October 7, 2016

Chicago Tribune, Jon Lester's moment to make history with the Cubs has arrived http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-jon-lester-make-history-spt-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Relaxed, eager Cubs respect Giants but have no reason to fear them http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-ready-relaxed-haugh-spt-1007-20161006-column.html

Chicago Tribune, Confident Cubs aren't thinking about history's judgment if they fail http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-confident-sullivan-spt-1007-20161006-column.html

Chicago Tribune, NLDS Game 1 pitching matchup: Jon Lester vs. Johnny Cueto http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-nlds-game-1-starting-pitchers-spt-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Five reasons the Cubs should worry heading into the playoffs http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-worries-playoffs-spt-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, How Cubs used World Series video to woo free agents http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-video-theo-epstein-spt-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Jake Arrieta sees no difference between starting a wild card or a Game 3 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jake-arrieta-cubs-bits-spt-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Giants have experience, momentum on their side in NL Division Series http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-giants-momentum-spt-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Ethics chief warns aldermen of fine print on face-value Cubs tickets http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-chicago-aldermen-cubs-tickets-ethics-met-1007-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Jeff Samardzija might miss facing Cubs at Wrigley Field http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jeff-samardzija-cubs-wrigley-20161006-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Officials to Cubs fans: Come early, don't post tickets on social media http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-cubs-security-preparations-met-20161006-story.html

Chicago Sun-Times, The men behind the Cubs’ best-in-baseball pitching staff http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/the-men-behind-the-cubs-best-in-baseball-pitching-staff/

Chicago Sun-Times, Fittingly, flawless Kris Bryant is the face of the franchise http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/fittingly-flawless-kris-bryant-is-the-face-of-the-franchise/

Chicago Sun-Times, The time has arrived for the Cubs to win a World Series http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/the-time-has-arrived-for-the-cubs-to-win-a-world-series/

Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs or Giants: Who wins the matchups on paper? http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-or-giants-who-wins-the-matchups-on-paper/

Daily Herald, Keep an eye on these 3 Cubs, Giants http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009106/

Daily Herald, Rozner: Keys to a long Chicago Cubs postseason run http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009108/

Daily Herald, How Cubs' Lester earned Game 1 start http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009114/

Daily Herald, Will last year's playoff experience pay off for Cubs http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009118/

Daily Herald, Bernfield: Giants might be Chicago Cubs' toughest challenge http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009116/

Daily Herald, Cubs' Maddon will face off against one of game's best in Bochy http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009117/

Daily Herald, Chicago Cubs players embrace Maddon's consistency, relevance http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009140/

Daily Herald, How Giants fared against Cubs this season http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161006/sports/161009188/

Cubs.com, Master of routine, Lester ready for Game 1 http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/204931372/jon-lester-to-start-game-1-of-nlds-for-cubs/

Cubs.com, Cubs vs. Giants: A position-by-position NLDS look http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/205154668/nlds-cubs-giants-positional-breakdown/

Cubs.com, Three's company: Cubs stick with catcher trio http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/205212422/cubs-stick-with-3-catchers-in-nlds-vs-giants/

Cubs.com, Well-rested Cubs eager to get playoffs started http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/205184552/cubs-ready-for-nlds-vs-giants/

Cubs.com, Postseason vets face off to open NLDS in Chicago http://atmlb.com/2dZ3qTV

ESPNChicago.com, Rest should only bring out best in championship-hopeful Cubs http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/41873/rest-should-only-bring-out-the-best-in-championship-hopeful-cubs

CSNChicago.com, Scouting Report: Breaking Down Where It Should Go Right For Cubs And How It Could All Go Wrong In The Playoffs http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/scouting-report-breaking-down-where-it-should-go-right-cubs-and-how-it-could-all-go

CSNChicago.com, The Domino Effect From Cubs Adding Aroldis Chapman To Playoff Bullpen http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/domino-effect-cubs-adding-aroldis-chapman-playoff-bullpen

CSNChicago.com, Jon Lester Has No Intention Of Pitching 'Timid' For Cubs http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/jon-lester-has-no-intention-pitching-timid-cubs

CSNChicago.com, Giants Playoff Rotation Vs. Cubs Uncertain Beyond Opener http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-cubs/giants-playoff-rotation-vs-cubs-uncertain-beyond-opener

-- Chicago Tribune Jon Lester's moment to make history with the Cubs has arrived By Paul Sullivan Giants catcher Buster Posey showed up on Jon Lester's doorstep one fall morning in 2014 and made a modest proposal. "I want to be your catcher," Posey said. The wooing of Lester was in full swing, and the Giants had pulled out all the stops, sending Posey and manager Bruce Bochy along with team executives to recruit the top free-agent pitcher on the market. They had just won their third World Series in five years and were hungry for more. Lester could join Madison Bumgarner as an unstoppable 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, keeping the Giants dynasty going for years. The Cubs low-keyed their pursuit, relatively speaking, sending Lester some camo Cubs caps for hunting and a bottle of wine and flowers for his wife, Farrah. They were still in the middle of their rebuild, having just hired manager Joe Maddon, who called but did not visit Lester at his home in Georgia. Cubs President Theo Epstein could offer Lester only a ton of money, access to a private jet and a chance to own Chicago if he could help end the drought. "It was driven home that the organization hasn't won in a century, and he could be part of something historic, something unique and something extraordinary," Lester's agent, Seth Levinson said. The decision was easy. Lester chose a chance at immortality, turning down more money from the Giants to sign a six-year, $155 million deal to pitch for the Cubs. Nearly two years later, with that elusive championship seemingly theirs for the taking, the Cubs kick off their postseason Friday night at Wrigley Field in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, with Lester facing Posey and the Giants. Maddon's choice to start Game 1 was a no-brainer, even though Kyle Hendricks won the major-league earned-run average title. With two Series championships under his belt with the Red Sox, Lester is time-tested in October, and he's coming off a Cy Young-caliber season that re-established him as the team's ace. "Jon has been on a really significant roll since August," Maddon said. "There's almost a component of meritocracy involved, I think, the fact he has earned the right to be this guy." Lester's 19 victories were second in the National League, and his ERA of 2.44 was second to Hendricks. All in all, he had the kind of season the Cubs were looking for when they brought him in.

"This one was pretty special on a personal level, just where everything's at at the finish," Lester said. "It'll probably go down as one of the better, if not the best years of my career, and hopefully there is more to come. "A lot of personal satisfaction there. You try to look at that, but at the same time, now we have the real business to get down to." The real business begins at 8 p.m. Friday when Lester faces off against Johnny Cueto on what figures to be an electric night at Wrigley Field. Lester was the first big free-agent signing of Epstein's plan, and their relationship from their days together in Boston figured prominently in the wooing. Epstein was there for Lester in 2006 when he was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes. He was also there for the recovery and watched Lester coolly win the World Series-clinching game in their sweep of the Rockies in 2007. And when the Red Sox collapsed down the stretch in 2011, leading to Epstein's departure, it was Lester who was fingered in the famous fried-chicken-and-beer controversy that painted the clubhouse as out of control. Lester, John Lackey and Josh Beckett were the main culprits, reportedly drinking and munching on Popeye's instead of supporting their teammates in the dugout. "We probably ordered chicken from Popeye's like once a month,'' Lester told the Boston Globe. "But that's not the reason we lost. It was a ninth-inning-rally beer. … Was it a bad habit? Yes, I should have been on the bench more than I was. But we just played bad baseball as a team in September. We stunk. To be honest, we were doing the same things all season when we had the best record in baseball." Epstein and manager Terry Francona were gone, and the Red Sox crumbled to last place in 2012 only to bounce back in 2013 and win another World Series, with Lester taking Games 1 and 5 and Lackey winning Game 6. After failing to sign Lester to an extension in 2014, the Red Sox dealt him to the A's before the trade deadline for Yoenis Cespedes. The A's considered him their missing link and he started for them against the Royals in the American League wild-card game. But he helped blow a four-run lead in the eighth and watched the Royals win in extra innings. That sent Lester into free agency with the Cubs, Giants and Red Sox in pursuit. That November, Lester arrived in Chicago for a recruiting visit during a polar vortex. When he visited Wrigley Field, the bleachers were still under construction and the ballpark looked like a wreck. Chicago was a tough sell. Epstein had former Cubs Ryan Dempster, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel talk to Lester about how cool it was to be a Cub and play at Wrigley, but Lester still wasn't totally convinced. "Are these guys close?" Lester asked Samardzija. "Are they there?" At that point, before Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber or Addison Russell had arrived in the majors, no one could be certain. In the book "The Arm," Epstein told author Jeff Passan he wrote a series of notes to Lester during the free-agent process, trying to entice him to take the plunge. The Giants were offering more money, but Epstein knew money wouldn't be the deciding factor for Lester. In his final message to Lester before baseball's winter meetings, Epstein wrote: "If you do decide to join us in Chicago, we look forward to taking care of your family, to great fun to be had together, and to the biggest celebration in the history of sports!" The Hail Mary pitch worked. Lester agreed to sign with the Cubs, accelerating the Plan.

"The biggest thing that made me believe in the Cubs was (general manage Jed Hoyer) and Theo," Lester told Passan. "They made me believe in what they believe in." Now Lester is on the doorstep of something special, something historic. Dozens of free agents have come to the Cubs believing they could make a difference and be on the team that ended the drought, from Andre Dawson to Greg Maddux to Alfonso Soriano. Will Lester be the one finally to make it happen? He knows how to pitch in October, knows how to attack hitters. And he's ready for Game 1, the start of the next chapter of his long and winding journey. "We'll have a game plan going in." he said. "I have strengths that have gotten me to this point in my career that I've relied upon, and we'll probably start there and make adjustments." The day the Cubs have been waiting for since opening day is finally here, and Lester is ready to take the wheel and drive this bus. Enjoy the ride. -- Chicago Tribune Relaxed, eager Cubs respect Giants but have no reason to fear them By David Haugh On the day before the Cubs embarked on what could become the ride of their lives, players tapped into their inner teenager Thursday and basked in the joys of doing nothing. Center fielder Dexter Fowler slept — "a lot." Second baseman Ben Zobrist rode his bike through the Wrigley Field corridors on his way to a team workout rain washed out. Pitcher Jake Arrieta shot a 90 at Butler National Golf Club. Catcher David Ross passed time at Starbucks where he received double shots of encouragement from customers. "Everybody is patting you on the back and telling you how excited they are,'' Ross said. "The hardest part this week is the down time. It's like the cooped-up dog in the house and the owner gets home … now we're ready to run around a little.'' Free the hounds already. The Cubs haven't played a game that counts since Sunday and a game that matters in three weeks. Yet you must go back to Oct. 21, 2015, the night the Mets finished a sweep of the Cubs in the National League Championship Series, to realize how long the Cubs have been looking forward to Friday's first pitch. "We've been waiting for it since things ended last year too abruptly,'' Fowler said. Welcome to the Game 1 of this year's NL Division Series, the moment Chicago has greatly anticipated against the team everybody quietly dreaded, the Cubs against the Giants, promise versus pedigree, hope challenging certainty in October. The Cubs enter with 103 regular-season victories. The wild-card-winning Giants counter with three World Series titles since 2010, a run that makes them the Blackhawks of baseball — and people here know how much they believe in the Hawks in the playoffs no matter what happens up to the point they are eliminated. Essentially, the Giants are what the Cubs want to be when they grow up.

That reality makes Game 1 the most important game of the series for the Cubs, who will wake up Saturday to a city immersed in irrational anxiety impossible to ignore if they fall behind 1-0. Nobody said this would be easy for the Cubs. But that hardly makes it impossible. Travel delays on a dreary afternoon prevented the Giants from arriving on time for their scheduled workout but, rest assured, they were never lost. They knew the way. The Giants always know where they're going this time of year. Just as history instructs Cubs fans to expect the worst in October, those who follow the Giants have become accustomed to expecting their best. They arrive having tied a major-league record by winning 11 straight postseason series. They are 35-14 in the playoffs since 2010. They have won two World Series as a wild-card qualifier. Cubs manager Joe Maddon compared these Giants to the 2002 Angels, another wild card that won it all with Maddon as its bench coach. "They've done it,'' first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. Nothing fazes the Giants. No lead in any game or series will create doubt or cause Giants manager Bruce Bochy's knees to buckle. The word insurmountable cannot be found in the Giants glossary. They are as dependable in autumn as a steel rake. They struggled at times late in the season because of a shaky bullpen and a sleepy offense but arguably possess as much starting pitching depth as the Cubs. For Game 1 they cannot start Madison Bumgarner, the most dominant playoff starting pitcher of his generation, because he shut out the Mets in Wednesday's wild-card victory. So they will call on No. 2 Johnny Cueto, who started the All-Star game in July — not a bad option. Neither Bumgarner, Bochy nor catcher Buster Posey ever have lost a playoff series. More Giant intrigue comes from local connections. Former Cubs and White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija is expected to start Game 2. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie, the unlikely hero of the wild-card game with a ninth-inning home run, started for the Sox on opening day 2015 — with Samardzija on the mound. Former South Siders Jake Peavy and Gordon Beckham, added in September, won't see the field but, suffice to say, the White Sox have a big enough presence on the roster to make Cork and Kerry the place for Giants fans to hang out this weekend. A series featuring two of baseball's smartest managers, as well as starting pitchers capable of doing something special every outing, promises to make nobody complain about the exorbitant ticket prices on Stubhub. The Blue Jays, coming off their own walk-off victory in the wild-card game, reminded everybody to assume nothing about playoff baseball when they beat the Rangers 10-1 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series. The Cubs killed time watching that game in their clubhouse, paying close attention by the sounds of it. "It's nice to win as many games as we did but it doesn't mean anything now,'' Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said. Have the Giants earned the praise the Cubs heaped upon them Thursday? Yes. Are the Giants more dangerous than the Mets team they ousted Wednesday night in New York? Sure. Should the Cubs fear the Giants? No. It will be up to Maddon to get the Cubs to strike a psychological balance between respecting a worthy opponent with a championship tradition and maintaining confidence that they remain the team to beat. Bumgarner can't pitch every game. This isn't 1989 and Will Clark isn't walking through the Giants clubhouse door. This isn't 2010 or 2012 or 2014 either, and an even-numbered year on the calendar won't necessarily help the Giants see the ball any better at Wrigley against co-aces Jon Lester or Kyle Hendricks. This is 2016 and the best Cubs team of anybody's lifetime thrives when embracing the target, playing smart baseball and having fun. "Playing for the city of Chicago is awesome,'' outfielder Chris Coghlan said. "My wife always says, 'How can we stay?' I said it doesn't work that way. But I love it. … You're chasing history. There is nothing better.'' Except making it, that is.

-- Chicago Tribune Confident Cubs aren't thinking about history's judgment if they fail By Paul Sullivan The win-or-bust mentality may be prevalent on the North Side, but Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant reiterated before the start of the postseason run the players aren't playing the "what if" game. "One game at a time," Bryant said Thursday night at Wrigley Field. "Win the next game. If you look at what we have here over the next five or six years, we hope to be making runs like this all the time. "Certainly we have a chance here and we're not going to take it for granted. We'll give it all we've got, but I don't know if that's the right attitude to approach it with. If you put that type of pressure on yourself, nothing good comes from that. … We don't put that in our heads. We play (like) we're going to win. That's how we've approached every game this year." Anthony Rizzo agreed, saying "there's no reason to answer" a question about whether the season would be considered a failure if the Cubs don't win it all. "We don't plan on that," he said. That's the mindset every player should have, and why the Cubs are confident about their chances. And realistically, even if the Cubs lose, whether it's in the National League Division Series to the Giants or the NL Championship Series or even in the World Series, they're in position to give themselves another chance for years to come. Of course, the Tigers thought the same thing when they went to the World Series in 2006. Despite having contending teams most seasons since then, they never have reached the promised land. But looking at the talent level and depth of the roster, the Cubs have no excuses if they don't at least get to the World Series. They clearly are the best team in the National League, and Madison Bumgarner can't pitch in every game of this series. Last year the Cubs could point to the youth, the lack of strong defense in left and right fields, a four-man rotation that wasn't as deep as they had thought, an inexperienced bullpen and a strikeout-prone lineup. But they have sealed the crack in the rotation, solidified the defense, brought in contact hitters and have one of the most dominating closers in the game in Aroldis Chapman. The defense is the best in baseball, and shortstop Addison Russell already has made every fan forget how nervous they got whenever the ball was hit to Starlin Castro. That doesn't mean they can't lose to the Giants, an experienced team with a core that has won three World Series since 2010. It just means the Cubs shouldn't lose if they play the way they're capable, and the ball doesn't take any funny bounces. Fans, naturally, expect them to win now, even if they know in their hearts the Cubs still can win down the road if this doesn't pan out. "That's what we expect too, so we're on the same page there, I guess," Jake Arrieta said. "We still wanted it last year, whether we were lucky to be there or weren't expected to win a championship. But we have another opportunity to get a little further and end the season on a different note, and that's what we're ready for." The Cubs certainly can't do what they did in last year when the Mets swept them in the NLCS after every starter put the team in a quick hole giving up one or more first-inning runs.

Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and John Lackey ranked first, third, fourth and sixth, respectively, in opponents batting average against, making them extremely hard to hit. They can only beat themselves, as Arrieta has done on occasion with walks. Game 1 is obviously important, and Lester is the perfect man to have on the mound for the Cubs. But so was Carlos Zambrano in 2007 in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Diamondbacks. The Cubs lost after manager Lou Piniella removed Zambrano early and Carlos Marmol fell apart. They wound up getting swept in three games. "When I look back on it, we may have had the better team," former Cubs starter Rich Hill said. "It really goes to show you how important the first game is of a division series, or any series in a playoff, just to get off on the right foot. Unfortunately, it didn't work out." The Cubs did manage to come back and win the NLDS against the Cardinals last October after losing the opener to Lackey. And, of course, they smacked the Padres 13-0 in Game 1 of the 1984 NLCS, only to blow a 2-0 series lead and fall in five games. Anything can happen, and probably will. -- Chicago Tribune NLDS Game 1 pitching matchup: Jon Lester vs. Johnny Cueto By Paul Skrbina Asked whom he would vote for in the Cy Young Award race, Jon Lester or Kyle Hendricks, Cubs manager Joe Maddon took the evasive way out. "Rizzo," he joked of his MVP candidate first baseman, Anthony Rizzo. But Maddon may have revealed his imaginary ballot when he released the Cubs' postseason pitching order and Lester's name was at the top to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Giants. The veteran left-hander has been strong in the postseason with a 2.85 ERA in 98 career innings. And like the rest of the Cubs staff, Lester has been really good all season. How good? Last year's Cy Young winner, Jake Arrieta, falls third in line behind Lester and Hendricks in the best-of-five series rotation. John Lackey is the fourth starter. While his manager wouldn't choose a winner for the trophy, Hendricks wasn't shy about saying Lester deserved props — and the No. 1 spot. "My opinion is him, 100 percent," Hendricks said of the Cy Young Award. "He's had maybe three bad starts all year. From start to finish, he's been our horse." More reasons to lead off with Lester? As Hendricks suggested, Lester has been on a roll all season. Most recently he was named NL pitcher of the month for Sept. 1 through the end of the regular season, when he was 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA, .188 batting average against and 28 hits allowed in 42 2/3 innings. This will be the sixth time Lester has been to the playoffs in 11 big-league seasons. He won two World Series with the Red Sox, which is two more than the Cubs have won since 1908.

Johnny Cueto, the Giants' $130 million man, isn't a shabby option to start Game 1 opposite Lester on Friday night at Wrigley Field, considering ace Madison Bumgarner is not available until Game 3 after a dominating performance in the wild-card game against the Mets. Besides, dominate is what Cueto has done to current Cubs, who are batting .184 with a .284 on-base percentage and .525 OPS in 141 at-bats against him. The right-hander spent 7 1/2 seasons facing the Cubs regularly while with the Reds, whom he helped to the postseason twice before they traded him to the Royals midway through last season. After helping the Royals to their first World Series title since 1985, he signed as a free agent with the Giants, who are going for their fourth World Series title in seven years. Cueto, a two-time All-Star, is 9-8 with a 3.24 ERA in 24 starts against the Cubs. He faced them once this season, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings Sept. 4. "I already know them," Cueto told the San Jose Mercury News after the Giants beat the Mets 3-0 in the wild-card game. "I just have to go out and do my job and concentrate on pitching, put my pitches where I want to and finish what we started." Cueto left a start against the Dodgers on Sept. 20 with a strained left groin, pain he described to MLB.com as "like a crab just grabbed me there and bit me." But he seems to have bounced back just fine after missing only one start. -- Chicago Tribune Five reasons the Cubs should worry heading into the playoffs By Paul Sullivan After a simulated game Tuesday at Wrigley Field, President Theo Epstein shot down a theory that Cubs fans aren't nearly as apprehensive going into this postseason as they have been in years past. "Who are you talking to?" he said. The usual suspects, the fans who put a shield around themselves at the start of the playoffs — just in case the Cubs screw up. That way they can ease into the winter with minor aches and pains instead of cuddling into the fetal position in the bathtub for four months. So, no worries from Cubs fans? "Just some excitement mixed with some anxiety," he said. "That's the nature of it." Epstein was told this team was so dominant it appeared as though those anxieties were reduced significantly as the season progressed. He promptly replied: "Check back if the other team …" "Wins Game 1?" "No, scores the first run or gets the first baserunner," he said. So Epstein expects business as usual from traditionally panicky Cubs fans? "No, look, there is a real connection between the fans and this particular team," he said. "There's a lot of trust and excitement. But it's going to be important (to realize) no matter what happens, there are going to be some rough moments, no matter how successful a postseason.

"So we have to keep this place nice and loud, and if we do get behind in a game, we know the support will still be there. But we have to make sure it ... is audible and loud and that our players can hear it. And our fans will come through for that." Veteran observers remember the deathly quiet at Wrigley after James Loney's grand slam off Ryan Dempster in Game 1 of the Cubs-Dodgers NLDS in 2008. And the woe-is-us atmosphere in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS after the Cubs lost an early lead to the Marlins. And as recently as last year, after the Mets pummeled Jason Hammel in the first inning of Game 4 of the NLCS, the place turned into a morgue. Fan reaction to some adversity is one of the things the Cubs should worry about; here are four more. Trying to do too much It's easy to get ahead of yourself if you're trailing, wanting to get those runs backs in one chunk and changing your approach. That's what Anthony Rizzo said he learned most from last year's playoffs. "It's just one pitch (at a time) is the biggest thing," Rizzo said. "That's one thing we all have to stress is that anything can happen, and you have to be prepared for it. "You can't let the other team having a big inning affect you because you have to do what you need to do. And just because we have a big inning doesn't mean we can let up. And enjoy it too. It's fun." Rondon's arm Hector Rondon posted a 9.82 earned-run average in the final month, allowing 13 hits in 71/3 innings after returning from a right triceps strain that landed him on the disabled list for three weeks. The Cubs need Rondon to return to his first-half form (1.72 ERA) to get the ball into the hands of Aroldis Chapman. Will manager Joe Maddon have a shorter leash on Rondon if he struggles? Stay tuned. Cold weather The first-round forecast looks good, but the Cubs' bats turned cold when the temperature dipped last year in the NLCS. The Mets' dominant starters were a big reason. But the Cubs looked very uncomfortable playing in the cold no matter who was on the mound. Maddon has to convince his players to think warm thoughts, particularly if the postseason run goes into late October. Outside noise The national media is going to remind the Cubs about curses and the history of losing in unexpected fashion. And because they're the favorites to win the World Series, there inherently is more pressure on this team than any other in Cubs history. Epstein said he's not worried about it. "I don't think the pressure is going to bother this group," he said. "Opening day we played so well, and the attitude in the clubhouse after the game was as if they saw how good we can be when we focused. And they looked forward to replicating that as many times as we could throughout the year. ... "We won 103 (and were) pretty consistent all year. And now I see them taking the same thoughtful, mature approach to the postseason and what it means. I hope it's a sign of good things to come." --

Chicago Tribune How Cubs used World Series video to woo free agents By Paul Sullivan If the Cubs accomplish their goal of winning the World Series, they might make a movie of this remarkable season. Actually, they already did, only you won't get to see it. Well before the 2016 season began, the Cubs commissioned a 14-minute video that culminates in that long-awaited happy ending. They sent copies to prospective free agents Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward, who each saw himself depicted as a hero in Game 7 of the World Series. It was just another recruiting tool for the Cubs, who began sending out videos the previous year during their successful pursuit of free-agent pitcher Jon Lester. President Theo Epstein said the idea was Cubs-centric but agreed it might catch on if the Cubs win. "In Boston you didn't have to do it," Epstein said, referring to his former job as Red Sox general manager in which money was never an issue in offseason spending. "We felt like we had an attractive story, and this is a great place to play at this moment in time, so why not be aggressive with our story? We felt like not everyone will read a letter or flip through a brochure. But if you get a DVD, it's going to be watched because of the curiosity factor." Epstein already had a little Hollywood in his blood. His great-uncle and grandfather, Julius and Philip Epstein, co-wrote "Casablanca," and his sister, Anya, was a screenwriter for the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street." In the fall of 2014, Epstein commissioned Banner Collective, a Wirtz Corp. company that makes videos for the Cubs and Blackhawks — including the Hawks' championship season DVDs, "Seventeen Seconds" and "Hat Trick" — to make a recruitment video for Lester. Dave Knickerbocker, the vice president of business operations and founder of Banner, put the video together using Epstein's storyboard. "We told the whole story of why it's great to play for the Cubs at this moment in time and what the next five to 10 years could bring," Epstein said. "It bounces from person to person, telling the story of what we're doing. A lot of good visuals. We talk about the Cubs Way, how we see our lineup in a few years. "We started that here because we felt we had to tell our story. If free agents just judged us by the standings, we wouldn't be that appealing. We felt like the organization was turning around in ways that weren't that patently obvious yet." Epstein served as executive producer of sorts, having final say on what went into the video. The Cubs were still in rebuilding mode then, so the original video for Lester was a best-case scenario, discussing young prospects such as Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Jorge Soler. It focused on ownership's vision and the "family atmosphere" the Cubs were trying to create. It informed Lester that the Cubs were pursuing "the most meaningful championship in sports," and he would be a major part of it. "The one we did this year was an update of that," Knickerbocker said. "It followed a lot of the same storylines, but we included Jon and David Ross in this year's video, (saying) 'Everything they told us last year came true.'" Several other teams pursued Heyward and Zobrist in the offseason, and most general managers went the conventional route, letting the monetary offer do most of the talking. The Cubs' video was something Heyward and Zobrist did not expect.

"They showed the celebration and the stadium and the fans and the atmosphere in Chicago," Zobrist said. "And former players were on there talking about their experiences in Chicago ... Kerry Wood and (Ryan) Dempster talking about playing for the Cubs and how that was different from playing with any other team." The star of the video was the city itself, Chicago in its best summer pose. "It was just letting you know what the city could do for you overall, what the team could help you with," Heyward said. "You know what the city is like, but (the video showed) for every walk of life, this is what it's like." In addition to players and management, the video included interviews with Chairman Tom Ricketts and others. Wood's wife, Sarah, talked up Chicago's charms and why they returned after Wood left as a free agent following the 2008 season. "We wanted to hit on everything a player would be looking at," Knickerbocker said. "Not only the team and the city, but Sarah spoke pretty well about how your family would assimilate and how Chicago is great to raise a family and what her network is and why that's not the only reason they chose to come back here (in 2011)." The Cubs were not naive enough to think the video would sway any free agent who was on the fence. Money and comfort level are the deciding factors in almost every free-agent signing, usually in that order. Heyward, who signed an eight-year, $184 million deal, said he came to Chicago because he liked the team, the city and the future of the organization. Did the video help him at all in his decision? "Not really," he said. "After I signed, it did something for me because you got to see that's what it really was like. But you just never know until you get somewhere to see it." Zobrist, who signed a four-year, $56 million deal, said the video gave him an accurate glimpse of what he was in for if he signed with the Cubs. "Basically it was, 'Here is why this is the best place to play,'" Zobrist said. "And after it was over, I couldn't disagree. I'm watching it and going, 'Wow, it would be really cool to play there.'" Several weeks after Zobrist signed, Knickerbocker said he spoke to Zobrist's dad at the Cubs Convention and found out Ben had watched the video three times in a row. "For a 14-minute video, that's pretty cool," Knickerbocker said. "That was the best reception we'd heard about it. Ross was complimentary too. It was a good feeling. We're biased, of course, but I think it's a pretty awesome way to put a whole organization's synopsis together." At the end of the video, the prospective free agent was informed he would be part of baseball history. Epstein's Hollywood-style vision was at work. "We went with the climactic finish, (saying) 'When you're one of the 25 guys that ends the drought, you'll be an icon in town,'" Epstein said. Using animation in Lester's video, Knickerbocker inserted the pitcher's name on the Wrigley Field marquee as if he was starting Game 7 of the World Series. "That marquee is a powerful vision," Knickerbocker said. For the hitters' videos, the lineup for Game 7 of the World Series at Wrigley was displayed on the left-field video board during player introductions, including the free agent wearing his preferred number.

The scenario depicted is familiar to anyone who grew up pretending to be a Cubs player: The Cubs are tied in the bottom of the ninth, and you are at the plate. The filmmakers used real celebratory scenes from last year's playoffs at Wrigley, mostly from the NLDS victory over the Cardinals, and included some street scenes outside Wrigley depicting what Knickerbocker called "the explosion" — what it would look like when the Cubs finally win a World Series. Knickerbocker even spliced in some scenes from Waveland Avenue during the 2003 NLCS, when fans were lined up 30 deep behind police barricades during home games against the Marlins. Dempster talks over the scenes, explaining how the city shuts down whenever the Cubs are in the playoffs. "Obviously you could never re-create the actual moment," Knickerbocker said. "But you can certainly let people get a feel of what it could be like." Knickerbocker said they "personalized the end of every single video" so the individual free agent would wind up as the hero. Spoiler alert: The Cubs do win, and the city goes wild. Envisioning a Cubs championship was the easy part. Many have spent years picturing what it would be like in Chicago if the Cubs pulled it off. A Sony PlayStation commercial a few years ago depicted the celebration as well as anyone. "Well, ours is real," Knickerbocker said. "We have actual fans celebrating." Epstein said he enjoyed the Sony ad but insisted the celebration on the Cubs' video is no cheesy remake. "Ours is better," he said. -- Chicago Tribune Jake Arrieta sees no difference between starting a wild card or a Game 3 By Mark Gonzales Jake Arrieta will have to wait until Game 3 before pitching in the National League Division Series against the Giants, but the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner delivered a stern answer when asked if there was a big difference after starting in the win-or-else NL wild-card game exactly one year ago. "No," Arrieta replied tersely. Arrieta, who won 18 games but will follow Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks in the NLDS rotation, will oppose Giants playoff legend Madison Bumgarner on Monday night at AT&T Park. But Arrieta doesn't look at it as a one-on-one matchup. "I have to get their hitters out," Arrieta said. "He has to deal with our lineup. I'm not really worried about what he's going to do." Waiting for the call: Javier Baez has started 27 of Jon Lester's 32 starts, 18 at third base. But the Giants often have fielded a predominantly left-handed hitting lineup, even against left-handed starters such as Lester, and the smooth-fielding Baez made his first of four starts at second base with Lester on the mound May 21 against the Giants.

As of Thursday night, Baez hadn't heard if he's starting, but there's a good chance he will start somewhere based on past history. "Sometimes when I'm playing for sure the next day, they'll tell me (the night before)," Baez said. Baez said there are other times he'll learn if he's starting via text message sent to players several hours before they report to the ballpark. "I always come ready to be out there," Baez said. "But if (I'm) not, during the game I'll be ready." On-call duty: With the playoffs creating urgency, setup man Hector Rondon is aware manager Joe Maddon could summon him much sooner than the eighth inning if a critical situation arises. Rondon was the Cubs' closer until Aroldis Chapman was acquired July 24, and Rondon hasn't pitched before the eighth in a tight situation since July 17, 2015, when Maddon briefly took him out of the closer's role. "I'm ready for any situation (Maddon) calls," said Rondon, adding that his right elbow is pain-free after experiencing some soreness the day after some outings following his activation from the 15-day disabled list Sept. 6. -- Chicago Tribune Giants have experience, momentum on their side in NL Division Series By Colleen Kane When Cubs manager Joe Maddon looks at the Giants, he sees a team that doesn't have "one scared bone in anybody's body." That's the kind of swagger a team has when it went 34-14 in its previous six seasons in the playoffs. The hashtag following all of the Giants’ Twitter posts this postseason is #BeliEVEN, a nod to the fact that the Giants won World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Now it’s 2016, another even-numbered year, and the next thing standing in the way of the phenomenon is the Cubs on Friday in the opener of the National League Division Series at Wrigley Field. "They're probably the most experienced, seasoned team," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "They've been there and done it. The whole even-year thing becomes a factor. It's going to be tough to beat them. We're going to do what we do." As recently as mid-September, the Giants looked like they were on the verge of frittering away a shot to continue the streak — and their 57-33 first-half record. But they won five of their final six games, including sweeping the Dodgers at home in the final three-game series, to make the National League wild-card game. Then Madison Bumgarner pitched a shutout to lift the Giants to a 3-0 victory over the Mets on Wednesday. Suddenly, the Giants have momentum too. "I do think (momentum) does play a critical role in your team's success, because if they believe, then that's all that matters," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "And if they have any self-doubt, then that will creep in with any struggles you have." Bochy called it a "nice luxury" to be able to pitch Bumgarner in the wild-card game and then come back with Johnny Cueto in the opener of the NLDS.

Cueto is 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA this season, and he went 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in September. What's more, Cueto has seven career postseason starts under his belt. "You look at Johnny and Bum, they're both number ones," Bochy said. "We'd be comfortable with them in any game. … It's nice to have a rotation with this depth. That's our strength." Cueto also has made 15 career appearances at Wrigley Field, most while with the Reds. He wouldn't go so far as to say he feels comfortable pitching in Chicago, but he admitted he likes the big game. "The only thing I can say is I like to pitch when it's a sold-out crowd with everybody cheering, for me or against me, and that motivates me," he said through an interpreter. Cueto had a scare when he left a Sept. 20 game with a groin strain. But he was able to make his final start Sept. 29, allowing two runs in seven innings against the Rockies. "I'm 100 percent," he said. "I kind of thought it was going to bother me in my last start, but it didn't, so everything's good." Extra innings: After a long travel day that included bus trips in New York and Chicago and a flight in between, Bochy wasn't ready to announce his rotation beyond Cueto. … He also wouldn't say whether third baseman Eduardo Nunez will be on the roster after battling a hamstring injury. He said Nunez wouldn't be ready to start Friday but might be able to help later in the series. -- Chicago Tribune Ethics chief warns aldermen of fine print on face-value Cubs tickets By Hal Dardick The head of the city ethics agency has warned Chicago aldermen and other elected officials that if they accept the Cubs' offer to buy coveted playoff tickets at face value, they must attend personally and have their presence announced publicly. The warning came in an advisory memo this week from Steven Berlin, executive director of the Chicago Board of Ethics, as news stories revealed about 70 percent of the city's 50 aldermen, 85 percent of Chicago state and federal officials, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner had taken advantage. As a result, some aldermen who were planning to give the tickets away have contacted the team to say they won't be purchasing them, said team spokesman Julian Green, without providing specifics. In addition, the Cubs will display the names of public officials who did accept the offer on a digital board at the park, he said. Green said the team had asked the ethics board for an opinion on offering the tickets to public officials, as it has for more than a decade, before extending the offer. In the ethics chief's memo, obtained by the Chicago Tribune, Berlin noted that city officials are not allowed to accept gifts worth more than $50 unless they come from a friend or family member. The difference between Cubs face-value prices and "understood 'fair market value' … clearly exceeds $50," Berlin wrote. But the city ethics ordinance does allow officials to attend events "in their official capacity," he added. So, officials can take the offer, provided they go in person and are "publicly acknowledged at each game you attend in some public way." Depending on when that announcement is made, aldermen and others risk some loud boos. Aldermen who buy tickets and don't attend personally with a public announcement of some kind could be subject to fines, Berlin added. According to the city's ethics ordinance, those fines range from $1,000 to $5,000 for each violation.

But imposing fines would be another matter. Each case would have to be investigated and the board would have to make a determination of an ethics violation. "On behalf of the Board of Ethics, I appreciate in advance your cooperation in this complex (but also joyous and exciting) matter," Berlin wrote, adding this: "GO CUBS!" The memo was first reported by the Sun-Times. -- Chicago Tribune Jeff Samardzija might miss facing Cubs at Wrigley Field By Mark Gonzales One of the instant assumptions when the San Francisco Giants advanced to the National League Division Series was that the Cubs would face former teammate Jeff Samardzija in Game 2 on Saturday night. But manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Thursday that he hasn't determined his rotation after Game 1 starter Johnny Cueto. "I'll have that all set for you," said Bochy, who revealed he was in the midst of meetings with his staff to assess their options. "We'll continue our meeting, and I'll have it down for you." Samardzija, who pitched for the Cubs from 2008 until he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in the middle of the 2014 season, lasted only four innings after throwing 87 pitches against the Cubs on Sept. 1 at Wrigley Field. Samardzija had a 3.53 ERA at spacious AT&T Park, compared to a 4.03 ERA on the road. Samardzija also allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his five final home starts. Samardzija and Cueto were on the Giants' NL wild-card roster Wednesday, and Bochy might not hesitate to use Samardzija in case of an emergency. If Samardzija is pushed back to Game 4, left-hander Matt Moore could start Game 2 for the Giants. -- Chicago Tribune Officials to Cubs fans: Come early, don't post tickets on social media By Marwa Eltagouri Despite a presidential visit and the Chicago Marathon planned for the same weekend, Chicago police and emergency management officials are confident Cubs fans will feel safe Friday and Saturday during the first two games of the National League Division Series at Wrigley Field. "We put together a comprehensive plan to ensure that public safety needs are met for this upcoming series," said Deputy Chief Al Nagode at a news conference Thursday. "We have a lot of events going on this weekend. We have resources employed in the appropriate spots. We have a nice blueprint from last year we're able to build upon. ... At the end of the day, we want to provide a safe and enjoyable (experience)." Fans are asked to arrive about 2 1/2 hours before Friday's 8:15 p.m. start time and should expect an increased police presence on nights that the Cubs could clinch to advance in the playoffs. Federal authorities will be on guard as well, said Richard Guidice, managing deputy director of operations for the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. During the NL Division Series against the San Francisco Giants, a home clincher would only be possible Thursday if the series lasts five games.

City officials and police also asked that fans without tickets to Friday or Saturday games clear the Wrigley Field area during those nights and find somewhere else, such as a nearby bar or restaurant, to watch the game. Tailgating and loitering are prohibited, and all trash cans within the security area outside the ballpark will be removed during the entire postseason, police said. Cubs spokesman Julian Green emphasized the importance of fans safeguarding tickets and not posting or sharing images of their tickets that reveal bar codes, numbers or holograms online. Counterfeit tickets can be produced by using Photoshop, he said. "As you can imagine, there are a lot of fans that are clamoring for tickets. And we want our fans to know that these are extremely valuable tickets, and they should be treated like cash," he said. "While social media can be fun to share your postseason experience it can be a detriment to your investment." Officials also warned fans to be wary of buying second-market tickets outside StubHub, recalling times when people arrived at the ballpark only to find out their tickets were fakes. Officials encouraged fans to use public transportation to get to Wrigley Field. CTA Red Line trains will operate more frequently leading up to the first pitch, and Loop-bound Purple Line Express trains will make stops at nearby stations during weeknight evening rush periods, CTA officials said in a news release. Yellow Line trains will also operate from the Howard stop to Skokie until midnight during postseason night games, officials said. Extra service will be available on the No. 80 Irving Park and the No. 152 Addison bus routes. To mitigate traffic, city officials have set up a drop-off and pickup zone for Uber and Lyft ride-sharing cars on Irving Park Road between Clark Street and Seminary Avenue. Cabs can drop off and pick up fans in the 3300 block of Clark Street, according to 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney's office. Parking is restricted from noon Friday to 4 a.m. Sunday in the following locations: •Clark from School Street to Irving Park •Sheffield Avenue from Roscoe Street to Grace Street •Addison Street from Halsted Street to Southport Avenue •Racine Avenue from Roscoe to Clark •Irving Park from Clark to Seminary Parking is also restricted on the east side of Seminary to Newport Avenue to the alley and the north side of Newport from Seminary to the alley. -- Chicago Sun-Times The men behind the Cubs’ best-in-baseball pitching staff By Gordon Wittenmyer The Giants have Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija lined up to try to stop the Cubs in the National League Division Series. The Cubs have Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta – and Javy Baez, Addison Russell, Jason Heyward and Anthony Rizzo.

As much as starting pitching has set the tone for the Cubs’ 103-win success this season, a group of fielders that rival the best in franchise history might be just as big a factor in the best team and rotation ERAs in the majors – and just as big a factor in whether October goes as planned for the World Series favorites. “We all compete with each other, and it’s making us all better,” said shortstop Russell, who ranks second only to the Giants’ Brandon Crawford at his position in several key defensive metrics. “We take pride in our defense for sure.” In fact, the front office said improving the fielding was a priority heading into the winter last year, especially in the outfield, and that’s a big reason the Cubs considered Gold Glove right fielder Heyward valuable enough to engage in a nine-figure bidding war for him. Fangraphs.com rates the Cubs’ defense tops in the majors by a wide margin, with 82 defensive runs saved. And the Cubs have three bona fide Gold Glove candidates in Russell, Heyward and first baseman Rizzo. The best infielder on the team, Baez, doesn’t even have a starting spot – used as a fielding weapon at third and second, depending on where manager Joe Maddon thinks most balls will be hit in a game. Pitcher Jake Arrieta calls Baez the best athlete on the team. Which isn’t a knock on either third baseman Kris Bryant or second baseman Ben Zobrist, both of whom say Baez is better at their positions. In fact, according to Fangraphs, Baez leads all National League second baseman with 11 defensive runs saved despite just 38 games started there. He has four more at short (21 starts) and one more at third (37).1123 “He’s certainly Gold Glove worthy, but he plays all over,” said Bryant, who has improved noticeably at his position in his own right – and also is a better-than-average corner outfielder. “There should be a utility man Gold Glove because he definitely deserves it.” The transformation of the Cubs in the field from Opening Day in 2015 to now might be the biggest difference in this team over the past 18 months. Baez, Bryant and Russell all opened last season in the minors. Not only was Heyward added, but center fielder Dexter Fowler improved that position by playing deeper this year. “A big part of our success is the simplicity with which we do things out there,” Maddon said. “If everybody likes us in the metrics or whatever, that’s great. I just think from an old-school perspective, I really like the way we mechanically are moving; the feet have gotten better; the arm strokes have gotten shorter; Addison’s arm’s gotten stronger. I’m seeing all these different things this year.” And more could be on the way. By next April Heyward might not even be the best outfielder on the team, if rookie center fielder Albert Almora Jr. earns the job after an impressive debut summer. And catcher Willson Contreras has elite physical skills behind the plate as he eyes potential playoff starts as a rookie and a possible starting job next spring. -- Chicago Sun-Times Fittingly, flawless Kris Bryant is the face of the franchise By Rick Telander Through the years, there have been a number of ‘‘faces’’ of the Cubs, and some have not been exactly gorgeous. I’m thinking of fellows such as Hack Wilson, Leo Durocher, maybe even Sammy Sosa here. It’s not that they were physically ugly, — though Wilson, when recovering from a bender, could make a mirror crack — it’s just that their character made them rather difficult to hug tightly. From alcohol to crabbiness to Flintstones vitamins, each had a flaw that hurt that face-of-the-franchise tag.

There were others, too. Ryne Sandberg was a good guy but was shy and had little to say. Andre Dawson was private and cool. Some stars flamed out or never achieved the greatness expected of them. But now we have young Kris Bryant, and if anyone could have happy-face-of-franchise written more starkly across his mug, it would have to be one of those smiley circles on a small-town water tower. Though only 24, Bryant has done things that have excited Cubs fans more than any player in years. Think of what he accomplished this season alone, only his second in the majors — 39 home runs, 102 RBI, 176 hits, 121 runs scored. Those are MVP numbers. And guess what? Bryant is almost a dead-solid lock to be voted the 2016 National League MVP. He’s doing this with his happy teammate Anthony Rizzo right behind, with near-MVP numbers himself. Indeed, Rizzo, a bit older at 27, is like a partial face of the Cubs himself. It’s just that there’s something about fresh kid Bryant that seems impossible to contain, as if the 6-5, 230-pound multiposition man has no limits and the sky is reachable. Though Bryant is lanky, he has a natural swing that is ferocious and beautiful. The other day at a practice game at empty Wrigley Field, I sat close enough to him while he warmed up in the on-deck circle to hear the wind sizzling as his bat flew through its arc. The sheer speed of the swing seemed magical. And it’s not as if Bryant is a shocking newbie who hasn’t been rewarded for his excellence. In high school in Las Vegas, he was named to USA Today’s All-USA baseball team. In 2013, he won the Golden Spikes Award as the best college player in the nation and was taken by the Cubs with the second pick in the amateur draft. He was sent to the Cubs’ farm system and promptly was named the 2014 Minor League Player of the Year. Brought up to the bigs in 2015, Bryant was named NL Rookie of the Year and played in the All-Star Game. This year, he again made the All-Star team, and, of course, it’s just a matter of a few weeks before he gets his MVP award. Is this crazy? I’ll answer: Yes, it is. Because what is left? Really, only a World Series crown and, one supposes, getting named the MVP of that little event. But here’s where Bryant’s good-hero side kicks in — he genuinely does not seem to be concerned with individual honors, something that seems real and is nice and that makes him appear to be a regular, humble fellow rather than a freak of baseball nature. ‘‘I’ve always said they’re just trophies,’’ Bryant said of all the hardware he has won or has yet to win. Gone are the days when he could do a Lyft ad and drive a car around Wrigley, as he did last year, picking up riders who either had no clue who he was or thought maybe he looked like a ballplayer they had seen on TV or the laundromat. ‘‘The expectations we have for ourselves are bigger than anything out there,’’ Bryant said after practice Thursday, again deflecting the individual-honors thing. Bryant still seems caught up in all the sweetness of the game, of batting hard, running hard, cutting down on mistakes (he went from 199 strikeouts last year to 154 this year, while raising his batting average from .275 to .292) and proving his versatility (he played third base, left field, right field, center field, first base and DH this season).

And then there’s that easy smile, those courteous responses and the blue eyes with the extraordinarily long eyelashes that make him at times look like a Ken doll with a helmet on. You know what they say: Chicks dig the long ball. At any rate, Bryant is the current face of a surging program. And it’s a fine match. -- Chicago Sun-Times The time has arrived for the Cubs to win a World Series By Rick Morrissey So here it is, finally, after all those months of winning and, at the risk of a city sounding cocky, all those months of waiting. The ride was enjoyable, but the destination was always the thing. The only thing, really. It’s go time for the Cubs, as Jon Lester put it the other day. It’s time to do what master planner Theo Epstein constructed this particular team to do. It’s time to win a World Series, which is a hell of a declarative sentence if you’ve paid any attention to franchise history. Step 1 is Friday night against the Giants in a best-of-five National League Division Series. The default question for every Cubs team since – oh, let’s pick a random year and say 1908 – has been the ominous and innocent, “What could go wrong?’’ I’m not saying the Cubs are above experiencing a tremendous meltdown in the playoffs, of being the baseball equivalent of a glacier crashing into the sea. That would be like saying a duck is above quacking. But this is the best Cubs team in more than a century. It seems emotionally equipped to handle the occasional sky-is-falling error, the what-was-he-thinking managerial decision or the voodoo-induced hamstring injury. It’s true that regular-season good isn’t the same as playoff good, but from top to bottom, this is the best team in baseball, no matter the month. That’s a self-evident truth. So is the fact that the Cubs are the favorites to win the World Series and have been since before the season began. They wear that designation like a second skin. That can happen when the two pitchers with the lowest earned-run average in baseball are yours and neither are named Jake Arrieta: when two of your hitters are vying for the National League Most Valuable Player award; when your closer’s fastball causes windburn among hitters; and when your manager is a groovy, unflappable dude. Their challenge starts Friday at Wrigley Field. The Giants were not put on earth to give the Cubs a motorcycle escort into the NL Championship Series. They have Johnny Cueto, who will start Game 1 against Lester, and they have Madison Bumgarner, who is ridiculous. They have won every even-numbered World Series since 2010, which is either a numerologist’s steamy dream or another ingredient in a Cubs fan’s stew of worry. Whatever, the Cubs have a lot of hard work to do. Weird things happen in the playoffs. That’s always the warning label on the package. Favorites don’t always win. Actually, they often don’t win. Is this team above that? It has enough to rise above just about anything. A lineup that has Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Javy Baez and Ben Zobrist isn’t failure-proof, but it does offer strong safety netting. So does one of the best defenses in baseball. So does Kyle Hendricks, the Game 2 starter. But now we get to the raging inner debate: the excellence of this Cubs team against what could happen because something always has in the past. What could go wrong? Cubs pitchers could suddenly have a group epiphany that they’re human. Cubs hitters could ask what happened to their aluminum bats. I don’t know. What I do know is that atmosphere could play a role. In 2003, if we can probe the wound one more time, the Cubs were five outs from the World Series when shortstop Alex Gonzalez misplayed a groundball at Wrigley. There was a deathly silence in the ballpark, a bracing for more bad things to come. And come they did.

Some of you are conditioned to fear the worst because the worst has camped out at the Cubs’ door the previous 107 seasons. It’s human to think that way. It’s also contagious, and players aren’t immune, no matter how much they disagree. It spread to the Cubs on that October night in 2003. They were deeply affected by all the contorted faces in the crowd. We’ll see how far the newer breed of Cubs fans, the ones who boldly see multiple titles ahead, have come. This is the only year that matters. For all the predictions of sustained success, this is the one the Cubs need to grab. There might not be a better opportunity. The future is promised to no one, and all that. It’s time. If this year’s ride means anything, if 103 regular-season victories have any weight, all the bad memories are about to be softened. The Cubs are that good. The playoffs are upon us, at last. This is what all the fuss was about. The destination. It’s time to win a World Series. -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs or Giants: Who wins the matchups on paper? By Gordon Wittenmyer Who has the edge when the Cubs and Giants face off in the best-of-five National League Division Series? If the regular-season means anything — and the players say it doesn’t — it should be close. The Cubs won four of the seven meetings this season, and the last five games between the teams were decided by one run (the Cubs winning three of the five). STARTING PITCHING: Even Over 162 games, the Cubs had the best rotation in baseball (2.96 ERA), one of only four rotations since 1990 to finish with an ERA under 3.00 (the Giants: 3.71). But when they drop to four-man crews, it evens out in a short series in which Johnny Cueto could face Jon Lester twice in a tossup pitching matchup, and in which all-time playoff ace Madison Bumgarner faces Jake Arrieta in Game 3. RELIEF PITCHING: Cubs Closing games was the Achilles heel of the Giants this season, their MLB-high 30 blown saves the biggest reason they didn’t win the National League West and went down to the final day before clinching a wild card berth. Their 3.65 bullpen ERA was the worst in the NL playoff field and eighth of the 10 MLB playoff teams. The Cubs would have had the edge even without Aroldis Chapman. But with the triple-digit closer, the Giants are faced with the proposition of the Cubs squeezing their opportunities to outscore the Cubs to seven innings. FIELDING: Cubs The Cubs are by far the majors’ best team at turning batted balls into outs, with Gold Glove-caliber players at four or more positions, depending on their lineup for the day. But led by Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford, the Giants are formidable, a distant second in the league, according to fangraphs.com. HITTING: Cubs Anchored by two MVP candidates in OPS stalwarts Bryant and Rizzo, the Cubs outscored the Giants by almost 100 runs this season (808-715), and last year’s playoff lineup took on more of an October look with the additions of veterans Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward and the return of Dexter Fowler. The Giants can be dangerous – especially

Buster Posey and Hunter Pence. But Conor Gillaspie’s wild-card heroics notwithstanding, the lineup’s not much of a power threat and struggle in particular much of the second half. MANAGING: Giants With all due respect to Joe Maddon, the winner of three well deserved Manager of the Year awards, the Giants’ Bruce Bochy is widely considered the best manager in the game by a fair margin. And he has four trips to the World Series and three rings with underdog teams to back it up. INTANGIBLES: Giants These guys have won every World Series in an even-numbered year since 2010, and most of the current regulars have at least two of those rings – including the 2014 one as a wild-card team. The Cubs? Six months of target embracing on the back end of a century’s worth of weight – and wait – to end the longest title drought in American sports. BOTTOM LINE: Cubs win in 5 -- Daily Herald Keep an eye on these 3 Cubs, Giants By Scot Gregor There will be 25 players on each roster when the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants open the National League division series Friday night at Wrigley Field. Here are three to watch -- on both sides: CUBS Kris Bryant He ranked in the Top 10 in nearly every NL offensive category this season, an impressive feat for a player in just his second major-league season. Bryant's 39 home runs were the most by a Cubs hitter since Derrek Lee had 46 in 2005. Bryant did struggle in the postseason last year, slashing .176/.243/.441 with 12 strikeouts in 37 plate appearances. The third baseman/outfielder should benefit from the experience, and this is as good of a stage as any to show why he's the NL MVP this year. Jake Arrieta Most major-league starters would take an 18-8 record and 3.10 ERA and run, straight to the bank. Those were Arrieta's numbers this year, but there is some concern because he was historically good (22-6, 1.77 ERA) in 2015. Bumped back to No. 3 in the Cubs' playoff rotation, Arrieta figures to be a motivated man when he matches up against San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner on Monday. Jason Heyward It's no secret the right fielder failed to live to the eight-year, $184 million contract he signed last December, at least in his first year of the deal.

Heyward did pick it up with the bat over the final two weeks of the season. If he carries the momentum into the playoffs, the boo birds will be silent. GIANTS Madison Bumgarner The Cubs caught a huge break when Bumgarner started the NL wild-card game Wednesday night against the Mets at New York. The big lefty again showed why he's already regarded as one of the top postseason pitchers of all time, throwing a complete game, 4-hit shutout against the Mets. Bumgarner has pitched 23 straight playoff innings without allowing a run. Conor Gillaspie Signed by the Giants to a minor-league contract a week before spring training, Gillaspie was a reserve player for the Giants when he made it back to the majors in late April. The third baseman made a name for himself against the Mets in the wild-card game, hitting a 3-run homer in the ninth inning that decided the outcome. A streaky hitter with the White Sox from 2013-15, Gillaspie can be dangerous when he gets his confidence up. Brandon Crawford San Francisco has to score some runs to have any chance against the Cubs, and Crawford has come up big in past Octobers. The veteran shortstop finished the regular season reaching base in 22 straight games, the longest streak in the majors. He also had the most triples (11) in baseball. -- Daily Herald Rozner: Keys to a long Chicago Cubs postseason run By Barry Rozner Five years in the making and 103 victories, but now it's all about three series and 11 more wins. The Chicago Cubs have the talent to get it done, and there's no reason to fear the bounce of a ball or the luck of the draw. It's execution, plain and simple. All you have to do is ask Jeurys Familia. The Cubs have the best players and now it's time to play the best. But there are some keys to what happens in October and the Cubs will need the following -- beyond the obvious -- in order to play until Halloween: Jake Arrieta The undisputed ace coming into the season based on a historical 2015 campaign, Arrieta has not looked anything like that pitcher over the last four months.

And the Cubs need Arrieta to be much better in October. This is a genuine cause for concern and the sample size is not small. Over his last 18 starts dating to June 17, Arrieta has gone more than 6⅓ innings only four times (22 percent), has given up 4 or more earned runs seven times (39 percent) and 3 or more walks eight times (44 percent). Arrieta has walked 44 batters in 106 innings in those 18 starts after walking 48 in all of 2015 (229 innings). His ERA has jumped from 1.74 to 3.10 with a 4.24 ERA in that span. His 50 earned runs since June 17 are more than all of 2015 (45). Arrieta has been mediocre for more than half a season, and certainly not good enough to inspire confidence heading into the postseason. He doesn't have to be Arrieta from 2015. That's impossible. But he has to be good. Anthony Rizzo There's little doubt that Rizzo will be Rizzo, and the Cubs will need him to be. Rizzo led the Cubs in homers, RBI and batting average with runners in scoring position, and his 1.07 OPS with RISP was best on the club by 300 points. Addison Russell Russell led the Cubs in late-inning/close-game RBI with 16. He also tied for the team lead (Ben Zobrist) in two-out RBI (30), and led the team with 27 RBI with RISP and two outs. He had the most at-bats on the team in that category in 2016, and he's going to get those chances in the postseason. The Cubs will need him to come up big in difficult at-bats. Lengthen the lineup It seems safe to assume that Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Dexter Fowler will perform well offensively, and the Cubs hope Russell will continue to produce. But without Kyle Schwarber in the postseason hitting like he did a year ago, someone else will have to lengthen the lineup. So who is going to come up big? Jorge Soler was huge in the playoffs last year, but his health is a question. It would be great to get something from Jason Heyward, but that's a big ask. Zobrist has been there before and a couple of big hits out of him would be huge. Perhaps the guy to watch is Javy Baez, who has the potential to hit the ball a very long way. Anything out of the catching position would be a bonus. The bullpen In a perfect world, the starter gets you to Aroldis Chapman. That's the ideal formula in the postseason. But the Cubs will need a bridge to the closer, assuming the starters are doing their jobs and giving the Cubs 6 or 7 innings.

When Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop are healthy, they've been plenty good enough to get the job done. Joe Maddon adores Justin Grimm, and he might be the key to getting the ball to Chapman if there are any issues with Strop or Rondon. The reality It's never easy to win in October, and this won't be any different. The Cubs will face Madison Bumgarner in Game 3 in San Francisco on full rest, and the way Arrieta has been pitching the Cubs need to win the first two at home or risk a quick exit. The Cubs have been the best team in baseball all season, and if they play that way against the Giants they'll be back in the NLCS. And if their starting pitchers at least match the performance of the Giants, that will go a long way toward telling the final story. brozner@dailyherald.com • Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter. -- Daily Herald How Cubs' Lester earned Game 1 start By Scot Gregor The Cubs had four starters with 15 or more wins in the regular season, and John Lackey's 11-8 record was hardly shame worthy. Manager Joe Maddon would be comfortable, and confident, with any of his five starters on the mound tonight at Wrigley Field for Game 1 of the National League division series, but Jon Lester checks every qualification box and deserves to get the ball. "Jonny's been on a real significant roll," Maddon said. "There's a component of meritocracy involved I think, the fact that he's earned the right to be this guy." Making his fourth straight trip to the playoffs -- and seventh overall -- Lester is not going to be overwhelmed by the big stage when he matches up against San Francisco Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto. Lester is also pitching at home, and the 32-year-old lefty set a franchise record by delivering 15 quality starts in as many tries at Wrigley during the regular season. Of course, this is a new season, but Lester is prepared for the increased intensity. "We all know what time of year this is and what we're playing for," Lester said. "The preparation and the mindset remain the same, but when you're out there you know what you're playing for. "You know this could be my last start of the year. I think we all know that and I think the biggest thing is just being able to harness that, not run from that. "I think where a lot of people get themselves in trouble, and I don't like to use the word scared, but that's kind of it, you pitch timid as opposed to just going out and attacking hitters. "Throwing the fastball down and away in May works just the same as it does in October. But if you throw that fastball down and away timid, it's not going to work too well."

Cueto is never timid on the mound, and while he might not have the postseason credentials of rotation mate Madison Bumgarner, the 30-year-old righty allowed only 1 run on 2 hits while pitching a complete game in the World Series for the Royals last year. "I like to pitch when it's a sold-out crowd with everybody cheering for me or against me," Cueto said through an interpreter. "That kind of motivates me." Lester faced the Giants twice this season. On May 22, he lasted just 2⅔ innings at San Francisco and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. Facing the Giants at Wrigley on Sept. 2, Lester took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and got the win after pitching a complete game and allowing 1 run on 3 hits. Cueto pitched against the Cubs at Wrigley on Sept. 4 and pitched well in a 3-2 loss, allowing 1 run on 5 hits in 7 innings. -- Daily Herald Will last year's playoff experience pay off for Cubs By Bruce Miles Sometimes the choice is one of youth or experience. Heading into tonight's Game 1 of the National League division series, the Chicago Cubs boast both youth and experience. Players such as Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Javier Baez are young, but they all took part in last year's playoff run to the National League championship series, in which the Cubs were swept by the Mets. They say that kind of experience can prove beneficial this October. "Huge," Bryant said Thursday as the Cubs had most of their scheduled workout washed out at rainy Wrigley Field. "I've been saying it all along. Just playing those games last year, the biggest game for us was the wild-card game. For Jake (pitcher Arrieta) to go out there and do what he did (beating the Pirates) and us to get that kind of experience, playing in a crowd where you can't even hear yourself think is important to us. "It's certainly going to be pretty loud, so all that from last year is definitely going to ease the nerves a little bit." Baez was thrust into regular duty last fall after No. 1 shortstop Addison Russell hurt his hamstring in Game 3 of the division series against the Cardinals. He also says that can help. "Ooh, a lot," he said. "You've still got to play the game, so for me when I was there last year, it was really hard to slow the game down. But now, I've been doing it the whole season, the whole year. Hopefully, I keep doing it this postseason." The Cubs found their offense shut down by the Mets in last year's NLCS. The Cubs improved in several ways at the plate this year, including making more contact. "I just think we are more capable of grinding at-bats," said first baseman Anthony Rizzo. "I think, as a group, we do a good job of grinding to get into the bullpen. That's what we want to do." It's finally here: The Cubs have tried everything they could to stay active this week as they awaited Game 1 of the NLDS.

"You can't just bring the Washington Generals in and all of a sudden have a game for a couple of days," joked manager Joe Maddon. Now that the hour is at hand, the Cubs say they're happy. "I don't know the analogy to give, the cooped-up dog in the house and the owner gets home," said veteran catcher David Ross. "We've been running around the house for too long. We're ready to get out on the field and play some catch, hit and throw and get to be a part of everything we get to watch on TV. We sit up at night watching these wonderful games. We're excited." Arrieta on Bumgarner: Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta will go in Game 3 of the NLDS, Monday in San Francisco. His likely opponent will be Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who went all the way Wednesday night to shut out the Mets in the wild-card game. "Expected, really," Arrieta said. "You knew it was going to be a low-scoring game, and I figured it was going to come down to just one big swing of the bat, and that's exactly what happened. "Bumgarner did what he did again, just like 2014 against the Pirates. Outings like that, you kind of expect from him and those sort of moments. These games are going to be close. We'll be ready for this challenge." -- Daily Herald Bernfield: Giants might be Chicago Cubs' toughest challenge By Jordan Bernfield The Chicago Cubs' first challenge in the 2016 playoffs may be their greatest, but nobody said winning a first World Series since 1908 would be easy. On Friday night, the Cubs will welcome the Giants to Wrigley Field for Game 1 of the National League division series. In case you forgot, the Giants have won the World Series three times this decade. Led by extraordinary manager Bruce Bochy, a great young catcher in Buster Posey and fabulous pitching, the Giants have been the closest thing to a baseball dynasty since 2010. While none of their three championship teams won more than 94 regular-season games, the Giants always are built for postseason success with outstanding starting pitching. This year's team has taken an unconventional route to the NLDS. The Giants led baseball with 57 wins at the all-star break but stumbled down the stretch. San Francisco was just 30-42 in the second half, posted losing months in July, August and September and had to win its last four games just to secure the second wild-card spot. But after Madison Bumgarner's latest postseason masterpiece, here they are. Again. Bumgarner may be the greatest playoff pitcher in baseball history, and he's only 27. He has 8 career victories in October, and a 1.94 ERA. His dominance Wednesday night against the Mets marked the second time in three seasons he has thrown a complete shutout in the wild-card game, and he boasts a 4-0 record with a microscopic 0.25 ERA in five career World Series contests. Yet because the Giants had to play Wednesday, Bumgarner may only pitch once in the NLDS, likely in Game 3 on Monday. By winning the NL Central, the Cubs rested while the Giants played. This allowed the Cubs to set up their ideal rotation for the series, a luxury San Francisco didn't have.

Though the Giants' ace won't start until the series shifts to the West Coast, the team still features quality starting pitching, just as they did in each of their three previous World Series runs. Game 1 starter Johnny Cueto started the All-Star Game for the National League in July and finished the regular season 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA, fifth best in baseball. Former Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija posted a solid 3.81 ERA in his first season in San Francisco, and midseason addition Matt Moore provided 12 decent starts down the stretch. The Giants' bullpen has been the problem, and it's one of the reasons they nearly missed the playoffs. San Francisco lost five September games after leading entering the ninth inning in September, the most by any team in a single month since the 1992 New York Mets. The Giants blew 30 saves this season, the most in baseball, and had the sixth-worst save percentage. The Cubs' goal should be to wear down the Giants' starters with quality plate appearances. Should the Cubs get to San Francisco's bullpen early in any game, they will have a distinct advantage. The Giants have won 11 consecutive playoff rounds and haven't lost a postseason series since the 2003 NLDS. Their experience, leadership and intangibles certainly make them a tougher foe than their 87-75 record would suggest. But if the Cubs perform the way they have all year, they will prove they're the better team. • Jordan Bernfield is a co-host of "Inside The Clubhouse" on WSCR 670-AM The Score. Follow him on Twitter@JordanBernfield. -- Daily Herald Cubs' Maddon will face off against one of game's best in Bochy By Scot Gregor With Joe Maddon in the dugout the past two season, the Chicago Cubs always seem to have the edge in the manager department. That's going to change in the National League division series. Leading the Cubs to the playoffs last year, Maddon matched wits against the Pirates' Clint Hurdle in the wild-card game, the Cardinals' Mike Matheny in the National League division series and the Mets' Terry Collins in the NL championship series. In this year's NLDS, Maddon already knows what he's up against in Giants counterpart Bruce Bochy. "I honestly don't think it's like any other night, I really don't," Maddon said of managing against Bochy. "You just have to try to figure out what you want to do primarily and just know that they're going to have a lot of bullpen availability and that he (Bochy) is going to be on top of all that. "The situations like this, a lot of times it's the reverse kind of guys that can be beneficial. In other words, the righty that's better against a left hitter, the lefty hits better against the righty. You have to recognize those moments, but just know he's a cowboy and he'll do anything. When you're managing against a cowboy it's always interesting."

Bochy is in his 10th season with the Giants and he's one of only 10 managers in history to win three World Series titles. The other nine are in the Hall of Fame. Like most premier managers, Bochy never looks for personal praise. "It comes down to the players, that's how this will be determined," he said. "The pitching, the timely hitting and all that. It will come down to that. "I think sometimes too much can be made of what we're doing as managers. It's going to be really up to the players to go out there and play well." With that being said, Bochy is excited to be competing against Maddon. "I think that as managers we look forward to managing against guys that we know do such a great job and will be so well prepared," Bochy said. "It makes you stay on your toes and make sure that you're ready and you're prepared. Especially going against such a good club and (Maddon) has got a lot of weapons over there. "It's up to me to have these guys ready and of course have my moves ready." -- Daily Herald Chicago Cubs players embrace Maddon's consistency, relevance By Bruce Miles If there is someone who can speak with authority about Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, it's Ben Zobrist. The second baseman-outfielder played under Maddon at Tampa Bay from 2006-14 before rejoining his old boss this year. Maddon has gone through two wildly successful regular seasons with the Cubs. He came aboard in November 2014 as a complete culture changer. Armed with sayings, slogans, counterintuitive thinking and a wealth of baseball experience, Maddon took Chicago and his players by storm. The big question I had as this season wore on was whether Maddon has changed, evolved or introduced new courses to the curriculum. In other words, is there a Maddon 2.0? "I feel like I never left him, to be honest," Zobrist said. "It didn't feel like I had much of a period in between where he wasn't my manager. "It's more like the times I was managed by Bob Melvin (Oakland) and Ned (Yost, Kansas City) were very short periods of time compared to the times I spent with Joe. If there's one manager that kind of feels normal to me, it's Joe. "He hasn't changed. He's the same guy. There's a level of consistency there. He's a nonconformist by nature. "As far as being consistent within that nonconformity, you kind of know that he's going to come up with something new every year. You know he's going to come up with different slogans. You know he's going to have a philosophical approach to the season. "Coming in and experiencing that this year was like more of the same for me. It was just with a different team." The look and feel around the ballclub are pretty much what they were last year.

The atmosphere is loose. Formal batting practice happens with less frequency as the season moves along, as Maddon trusts his players to get work in as they see it. Maddon still uses his pet sayings: "Never let the pressure exceed the pleasure," "A mind once stretched has a hard time going back to its original form" and "The process is fearless." If anything has changed from 2014 to 2015, Maddon says those changes are slight. "There's little nuances within the game, maybe teachable moments," he said. "What I really try to do is have the coaches bring the message to the players so there's a teaching point. If I absolutely feel like I have to bring it to the player, I will. "But I really like when guys stay within their departments. I like to empower coaches. So if there's a message to be taken, I always think it's better to be coming from the coach to the player, and the player normally receives that better or well." The players echo that. "I feel like Joe stayed very, very consistent in his message," said veteran catcher David Ross, who will retire after the postseason. "Even from last year, I think the more you grow, the more the expectations come. The message changes only with the expectations. "I feel like that's it. Stay true to who you are. He stayed true to who he is. I think there's more expected out of the group, and he knows the group better. "So you may see some different things at times, but I feel like he does a good job of getting to know the players and what they can do and what he expects of them and is able to implement that during a game. But for me Joe's been as consistent as it gets." That seems to help when Maddon makes in-game changes and has players moving from position to position and even back again. The players know ahead of time they may be used like that. "I think that goes back to Joe," said pitcher Jon Lester. "Joe's done a good job of communicating. I think that's what makes him such a good manager. He communicates. He pulls guys aside. He talks to them as a man. I think that's a big thing. "In this game, there are so many people who beat around the bush and not necessarily lie to you but may not tell you the complete and honest truth of why they're doing things. "Joe has never done that. He's upfront with all our guys. I think that makes guys want to play for him no matter where they're at in the lineup or where they're at in the field." With as loose as Maddon makes things, that doesn't mean the players are running the show, even though they have a wide berth. Near the end of the season, after the Cubs had clinched the National League Central, pitcher Jake Arrieta briefly expressed displeasure after the Cubs changed catchers in the middle of the game. Maddon countered by saying the team had been winning in the final weeks of the season. "He's in charge, but he doesn't put the hammer down," Zobrist said. "There's only one time I can remember being managed by him that he yelled down the dugout. Every other time he yells, he's yelling at the umpires. "He very rarely tries to light a fire under us because he believes in the professionalism of the player, and it's your job to be prepared yourself. And he wants to put you in a position to do what you know already how to do. So he shouldn't have to tell you how to do it."

The other important thing Maddon has done is remain relevant. At 62, he's old enough to be some players' father and others' grandfather. Still, he relates. And being relevant, he says, keeps him in a job. "I'm over 50 by several years, but I so identify with what they're doing and how they do it," he said of the players. "The one thing I always wanted to do is remain contemporary. I think if you remain contemporary, you remain employable. "The group that chooses to not remain contemporary only because they have to be locked in to old beliefs, at some point you become unemployable. "Jimmie Reese, who I worked with with the Angels and lived to be (92) years old and was Babe Ruth's roommate at one point, Jimmie was the best. I always thought when I worked with Jimmie in the '80s -- he passed away in the early '90s -- 'Here is a 90-something-year-old man who is so contemporary.' And that's why he's pertinent among these young players. "We all think we're right all the time. We think the way we do things is right all the time. Sometimes you don't see everybody else's take on things. That's the mistake. "Actually I may not like some of the music. That's OK. Methods of dress, I'm in. I'm good. Cars, I'm totally in. "I just think if you permit yourself an openness to be absorbed in what's going on, then you can. If you want to fight that for some strange reason, which a lot of people do, then at some point you deem yourself unemployable." -- Daily Herald How Giants fared against Cubs this season By Bruce Miles The Chicago Cubs won four of the seven games played against the San Francisco Giants during the regular season. The Giants took two at AT&T Park, and the Cubs won three of four at Wrigley Field. Here is a quick look at each game. May 20: Cubs 8, Giants 1 Jason Heyward made spectacular catch in right field at AT&T Park to rob Denard Span of extra bases in the first inning. Heyward crashed into the wall and suffered an abdominal injury. He was not seriously hurt and returned to the lineup three days later. Jake Arrieta pitched 7 innings for the win, improving to 8-0 with a 1.29 ERA. May 21: Giants 5, Cubs 3 Jon Lester lasted just 2 ⅔ innings as the Giants beat the Cubs. The Giants scored twice in the second inning and three times in the third. Kris Bryant and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs. May 22: Giants 1, Cubs 0 Madison Bumgarner pitched 7 ⅔ innings to outduel the Cubs' Kyle Hendricks, who went 5⅓. Bumgarner, a good-hitting pitcher, drove in the game's only run with a double in the fifth. Sept. 1: Cubs 5, Giants 4 The Cubs scored 3 runs in the first inning against Jeff Samardzija to overcome a 2-0 deficit at Wrigley Field. Mike Montgomery pitched 4 innings for the Cubs, who got scoreless bullpen work from Rob Zastryzny, Joe Smith and Carl Edwards Jr.

Sept. 2: Cubs 2, Giants 1 Jon Lester tossed a complete-game 3-hitter. David Ross and Dexter Fowler each drove in a run in the Cubs' 2-run third. Sept. 3: Giants 3, Cubs 2 Madison Bumgarner outdueled Jake Arrieta, going 6 innings and giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. Arrieta gave up 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 6 innings. Sept. 4: Cubs 3, Giants 2 (13 innings) Jason Heyward tied the game for the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth inning with a single. His single in the 13th scored Anthony Rizzo with the game-winner. Heyward also made a rare error in the game. -- Cubs.com Master of routine, Lester ready for Game 1 By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- The key to Jon Lester's success? It may be his routine. "It's interesting to see veterans, guys who've been around for 10-plus years, how they do things very similar and extremely different," Jake Arrieta said of Lester, who will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday (FS1, 9 p.m. ET/8 CT) against the Giants. "Watching his bullpen routine and his flat-ground routine, he's got it broken down into a science how he structures his day, what he likes to do two hours before his start and three hours before a start," Arrieta said. "We notice those things and that's obviously why he's had so much success and why he's done it for such a long time." Lester, 32, who matched his career high in wins this season with 19, got the Game 1 assignment because he deserved it, manager Joe Maddon said. The lefty finished with a 2.44 ERA, second in the Major Leagues to his teammate, Kyle Hendricks. "He's earned the right to be this guy," Maddon said. It also helps that Lester has made Wrigley Field his home turf, posting a 10-2 record and 1.74 ERA at home, including a complete-game victory over the Giants on Sept. 2. However, he struggled on May 21 in San Francisco, giving up five runs over 2 2/3 innings in a loss. "Each start is unique," Cubs catcher David Ross said. "There's different approaches from the other team. They came in with a different game plan, different from the time we played them in San Francisco." Ross is another part of Lester's routine and knows the pitcher better than anyone, having caught him in Boston and now in Chicago for two seasons. The catcher jokingly calls the pitcher "Sideburns." "The biggest thing is I know what Rossy is bringing tomorrow, he knows what I'm going to bring and I think we have a way of communicating to where we can talk each other off a ledge if we need to or pump each other up if we need to," Lester said. "It's a good working relationship and, like I've said before, he knows how to push my buttons and I know how to push his and we try to get the best out of each other. We'll try to ride that wave again tomorrow."

The two know the expectations surrounding the Cubs, who head into the postseason as the favorites to end their long championship drought. Lester said a lot of players get in trouble in the postseason if they change their approach and become scared. A fastball down and away works in May just as it does in October, he said. "But if you throw that fastball down and away timid, it's not going to work too well," Lester said. "You have to take the same mindset, the same preparation -- that's why I said before, I run to my routine, I run to that. That's kind of my fallback. I know that's kind of the consistent thing in my life as far as the baseball life. So I know what to do and I know if I'm prepared and I'm ready to go come 8 o'clock tomorrow -- let's get it on and see what happens." -- Cubs.com Cubs vs. Giants: A position-by-position NLDS look By Mike Petriello With all due respect to the other three Division Series, only one of them features the team that's won three titles in the past six seasons (and looking to make that four of seven) against one of the best regular-season teams we've ever seen. The Giants have won 11 consecutive postseason series, dating back to the 2003 National League Division Series, while the Cubs went 103-58 and outscored their opponents by an absurd 252 runs. So you have the team that's been there, with 12 current Giants (plus manager Bruce Bochy) having been present for all three World Series championships, and the team that's trying to end the most famous drought in sports history. The stories practically write themselves, and we'll get to watch them all unfold when the series begins with Game 1 on Friday at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. Let's go position-by-position to see how these two clubs stack up. Catcher A big part of Chicago's success this year was its ability to replace things that weren't working with internal options that were even better. The Cubs lost part-time catcher Kyle Schwarber early, then didn't get acceptable production from Miguel Montero (.216/.327/.357, 83 wRC+, where 100 is league average) so they promoted Willson Contreras in June -- and all he did was out-hit (.282/.357/.488, 126 wRC+) every other NL catcher who received 200 plate appearances. That said, a half-season of good production isn't enough to give Contreras the edge over baseball's best catcher, Buster Posey, who is an underrated pitch framer (+27 runs, best in baseball) to go with his above-average bat. Advantage: Giants First base All Anthony Rizzo has done for the past three years is hit like Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt; he's a legitimate superstar who keeps putting up the same consistently great season of 32 homers and 5 Wins Above Replacement. It's a credit to the underrated Brandon Belt that he makes this close, because his line this year (.275/.394/.474, 138 wRC+) wasn't that far off from Rizzo's .292/.385/.544 (145 wRC+), once adjusted for the difficulty of hitting in San Francisco, but this is still Rizzo's clear edge. Advantage: Cubs Second base Ben Zobrist has been a star for years, being an average or above-average hitter every season since 2008, and he put up yet another good season this year, hitting .272/.386/.446 (124 wRC+). Joe Panik's season (.239/.315/.379, 90 wRC+) can't compare to that, especially when you realize that the Cubs could potentially spot Javier Baez and his electrifying defense here, too. Advantage: Cubs

Shortstop There are a lot of similarities here, in that both teams have plus defensive shortstops who can offer a bit of pop. Addison Russell and Brandon Crawford actually tied for the most Defensive Runs Saved among shortstops in baseball at +19, and that's a big deal considering the caliber of fielder we see at that position. Crawford's season-long line (.275/.342/.430, 107 wRC+) was better than Russell's (.238/.321/.417, 95 wRC+), but Russell made big strides in the second half by cutting his strikeouts (24.6 percent down to 20.1) and increasing his slugging (.402 up to .436). Small advantage: Crawford Third base Kris Bryant isn't just going to be the NL Most Valuable Player Award winner -- he might win it unanimously. Bryant (.292/.385/.554, 149 wRC+, 39 homers) was the second-best player in the sport behind only Mike Trout, according to FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement, and you all know by now that he seamlessly went between multiple defensive positions. Conor Gillaspie will never have to buy a meal in San Francisco again after his Wild Card heroics, but that doesn't make him Bryant. Big, big advantage: Cubs Left field This one gets complicated, because the Cubs don't have a regular left fielder, so you could see Chris Coghlan (.252/.391/.388, 113 wRC+ with Chicago) against righties, or Jorge Soler (.238/.333/.436, 106 wRC+ this year) and his total lack of platoon splits, or even Bryant (36 starts in left) or Contreras (21 starts), thanks to Chicago's versatility. Angel Pagan (.277/.331/.418, 105 wRC+) is a useful player as well, but Joe Maddon's ability to get any matchup he likes in this spot gives Chicago a small edge. Small advantage: Cubs Center field Despite all the big names at Wrigley, there are those who would tell you that Dexter Fowler is the cog that makes the team run, because their brief midseason swoon roughly coincided with his absence due to a hamstring injury. That's probably overstating it a bit, but his offensive production (.276/.393/.447, 129 wRC+) easily outdoes that of Denard Span (.266/.331/.381, 96 wRC+). Fowler also played deeper in center, with the goal of preventing extra-base hits from going past him. Advantage: Cubs Right field Hunter Pence (.289/.357/.451, 121 wRC+) has been one of baseball's most consistently above-average players for years, settling into a comfortable routine of being a hitter that is about 20 -30 percentage points better than league average. On the Cubs' side, it should be noted that Jason Heyward's defense remained elite and was a big part of how starters like Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester managed such low ERAs, but there's no talking around an unacceptable batting line of .230/.306/.325 (72 wRC+), one of the five weakest of any qualified hitter. Advantage: Giants Bench This is where the Cubs versatility really shines, because Maddon might be able to call upon Baez, Montero, David Ross, Soler/Coghlan, Tommy La Stella, or Matt Szczur, each of whom bring certain strengths. The Giants will have some combination of players like Gorkys Hernandez, Trevor Brown, Kelby Tomlinson and Gregor Blanco, which doesn't quite match up. Big advantage: Cubs

Starting pitchers There's a very good case to be made that the two best San Francisco starters (Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto) are as good or better than the two best Chicago starters (Lester, Hendricks). But Bumgarner will only be available to start once, because he was used in the NL Wild Card Game, and the next two Cubs starters (Jake Arrieta, John Lackey) are preferable to the next two Giants starters (Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore). It's closer than you think, but that gives the edge to the Cubs. Advantage: Cubs Closer It's hard to imagine a bigger mismatch than Aroldis Chapman, the game's pre-eminent flame thrower (and a pitcher who struck out 90 in 58 innings this year) against the revolving door that's been the ninth inning for San Francisco. To give credit to Sergio Romo, he did make six straight scoreless appearances after returning to the ninth, and we've seen him do this in big spots before, but he's not Chapman. No one is. Big advantage: Cubs Relief pitchers While the extent of San Francisco's bullpen collapse was somewhat overstated (a September relief ERA of 3.31 wasn't all that bad), the group of relievers the Cubs have collected in front of Chapman is stellar. Carl Edwards Jr. and his high-spin fastball quickly became one of the more electric relievers in baseball, with no one -- not Chapman, not Zach Britton, no one -- inducing less contact on pitches in the zone. Hector Rondon (58/8 K/BB in 51 innings) was doing a perfectly capable job as the closer before Chapman bumped him to a setup role, and Pedro Strop (60/15 K/BB in 47 1/3 innings) has long been one of baseball's most underrated relievers. Big advantage: Cubs -- Cubs.com Three's company: Cubs stick with catcher trio By Jenifer Langosch CHICAGO -- If manager Joe Maddon's regular-season tendencies are a harbinger for his October plans, get ready for a carousel of catchers for the Cubs this postseason. It's been 14 years since a club last utilized three catchers in a postseason series. But given the way Maddon used his backstops en route to a 103-win season, this National League Division Series against San Francisco (Game 1 on Friday at 9 p.m. ET/8 CT, FS1) sets up for the Cubs to join that rare company. Miguel Montero has been part of the Cubs' backstop mix since he was acquired in a trade with the D-backs in 2014. David Ross came in as Jon Lester's personal catcher. And Willson Contreras, who was summoned from Triple-A in mid-June, is the rising star. Together, the three guided Chicago's pitching staff to the Majors' lowest ERA (3.15) and supplied above-average offensive production from the position. The Cubs' catchers ranked among the Majors' top five in OPS (.756), on-base percentage (.339), home runs (29) and RBIs (90). Each appeared behind the plate in at least 57 games, marking the eighth time in NL history that's been done by a team. "It's unusual," Maddon said of the roster construction. "I've been on teams [that] they don't like any of their catchers. And now you like three."

Maddon went on to describe how the pitcher-catcher relationship plays a prominent role in his continued use of a catching trio. The most obvious pairing is Ross and Lester, who worked together in 31 of Lester's 32 starts. It's a relationship that dates back to their time in Boston, and one that helped propel Lester into the Cy Young conversation this year. The two will be batterymates again in Game 1. "He knows what I'm going to bring, and I think we have a way of communicating to where we can talk each other off a ledge if we need to or pump each other up if we need to," Lester said. "So it's a good working relationship." Ross likely won't draw another NLDS start -- unless a Game 5 becomes necessary -- which will leave Montero and Contreras as the Cubs' catching options for the rest of the series. Maddon may have telegraphed his plans when, on Thursday, he cited the comfort that Game 2 starter Kyle Hendricks seems to have throwing to Contreras, and the bond built between Game 3 starter Jake Arrieta on Montero. In his 12 starts with Contreras behind the plate, Hendricks has a 1.51 ERA. As for Montero, he has started 20 of the 31 games Arrieta pitched. "There's the comfort component of it, and there's real familiarity between the two that speaks to almost this ESP between the two of them," Maddon said. "They're able to really think what the other guy is thinking." But Maddon's use of three catchers hasn't simply been matchup based. It's especially benefited Contreras, who is navigating through his first big league season. Maddon's use of a catching rotation has helped keep Contreras sharp and also freed the 24-year-old up to be used in left field. Should all three draw a start against the Giants, the Cubs would join the 1915 Red Sox, the 1927 Yankees, the 1998 Padres and the 2002 D-backs as the only teams to start three catchers in a postseason series. "It's fun to be a part of this group," Ross said. "One thing I know is I have trust in our catching group." -- Cubs.com Well-rested Cubs eager to get playoffs started By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- The Cubs' workout Thursday was interrupted by rain, limiting the hitters to take their swings in the batting cages. Think they're eager to start the National League Division Series? "Yes," Cubs catcher David Ross said. "[It's like] the cooped up dog in the house all day and the owner gets home. We've been running around the house for too long and we're ready to get out on the field and play some catch and hit and throw and be a part of everything we get to watch on TV. We're excited. I was up late last night watching the game. As soon as it was over, I was like, 'OK, I can't wait until we get our turn.'" The Cubs get their turn on Friday in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Giants (9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on FS1) at Wrigley Field. "It's nice to have the days off," Kris Bryant said. "I think a lot of us feel recuperated. Our bodies feel good. It's just a matter of getting going. I'm sure there's going to be some nerves and some anxiousness there early on." Last season, the Cubs reached the NL Championship Series but were swept by the Mets. What did they learn? "That we can play with anybody," Ross said. "That we're good enough to compete with anybody. And I think that paid off this year. When you get 103 wins, that's not by a fluke. I think you learn about dealing with the moment, the emotions of a 3-2 pitch, bases loaded, two out, the crowd on its feet. Those are exciting moments." Bryant agreed, saying the biggest game last postseason was the Cubs' NL Wild Card Game win over the Pirates.

"For Jake Arrieta to go out there and do what he did and for us to get that experience of playing in the crowd where you can't even hear yourself think, it's important to us," Bryant said. "Certainly it will be pretty loud tomorrow, so all that from last year is going to ease the nerves a little bit." Manager Joe Maddon has focused on his team -- not the opponent -- during workouts this week. "I'm more concernend about us, how we play, how we react to the moment, how we execute our pitches or play defense, or how we react in the batter's box," Maddon said. "I think so much is made of who you're playing on the other side, but it's more about how you react to the moment." • Maddon hinted he may stick with the lineup he used on Saturday against the Reds for Game 1. That means Javier Baez could be at third base and Bryant in left. Baez was set to find out later Thursday via text message. "Sometimes when I'm playing, they tell me [the night before]," Baez said. "I always come ready to be out there." He'll play wherever Maddon tells him, and this season, he's made two starts at first, 38 at second, 36 at third and 21 at shortstop. "Joe knows I can play anywhere, so I feel wherever he needs me, he'll put me," Baez said. • The Game 3 matchup in San Francisco could be interesting, matching Arrieta against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who threw a shutout Wednesday in the NL Wild Card Game against the Mets. "I'm not licking my lips because Bumgarner is on the other side," Arrieta said. "Whether it's Johnny Cueto or Jeff Samardzija or Matt Moore, those guys are all good. In a big situation like this, guys will be performing at their peak. We've pitched against each other before. You know you have to be near the top of your game to win that game. I've got to face him, but one through eight is my big concern, not really who's on the mound." • Maddon is the second Cubs manager to reach the postseason in his first two seasons, joining Lou Piniella, who did so in 2007 and '08. • Bobby Dernier, who played for the Cubs from 1984-87, brought his mother to Chicago for the NLDS and to celebrate her birthday. She turns 83 on Friday. He said his mom is his good-luck charm, having attended the two NLCS games in 1984 that the Cubs won against the Padres. "I brought my karma," said Dernier, 59, who will be doing some television analysis for a Chicago television station. -- Cubs.com Postseason vets face off to open NLDS in Chicago By Phil Rogers When the Cubs were cruising to 103 wins, their most in a season since 1910, players repeatedly said they hadn't accomplished anything yet. John Lackey, who owns World Series rings from stays with the Red Sox and Angels, pointed to the "big boy games" to be played in October. Chicago will host San Francisco tonight at Wrigley Field in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, live on FS1 at 9 ET. While the Cubs have been baseball's best team since Spring Training and enter the postseason as World Series favorites, they figure to be tested in the NLDS. The Giants rode Madison Bumgarner's left arm and will to a 3-0 victory over the Mets in the Wild Card Game in New York, and they have arrived in Chicago with thoughts of extending the even-year run they established by winning the World Series in 2010, '12 and '14. This is a series filled with intriguing pitching matchups, and that starts when Cubs lefty Jon Lester faces Johnny Cueto in Game 1.

Because Bumgarner is set to work Game 3 when the series shifts to AT&T Park in San Francisco, Chicago may believe it doesn't have any margin of error at the start of the series. The club has Lester and Kyle Hendricks, the NL's ERA leaders, set to start the first two games against Cueto and former Cubs righty Jeff Samardzija. If the Giants can grab a victory in either of those games, they will look to Bumgarner to give them a shot to continue their history of knocking off the NL's top seed. They swept the 97-win Phillies to the curb in the 2010 National League Championship Series and then upset the 96-win Nationals in the NLDS in '14. The Cubs have 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta on track for Game 3, with Lackey set to meet lefty Matt Moore in Game 4. It speaks to how well Lester and Hendricks have pitched that Joe Maddon can save Arrieta for the Game 3 matchup against Bumgarner. "Jon's just nailed it, Kyle's nailed it," Maddon said. "They've also been very good at home. Jake's also been good on the road. John Lackey doesn't care where he pitches.'' This was the exact situation that Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein envisioned when he signed Lester to a six-year contract before the 2015 season. The lefty helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2007 and '13 and bought into Epstein's sales pitch about the Cubs having built an organization capable of sustaining success. Lester was 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA in 2016. He got better as the season went along, going 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA in his last 12 starts. That included a 2-1, complete-game victory over the Giants on Sept. 2, which helped him drop his season ERA at Wrigley Field to 1.74. Cueto, signed to a six-year contract by the Giants in the offseason, has almost matched Lester this season. He was 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA, including a 4-0 record and 1.78 ERA in five starts in September. He worked seven strong innings against the Cubs on Sept. 4, allowing only one run in a game Chicago won in 13 innings. Both Lester and Cueto have had huge moments in the postseason. Cueto delivered a 122-pitch complete game to help the Royals beat the Mets in the World Series last October. Lester started the clinching game of the 2007 World Series in Colorado and beat Adam Wainwright twice in the '13 Series. He's been more consistently successful in the postseason than Cueto has, accumulating a 6-6 record and a 2.85 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts). Cueto has frustrated Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs' No. 3 hitter. Rizzo is 3-for-25 against the veteran righty through the years, but youngsters Kris Bryant (3-for-5) and Addison Russell (3-for-6 with two doubles) have had success. Lester has owned first baseman Brandon Belt (0-for-6), but not Buster Posey. The Giants' catcher is 5-for-16 with one homer off Lester. Look for a great confrontation if Posey comes up to face Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning. He's 5-for-9 with two doubles and only one strikeout against Chapman, whose fastball has averaged 101.2 mph this season. -- ESPNChicago.com Rest should only bring out best in championship-hopeful Cubs By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- They were the first team to get in and will be last to start their postseason, but that only means the best team in baseball all year long can make a dramatic entrance to what a nervous fan base hopes is the beginning of a championship run. The Chicago Cubs have never been more ready for this moment. "The main thing is not the rust -- you get anxious about playing," veteran catcher David Ross said Thursday. "This is Chapter 2. There's a clean slate for everyone."

A historically good starting staff combined with the best defense in baseball is seemingly a formula for playoff success, but until we see it in action there will always be doubts. It might start with a mythical curse on a woe-is-me franchise, but the very real concern is the lack of intensity in recent weeks. But the Cubs are finding the good in it all. "Rest plus adrenaline means there's more in the tank," reliever Justin Grimm said. "Let's go." With the Cubs and the San Francisco Giants, it's hard to find two teams coming in on more opposite tracks in terms of rest versus intensity. The Cubs have been doing everything they can this week to keep themselves busy, though their workout scheduled for Thursday was washed away. Meanwhile, the Giants have won their last five games, all essentially elimination contests. Who has the edge? "It permits you to rest," manager Joe Maddon said of clinching early. "Whereas when you're in that scramble to get there, you have to really push some guys. You don't know how that's going to play out when it comes over the next week, or hopefully the next couple weeks, where teams that had been extended, players that had been extended, I always think about relief pitchers in those moments. Those guys, it's tough for them sometimes to be really pushed this hard to this point of the season." For weeks, Maddon has been asked how his team would keep sharp as he put the handcuffs on his pitchers and kept rotating his starting position players in and out. This should be the time to realize the benefits of that strategy. A 103-win team is healthy and rested. The result should be a laser-like focus combined with boundless energy. Maddon saw firsthand what fatigue can do to a team as his team's only real slump came just before the All-Star break when the schedule was taxing. If fatigue caused the Cubs to play sloppy ball, then rest should do the opposite. At least in theory. "I feel great with the days off," Anthony Rizzo said. "It's been really nice." Over and over again in the Cubs clubhouse, the sentiment was the same: Players weren't worried about rust, they were just eager to play. And whereas many didn't know what to expect entering the playoffs last year, that's not the case this time. Going up against a three-time champion in the Giants would have been a monumental task a season ago, but the Cubs have felt the pressure since spring and eclipsed it with the pleasure of romping to the division title. And now they're deeper than the team that lost to the Mets in last season's NLCS. "What this team has is special," outfielder Chris Coghlan said. "You don't win 100 by accident." No, you don't, but as any fan will tell you, that means little come the postseason. What does have meaning is fresh arms. With nearly a month of taking it easy on his pitchers, Maddon can now unleash the best rotation in baseball. No pitch counts, no need to find innings for relievers and no fatigue. The Cubs have a staff that should show why it is the best. "I think Joe's done a good job with us," Game 1 starter Jon Lester said. "I know there's been times this year where we haven't been happy about coming out of games, but it's not our decision. He wanted us to be in a good position health-wise and mental-wise coming into this postseason. I feel like we have done a good job of that." And that's why you can say the Cubs are as prepared as any team in recent history to face the task ahead; to finally put to rest the longest championship drought in professional sports history. The only thing in their way is the game of baseball itself. At this time of year, baseball doesn't necessarily reward rest, doesn't recognize how good a team was for six months and certainly can't recognize the heartbreak one franchise has felt for so long. Preparation and routine is all you can count on, and that's what this team is stressing.

"Last year's playoff experience paid off during the regular season," Ross said. "We're better prepared than last year and we were pretty good last year." Ross could not have said it any better, while Maddon says he believes there are only a couple of things that can throw his team for a loop: if his players treat the game any differently than they have for six months or if they let one bad moment spiral into several. That was his message earlier this week. After that, the task at hand was trying to find that sharpness. "There's no other way to prepare. You can't just bring the Washington Generals in and all of a sudden have a game for a couple days," Maddon said. "You would love to be able to do that, but that's not available to you." The Cubs have made the best of their time since clinching, and now their talent can take over. If this were a one-game elimination and the Cubs hadn't played in a week, you could see the problem, but remember the Cubs lost Game 1 last year in this round and still went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. All that being said, anything can happen starting Friday night. At least this postseason, there are no questions to be answered. The Cubs have the best team, simple as that. Will the game allow them to show it or will it bite them the way it has bitten so many who seemingly had it all going for them come October? We're about to find out. As Grimm said, "Let's go." Finally. "I'm ready," Grimm said. "We're ready. It's time to find out what we're made of." It's time indeed. -- CSNChicago.com Scouting Report: Breaking Down Where It Should Go Right For Cubs And How It Could All Go Wrong In The Playoffs By Patrick Mooney One Cubs official perfectly described the mood around this team: The Cubs are World Series favorites, because they have the best record and the most talent. At the same time, people automatically expect something to go wrong because, well, they’re the Cubs. Cubs fans will experience that mixture of anticipation and dread on Friday night – a strange feeling heightened by hours of pregaming in Wrigleyville – when they see the San Francisco Giants in their black-and-orange uniforms and think of their even-year championship pedigree from 2010, 2012 and 2014. Somewhere between the dream of winning the franchise’s first World Series since 1908 and the randomness of playoff baseball is this thought: The Cubs are head and shoulders above the rest of the National League field, an American League scout said, quickly adding that anything can happen in a best-of-five series, especially when you’re facing Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner three times. “I don’t think anybody on paper can match up with the Cubs,” an NL West scout said. “At full strength, they’re going to be really tough. If you try to poke holes in this team, it’s hard to find.” Whether you’re optimistic or fatalistic, here’s a clear-eyed view of where it should go right – and how it could go wrong – for your 2016 Cubs: • To quote Jon Lester himself: “Don’t want to sound like an a--hole, but…” the entire industry saw how the Kansas City Royals attacked him during the 2014 AL wild-card game, stealing three bases off the lefty and seven overall against the Oakland A’s. The New York Mets exploited that team weakness during last year’s NL Championship Series sweep, and the Cubs will have to deal with a San Francisco offense that knows how to manufacture runs in October.

“Lester has got to be flawless,” an NL East scout said. “When you get into his head, you got him.” Lester absolutely delivered in Year 2 of that $155 million megadeal, putting together a Cy Young Award-caliber season (19-5, 2.44 ERA). Those throwing issues can be minimized with a career-low WHIP (1.016), swing-and-miss stuff (197 strikeouts in 202-plus innings) and personal catcher David Ross. Lester already has two World Series rings from his time with the Boston Red Sox, making him a worthy Game 1 starter opposite Cueto. “I don’t have any concerns with Lester, unless people put pressure on him and make him field the baseball,” an NL Central scout said. “People can run on the Cubs.” • The focus will be on the starting pitchers during what John Lackey calls “Big Boy Games.” But the Royals created another blueprint with that 2014 AL pennant and last year’s World Series title, unleashing the power arms out of the bullpen that made it feel like Game Over. The Cubs took on Aroldis Chapman’s off-the-field baggage and sent four players to the New York Yankees for what could essentially be a three-month rental. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein made that blockbuster trade expecting Chapman to get the final out of the World Series. “The only way I see the chink in the armor is they get in these tie games in the seventh or eighth (inning) and they’re not sure who to go to,” the NL West scout said. Stay tuned to see how manager Joe Maddon uses Chapman, and if the superstar closer can rack up four-out saves. But is Hector Rondon (8.53 ERA in September) at full strength after dealing with a right triceps issue? Will Pedro Strop’s slider have the necessary sharpness after missing six weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee? How much do you trust Justin Grimm (4.10 ERA) and his curveball? Does rookie Carl Edwards Jr. (52 strikeouts in 36 innings) burst onto the scene? “You just got to get that bridge to Chapman,” the NL Central scout said. “And you got to go deep with your starting pitching. It’s the normal recipe (in the playoffs).” • With his arsenal of pitches, pinpoint control and unpredictable sequencing, Kyle Hendricks earned the majors’ ERA title and Saturday’s Game 2 start against ex-Cub Jeff Samardzija. Hendricks isn’t loud or flashy, but he’s been dominant this year at Wrigley Field (9-2, 1.32 ERA) and will need that cerebral approach against a Giants lineup that doesn’t give away at-bats. The AL scout noticed that Lackey – approaching his 38th birthday and coming off a strained right shoulder – is hovering in the 88-to-92-mph range and wondered if he will have the extra velocity that helped make him one of the best big-game pitchers of his generation. But the biggest question mark might be Jake Arrieta, who will start the pivotal Game 3 against Bumgarner on Monday at AT&T Park. Will the Cubs watch a reigning Cy Young Award winner get back in the zone, or see the guy who couldn’t finish the sixth inning 11 times this season? “He’s still one of the best pitchers in the game,” the NL Central scout said. “It’s just with that delivery, there’s the type of stress it puts on a body. It’s fastball command – that’s where everything goes. If you look at Lester and his fastball command – that’s what he pitches off of. Look at Hendricks – he doesn’t throw that hard, but he’s got very good fastball command and then he’s got contrast along with it. Jake just hasn’t been locating his fastball. It’s a little better, but he’s making mistakes and guys are hitting them. I (still) think he’ll do fine in the playoffs.” • Don’t get fooled by any flashes in September and expect a huge offensive uptick from Jason Heyward in October. Any major changes would probably have to wait until the second season of that $184 million megadeal. But despite the seven homers and .631 OPS, the Cubs love the Gold Glove defense in right field and aggressive, opportunistic mentality running the bases, attributes that should play in low-scoring, one-run games.

“He’s got mechanical issues in his swing that are very exploitable,” the NL Central scout said. “He’s going to get that fixed. (But) he’s got hot spots that you can stay away from (now). In the playoffs, you’re facing No. 1s and 2s and power closers. It’s the best of the best. If he gets hot and gets going, then that bodes well for the Cubs. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter, because they’ve been doing it offensively the whole year anyway, so it’s a bonus.” • This is Year 5 for Epstein, who recently signed a five-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $50 million after building a 103-win team. The Giants have a proven pitching-and-defense formula, but the Cubs led the majors in ERA (3.15), batting average against (.212), opponents’ OPS (.633) and defensive efficiency. MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo – “Bryzzo” combined for 71 homers and 211 RBI – anchor a deep lineup with mix-and-match parts. The Cubs didn’t have a three-game losing streak after the All-Star break. Epstein – who says there’s no other team he’d rather have in October and knows what he’s talking about after delivering two World Series titles to Red Sox Nation – sort of sounded like Ferris Bueller while trying to make sense of any five- or seven-game series. “It goes pretty quick,” Epstein said. “There’s a handful of plays and bounces and breaks and moments that’ll define the series and dictate the outcome. So in those moments, there’s no favorite. There’s just competition. And that’s the way our guys approach it.” -- CSNChicago.com The Domino Effect From Cubs Adding Aroldis Chapman To Playoff Bullpen By Patrick Mooney The domino effect from the Aroldis Chapman trade would push Hector Rondon into an eighth-inning role, knock Pedro Strop into earlier setup situations and propel the Cubs through October. “When it first happened, my goodness, this was like bullpen utopia,” said Joe Maddon, an outside-the-box manager who would signal for the superstar closer to face the best hitters in the most crucial moments. Except the Cubs live in an imperfect world, rationalizing Chapman’s 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic-violence policy to start this season because he’s a left-hander with 100-mph velocity and unbelievable athletic gifts. The Cubs made that blockbuster deal with the New York Yankees on July 25, believing Chapman could change the shape of three postseason series and help them win 11 playoff games before cashing in as a free agent. Two weeks later, Strop tore the meniscus in his left knee. Nine days after that, the Cubs placed Rondon on the disabled list with a sore right triceps. Chapman preferred to work one inning at a time instead of getting four-out saves. A team that would finish with a plus-252 run differential can only create so many pressure-packed situations. A 103-win season saw the Cubs clinch the National League Central by the middle of September. Now the Cubs will flip the switch on Friday night at Wrigley Field and see if their bullpen can overpower the San Francisco Giants in this best-of-five series. “That’s an unknown right now,” Maddon admitted. “That was kind of a comforting thought from a bullpen perspective, but we didn’t get a chance to really run through that. “I have a lot of confidence and faith in these guys, but we got to get them out there and do that. That’s going to be interesting.” Those injuries to Strop and Rondon allowed Justin Grimm (4.10 ERA) and Carl Edwards Jr. (3.75 ERA) to gain confidence and experience and show off their swing-and-miss stuff (117 strikeouts in 88-plus innings).

To get ready for the playoffs, Strop (2.85 ERA, 21 holds) made four scripted appearances within the last 10 days of the regular season. Rondon – a 30-save closer last season – gave up eight runs and 13 hits in nine appearances since coming off the disabled list. “The high-leverage bullpen dudes like that moment,” Maddon said. “They want that adrenaline flow, so maybe we didn’t see them as well as we could possibly see them in those moments. “They’re still going to be put in those moments now. We’re going to find out. You may have to be less patient with that moment. In other words, you might have to have somebody backing him up, even from the first pitch they throw in a particular inning, because you just don’t know. They haven’t had that normal level of work.” The Cubs still have an edge with Chapman, a player the Giants tried to acquire around the trade deadline, leaving them with a bullpen that led the majors with 30 blown saves. The Cubs were 21 games over .500 when they finalized the Chapman deal, knowing they could maximize the closer by accounting for all the off-days built into the postseason schedule, their best starting pitchers working deeper into playoff games and a manager known for pushing the right bullpen buttons. Already the bullpens factored prominently into both wild-card games, with Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter getting torched for not using Zach Britton in an 11-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Giants waiting out Noah Syndergaard before winning with Conor Gillaspie’s three-run homer off New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia in the ninth inning. “It was a different trade season for us,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “Because we were in first place, we felt like we had a really good chance to win the division and we were not looking at the one-game playoff. We were looking at a playoff series. It’s been shown – when the Giants had those three (World Series) teams, they had great bullpens (in 2010, 2012 and 2014). “Even the way the Mets used Familia last year, he was kind of their eighth- and ninth-inning guy in one, and they used him as a real weapon.” The Cubs envision Chapman (career average: 15.1 strikeouts per nine innings) giving them a psychological advantage, getting in the Giants’ heads and making them believe this isn’t a nine-inning game anymore. At full strength, the Cubs believe this group can be just as good as the bullpen the Kanas City Royals deployed during last year’s run to a World Series title. “That’s what we’re hoping for,” pitching coach Chris Bosio said. “We got to do it on the field. (And) I really like our chances if we can just give them those opportunities.” -- CSNChicago.com Jon Lester Has No Intention Of Pitching 'Timid' For Cubs By Tony Andracki Since spring training, the Cubs have fallen in step with Joe Maddon's "embrace the target" motto, running toward expectations and pressure instead of avoiding it. So why would they approach anything tentatively now? Maddon tabbed Jon Lester as the Cubs' Game 1 starter, in part because the veteran southpaw has plenty of postseason experience (16 games, 14 starts, 98 innings), but also because Lester embodies the mindset the Cubs are aiming for.

"We all know what time of year this is and what we're playing for," Lester said. "So the preparation and the mindset remains the same, but when you're out there, you know what you're playing for. You know this could be my last start of the year. "So, I think we all know that and I think the biggest thing is just being able to harness that, not run from that. I think where a lot of people get themselves in trouble - and I don't like to use the word scared, but that's kind of it - you pitch timid as opposed to just going out and attacking hitters. "The fastball down and away in May works just the same as it does in October. But if you throw that fastball down and away timid, it's not going to work too well." Maddon and the Cubs are handing Lester the ball with the intention of setting the tone in the short five-game series. Lester - who owns a 2.85 postseason ERA - will go right after Giants hitters, sticking to his strengths and setting an example of aggressiveness for youngster Kyle Hendricks in Game 2. The Cubs signed Lester before last season to come in and help change the culture in the clubhouse and he's done exactly that. He and David Ross have echoed Maddons' thoughts about taking things one day at a time and not getting too caught up on the future. "You go out there with a different mindset, you're gonna be in trouble," Ross said. "You try to keep the same mindset. It's a different intensity, obviously. The postseason is just a label that's thrown on it. It's baseball. We gotta go out there and compete and play against these guys to do the best of our ability." Last winter, John Lackey and Ben Zobrist were brought in to supplement those same thoughts, helping the young Cubs core keep things in perspective with an eye on the "Big Boy Games" that kick off Friday evening at what figures to be a rocking Wrigley Field. "You have to take that same mindset, the same preparation," Lester said. "Before I run to my routine, I run to that. That's kind of my fallback. I know that's kind of the consistent thing in my life as far as the baseball life. "So I know what to do and I know if I'm prepared and I'm ready to go come 8 o'clock [Friday], let's get it on and see what happens." -- CSNChicago.com Giants Playoff Rotation Vs. Cubs Uncertain Beyond Opener By Dan Hayes ‘The Cowboy’ is keeping his plans for the San Francisco Giants’ pitching rotation holstered. Characterized earlier Thursday by Cubs counterpart Joe Maddon as a “cowboy,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he would wait until before Friday’s National League Divisional Series opener to announce the remainder of his first round rotation. Johnny Cueto is set to face Jon Lester in Game 1 of the NLDS at 8:15 p.m. CST on Friday night at Wrigley Field. But the Giants’ schedule for Thursday’s workout was disrupted by a lengthy travel day and mid-afternoon rain that prevented either team from taking batting practice. Bochy said it also hampered any chance to communicate with his coaches and players about their upcoming schedule.

“I usually talk to the players and we have discussed our options as far as the roster and everything and of course the lineup and it’s been a long day,” Bochy said. “We had a tough travel day today between the bussing in New York and the bussing here and of course the plane flight. So we’re getting all that straightened out now.” The Giants boarded their busses from the team hotel in Manhattan at 11:15 a.m. CST on Thursday morning. But a delay on the ground and once again in the air caused the team plane to land at O’Hare Airport after 4 p.m. on Thursday. The late arrival left the Giants vulnerable to rush hour traffic and the trip to Wrigleyville lasted about two hours. The club’s plan originally called for an optional workout and most players took advantage and left Wrigley for the team hotel. Only Cueto worked out as part of his pre-start routine. While the Giants’ rotation isn’t finalized, its widely speculated that Jeff Samardzija would face Kyle Hendricks in Game 2 on Saturday and Madison Bumgarner would go in Game 3 on Monday in San Francisco against Jake Arrieta. Maddon said he enjoys managing against Bochy and knows to expect anything and everything when it comes to game strategy. So it’s likely Maddon is ready for the rotation uncertainty, too. “Just know he's a cowboy,” Maddon said. “He'll do anything and when you're managing against a cowboy, it's always interesting.” --