays as Justin Grimm optioned to AAA http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-if-jeimer-candelario-stays-as-justin-grimm-optioned-to-aaa/ Daily Herald, Who's hot and who's not in the National League Central http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20170511/nl-central-logjam-helping-chicago-cubs-keep-pace Daily Herald, Constable: Jon Jay not quite John Jay http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170511/constable-jon-jay-not-quite-john-jay Cubs.com, Wawrzyniak an unsung hero for many Cubs http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/229657480/linda-wawrzyniak-an-unsung-hero-for-cubs/ ESPNChicago.com, Can Eddie Butler answer the Cubs' No. 5 starter question? http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/44124/can-eddie-butler-answer-the-cubs-no-5-starter- question CSNChicago.com, Why Joe Maddon Won’t Hit The Panic Button With Slow-Starting Cubs http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/why-joe-maddon-wont-hit-panic-button-slow-starting-cubs CSNChicago.com, Cubs Make Roster Moves To Create Room For Pitcher Eddie Butler http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/cubs-make-roster-moves-create-room-pitcher-eddie-butler Chicago Tribune, 10 reasons why it's OK to panic about the Cubs' slow start http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-ok-to-panic-cubs-slow-start-spt-0512-20170511- story.html Chicago Tribune, Cubs focused on their own business, not resurgent rival Cardinals http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-visit-resurgent-cardinals-spt-0512-20170511- story.html Chicago Tribune, Jeimer Candelario stays with Cubs as reliever Justin Grimm optioned to Iowa http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-option-justin-grimm-iowa-spt-0512-20170511- story.html -- Chicago Sun-Times Will Eddie Butler make his mark? Cubs sure could use the boost By Steve Greenberg ST. LOUIS — “Will Kris Bryant ever hit again?” I wrote those words the last time the Cubs were at Busch Stadium. It was two games into the season, and Bryant, the reigning National League MVP, was off to an 0-for-9 start. My question was tongue-in-cheek, of course, no more serious than asking if Earth would continue to rotate or if the President had any tweets left in him. Yet enough tone-deaf Cubs fans ripped me for prematurely pressing the panic button that I had to wonder if my own game was regular-season ready. So here we are, back in St. Louis for a weekend series against the rival Cardinals, and about that panic button? No one should be pressing it, at least not in earnest. But the Cubs are 17-17, in fourth place in the NL Central, and not playing as well as even a disappointing record like that indicates. Gazing at the button from across the room? Yeah, that might be appropriate. Nearing the quarter pole of the season, the Cubs have quite a list of things that aren’t going well. There’s the Kyle Schwarber leadoff experiment, to name one, though why pick on him? Aside from Bryant, hardly anyone is doing much hitting of the baseball. Even the defense, which was supposed to be the backbone of the team, has been leaky. Most troubling to me, though, is the starting pitching. It hasn’t looked anything like it did last season. Enter Eddie Butler, who’ll make his first start as a Cub in Friday’s series opener. The 26-year-old right-hander, acquired from the Rockies in February, was called up this week after posting a minuscule 1.17 ERA in five starts at AAA Iowa. Butler, a Rockies first-round draft pick in 2012, has yet to make his mark in the big leagues. In 36 career appearances — 28 of them as a starter — he’s 6-16 with a 6.50 ERA. Chalk up some of that to pitching in Denver, but still. This is the guy who’s going to stop the bleeding? Maybe a surprise success story is the shot in the arm the 2017 Cubs need. Maybe Butler can cool off the first-place Cardinals — who are on a 16-5 tear and just ripped off a 6-0 road trip, the first unbeaten trip of at least six games in franchise history — by picking up where he left off at Iowa. He had a terrific spring, too, the only Cubs starter to post a sub-1.00 WHIP (0.95). Is Butler a changed pitcher? That’s what he told me in Mesa. Matter of fact, he was confident as all get-out. “I think it’s going to be a great year,” he said. “I’m fighting for a spot in the rotation. I plan on making the team. If I don’t, I’ll go down to AAA and work as hard as I can and be ready when the time comes. I’ll pitch well and get my shot.” Nailed it. How about that? The Cubs weren’t going to have room for Butler on their season-opening roster no matter how well he pitched, but they were impressed. It was impossible not to be. “He’s got a great arm and is a strike-thrower, too,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He has shown really well for me. His stuff is well above average, velocity-wise, and [he has] a really good breaking ball. I think he’s very interesting.” What a fine time it would be for Butler to get his career all the way off the ground. Even if he doesn’t, the Cubs will be in good shape if Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks get dialed-in again, John Lackey remains competitive and Jake Arrieta puts some pieces back together. Yet the longer it takes them to do those things, the more a guy like Butler has a chance to really make a difference — to make his mark. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” he said a couple of months back. He earned this opportunity. Now comes the hard part. -- Chicago Sun-Times Are Cubs a trade partner for White Sox? Theo says don’t bet on it By Daryl Van Schouwen White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said he isn’t opposed to making a trade with the Cubs. The subject came up again when Hahn talked to the media Tuesday, and Cubs president Theo Epstein was asked for his viewpoint Thursday on WSCR-AM (670). Epstein said he and Hahn talked about Chris Sale before the Sox traded their five-time All-Star to the Red Sox for four prospects in December. But it was a short conversation. “Rick and I have talked about players he’s had that have gone on to be traded,’’ Epstein said. “We had a really quick conversation about Sale. It lasted about 30 seconds based on the names that were involved that he would want, and not prospects but our very best big-league players, which, of course, was natural to ask for. He made a great trade.’’ With the Cubs facing a possible need to spruce up their starting pitching and the Sox in rebuild mode and having Jose Quintana, Derek Holland and Miguel Gonzalez off to good starts, the crosstown rivals could be viewed as a good match. But Epstein said don’t bet on it. “This has been an overblown media story,’’ Epstein said. “The teams are always going to talk, but it’s really unlikely to go anywhere from his standpoint or from our standpoint. There’s no ill will or animosity, it’s just the reality of the situation. “Will we exclude them from our coverage or our talks? No. Or will they exclude us? No. But realistically that’s not one you’d want to bet on.’’ -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs superfan ‘Woo Woo’ says team kicked him out of Wrigley Field By Mary Mitchell Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers is probably the most famous Cubs fan alive. He’s been interviewed countless times by local and national media. Other Cubs fans have chased him down for selfies. A bobblehead, in full Cubs uniform, was even created for his character, and a documentary was made about his life. In 2001, in what must have been his proudest moment, Wickers realized his dream of singing during the seventh- inning stretch. But after being a Cubs superfan nearly all his life, Wickers still feels as if he is being disrespected rather than embraced. On April 19th, during the seventh inning, Wickers suffered the indignity of being ousted from the Wrigley Field bleachers because he couldn’t produce an e-ticket. A spokesman for the Cubs said Wickers had tried to get into the ballpark earlier without a ticket and that is why security staff approached him in the first place. “Our guest services staff knows who Ronnie is. They know what he does and that he is here to enjoy the games and to somewhat entertain the fans,” said Julian Green, Cubs vice president of communications and community affairs.