April 4, 2017

Chicago Sun-Times, Rare Arrieta: Nothing left to prove for Cubs’ Jake Arrieta http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/rare-arrieta-nothing-left-to-prove-for-cubs-jake-arrieta/

Chicago Sun-Times, Advice from Yadier Molina went a long way with Willson Contreras http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/advice-from-yadier-molina-went-a-long-way-with-willson-contreras/

Daily Herald, Given time, Cubs will find their 2017 identity http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170403/sports/170409744/

Daily Herald, Lester expresses confidence in catcher Contreras http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170403/sports/170409743/

Cubs.com, Lester on Game 1 loss: 'Look to the next' http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/222055044/cubs-not-worried-about-season-opening-loss/

CSNChicago.com, Cubs: How Javier Baez Became Baseball’s Human Highlight Film http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/cubs-how-javier-baez-became-baseballs-human-highlight-film

Chicago Tribune, Kyle Schwarber off to strong start in Cubs leadoff spot http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-kyle-schwarber-leadoff-spt-0404-20170403-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta aims to cut down on walks http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jake-arrieta-cubs-spt-0404-20170403-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Busch Stadium advertising panel to be changed http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-busch-stadium-advertising-panel-20170403-story.html

-- Chicago Sun-Times Rare Arrieta: Nothing left to prove for Cubs’ Jake Arrieta By Gordon WIttenmyer ST. LOUIS — When Jake Arrieta takes the mound Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, the countdown will begin on what might be his final season with the Cubs and what might be the team’s best chance to win another World Series this decade. But whatever happens between now and his pending free agency, Arrieta’s legacy in Chicago is assured, his mark on the franchise as indelible in three-plus seasons as any pitcher since Rick Sutcliffe in the 1980s and maybe since Orval Overall more than a century ago. ‘‘I feel that way,’’ Arrieta said of the sizable impact he has made. ‘‘And I tell my close friends and family and teammates that I don’t feel that I have anything to prove. From where I was and where I am now, I think I did plenty of that, proving the naysayers wrong.’’

A pitcher with a losing record and 5.46 career ERA with the Baltimore Orioles, the right-hander — who always had impressive stuff — pulled off the kind of career rebirth with the Cubs that makes the four-player trade in 2013 one of the most lopsided in recent history. ‘‘I don’t even think we’re competitive in ’15 without him,’’ Cubs president Theo Epstein said. ‘‘And we’re not a playoff team without him. Maybe the whole timetable for the rebuild is different without him.’’ Cubs officials from ownership down often talk about left-hander Jon Lester’s $155 million signing before the 2015 season as the turning point in the credibility of the rebuild. The sudden availability and hiring of manager Joe Maddon the same offseason often gets similar billing. But none of the success the Cubs had that season, which set the stage for a history-making 2016, would have happened without a Cy Young season by Arrieta that featured the greatest 20-game finish for a pitcher in major-league history. Included in that was a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in August and a dominant wild-card victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. All season, he compensated for a serious lack of pitching depth on the staff. By last fall, Arrieta had followed an All-Star season in 2016 with a postseason that featured two commanding road victories in the World Series. ‘‘He was the first,’’ said Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter, who was college teammates with Arrieta at TCU. ‘‘He was the guy they brought over and thought, ‘OK, we can build around this.’ ’’ Until then, the Cardinals were the dominant team in the National League for more than a decade. Arrieta and the Cubs bounced them from the playoffs in 2015, then beat them for the NL Central title last season. ‘‘Pitching is what dictates the game of baseball,’’ Carpenter said. ‘‘If you’ve got a guy who has a chance to go out there and throw a no-hitter every time he pitches, you’re going to have a chance to win.’’ Not even Epstein saw Arrieta’s dominance coming when he made the trade of his career, sending right-hander Scott Feldman and backup catcher Steve Clevenger to the Orioles for Arrieta and reliever Pedro Strop on July 2, 2013. Arrieta went 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA for a last-place Cubs team in 2014 after opening the season on the disabled list with shoulder tightness. He followed that with a breakout 2015 in which he went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, including 16-2 with a 0.86 ERA in his final 20 starts. ‘‘It was obviously a very special season individually,’’ Arrieta said, ‘‘but it was projected upon the team in such a remarkable way. That’s what I’m most proud of about that season: It allowed us as a team to do so many things. ‘‘It was something bigger than myself. And even though a lot of those things were on an individual level, it was so big for the organization for so many different reasons.’’ He said in spring training that he thought his command was ahead of where it was at this point last year. If that translates to another big season, then the biggest question to be answered next winter might be how many zeros are on some of contract offers he receives. ‘‘We’ll see what happens,’’ Epstein said before the season opener Sunday. ‘‘If we do go through the season and he becomes a free agent, it doesn’t mean he’s not coming back.’’ What few talks the Cubs and Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras, have had the last two years resulted in little progress, and few seem to think he’ll return to the team after this season. What’s certain is that Arrieta’s effect on the franchise won’t soon be forgotten, whether he spends six more months or six more seasons in Chicago.

‘‘I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder, and I don’t think the chip is gone,’’ Arrieta said. ‘‘But having to prove that I’m an elite starting pitcher or that I belong here, that’s in the past now. ‘‘Now it’s about, regardless of my individual numbers or stats, I want to win for my team. That’s the ultimate goal. Working toward repeating is all of our main goal. ‘‘The mindset shifts slightly as you get a bit older and as you have some success and progress in this game. But I don’t think the chip will ever completely be off my shoulder. That’s the way I’ve been since I was a kid.’’ -- Chicago Sun-Times Advice from Yadier Molina went a long way with Willson Contreras By Steve Greenberg ST. LOUIS — Yadier Molina has 10 years of age on Willson Contreras. Oh, and 12 years of big-league experience, seven All-Star appearances, eight Gold Gloves, nearly 13,000 innings behind the plate and — after the St. Louis Cardinals catcher signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension Sunday afternoon — many digits before the decimal point in his bank balance. Not to mention the two World Series championships Molina has under his belt, to Contreras’ measly one. But, hey, who’s counting? Certainly not the Cubs’ 24-year-old catcher. As promising a player as Contreras is, he’d be delighted just to begin down a similar path as the one Molina has blazed. “El Hombre” is what Albert Pujols used to be called by some around these parts, but Contreras knows Molina is the man. “He is the best,” Contreras said. “Yadi and [Kansas City’s] Salvador Perez are my favorite catchers. I love watching video of those two guys. I’ve been learning a lot of things from them.” In the case of Contreras and Molina, some of the learning — and direct teaching — has happened in person. It began last June in Contreras’ first career start, at Wrigley Field against the Cardinals. The first time Molina came up to bat, he surprised Contreras with kind words. “You look great,” Molina told him, speaking Spanish. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re going to be an All-Star someday.” This was the side of Molina fans don’t get to see, the giving nature with young players that has made him such a difference-maker beyond his own performance. Many opposing players — former Cubs catcher Welington Castillo being one of them — have their own stories of being encouraged by Molina during games early in their careers. Not many of them, though, got the “All-Star” treatment. “That made my day,” Contreras said. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ ” But it was as Molina dug in for his second at-bat that Contreras could hardly believe his ears. Molina had been watching the spry, aggressive, rocket-armed Contreras from the dugout — seen him fire the ball down to second base before each inning — and noticed a flaw in the technique of a player who didn’t start catching until the age of 20. “You have to get your glove from your left side to your right ear to make the transfer,” Molina told him. “Don’t worry about it, just practice it. You’ll see.”

Contreras had heard similar advice from coaches a couple of times before, but now — coming from Molina — he took it as gospel. Late in the game, after he gunned down Matt Carpenter on an attempted steal of second, Contreras had to stop himself from looking into the Cardinals’ dugout to catch the eye of one of his heroes. “That advice was right on,” Cubs catching coach Mike Borzello said. “I hadn’t worked with Willy much at all because he’d just come up [to the majors], and that was one of the first things I told him during that Cardinals series. I showed him video and said, ‘See how your exchange is too low and it takes too long to get the ball out?’ He said, ‘You’re right. Yadi told me that yesterday.’ It made my job easier, for sure.” If Molina isn’t entirely the player he once was, it can be hard to tell. In 2016 he hit .307 and — at 34, truly a marvel — led all of baseball with over 1,200 innings caught. But the player Cardinals GM John Mozeliak calls the “centerpiece” of the team isn’t convinced he’s the most talented catcher in the National League Central. “I see how much talent [Contreras] has,” Molina said. “He has great talent. He’s going to be a great player. “As far as last year, I just wanted to give him a little encouragement. I still do. He deserves it. I just want him to do good.” Rivalry? What rivalry? Contreras is pulling for Molina, too. “I hope he plays a lot more years because I appreciate that guy,” he said. “I’m thankful to Molina. He’s a really nice guy.” -- Daily Herald Given time, Cubs will find their 2017 identity By Bruce Miles ST. LOUIS -- The 2015 Chicago Cubs found their identity during an August sweep of the San Francisco Giants. They then went on to the National League championship series. Last year's team identity evolved over time, but it was shaped by Kyle Schwarber's knee injury during the first week of the season and a slump before the all-star break. That team had more than enough wherewithal to overcome those two challenges and go on to win the World Series. This year? Even though the Cubs have brought back essentially the same cast of characters from last year, team identities always change. "This is a new journey, a new group," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said Sunday, before the Cubs lost their season opener 4-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals. "I know we're pretty much all the same, but it's completely new. "This is Game 1 of 162-plus. We've got to find out our identity again this year the same way we did last year and the year before. You come together. Obviously we want to win the division and get back, but we have a lot of things to take care of before that." Notice Rizzo said "Game 1 of 162-plus." The Cubs fully expect to return to the postseason this year, Sunday's result notwithstanding. As an aside, the Cubs have reached the point with their fan base much as the Boston Red Sox have done. In other words, reaction to any one win or loss can make it seem like the team plays 162 seasons a year, not 162 games. Over the upcoming 162 seasons, er, games, the Cubs' identity will develop. After an off-day Monday, the Cubs and Cardinals will resume their three-game series Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

"Every year an identity emerges, a new challenge emerges," said team president Theo Epstein. "Every year you face adversity in baseball. We didn't find out what ours was until the third game of the season last year. It started to reveal itself. The same thing will happen this year. There is no lack of urgency or freshness or desire out there. Once we get into the rhythm of the season after Opening Day, it will feel normal, and we'll have our 2017 identity." The team chemistry has changed with the departures of Dexter Fowler (to the Cardinals), Travis Wood, Jorge Soler, David Ross, Aroldis Chapman and Jason Hammel, and with the additions of Jon Jay, Wade Davis, Brett Anderson and Koji Uehara. But the core group of Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jason Heyward, Addison Russell, Ben Zobrist, Javier Baez and others is back, and Schwarber anticipates a full and healthy season. "I know it's not good for storylines, but this group of guys needs no motivation, they need no maintenance or management," Epstein said. "They're self-starters. They're totally connected, really selfless, hungry to win. We're lucky to have this group of guys. They run themselves. They want it bad. They've put a ton of work in during the off-season. It was a great spring training. They're going to do all the little things to get the most out of their ability as a team, emphasis on team. We're just lucky to be here while this is going on." -- Daily Herald Lester expresses confidence in catcher Contreras By Bruce Miles ST. LOUIS -- Busch Stadium doesn't have a dirt path between home plate and the pitcher's mound, but Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras might have worn one between those two points Sunday night. Contreras was the opening-night catcher in the Cubs' 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. With veteran David Ross having retired, it's Contreras' job to catch staff ace Jon Lester. The mound visits by Contreras were to make sure both catcher and pitcher were on the same page. Lester gave his young backstop a thumbs-up after the game. "Willy did great," he said. "He's going to be fine. He did a great job with our staff last year, adjusting to new guys and adjusting on the fly. Now all of us got to spend a full spring with him, myself included. Willy is going to be fine. He's talented. He's smart enough. He knows what's going on back there. He'll handle this staff just fine going forward." Contreras hit a game-tying 3-run homer in the ninth inning Sunday night. "Yeah, how about that, right?" Lester said. The Cubs always have liked his bat. As a rookie last season, Contreras had a line of .282/.357/.488 with 12 homers and 35 RBI in 76 games. He said his night with Lester went fine. "I feel way more comfortable than we did during the spring," Contreras said. "He didn't shake me off like he did in the spring. But it feels great when we do a pretty good job against a good team." Oddities and entities: The Cubs walked Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina intentionally in Sunday's ninth inning. Molina became the first major-league batter to be walked intentionally without a pitch being thrown. As part of MLB's efforts to speed up the games, managers simply have to signal for an intentional walk for a batter to take first base.

Sunday's game took 3 hours and 33 minutes to play. An odd moment occurred in the bottom of the third when Cubs second baseman Javier Baez could not come up with a grounder off the bat of Aledmys Diaz. It looked like Baez broke the wrong way, but he and the Cubs said he could not pick up the ball out of a white advertising sign displayed on the wall behind home plate. That prompted discussion between the umpires and managers of both teams. "Of all things, the MLB app flip sign in the back was all white," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "That groundball he did not react to, he lost it in the sign, a pitch from Jonny Lester. That was a double play for sure. The next inning when he went out to take groundballs between innings, I just wanted to know which sign it was." The Cardinals' Dexter Fowler led off the third with a single, and he later scored on a sacrifice fly after Diaz's single. He said it: Cubs president Theo Epstein was asked if he had heard from others in light of finishing first in Fortune magazine's list of World's Greatest Leaders. "The pope hasn't chimed in," Epstein said. "He does not want to get the you-must-sin-to-win advice from me, I guess. I got more texts than when we won the World Series. I don't know what that says. People who read Fortune magazine like to text." -- Cubs.com Lester on Game 1 loss: 'Look to the next' By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- Take a deep breath, Cubs fans. C'mon, you knew they weren't going to go 162-0. Even the 1906 Cubs, who posted the best record in the Majors at 116-36, lost some games. Of course, winning a World Series for the first time in 108 years last year did create a euphoric feeling among Cubs Nation this offseason, which carried over to record-setting crowds in Spring Training. On Sunday night, the Cardinals won the season opener, 4-3, with a walk-off RBI single by Randal Grichuk in the ninth, but the Cubs' players weren't moping in the clubhouse. "I don't think we'll get too caught up in a loss," Kyle Schwarber said. "You're going to lose games in baseball. It was a hard-fought game, we didn't quit, we did what we wanted to do. Luckily, it clicked late for us and we put some runs on the board. They did a good job putting guys on and getting the big hit in the end." Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the eighth and the Cubs trailed by three entering the ninth when Ben Zobrist was hit by a pitch and Jason Heyward hustled to reach on an infield single. Willson Contreras followed with a home run to tie the score at 3-3, and as if on cue, it started to rain at Busch Stadium. "Believe me, I thought about it," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of a flashback to the delay during Game 7 of the World Series, when Heyward delivered a pep talk to the players that sparked a win. "That's our method is to have a little bit of rain. We just didn't have a team meeting." They also didn't get the win. On Twitter, Jon Lester tried to calm Cubs fans down, posting: "So much for an undefeated season. Glad to have the 1st start under our belt. Definitely a grind, but man it feels good to be back! #NVRQT" The Cubs went 17-5 in April 2016, which made it seem as if they never lost a game.

"I would hope everybody in this business understands it's a marathon," Lester said. "We're not going to go undefeated. We're going to come out in Game 2 [on Tuesday] ready to go and try to win that game. That's all you can really do. With all the expectations -- we had expectations last year. From Day 1, we were supposed to win it. From three months in, we were supposed to win it. And when the playoffs started, we were supposed to win it. It's the same thing this year. "Last year, we started 1-0," Lester said. "We'll come back [this year] and try to be 1-1 and keep moving forward. That's all you can do. Once one is over, you look to the next. It is a marathon, it's six months, if not longer. And you just have to play day by day and go from there." One of the Cubs' mottos last year was, "We never quit." And they've kept that theme. "I felt it was a positive day overall for us," Schwarber said. "We started the season with a grinder game, and I think that will definitely help us as we keep going down this long stretch of games." There are 161 to go. "You know what, this is Game 1 of 162-plus," Anthony Rizzo said. "We've got to find our identity again this year, just like we had to do last year and the year before. ... Obviously, we want to win our division and get back, but we have a lot of things to take care of before that." Worth noting • Cubs reliever Justin Grimm was expected to rejoin the team on Tuesday. He missed Sunday's game to attend his grandfather's funeral. -- CSNChicago.com Cubs: How Javier Baez Became Baseball’s Human Highlight Film By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS – Javier Baez – the kid with the Major League Baseball tattoo on the back of his neck – walked into Dave Keller's office and asked to speak with the Class-A Daytona manager. This was still early in the 2013 season, about two years after the Cubs selected Baez with the ninth overall pick in the draft. Keller had managed Manny Ramirez in the minors and later developed enough of a fluency in Spanish – and an appreciation for cultural differences – to become the organization's field coordinator in Latin America. Keller called in hitting coach Mariano Duncan, a respected bilingual voice who once mentored a young Derek Jeter on the 1996 New York Yankees team that began a run of four World Series titles in five years. Looking at the schedule and how much Baez had been playing, Keller made him the designated hitter the day before an off day, trying to maximize his rest. "All three of us sit down. He goes: 'I don't DH,'" recalled Keller, who explained the thinking behind the decision only to get this response from Baez: "'I don't need a day off, either.'" "Inside, I'm laughing my ass off," Keller said. "But outside, I'm going: OK, we have to continue to help this kid understand boundaries. "I said: 'OK, that's good to know, you're DH-ing today.'" Keller and Duncan looked at each other with the same reaction: This guy's unbelievable. ***

By the time Baez became a breakout star during last year's playoffs, the Cubs had already seen the rough cut of baseball's "Human Highlight Film." The location shoot could be anywhere in the Florida State League and Baez might make a mind-bending play. It just took backdrops like Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium – and the social-media machinery behind the World Series and World Baseball Classic – for Baez to pop when he stole home or dropped a no-look tag. "Who doesn't want to be like Javy right now?" said lefty reliever Zac Rosscup. "Everything like that just comes so easy for him. I don't know how to explain it. He's got such a good mind for where he's at on the field. Like in basketball, you would say a court awareness. "It's got to feel good for those catchers, too. You know if you throw it anywhere around the base, he's going to put down that quick tag, the no-look tag, the between-the-legs tag. I'm just waiting for him to do a backflip." Bullpen catcher Chad Noble, who played four seasons in the farm system, immediately sensed the curiosity from Cubs coaches Chris Bosio and Mike Borzello. "The first thing they asked me was: 'What do you got on Javy?'" Noble said. "I said nothing about his hitting. I was like: 'He's the best tagger I've ever seen. He makes everything an out.' I felt weird saying it: 'Best tagger?' I felt stupid saying it, because it's like: 'Who says best tagger?' "But now it's like a national thing." When asked for a favorite Javy moment, both Noble and Rosscup vividly remembered Baez diving to his left at shortstop in the ninth inning of Eric Jokisch's 2013 no-hitter with Double-A Tennessee. "It was like a line drive up the middle that no one on this planet could have caught and he just stabbed it," Noble said. "You're like, 'Damn, well, there goes the no-hitter,'" Rosscup recalled. "Out of nowhere, Javy comes diving, makes the play. He just does that stuff every day and it's not something where he finds his chance here or there. "He makes the ridiculous plays look so easy. To pick one moment – I don't think you can – because every time he's out on the field, you want to watch, because there's something exciting going to happen." *** One of the original "Javy Being Javy" stories circulated around the Cubs leading up to the 2011 draft, out of an all-state event for the best players in Florida, where each guy was supposed to introduce himself and say his hometown and where he committed to play in college. So Baez, the legend goes, stood up and pointed to that tattoo on the back of his neck and announced: "I'm going to the University of Major League Baseball." Tim Wilken, the scouting director at the time, had framed the question to his staff like this: What's harder to find, a middle-of-the-order hitter or a frontline starter? The pre-Plan Cubs came to a Theo Epstein conclusion. Even if Baez had some rough edges, a great sense of swagger and all-or-nothing stretches at the plate, Wilken didn't really view it as a high-risk play, because hitters are safer investments near the top of the draft, middle-infield athleticism is so valuable and the baseball IQ would open up even more possibilities. One particular play during an A-ball game in Clearwater foreshadowed "The Javier Baez Show" that ran last October. "He took one of his hernia swings and had so much topspin on it that the left fielder didn't know what to do," Wilken recalled. "At the second he jumps – he was a left-handed throwing left-fielder – it's got so much spin it almost hit him around the elbow area.

"The ball drops straight down, and I'm sure the poor kid had never seen a ball hit with that much spin on it. The kid does come up firing to second and he's got Javy dead to rights, because Javy didn't get out of the box. He took (his time). And then he does one of those famous swim moves. "Chris Truby – who's an ex-big leaguer and was the manager for (the Phillies' affiliate) – starts running across the field. He looks and he knows that Javy was safe. He just throws his hands up at the play and turns around and storms back. He didn't even argue." Wilken – a gifted storyteller who drafted Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay for the Toronto Blue Jays and now works as a special assistant with the Arizona Diamondbacks – also flashed back to the 2013 Southern League playoffs against Birmingham. "Javy hit a home run to left-center in Knoxville," Wilken said. "It was almost like a fence-scraper and Javy turns around and starts yelling toward the plate. And I'm going: 'Oh, s---! We're going to get into a fight here. He's yelling at the catcher.' "He wasn't yelling at the catcher. He was yelling at the umpire, saying: 'How could you miss it? That was a catcher's interference!' Because the glove had hit Javy's bat. No kidding, I mean, that was amazing. I'm just sitting there going, 'Oh, we're in a fight.' And, no, he was yelling at the umpire." *** That sixth sense reminded Keller of watching Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar when he worked on the major-league staff with the Cleveland Indians in the early 2000s. "All I remember talking about the whole time when (Javy) was there was his instincts for the game were off the charts," Keller said. "He would do stuff in the game that was so further advanced than that level at the time, whether it was a pop-up in the infield, and then letting it drop because he knew who was running, so he'd try to get the fast guy and leave the slow guy on base. "Or his ability to steal third at that level was better than I've probably ever seen anywhere on any team that I've ever been with. It was just more or less trying to keep him focused every day to play, which was really no problem, because he came to play. But with so many kids at the lower levels, you don't really worry about the game. You worry about what's going on with them between 1 o'clock and 6 o'clock." Keller moved his hand in a flat, straight line to describe the college hitters like Kris Bryant (16 games in 2013) and Kyle Schwarber (44 games in 2014) who breezed through Daytona while the Cubs sold off pieces from their big-league team to build for the future. "All the little things that people don't do at the lower levels, (Javy) was doing," Keller said. "The tags – you could tell right away. His ability was almost like you would think it was sneaky, you know what I mean? But at the big-league level, it comes off as unbelievably intelligent, anticipatory, whatever you want to call it, because his mind thinks that way. "We found out right away that mentally he was way advanced. But what winds up happening is the physical ups and downs get into the emotional part of it. And all those guys deal with that. As soon as they get through the emotional part of it, the better off they'll be. "Javy was a little bit different, because he showed his emotions a lot more than those guys. Once they get the emotions under control – not that they were out of control – but it's maturity. That's why we have the minor leagues." ***

Baez has a short mohawk with his hair dyed blond at the top. His left arm now features a tattoo with the Cubs logo and a 2016 World Series trophy. But he blends style and substance with a willingness to analyze his weaknesses, ask for help and listen. "I've been learning from everything," Baez said. "It's not like I like failing. But that's when you learn to make your adjustments and to get better at stuff that you didn't do in the past." Jose Flores, the infield coordinator, also grew up in Puerto Rico, spoke the same language and even coached Baez' older brother, Rolando Agosto, in winter ball. Flores still first noticed the same quiet, introverted streak that probably kept other teams guessing when Baez came out of Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville. "At the beginning, it was just a little bit tough to communicate with him, because he's very closed," Flores said. "I told him: 'I'm just going to let you go out there and perform and eventually you're going to come to me.'" Three years before he would change playoff games with his defense and become a National League Championship Series co-MVP, Baez committed 31 errors in 73 A-ball games. "I just let him play," Flores said. "One time I visited Daytona and he's like: 'What can I do to get better defensively?' I said: 'All right, now we're talking, let's just start working.' And from that day on we established a really good bond. "Once he started failing, he's like: 'What do we got, Flo? What can I do here to get better?'" For all the flair to his game, Baez is a baseball gym rat. He developed a consistent, game-speed routine. He focused on his pre-pitch positioning and being less jumpy, so that he would have sharper reflexes and better reads off the bat. He changed his arm angle to improve his accuracy. Joe Maddon, a free-spirited, unconventional manager, allowed Baez to be himself and play with passion. His younger sister, Noely, who was born with spina bifida and died two years ago, gave Baez a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration. A star-studded cast allowed Baez to make mistakes, find his role and blend more into the background – at least until the biggest games in franchise history. That's why Maddon did a World Series tribute and made Baez his Opening Night second baseman, shifting Ben Zobrist to right field during Sunday's 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This viral sensation has been years in the making. The guy who doesn't DH is willing to do whatever it takes for some more championship bling and maybe another World Series tattoo. -- Chicago Tribune Kyle Schwarber off to strong start in Cubs leadoff spot By Mark Gonzales Dexter Fowler knew better than to assess how his successor, Kyle Schwarber, would fare in the Cubs leadoff spot. "Joe Maddon is going to do whatever he (thinks) is best," Fowler said Sunday before he and the Cardinals defeated the Cubs 4-3. Schwarber had two hits and reached base three times. The possibility of the stout Schwarber — who hit 16 home runs in 69 games in 2015 before missing nearly all of last season because of left knee surgery — batting leadoff crystallized in spring training. He prepared mentally to face hard-throwing Carlos Martinez once the Cardinals named Martinez two weeks ago to start the opener. "Visualization is a big part of baseball, and putting yourself in situations and being able to see it before you get into it definitely will help," said Schwarber, who got both of his hits off Martinez.

Schwarber, starting in left field for the first time since his season-ending injury April 7, moved well on the basepaths and in the field. Changing signs: Second baseman Javier Baez and the Cubs no longer will need to worry about the white advertising panel that caused a distraction Sunday night. The panel behind home plate that altered Baez's vision and turned a potential double play into a single by Aledmys Diaz in the third will be changed, a Major League Baseball official confirmed Monday. MLB officials had internal discussions regarding the play and the sign, which met MLB standards last season. After further discussion that involved MLB's baseball operations department, the decision was made to change the signs with white backgrounds. Comfort zone: Catcher Willson Contreras got more attention for hitting a game-tying, three-run home run in the ninth Sunday, but he also said his confidence behind the plate soared after working with starting pitcher Jon Lester. "I feel way more comfortable than we did during the spring," Contreras said. "He didn't shake me off like he did in spring. It feels great when we do a good job against a good team." Contreras, as is his custom, made several trips to the mound to see Lester and the relievers. Lester said his confidence in Contreras hasn't wavered. "Willie is going to be fine," Lester said. "He's talented and smart enough. He knows what's going on." Focus is now: President Theo Epstein declined to discuss the status of pitcher Jake Arrieta, who seems destined for free agency after this season. "All that stuff happens behind closed doors," Epstein said. "If we go through the season and he becomes a free agent, it doesn't mean he's not coming back. We're focused right now, as he is, and we'll see what happens." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta aims to cut down on walks By Mark Gonzales Jake Arrieta continues to pursue perfection, even after throwing no-hitters in consecutive seasons. "I haven't figured everything out," Arrieta said. "I don't think I ever will. But that's kind of the reason we do this every day. You have to work at this craft to even be OK at it." The 2017 mission for Arrieta involves reducing his 76 walks in 2016 — a 28-walk increase from his 2015 National League Cy Young Award-winning season. The walks led to high pitch counts in a short span, and earlier-than-expected departures that placed stress on the bullpen. The early departures also prevented Arrieta from reaching the 200-inning mark — a goal set by each of the Cubs' returning starting pitchers — by 2 2/3 innings. "There's the uncharacteristic four-pitch walk with two outs you see every now and then," said Arrieta, who still won 18 games and posted a 3.10 ERA in 2016. "Even the best do it. I'm guilty as much as anybody. It's a matter of focus and trying to stay locked in from start to finish." Arrieta showed improvement against the Cardinals — whom he will oppose Tuesday night — in his final two starts against them. Arrieta walked only three in 12 2/3 innings in those games, but he'll make adjustments against those

teams that were more willing to lay off his signature cut fastball that darts out of the strike zone at the last moment. Arrieta walked four or more batters in eight of his 31 starts last season after walking only 48 in 33 starts in 2015. He also threw a league-leading 16 wild pitches. Arrieta walked a career-high seven in 5 2/3 innings, throwing 103 pitches, against the Brewers on Aug. 16 but earned the victory because he allowed only three hits. Miguel Montero, who has caught many of Arrieta's starts the last two seasons, said he isn't worried about Arrieta's walks because of his ability to induce ground balls. "All he has to do is not be afraid to pitch to contact," Arrieta said. "That's the biggest issue for a pitcher. That's when they get deep in the count and walk guys, and they're out of the game in the fourth inning." Cubs starting pitchers posted a major league-leading 2.96 ERA in 2016 despite none averaging at least a strikeout an inning. That was due in part to exceptional defense. "If you pitch away from contact, you're going to extend innings, have high pitch counts and walk guys," Arrieta said. "Fortunately we have an incredible defense full of young, extremely talented players." Montero was encouraged that Arrieta didn't walk anyone during his final spring training appearance against the Giants in which he retired the final eight batters. "Commanding breaking stuff and trying to eliminate some of the walks, that's a progression that's going to happen for me this year," Arrieta said. "I'm very confident of that, to get back to where I was a couple years ago." -- Chicago Tribune Busch Stadium advertising panel to be changed By Mark Gonzales Second baseman Javier Baez and the Chicago Cubs no longer will need to worry about the white advertising panel that caused a distraction in Sunday night's loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The panel behind home plate that altered Baez's vision and turned a potential double play into a single by Aledmys Diaz in the third inning will be changed soon, a Major League Baseball official confirmed Monday. MLB officials had internal discussions regarding the play and the sign, which met MLB standards last season. But after further discussion that involved MLB's baseball operations department, the decision was made to change the signs with white backgrounds. Diaz's hit allowed Dexter Fowler to advance from first to third, and Fowler went on to score and enable the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead en route to a 4-3 victory. After the game, Baez contended he didn't see the ball until it passed the mound, which made it too late for him to take a step to his left and be in better position to field the grounder. --