October 7, 2015 CSNChicago.com How Jake Arrieta transformed himself into the Cubs ace By Patrick Mooney PITTSBURGH — Jake Arrieta had just thrown a no-hitter on national television when he walked into Dodger Stadium’s interview room wearing a gray striped onesie covered in moustaches. Before beginning his press conference, Arrieta looked down at the open buttons and asked reporters: “Too much cleavage?” The thing is, Arrieta had already bought his go-to pajamas while on a rehab assignment with Double-A Tennessee last year, long before Cubs manager Joe Maddon got hired, much less organized that dress-up stunt for the overnight flight home from Los Angeles. “He definitely hears his own beat,” Maddon said. No, Arrieta doesn’t seem at all stressed about the win-or-else National League wild-card game. Because in his mind, everything in his life has been leading up this moment, looking out from below his flat-brimmed hat and staring down the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night at PNC Park. Arrieta has light-tower posture and the swagger of a Texas cowboy who grew up idolizing Nolan Ryan and his intimidating presence. Arrieta has that mountain-man beard, those blue Birkenstock sandals he wears around the clubhouse and a fluency in organic food, animal proteins and the benefits of a plant-based diet. Arrieta has the curiosity of a Silicon Valley engineer, searching out experts on Instagram and Twitter, studying kinetics and wanting to defy gravity. The physics of it all baffles hitters — up and down, in and out, fast and faster — as they try to figure out a 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-hander who can drop a curveball, changeup or that slider/cutter hybrid in a deceptive crossfire motion. Arrieta finished the regular season with 20 quality starts in a row, going 16-1 with a 0.86 ERA and transforming the Cubs into a 97-win team. “He’s unbelievable,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “You get guys on base all the time say they’ve never seen anything like it.”

To get a better feel for finishing his delivery, Arrieta likes to hang upside down from monkey bars. At a time when a $9 billion industry can only guess which pitchers might break down, Arrieta has ideas about flexibility and conditioning, cruising through a career-high 229 innings (or almost 72 more than last season). “Our bodies try and fight gravity,” Arrieta said. “That’s kind of what I try and work against. I try and put my body in positions that allow me to counteract gravity — and strengthen my joints by putting my body in positions that are unfamiliar.” Whether or not Arrieta needs to find a spot for a Cy Young Award, he already has plans for the empty lot next to his offseason home in Austin, Texas, where he envisions a ladder, a set of parallel bars and monkey bars. “The set-up that I’m going to build is basically something similar to what you see at a playground,” Arrieta said. “I try and train very minimally. I use some kettlebells. I use some bands. But I’m trying to get my training back to a really primal level. “I like to train in a way that I can move and effect my body as a whole rather than focusing on one specific area. I try and train to where I can tax my entire body by doing one movement.” The pop-culture reference felt a little dated, but Maddon wasn’t far off when he compared Arrieta to a “male Jane Fonda.” When Brandon Finnegan, who came out of the same Texas Christian University baseball program, wanted to know what it takes at this level, he contacted Arrieta. Finnegan pitched in the College World Series and the World Series last year before the Kansas City Royals traded him to the Cincinnati Reds in the Johnny Cueto deal. Arrieta responded by sending selfie videos of different positions from the Pilates machine he set up inside the Wrigley Field interview room/dungeon. “He’s a workout freak,” Finnegan said. That’s why super-agent Scott Boras looks ahead to the free-agent class after the 2017 season and compares Arrieta’s pitching odometer to another client — Max Scherzer — who got a seven-year, $210 million megadeal from the Washington Nationals last winter. “You don’t have to tell Jake Arrieta what to do,” Boras said. “He’s looking for things to do to get better.” What took so long? Arrieta couldn’t stick with the Baltimore Orioles, spending parts of the 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 seasons on the Triple-A level. There was friction between Dan Duquette’s front office and Buck Showalter’s dugout and a cookie-cutter pitching philosophy that didn’t vibe with Arrieta. But listening to Arrieta entertain just about any question and speak in full paragraphs, it’s easy to see how he could overthink everything. “It’s purely confidence,” said Dave Martinez, Maddon’s bench coach with the Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays. “I remember sitting with Joe and saying: ‘Man, this guy’s got electric stuff.’ We knew he had it. And now he’s just confident. Every time he goes out there, you can see it in his eyes and his face.” Addison Russell had a great view of Arrieta’s no-hitter from his shortstop position on Aug. 30 at Dodger Stadium, watching a pitcher totally dominate a $300 million team, striking out the side in the ninth inning. “I check out the signs to see what he’s going to throw, so I can anticipate where the batter might hit it,” Russell said. “And he threw it there just about every single time.”

That Scott Feldman deal in the middle of the 2013 season will go down as a franchise-altering trade. But Arrieta needed the fresh start. It’s hard to see this happening at Camden Yards or without the influence of pitching coach Chris Bosio and Theo Epstein’s front office. “It’s exhilarating to watch him out there pitching at such a high level knowing how hard he worked to get to this point,” Epstein said. “He always had a lot of natural ability. He’s not a guy who just woke up and was a 20-game (winner) in the major leagues. “He really had to go through some tough times and work at his craft. He wakes up every day trying to figure out how to get better. “That’s the kind of mindset we want in this organization.” If Arrieta has experienced a mind/body breakthrough, he has also achieved a work/family balance at the age of 29. Arrieta’s wife, Brittany, had grown up as an elite-level gymnast in Texas, training with Nastia Liukin, an Olympic champion, and understanding what it takes to thrive in a competitive environment. For Brittany, Arrieta has a “B” tattooed onto his ring finger. He also has “Coop” tattooed onto his left wrist, a tribute to his four-year-old son, Cooper. Next up this offseason is something for Palmer, their daughter who will turn two on New Year’s Eve. But first Arrieta plans to conquer the playoffs. He’s no longer the kid who would get rattled in the American League East, letting the game spin out of control with one big inning. He’s the one in total control now. “It’s a nervous excitement,” Arrieta said. “It’s not anxiety. This is why I’ve prepared as hard and as rigorous as I have for the past however many years for this game. This is one of the moments that you think about when you’re training in the offseason in early December. You think about pitching in games like this. “I’ve already processed it. I’ve already visualized the scenarios. So I feel like anything that’s thrown at me tomorrow — or really in any game — I’m ready to handle. “This has been a long time coming to this moment. I’ve been waiting for it for a number of years. And I’m ready.” -- CSNChicago.com Cubs trying to be oblivious to playoff pressure: 'Dumb it down' By Patrick Mooney PITTSBURGH — Jonathan Herrera walked into PNC Park’s visiting clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon wearing a homemade rally helmet with two detached hands glued on top, capturing the spontaneous celebration/inside joke the Cubs have turned into a signature move. The Cubs are only guaranteed nine more innings this season, but this still feels like the opening of a competitive window for a core group of young players and what has been a sleeping-giant franchise. The Pittsburgh Pirates are a well-run, small-market team playing in the National League wild-card game for the third year in a row. The Pirates haven’t won a playoff series since their 1979 World Series title. Which team will feel more pressure on Wednesday night? “It’s certainly not on us,” said Anthony Rizzo, the All-Star first baseman who’s been such a huge building block for the Cubs. “We don’t feel any pressure.”

Of course, the Cubs have 1908, the Billy Goat curse, Bartman and a star manager who has zero interest in talking about the past. “Cubs history is wonderful,” Joe Maddon said. “The tradition of being a Chicago Cub, I think, is outstanding. And I’m talking about players, the ballpark, the city and (everything) attached to that. “Superstition, for me, has no place in Cubs history or tradition. If you choose to vibrate there, that’s your concern. For our guys, it’s about playing winning baseball every night. And that’s it. “I don’t want them to get caught up in stuff that really doesn’t matter. I want us to be more process-oriented as opposed to outcome-oriented. And if you really focus on today, that other stuff really should not matter.” Jon Lester won two World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox, but he doesn’t remember a ballpark louder than Kauffman Stadium during last year’s American League wild-card game. As a hired-gun for the Oakland A’s, Lester got a no-decision in a game the Royals would win in 12 innings, pushing them toward the World Series. “Tomorrow is just a different animal,” Lester said before Tuesday’s workout. “It’s so unique. It’s do or die. You’re trying to get your home-field advantage, and these guys are rocking from Pitch 1.” The young Cubs can talk about it all they want, Lester said, but they still won’t know what it’s like until they actually experience a real playoff environment. “The game doesn’t change,” Lester said. “The fastball down and away that you locate works just the same as it does (in) Game 7 of the World Series as it does on April 15th. That doesn’t change. “It’s just now you’ve got a little more adrenaline. You’ve got the buzz of the crowd (being) a little louder. The ramifications for bad pitches matter a little bit more. Your heart rate is going to be a little higher in that first inning. After that, you should be able to settle right back in and just go about your business.” Lester remembered standing in this same clubhouse in early August and saying how he became a big believer in “playing stupid.” Lester noticed how Maddon’s Tampa Bay Rays teams played loose and came across as naïve during that shocking run to the 2008 World Series, seeing the same qualities developing here. “I like playing dumb,” Lester said. “I like going in and not knowing what to expect and just try to play baseball. Dumb it down the best you can to: ‘Hey, we need to get three outs.’ Or: ‘We need to make this pitch.’ “The quicker you can do that, the easier it is to handle the adrenaline and handle the atmosphere and handle everything that’s going on around you. “I’m not worried about them chanting whatever. You give up a leadoff double and the stands are going crazy, you’re worried about executing the next pitch and not letting that guy get to third. Dumb it down.” -- CSNChicago.com Cubs: Jake Arrieta trolling Pirates fans is ‘all in good fun’ By Patrick Mooney PITTSBURGH — During the middle of this dream season, a reporter asked Jake Arrieta why he even bothers to go on social media: “I like to talk s--- to people.” Hey, why stop now? The Cubs kept telling everyone “#WeAreGood,” and they wound up with 97 wins and the third-best record in baseball.

Arrieta trolled Pittsburgh Pirates fans on Twitter, saying he wanted it “LOUD” on Wednesday night at PNC Park and telling them the blackout atmosphere “doesn’t matter” in the National League wild-card game. The back-and-forth responses led to the first question on Tuesday afternoon during Arrieta’s news conference. “It’s a big part of the fan-player interaction,” Arrieta said calmly, sitting on stage inside the interview room. “It’s all in good fun. I don’t mean anything negative towards anybody. It’s kind of the buildup to the game. You’ve got two very passionate fan bases. “It is all in good fun. There’s nothing meant in a negative aspect there. I think it’s just kind of a unique way to start interaction within the fan bases.” Arrieta is such a good talker and a thoughtful player that it doesn’t sound like bulletin-board material when he says things so matter-of-factly. Arrieta has definitely backed it up this year, leading the majors with 22 wins, finishing with the lowest ERA (0.75) after the All-Star break in big-league history and possibly winning a Cy Young Award. The Pirates won 98 games and earned their third straight postseason appearance, but they managed to score only three earned runs in 36 innings against Arrieta, who’s never thrown a playoff pitch before. “I don’t necessarily think it’s much different,” Arrieta said. “It’s the same preparation. It’s a team that I am comfortable with analyzing, scouting and pitching against. It’s an extremely balanced group of guys in that order who can make a lot of things happen. And I feel confident that I can neutralize a lot of their power, a lot of their speed guys, with different sequences. “You know, I intend to have some pretty good success tomorrow.” It’s that kind of confidence that propelled Arrieta from being a Triple-A-ish guy with the Baltimore Orioles to the hottest pitcher on the planet. “From Day 1, I knew I could pitch like this my whole career,” Arrieta said. “I did it in college. I did it in the minor leagues. I did it in the big leagues, at times. I knew there were some adjustments in there — mentally and physically — that needed to be made. “I knew once I was able to kind of get over that hump that things would eventually work themselves out. The work ethic was there. I had to cut some things out. I was trying to do too much. Just so many variables in there that needed to be rearranged, some taken out. “But, yeah, I knew that I would be here one day.” -- CSNChicago.com Cubs: Kris Bryant wants to keep the surprises coming in playoffs By Tony Andracki PITTSBURGH — Forget the one-year-too-early storylines. Don't pay much attention to the "rookie" tag on Kris Bryant. When it comes down to it, Bryant and the Cubs believe it doesn't matter how young or inexperienced they are once they step in between the foul lines. Bryant has completely lived up to the all-world hype that surrounded him in the minor leagues and spring training.

The Cubs have completely lived up to Joe Maddon's playoff talk at his introductory press conference at The Cubby Bear last November. The Cubs even came close to backing up Anthony Rizzo's division guarantee over the winter, forcing the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates to win 100 and 98 games, respectively. Now Bryant and Co. want to carry that over into the postseason. "We've proved some people wrong and kind of surprised some people," Bryant said. "Hopefully we can do that in the playoffs." Wednesday night's one-game wild-card playoff will be the first taste of the postseason for most of the Cubs players ... and not just the rookies. Jake Arrieta will get the start having never pitched in the playoffs while Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro figure to help anchor a lineup in their inaugural trip to the postseason. "You dream of this as a little kid," Bryant said. "When I was growing up, I didn't watch too much of the regular season. "But when the postseason came on, it was just a completely different atmosphere. It almost had a different feel just watching it on TV. I'm excited to experience that for the first time." Bryant is very even-keeled and doesn't ever seem to let the moment get too big for him. The soon-to-be National League Rookie of the Year said this wild-card showdown with the Pirates is "just another baseball game" and said he won't be nervous, just a little "overly excited" if anything. Bryant may be penciled in Wednesday's lineup in left field at PNC Park. The natural third baseman has played all three outfield spots this season and gotten some time at first base, proving his reputation as a team player focused solely on winning. It's hard to envision the 23-year-old slugger as a rookie when he says all the right things and makes adjustments almost instantly. During the final weekend of the regular season, while the Cubs were in Milwaukee, Bryant went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Saturday. The simple assessment was that he was expanding the zone and swinging at bad pitches. So the next day, in Game 162, Bryant adjusted and instead took three walks. Two of those free passes came with a runner in scoring position and his stat card showing 99 RBI. But instead of expanding the zone and trying to make something happen for that milestone 100th RBI, Bryant just took what the Brewers gave him. "It's just second nature to me to resort back to that kind of approach," Bryant said Tuesday before the Cubs' wild-card workout. "I don't want to be a selfish player. Obviously I could have swung and got another chance, but I've never been that type of player. "I don't want to start bad habits. I don't want to swing at a pitch out of the zone because maybe that makes me swing at a pitch out of the zone in [Wednesday's] game and this game is the important one that matters. "I was more than happy to take my walks there and jog down to first." That sounds like a guy with the No. 1-selling jersey in Major League Baseball, not a rookie putting the finishing touches on his first big-league season.

-- CSNChicago.com Cubs-Pirates: Maddon, Hurdle love the drama of one-game playoff By Tony Andracki PITTSBURGH — One and done? After 162 games, the fact the second-best team in baseball is hosting the third-best team in a winner-take-all one-game playoff is unfair, objectively speaking. Teams with 98 and 97 wins should have earned more than just one night to showcase their team. But that's the world we live in with Major League Baseball's current wild-card format, and both Cubs manager Joe Maddon and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle can at least agree to appreciate the drama the one-game playoff brings, even if they wish they had a chance to play in a complete postseason series. "It's great TV," Hurdle said during his press conference Tuesday. "There'll be a lot of people watching. It's probably a great revenue-maker. You gotta love the concept. It's great sport. "It's been drawn up; we knew the rules coming in. ... It's the postseason. Only a few teams are in. A lot of teams are going to be left watching." Maddon would rather MLB hold a three-game series between the two wild-card teams because he thinks that's the most fair way to do it, but he can still enjoy the do-or-die format. "The only time you like one and done is when you win that first game," Maddon said. "Then you absolutely love it. ... It's the most fun and no fun at the same time." Both Maddon and Hurdle acknowledged it would be tough for MLB to keep a division winner waiting for five, six or even seven days in order to play a three-game series between the wild-card teams. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein shared his idea with reporters at Wrigley Field earlier this season — a three-game series but the first two games come in the form of a doubleheader to help save time. Most Cubs players have yet to experience the thrill — and pressure — of a one-game playoff, but the Pirates understand what this is all about, having played in the last two National League wild-card games. The Pirates beat the Reds in 2013 to advance to the NLDS but lost to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants last season. "The definition of this game is a 'wild-card' game," Hurdle said. "There are some things we're looking at that we need to do differently than we did in the past. "Maybe there's a little bit of a 'wild-card' mentality for us as well." Maddon has been in this one-game playoff situation before, too, as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013. He refused to share his ideas for the Cubs' lineup against Pirates ace Gerrit Cole, but a reasonable expectation is to have Kris Bryant in left field, Kyle Schwarber in right and Tommy La Stella at third base. That's how they lined up behind Jake Arrieta on Friday in Milwaukee, and both Schwarber and La Stella saw extra work in the field during Tuesday's team workout. Either way, a Cubs lineup packed with young, inexperienced talent will have to avoid letting the pressure get to them with a Game 7-type atmosphere.

"You're thrown right into the fire," Bryant said. "I really wouldn't have it any other way." -- Chicago Tribune Loose Cubs take pleasure from whatever play-in pressure they feel By David Haugh PITTSBURGH — Off-key but with the perfect tone, Cubs backup catcher David Ross bounced into the clubhouse Tuesday at PNC Park loudly singing Taylor Swift lyrics that sounded about right for the occasion. So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames … "We need some music in here, the media's killing our buzz,'' Ross kidded at the end of his chorus. When the Cubs play the Pirates in the wild-card play-in game Wednesday night at 7:08 — 19:08 in military time, for baseball romantics — the outcome indeed promises to be either a painful end or perhaps the beginning of something unforgettable for an exciting team on a roll. This feels like the Cubs season either will close out against the Pirates or continue until the opponent is from the American League. Momentum from play-in game victories last year propelled the Giants and Royals into the World Series and, as well as the Cubs played in September and pitched down the stretch, an understandable sense of why-not-us has emerged around manager Joe Maddon's team. It's a fair question. "We have a good feeling,'' catcher Miguel Montero said. "But I'm sure the Pirates do too.'' The Cubs arrived for Tuesday's workout like the loose young bunch they are, riding the right arm of pitcher Jake Arrieta confidently enough to believe they are closer to being four weeks from an epic celebration than they are nine innings from elimination. And the Cubs just might be if Arrieta keeps pitching in October the way he has during a historic second half, starting with Wednesday's one-game, winner-take-all mini-Super Bowl, as Maddon called it. "This is why I've prepared as hard and as rigorous as I have for the past how many years,'' Arrieta said. "You think about pitching in games like this.'' Meanwhile, back in Chicago everybody instinctively is thinking about the fact the Cubs haven't won a game like this in years — 12, to be exact. In that span, the Cubs have lost nine straight playoff games over three appearances, otherwise referred to as The Bartman era. The last victory came Oct. 11, 2003, in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series when they beat the Marlins 8-3 in Miami behind winning pitcher Matt Clement. Aramis Ramirez, likely to start Wednesday night for the Pirates, hit two home runs for the Cubs that night. Despite enough postseason history for a documentary, and everything else that makes the franchise so idiosyncratic and unique, Cubs players act oblivious to outside factors that weighed heavily on previous playoff teams or managers. Thanks to Maddon, these Cubs have anticipated success more than they feared failure since the day their manager started talking playoffs 11 months ago at the Cubby Bear when he offered to buy everyone a shot and a beer — the Hazleton (Pa.) Way. It was Nov. 4, 2014, and the Cubs manager also introduced everyone to the method behind the Maddon-ness, his personal mantra: "Never let the pressure exceed the pleasure.'' In a season that included Maddon bringing a magician and zoo animals into the clubhouse and a "onesies" theme trip, players never did. And they weren't going to start on the eve of the season's biggest game. A reporter asked Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo: Which team faces the most pressure?

"Not us,'' Rizzo replied, correctly. Not the group laughing as infielder Jonathan Herrera stretched while wearing a helmet with fake hands attached to mimic the action Cubs players make after getting a hit. Not the team with an ace, Arrieta, taunting Pirates fans on Twitter and a center fielder, Dexter Fowler, poking them by predicting PNC Park will be loud, but "it's no Wrigley Field.'' Not the players following the lead of Maddon, an unconventional but uncommonly effective communicator, who was rocking out to the Rolling Stones in his office as his team entered the clubhouse. Maddon comfortably mingled with reporters, explaining his mother, Beanie, won't make the 250-mile drive west from his hometown of Hazleton. He played coy over his lineup, which could include Kris Bryant in the outfield and Tommy La Stella at third base. He openly mocked the idea of taking batting practice at Wrigley with so many day games, calling it "ludicrous" and revealing the Cubs have taken BP only five times since August. He joyfully practiced what he preaches, the example set in February paying off now. "I know from spring training on we've tried to have them understand it's not about pressure,'' Maddon said. "When you hear the word pressure, it's actually a good thing. That means there's something good attached to it. Expectations is also a really good word. Don't run away from it. Ever.'' Problem is, the Pirates share similar expectations higher than ever around town. When a hotel clerk guaranteed his Chicago guest "everything but a Cubs victory,'' it reflected the local belief in the Pirates brimming here along the banks of the Allegheny River. After all, the Pirates won one more game than the Cubs and as many as the organization's 1979 "We Are Family" World Series champs. They consider right-hander Gerrit Cole this October's version of 2014 postseason hero Madison Bumgarner of the Giants, not Arrieta, because Cole only gave up one extra-base hit in four starts against the Cubs. They expect the PNC home crowd, in Cole's words, "to rattle some people.'' Arrieta came to this city with steely determination that he won't be one of those people. "It has been a long time coming for this moment,'' Arrieta said. It only will define the Cubs season. -- Chicago Tribune No matter how playoffs end for Cubs, something memorable will happen By Paul Sullivan PITTSBURGH — The Cubs arrived at PNC Park for Tuesday's wild-card game workout ready for anything that came their way. So when a local TV reporter asked Anthony Rizzo which team had more pressure on them, Rizzo calmly responded: "Not us. We have zero pressure." "So that would be them, then?" the reporter asked. Correct. "This is a fun situation," Rizzo said. "This is something everyone should enjoy. We're going to give our best. We're ready to go have a good time." They're already off to a good start, fun-wise at least. Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta has been busy messing with Pirates' fans on Twitter, riling up the town like he was promoting a heavyweight boxing match.

"It's all in good fun," Arrieta said. "I don't mean anything negative toward anybody. It's kind of a build-up to the game. You have two very passionate fan bases. … Just a neat way to start interaction within the fan bases. It's something I like to do." Jon Lester said whatever it takes to get Arrieta in the right mindset is OK by the rest of them. "If that's the way he goes about it and gets himself ready, he's my teammate and I'll be behind him no matter what," Lester said. "There's nothing better than a little good trash-talking once in a while. It's all in good fun. We all know these fans are going to be amped up. "That why you play 162 (games), to get here and to see that aura of the stadium change from a game in July that possibly doesn't matter, to this one (Wednesday) night." Expect the unexpected when you watch the Cubs in the postseason. It's a rare occurrence, and it's easy to miss the small moments while looking at the big picture. "Sometimes you shouldn't bother trying to explain the moment," reliever Terry Mulholland said after the Cubs won the 1998 tiebreaker game against the Giants. "You just have to enjoy it." Agreed. I've been a part of the Tribune's Cubs playoff coverage for six appearances since 1984 and have seen enough crazy things to last a lifetime. I climbed a tree on Waveland Avenue for Game 2 of the 1984 NLCS to interview a fan watching the game from a branch, then watched Cubs fans ripping a Padres' jersey off a man and burning it outside of Murphy's Bleachers. Mark Grace almost single-handedly carried the Cubs' offense in the 1989 NLCS, hitting .674 with eight RBIs, only to have Giants star Will Clark hit .650 with eight RBIs to lead San Francisco to a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven series. We all cringed in '98 as center fielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball with two outs in the ninth to lose a crucial stretch drive game in Milwaukee, prompting President Andy MacPhail to wail: "Now I've seen everything." But the Cubs managed to get into the wild-card tiebreaker game and, after beating the Giants, Brown proclaimed: "I'm the big fish that got away." In 2003 I saw Kerry Wood sneak into a hallway at Turner Field after clinching the Cubs' first playoff series victory since 1908 to call ailing broadcaster Ron Santo, who could not travel. "We love you Ronnie," Wood said. "We wouldn't be here without you." And in '08, reporters waded through the flooded visitors' dugout at Dodgers Stadium after a Cubs' player busted the water pipes with a bat after the Dodgers' sweep. Whether the Cubs are one-and-done or go a long way this postseason, there are going to be more of these moments — good, bad or bittersweet — that won't soon be forgotten. Pirates third baseman Aramis Ramirez experienced three postseasons as a Cub, and always heard someone come up with an excuse afterward. "Whoever wins the World Series has to be hot in the playoffs," Ramirez said Tuesday. "I don't think the best team wins all the time. So I don't think the billy goat or Bartman had anything to do with that." Rest assured the Cubs will be ready. Rizzo said their confidence level is "through the roof" whenever Arrieta pitches, while veteran backup catcher David Ross predicted the young Cubs' players won't show signs of nerves. "Those guys are used to the spotlight," Ross said. "They're young heroes in Chicago already."

It's time to create some new memories. Are you ready for whatever? -- Chicago Tribune What makes Cubs ace Jake Arrieta so good? By Mark Gonzales For one of the few times this season, Jake Arrieta was supposed to be on a short leash. But as his pitch count climbed, so did his dominance. Arrieta was allowed to pitch a 122-pitch shutout against the Twins in Minneapolis on June 21 that manager Joe Maddon described as a "seminal moment" in the season. It was the first of four complete games and three shutouts for Arrieta, who had issued six walks and lasted only five innings in his previous start against the Indians. Arrieta didn't walk a batter while striking out four in a row at one juncture. And after a 20-pitch first inning, Arrieta was efficient enough to be allowed to finish the game. Arrieta can make his brilliant season even better with a dominant victory over the Pirates in the National League wild-card game Wednesday night. In zooming past Jon Lester as the Cubs' ace with a 22-6 record that included a 16-1 record and 0.86 ERA in his last 20 starts — beginning with the shutout at Minnesota — Arrieta's success can be attributed to four strengths. Control Before his dominating 20-game stretch, Arrieta's six walks against the Indians tied his career high, set in a loss to the Yankees on July 31, 2011, in his last start before undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. After the loss to the Indians, Arrieta's control gradually improved to the point where he didn't issue a walk in his final 14 innings. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and an NL scout suggested the best chance to solve Arrieta is for hitters to focus on one side of the plate. But, "he knows when to throw a strike, and when to throw a ball," a longtime AL scout said. Arrieta said he can vary the speed of his slider from 87 to 92 mph. "At the end of the day, all we're trying to do is get the hitter off balance," Arrieta said. "Get him in a position where he's not strong in the strike zone." The ability to control the strike zone has emerged as one of Arrieta's greatest assets. Cubs' Jake Arrieta on exchanging tweets with Pittsburgh fans and comfort of facing Pirates. "Early in my career, I wasn't good in the strike zone early," Arrieta said. "I was good in the strike zone late, which is not a good thing.

"Hitters took advantage of that. That's the transition I've made, being able to be aggressive in the zone for strike one and expand off of that." Opponents are batting .114 when Arrieta is ahead in the count this season. Mechanics One of the knocks on Arrieta dating to his college days at TCU was that he was susceptible to injury because he threw across his body instead of squaring his delivery to the plate. "I can get over my front side, and why is throwing in a direct line to the plate the better way to do it?" Arrieta said last week. "Who says that's the better way to do it? At an early age if you develop a delivery or a throwing motion that is direct to the plate, then that's fine. If you have one that's slightly open, that's fine too. "Can you do the appropriate things with your body to allow that to be useful to you? And that's what I'm able to do with my delivery." Another veteran AL scout agreed with Arrieta's assessment, although he admitted he didn't believe Arrieta was worth a first-round pick in the 2007 draft. (The Orioles took Arrieta in the fifth round.) "I never had a concern with him throwing across his body," the scout said. "If there's a problem, it's correctable. Guys do what they have to do to get the job done. If you feel good about it, you'll do better. "You can pick 10 to 15 pitchers with perfect arm action and they'll have Tommy John surgery." Arrieta's slider is particularly effective against right-handed hitters because his across-the-body delivery makes the pitch appear even sharper. Curveball "His curve is the best in baseball," the AL scout said. "How many hitters can square that curve?" Arrieta's big-breaking curve is reminiscent of the first-pitch strikes that the late Bob Welch used to keep opponents off balance during his 27-win season with the Athletics in 1990. In Friday's victory in Milwaukee, Arrieta wouldn't give into Adam Lind or Khris Davis, who were sitting on Arrieta's 97-mph fastball with a runner at second. Lind swung and missed badly on an 83-mph curve, and Davis hit a feeble grounder to second base for the final out of the first inning. In recent games, Arrieta has thrown more changeups, including a pitch that the Pirates' Gregory Polanco poked into left field for a single that ended Arrieta's bid for a perfect game in a 4-0 win Sept. 27. But his curve — usually clocked in the low 80s — has served as the most effective off-speed pitch to complement his 97-mph fastball and 91-mph slider/cut fastball. Arrieta downplayed his reliance on the curve and hinted that his changeup has emerged as a bigger weapon. But his curve frequently fools batters trying to square up his mid-90 mph pitches and forces them to adjust their eye level. "I've developed a feel for that now to where I can save (the changeup) till the fifth, sixth or seventh inning if I need it," Arrieta said, "Not for swings and misses or called strikes — but for weak contact early in the count to get quick outs to remain in the game longer. It's really game to game." Stamina

Arrieta's commitment to conditioning and health (he took sips of kale juice during an interview for this story last week) is well known. But he has learned to adjust to situations during a game and a season. "You play your surroundings," Arrieta said. "You pitch accordingly. Not that I drastically try to change my game plan based on the score or the team or stadium, but you have to take everything into consideration. Because if there's something that can benefit your performance, just based on being aware of certain details, it's part of my responsibility to understand those types of things. "With a runner at second base with nobody out, you're trying to punch somebody out. You understand when there are guys in scoring position, hitters like to be aggressive early. So you pitch accordingly. Every situation is a little different, but you use the information you're given to execute to the best of your ability." Arrieta set career highs with 33 starts and 229 innings this season, but he has pitched economically since throwing a career-high 123 pitches in a shutout over the Brewers two weeks ago. The scariest thought for the Pirates is that Arrieta still might have more power in his right arm. "I don't try to put much more than 90 percent into (my fastball)," Arrieta said. "That's why I maintain my velocity throughout the outing. Late in the game, if there's a situation I feel is necessary to maybe add a little bit without taking away from command or location, I might do so. "But I feel the effort level I use is just where I need to be from start to finish." -- Chicago Tribune Reading tea leaves, Tommy La Stella could start at third base By Mark Gonzales PITTSBURGH — Manager Joe Maddon declined to reveal the Cubs' starting lineup for Wednesday night's National League wild-card game against the Pirates. "I won't give the lineup because I don't want to create an unfair advantage for the other side," Maddon said at Tuesday's news conference. But since last weekend, especially on Friday with Jake Arrieta on the mound, Maddon has given an indication of what the Cubs' lineup could look like against Pirates ace Gerrit Cole. Left-handed hitting Tommy La Stella started at third base on Friday and took ground balls there during Tuesday's workout. Kris Bryant started in left field and Kyle Schwarber in right, and it's possible that they may start the game in those respective positions because of PNC Park's spacious left field. La Stella's ability to score runners from third base might give him an advantage because the Cubs were only 6-for-36 with runners in scoring position last weekend against the Brewers, and runs are expected to be at a premium against Cole. "I know what I want to do," Maddon said. "I'm not ready to announce yet because I don't want to do that. But the guys who are going to play (Wednesday) have been in the positions that they're going to play (Wednesday) at various moments during the season." Photos from Tuesday's practice in Pittsburgh ahead of Wednesday's National League wild-card game. Maddon has substituted liberally for defensive purposes late in games and will employ the same tactics if the Cubs get an early lead. The Cubs are required to submit their 25-man roster by 9 a.m.

What pressure? Left-hander Jon Lester, a veteran of three postseasons, downplayed the fact that the Cubs and Pirates will be under pressure in Wednesday's win-or-go-home game. "I don't like the word pressure," Lester said. "It's what you make of it. I think we all have pressure. It's all about how you handle it." Jersey boy: Bryant was surprised to learn he has the top-selling jersey in the majors. "That's a pretty big honor," Bryant said. "Just because it's not like one of those awards, like the MVP, but it shows I'm doing things the right way on the field, playing hard, and people are respecting the way I play. "I hope to be a role model for all those kids out there. It was something so random, I wasn't expecting that. It was so cool." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs want to keep it simple in play-in game: Just beat the Pirates By Mark Gonzales Kris Bryant thrived after a service time debate that started in spring training, and fellow rookie Addison Russell learned a new position with less than two weeks of seasoning in April. Three-time All-Star Starlin Castro rebounded from his demotion to make a strong contribution in September, and the bullpen withstood injuries and inconsistencies. But can the Cubs, in the often-repeated words of manager Joe Maddon, do simple better? With an anticipated low-scoring showdown between dominant Jake Arrieta and Gerrit Cole, the Cubs hope their sound play during a season-ending eight-game winning streak will carry over to Wednesday night's National League wild-card play-in game against the Pirates at PNC Park. "I like going in and not knowing what to expect and just play baseball," said left-hander Jon Lester, a veteran of three postseasons with a 3-0 record in three World Series starts. "I like to dumb it down the best you can to where, 'Hey we need to get three outs. Hey, we need to make this pitch.' "The quicker you can do that, the easier it is to handle the atmosphere, handle the adrenaline, handle the chants and everything around you because now you're focused on executing the pitch and not worried about the fans chanting whatever." Veteran David Ross believes the Cubs' marquee rookies — Kyle Schwarber, Bryant and Russell — were battle-tested in September when they played before large crowds at Busch Stadium and Wrigley Field. But the PNC Park stands will be covered in black as part of the Pirates "Buctober Black Out Day," in which fans will be attired in black clothing to support the Pirates. There’s a sense of urgency on both sides, but the Pirates are playing in their third consecutive wild-card game while Russell said he “definitely needs to pick some of the veterans’ brains about playing on the biggest stage of his young career.” "Wednesday (night) will be different," Lester said. "No matter what you say or what you do, it will be a different animal. If it was a five-game or seven-game series, you could say more about it." Thanks to a 39-17 finish, the Cubs were able to line up Arrieta (22-6), who was 16-1 with an 0.86 ERA in his final 20 starts, for the wild-card game.

Arrieta sounds confident about beating the Pirates for the fourth time this season. The Pirates "are a team I am comfortable with analyzing, scouting and pitching against," Arrieta said at a news conference. "It's an extremely balanced group of guys in that (batting) order that can make a lot of things happen. "I feel confident I can neutralize a lot of their power, a lot of their speed guys with different sequences. I intend to have some pretty good success (Wednesday night)." The Pirates, who scored only two runs in their last 22 innings against Arrieta, could try to disrupt his timing with methods such as stepping out of the box or trying to force him to be a fielder as well as a pitcher. Catcher Miguel Montero plans to handle the Arrieta the same way he has over the last five months. "I let him do his thing," Montero said. "I figured that maybe after the first month of the season, why bother? "I don't know what he has on his mind. Just let him be." -- Chicago Tribune Cubs vs. Pirates: Who has the edge? By Mark Gonzales Starting pitching Jake Arrieta is the hottest pitcher in baseball, and he limited the Pirates to one run in 15 innings in two September starts. Arrieta pitched six no-hit innings against the Pirates on Sept. 27 before allowing a hit to Gregory Polanco on a changeup to start the seventh, but Arrieta may feature that pitch more frequently to prevent the Pirates from sitting on his 97 mph fastball or 91 mph slider. The Cubs rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the seventh to knock out Pirates starter Gerrit Cole at PNC Park on Sept. 15 before ultimately losing 5-4, but Cole was dominant in seven innings of a 3-2 victory at Wrigley Field on Sept. 25. The Cubs' batters noticed that Cole had better movement on his fastball in the rematch. Both teams have exceptional left-handers in the Cubs' Jon Lester and the Pirates' Francisco Liriano should an injury or unforeseen development necessitate a switch. Cole has pitched in two postseason games (in 2013), but Arrieta has more weapons. Edge: Cubs Bullpen Because of injuries and ineffectiveness, the Cubs' bullpen constantly changed, but it had a strong finish and could play a more prominent role if they advance in the postseason. Late-season addition Fernando Rodney didn't allow a run in 12 of 14 appearances, and Pedro Strop struck out 13 and walked only one (while allowing one run) in his final 10 games. Hector Rondon converted his final 11 save chances, and got the victory in a two-inning stint at PNC Park on Sept. 16. Mark Melancon earned five of his 51 saves against the Cubs, but he allowed five runs on 12 hits in 10 innings against them. Nevertheless, the Pirates' bullpen finished with an NL-low 2.57 ERA. Left-handed batters hit .163 against left-handers Antonio Bastardo and Tony Watson. Arquimedes Caminero has been effective against left-handers as well as right-handers. Joakim Soria is a fallback to Melancon. Edge: Pirates

Hitting Some insist the Cubs would have been better off playing at Wrigley Field because Kris Bryant hit 21 of his 26 home runs at home. But the Cubs' fortunes will rely heavily on their ability to deliver a clutch hit — which they couldn't produce against Cole on Sept. 25 and during their eight-game winning streak to finish the season. Look for manager Joe Maddon to play aggressively early. The Pirates batted .272 with runners in scoring position, a huge asset for a team playing half its games at PNC Park. Andrew McCutchen batted .361 in 122 at-bats with runners in scoring position. The Pirates went 11-5 after valuable infielder Jung Ho Kang was lost for the season, thanks largely to contributions from Starlin Marte (.311, 16 RBIs in September.). Look for the Pirates to try to disrupt Arrieta's rhythm by subtly stepping out of the box as they tried on occasion in their last game. Edge: Pirates Fielding The Cubs' defense improved dramatically when Addison Russell took over at shortstop Aug. 7, and 6-foot-5 third baseman Bryant is moving better to his left and eliminated the pause before making throws to first base. Kyle Schwarber has played exceptionally well in the outfield, but the spacious PNC outfield presents a test. Look for the Pirates to test catcher Miguel Montero. The Pirates employ shifts as frequently as any team in the National League. McCutchen covers as much ground as any center fielder in the NL, and left fielder Marte and right fielder Polanco combined for 28 assists. But the Pirates still led the league with 122 errors. Edge: Cubs Manager Joe Maddon managed several games in August and September as if the Cubs were in a winner-take-all wild-card game, so he will manage this game with a sense of urgency. It wouldn't be surprising to see Maddon substitute liberally to get the most favorable matchup. Clint Hurdle didn't panic when the Pirates were off to an 18-22 start with a slumping McCutchen. Hurdle has a knack for getting players to believe they're better than their talents and got a lot of mileage from one-dimensional players like Pedro Alvarez and Mike Morse. Edge: Cubs -- Chicago Tribune The 12 days that Kris missed: What if Cubs hadn't waited to promote Bryant? By Staff The Cubs waited 12 days and eight games into this season before promoting Kris Bryant to the majors, all so the team could retain his rights for another year. But what if they hadn't waited? What if Bryant had started with the Cubs on opening day? Would the Cubs instead be hosting the wild-card game Wednesday? The Cubs finished one game behind the Pirates; if the two teams had tied the Cubs owned the tiebreaker because they won the season series between the two teams.

For that matter, with Bryant in the lineup from game one, could the Cubs have won the Central Division? They finished only three games behind the Cardinals. Clearly this is pure speculation, but with yet another day to wait until Wednesday's wild-card game, why not bide our time with a little what-iffing? Let's review: The Cubs opened the season at home against St. Louis, with Bryant in Triple-A Iowa, much to his agent Scott Boras' chagrin. Cubs lost 3-0. Over the next 12 days, they played eight games, winning five and losing three. On April 17, after those eight games (The April 7 game against the Cardinals was rained out) and 12 days of the season, the Cubs promoted Bryant from Triple-A Iowa. (Because the Cubs waited, Bryant won't get credit for a full year of service time in the majors and so he won't be eligible for free agency until 2022, rather than 2021.) In his debut, Bryant went 0-4, with three strikeouts. Cubs lost. In his second game, he had two hits, three walks and one RBI. (He also had an error at 3B.) Over Bryant's first eight games, he batted .379 with seven RBIs. Not too shabby. Bryant finished the season with a .275 batting average, a .369 on base percentage, 26 home runs and 99 runs batted in (he would certainly have had at least 100 with those extra eight games). But it seems unlikely that with Bryant on the team from opening day they could have started 8-0 and made up those three games they finished behind the Cardinals. (The Cardinals also won the season series against the Cubs, and therefore would have won the tiebreaker.) But the rookie injected energy immediately, and added another dangerous bat to the lineup, forcing opposing pitchers to change their strategy. So maybe a Cubs team with Bryant could have started the season 6-2 and they'd be hosting Wednesday's game. But because they made the playoffs -- and Bryant is a big reason why -- there's little anguish for his delayed promotion. But if the Cubs had finished one game out of the wild card, that decision certainly would have come back to haunt Theo Epstein -- fairly or unfairly. -- Chicago Tribune Q&A with Pirates GM: Cubs ready to be good for a long time By Philip Hersh Neal Huntington was 38 when the Pirates made him their general manager Sept. 25, 2007. A baseball player at Division III Amherst College -- and, coincidentally, from Amherst, N.H -- he undertook a regenerating process for a historic baseball franchise that is very similar to what Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have done since taking over as Cubs president and general manager in October 2011. Here are some thoughts on the Cubs and the postseason from Huntington, interviewed by the Tribune’s Philip Hersh at Wrigley Field eight years to the day after his appointment as Pirates’ GM. Two questions: Do you see a lot of the Cubs in your team and of your team in the Cubs? And it took your team being close twice before fading (2011 and 2012) to get over the hump and into the postseason, but the Cubs are doing it their first year in contention with this group. Are they ahead of their time? From day one, I’ve had respect for what Theo and Jed were working to accomplish here. They accumulated a ton of talent, on and off the field. They worked hard to develop that talent. They implemented their systems and their

structure of how they wanted talent evaluated, how they wanted talent developed. They have compiled an amazing group of young players. The one advantage they have had is they have been able to invest significantly in major league players – Jon Lester and Miguel Montero – to come in and complement that, so they have been able to shorten the cycle a little bit. I don’t think the Cubs are ahead of their time at all. In fact, they’re probably just at the front edge of being a really good team for a very long time, because they were able to supplement their young players early in their careers with veteran players because of the advantage they have in resources, in the ability to take on somebody else’s contract or to go play at the very top of the free agent market But if they had seemed to be ahead of their time, haven’t they disproved that by the level at which they have been playing since the beginning of August? They’ve got such great young talent that continues to grow and build confidence on a daily basis. They’ve got players with aptitude that when holes are discovered, they’re finding a way to close them down. Kris Bryant exploded on the scene and then had a little bit of tough stretch and man, he’s a tough out again. He’s closed a hole down that teams thought they found against him. It’s a testament to their scouts for recognizing the aptitude and to their development staff as well as their major league coaches that they’re helping these guys make adjustments on the fly at the major league level in a playoff environment. Does this look like the start of a nice rivalry over the next several years? We hope so. We like the depth in our farm system, and we’re going to do everything we can to keep this thing rolling because they’re good, and they’re going to keep rolling. And the Cardinals are the model franchise for basically every body in baseball, so this division is going to be a challenge for years to come. And the Brewers still have talent, the Reds still have talent. Didn’t the Royals refute last year the idea you need playoff experience to get over the next hump? October really isn’t always about the best team on paper. In fact, it rarely is. It’s about the hottest team and the healthiest team. The Royals proved that. The Giants proved that. (Compared to the NFL, NBA and NHL), we play the fewest games to decide our champion based on percentage of season so that’s why you have in our minds the most random outcomes sometimes. -- Chicago Tribune Cubs could opt for lineup of lefties vs. Pirates: report By Mark Gonzales The Chicago Cubs could opt for a lineup comprised of several left-handed hitters to combat Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole in Wednesday night's National League wild-card game. Left-handed hitter Tommy La Stella, who played in only 33 games because of ribcage injuries, could start at third base, Cubs television play-by-play announcer Len Kasper speculated in a conversation with WSCR-AM 670's Mully and Hanley show Tuesday morning. Rookie slugger Kris Bryant could move from third base to the outfield, Kasper added. La Stella is 1-for-6 with a double lifetime against Cole. La Stella, a second baseman throughout most of his career, has been charged with one error in 12 games at third this season. Bryant has played 19 games in the outfield this season.

In a tweet two hours later, Kasper wrote to count on Starlin Castro "in the lineup" at second base. Manager Joe Maddon will address reporters Tuesday afternoon at PNC Park prior to their workout. -- Chicago Sun-Times Joe Maddon is everything you want in a manager — and a person By Rick Telander Maybe all you need to know is this: Joe Maddon won 754 games in nine years with the Tampa Bay Rays. Go do that, somebody else. The Rays, formerly the Devil Rays (maybe they should have been named the Bottom Feeders), play in the ugliest stadium in baseball in front of no one except tourists and dozing shuffleboard kings. Small town, small payroll, small goals. And yet, playing a bunch of youngsters, Maddon led the Rays to a division title in 2008 over the heavily favored Yankees and Red Sox. He even got them to the World Series. So this Cubs gig is a no-brainer for him. What’s 107 years of starvation when you’ve got a real ballclub, rabid fans, lots of money and a huge city behind you? A cheery fellow, Maddon came to town and famously offered shots and beers to the assembled media at his introductory news conference at the Cubby Bear in November. Nobody took him up on it. I wasn’t there, sadly, because I sure as heck would have said, “I’ll have one, if you are.” And I’ll bet he would have had one. There is something just different about Maddon. It’s not phony kindness. It’s not Ozzie Guillen-style gabbiness. It’s not renegade nuttiness. Nor is it old-grandpa paternalism. It’s something unique to the man — a combination of resourcefulness, empathy, good humor, patience, knowledge and desire that comes together to form a leader who makes his players relax, laugh at absurdities and want very much to win. With the Rays, Maddon got everything from all the 20-somethings on the team — players such as Evan Longoria and David Price and Carl Crawford and Melvin Upton. The 2008 Rays won 97 games and were 3-0 against the mighty Cubs, who also won 97 games, finished first in their division and were swept in the division series. Lots of people — including Theo Epstein, then with the Red Sox — were noticing. Maddon in the locker room — anywhere near a ballpark, for that matter — is so normal, so joyful and just plain happy to be alive and near green grass and the intricate mysteries of baseball that it infects anyone near him. Preface a question, as I once did, with, “This may be kind of a strange thing to ask …” and Maddon will beam and say, “I love strange!” That kind of eagerness works well in baseball, where tedium and crustiness soon overwhelm people. Watch players collect the balls after batting practice, and you can see in their postures who is bored out of his skull and who is thrilled to collect all those little white cowhides. Maddon loves it all.

He predicted the Cubs would make the playoffs this year, not rudely, but as an honest analysis of the future. And here they are. And it makes Maddon so happy. “How could you possibly be disappointed with anything our players have done this year,” he said. “It’s pretty phenomenal.” Maddon played the young guys — Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Javy Baez — without fear or regret, and he never forgot the still-young veterans such as Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo. He got the best year ever out of center fielder Dexter Fowler, and let’s not even discuss what crazy success came to pitcher Jake Arrieta. Players have to love it when their manager knuckles down for games and then has fun when the last out has passed. Nobody fired off more champagne geysers than Maddon after the Cubs clinched a playoff spot. There was nothing you could ask him that he wouldn’t answer. Was he always this much fun? “Always,’’ said his grown daughter, Sarah. “Even more than this.’’ Castro is an example of a player who could have sunk into depression and uncertainty under another manager. It’s way too easy to criticize the infielder whose lapses afield sometimes seem to indicate he doesn’t care. But Maddon didn’t buy that. And he didn’t criticize Castro the way, say, former Cubs manager Dale Sveum once doubted Rizzo. Not only is Castro playing a new position because of Maddon — second base — but he’s hitting as well as he ever has. Maddon didn’t let his ego get in the way of physical genius. One is reminded here of producer George Martin administering to and gently guiding the raw musical geniuses called the Beatles. How lucky those four lads were to have him. Maybe this is all first-year luck for Maddon. But it seems unlikely. Sometimes nice guys finish first. -- Chicago Sun-Times How to hit Jake Arrieta? Opposing scouts wish they knew By Gordon Wittenmyer PITTSBURGH – Jake Arrieta has looked so nasty, so dominant, so unique in the combination of pitches he can throw through the strike zone and past a major league hitter this year that even some of the grizzled scouts who are paid to watch and report on players every day plan to set aside time Wednesday night to watch him for their own entertainment. “That’ll probably be the only one I watch,” one long-time scout said. The numbers tell only part of the story of why Arrieta might be considered the most feared pitcher in the playoff field this season. He has a 1.77 ERA this season that includes major-league record stretches of 0.75 since the All-Star break and 0.41 since the end of July. Hitters tell their own story – in the expressions of disbelief when he follows a 97-mph fastball with a slider that vanishes as it reaches the strike zone. First baseman Anthony Rizzo said the few base runners he encounters when Arrieta is pitching “say they’ve never seen anything like that.” But conversations with eight scouts following the Cubs in recent weeks added up to a consensus view of a rare, elite combination of pitches and command that has made it increasingly difficult to find anything for their hitters to exploit when they file their reports.

“It’s the power fastball, and he throws a ton of cutters and sliders,” said one scout. “As far as the stuff itself, if you’re trying to map a hitting plan, it’s not that tough to know what he’s throwing; it’s just a matter of hitting it.” In other words, you can literally tell a hitter what’s coming in a count or situation, get it right, and most often they still can’t hit it. “He’s got more fastball than Kershaw, and he can throw those breaking pitches at any time,” said another scout. “And that f—-ing slider’s unhittable. And he can buckle knees with the curve. “And now he’s starting to mix in a changeup.” “Just what opposing hitters need,” said a different scout. “Another look.” The changeup is not a new pitch for Arrieta, but over the last month he has shown it to hitters far more often than earlier in the year – for strikes, and with movement. Hitters already had to worry about three or four above average pitches from him on a given day. “So if I’m throwing four or five pitches for strikes, it’s going to be tough,” Arrieta said matter-of-factly. It’s no accident Arrieta has found a new level of success since leaving the one-size-fits-all pitching philosophy in Baltimore for the be-yourself Cubs, where he can throw the way his body feels most natural and refine his mechanics from there. “He can go hard or soft, in and out,” said one scout. “And with him it’s the command. He throws them all for strikes.” That he can do that with more than one breaking ball already puts Arrieta in an elite class. That he can do it with above average velocity makes him the last guy the Pittsburgh Pirates wanted to see in an elimination game Wednesday night. “There’s pitchers that throw both slider and curve ball, but to have those two dominant pitches is very, very rare,” said another scout. “Like Kershaw. You just don’t see it.” For some industry evaluators, they don’t seem to be sure they’re even looking at the same pitcher they saw with the Orioles before the trading-deadline deal for Scott Feldman two seasons ago. “He’s always had stuff,” said one, “but in Baltimore it seemed like early in the at-bat he always gave someone a pitch to hit and was hurt because of it. Where in the past he’s found ways to lose, now he’s putting dudes away. “When I first scouted him, there was stuff all across the report. Grades were good, but there were always times you would say he sprays the zone a little bit. It looks like he’s cleaned that up.” “It was always more of an effort when he was in Baltimore,” said another. “He gets the arm through easy now.” What has followed is a flow of confidence that seems to grow with every start. “I expect to be dominant every time I go to the mound,” he has said more than once this season. One of the scouts reiterated how “rare” his combination of high velocity and command of breaking pitches is. Where does he rank in the game right now? “You could probably make arguments he should be at the top of the list,” said one scout. “Obviously, he’s grown into one of the elite guys.”

“I think the biggest thing for him is confidence,” another evaluator said. “I think every time he takes the mound he thinks he can throw a no-hitter. He thinks he can shove it down you. “So he just attacks hitters. He’s not nibbling. He’s not trying to trick guys. He just goes after him.” So how do you score enough to beat him? “You’ve got to hope he makes a mistake, and you can’t miss it,” said the scout, who ranked Arrieta among the top five pitchers in the 10-team playoff field. “He’s going to throw maybe 50, 60 fastballs; you figure he’s going to miss his spot maybe 10 or 15 times. You just got to hope that you know it’s coming and you hit it.” Another scout – who does not work for the Pirates – suggested the naturally free-swinging Pittsburgh hitters look for first-pitch fastballs and swing early – “because you can’t hit him if he gets ahead of you.” But what if he throws something else? “That’s the problem.” -- Chicago Sun-Times Keys to Cubs-Pirates: Can Starlin Castro make impact in playoff debut? By Gordon Wittenmyer PITTSBURGH – In a win-or-go-home playoff game between two of the top three teams in baseball featuring two of the top four pitchers in the National League this year, a single swing of the bat or defensive play could send either the Cubs (97 wins) or Pirates (98) home. A few potential keys heading into the game: Cubs Hitter to Watch: Starlin Castro Nobody in the lineup has had more success against the Pirates All-Star pitchers who will start (Gerrit Cole) and potentially close (Mark Melancon) for the Pirates. And overall Castro was one of the hottest hitters in baseball down the stretch: .376 (35-for-93) from Aug. 30, with 15 extra-base hits and 21 RBIs. “He’s playing a complete game of baseball right now,” Maddon said as the season closed. Against Cole, he’s 6-for-17 (.353) in his career with a walk and four RBIs; Against Melancon, 6-for-14 (.429) with a double, triple and 3 RBIs – including a run-scoring triple at Wrigley Field less than two weeks ago. Pirates Hitter to Watch: Andrew McCutchen A career .314 hitter against the Cubs (.932 OPS), the former MVP is the Pirates’ top threat against Arrieta, going 8-for-23 (.348) with three walks and two doubles against him in his career – 4-for-12 with a walk this year (and was hit once). He’s also one of the better hitters in the league since a miserable (.188) five-week start. McCutchen hit .313 with 21 homers, 83 RBIs and 88 walks in his last 131 games – coinciding with the Pirates’ best-in-baseball record since May 9. But vs. Arrieta in their last two meetings: 0-for-5, four strikeouts. Best Matchup for Cubs: Jake Arrieta vs. Jake Arrieta Arrieta might be the only one in baseball right now who can beat Arrieta. The most dominating second-half pitcher in history has never pitched in a playoff game; his 229-inning workload is a career high by more than 50 innings; and he’s facing the group of hitters who have seen him more than any other lineup this season (five meetings). But Arrieta said the comfort level of the Pirates works both ways (3-1, 0.75 against them), and “I feel confident I can neutralize a lot of their power and a lot of their speed guys.” The “extremely, extremely loud” ballpark and “blackout” theme with the fans, and the pregame nerves are all part of what he has envisioned, he said. “So this has been a long time coming to this moment. I’ve been waiting for it for a number of years. And I’m ready.”

Worst Matchup for the Cubs: Bullpens If this turns into a late-inning battle of the bullpens, the advantage shifts dramatically in the Pirates’ favor and for a lot bigger reasons than the potential walk-off advantage at home. Mark Melancon (51-for-54 in save chances) is one of best closers in the game, and the Pirates’ MLB-leading pen (2.67 ERA) also includes an All-Star left-hander, Tony Watson, who gets both righties and lefties out, and who has neutralized the Cubs this year (0.82 ERA, .179 average-against). Cubs’ closer Hector Rondon can be dominating, and setup men Fernando Rodney (late-season trade) and Pedro Strop have shown glimpses of nasty down the stretch. But they’ll be a hold-your-breath matchup against the Pirates vaunted crew. Prediction The last time the Cubs lost a game Arrieta started, it took a no-hitter to beat him. And that was in July. Since then, he broke the major-league record for post-July ERA (0.41 in 12 starts) – and has faced down the Pirates three times, including twice at PNC Park. If there’s any reason for a wild-card team to favor the do-or-die, one-game format, it would be Arrieta and the Cubs. Final score: Cubs 3, Pirates 1. -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs notes: Social Media Jake, lineup intrigue and possible coach poaching By Gordon Wittenmyer PITTSBURGH — As if Jake Arrieta didn’t already have a target on his back pitching Wednesday night in hostile PNC Park, Arrieta engaged Pirates fans in Twitter trash-talk almost as soon as the season ended Sunday. With fans promising a “blackout” night of crowd garb and deafening crowd noise and taunts, Arrieta tweeted back: “Whatever helps keep your hope alive, just know it doesn’t matter.” It helped launch a lively “dialogue” between fans of both teams. He said Tuesday “it’s all in good fun” and called his Twitter activity “ big part of the fan-player interaction.” “I don’t mean anything negative towards anybody,” said Arrieta, who is 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA in five starts against the Pirates this year. “It’s just a build-up to the game,” he said. “It’s just kind of a unique way to start interaction within the fan bases or with the players and fans. So it’s something I like to do.” La Stella on Third? Cubs manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday wouldn’t share his lineup for Wednesday’s wild-card game, to keep from giving Clint Hurdle’s Pirates “an unfair advantage.” But based on the starting pitchers and the way he has used his lineups down the stretch, rookie third baseman Kris Bryant could be back in the outfield (probably right), with lefty-hitting Tommy La Stella manning third. Part of the reason: The Cubs don’t expect many balls hit to third with Arrieta pitching. In his last eight starts, opponents hit ground balls to third against him a total of eight times (never more than two in a start; in two of the starts, none). And one was a bunt. Pirates starter Gerrit Cole fares almost equally well against right-handed hitters and lefties. La Stella has only faced him six at-bats, but his lone hit against Cole was a pinch-hit RBI double the last time the teams played at PNC Park, three weeks ago.

Nationals Intrigue With the firing of manager Matt Williams in Washington, the Nationals are expected to consider Cubs bench coach Davey Martinez – who interviewed with the Nats for the job that Williams got. Martinez, who had success with Maddon in Tampa Bay before helping this Cubs team to its sudden rise to the playoffs, could be a hot candidate for manager openings this winter. He said Tuesday he’s focused only on the Cubs’ playoff efforts. The Right Stuff Bryant has started in both center and right at PNC this season, making a leaping catching against the high wall in right in a game the Cubs won 2-1 three weeks ago. “It doesn’t matter,” said Bryant. “Wherever they need me, this is the game that it really doesn’t matter where I play. I just want to help the team win in any way I can. If that’s the outfield, I’m going to play the heck out of the outfield.” If so, the lineup could look something like this: Dexter Fowler (CF), Bryant (RF), Anthony Rizzo (1B), Miguel Montero (C), Starlin Castro (2B), Chris Coghlan (LF), Addison Russell (SS), Arrieta (P), La Stella (3B). -- Daily Herald Joe Maddon, the most interesting man in baseball By Bruce Miles From Joe Maddon, I learned about mollydookers and force multipliers. We'll get to force multipliers in a bit. A mollydooker is Australian for left-hander -- think former big-leaguer Graeme Lloyd -- and that playful word came up in conversation about a wine from down under called Mollydooker. (After one exciting Cubs game he managed, Maddon was asked what it was like, and he said it was a full glass of Mollydooker Gigglepot.) As everyone in Chicago knows by now, the manager of the Cubs is an interesting guy, and he's a man of many words. Of course, his use of those words isn't done to entertain the media, even though Joe is very entertaining. Most of his ideas, which he translates into words, are for the benefit of his players, all of whom have responded by getting this franchise to the postseason for the first time since 2008. If there is a baseball equivalent to the advertising world's "Most Interesting Man in the World," it's Joe Maddon. Maddon came out firing at his introductory news conference last November, and in the process he proved a bit prophetic. "Listen, for me, I'm already talking playoffs for next year," Maddon said at the Cubby Bear, a tavern across the street from Wrigley Field. "It's all about setting your standards, your goals, high, because the problem if you don't set them high is you might actually hit your mark. "We need to set our mark high, absolutely. I'm going to talk playoffs. I'm going to talk World Series. This year. I am. I promise you. And I'm going to believe it." Maddon didn't stop there. Far from it.

Since then, he has trotted out one saying or pearl of wisdom after another. Let's take an 11-month journey and relive some of them. What pressure? Right away, Maddon was asked about the "pressure" that comes with managing a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1908. His answer: "Never let the pressure exceed the pleasure." In other words, baseball is a game meant to be enjoyed. So go out, play, have fun and forget the pressure. Setting the tone: Throughout the season, Maddon has maintained that no one game or one series is more important than any other. He made that clear at his first news conference in spring training. "I want us to play the game the same, whether it's March 15 or July 15 or Oct. 15," he said. "When you build that mindset, when you get to the end of the season, playoff situation, you don't change your game. I think that's the trap that a lot of groups fall into, that, 'I got to try harder. I got to do more. I got to step up'. I really don't like that phrase, 'step up,' at all. That insinuates that you have not been trying prior to that. "If we could build a thought process where you come to play every day regardless of the date, don't apply any more weight to any game, by the time we get to the playoffs, the game feels the same, and I don't think it will be intimidating at that moment in any way, shape or form." May the force be with out: The Cubs last winter signed veteran reliever Jason Motte, who enjoyed great success with the Cardinals before having Tommy John surgery. Motte helped the Cubs early in the season, but he has been on the disabled list since late August due to shoulder strain. It was uncertain in spring training what Motte's role would be, but Maddon liked what this veteran brought to a young club still trying to carve out its identity. "I use the term 'force multiplier,'" Maddon said. "I read Colin Powell's autobiography a couple years ago - tremendous read. I'm a big Colin Powell fan. In that, he referenced the force multipliers, people that really made the people around them better. I think (Motte) absolutely fits into that category. We have several of those guys, actually. We have a couple of those guys who are really going to make a huge difference for us. As a manager, to be surrounded by those folks is very comforting because I'm a big believer in the players patrolling the clubhouse, policing the clubhouse. Those are the kind of guys who get stuff done." Winning the close ones: The Cubs were 13-5 in extra-inning games this season and 34-21 in 1-run games. They had 13 walk-off wins, the most by a Cubs team since 1932. They've also played a lot of tight games this season and shown amazing stick-to-it-iveness. Maddon has pulled from veteran football coach Tom Moore for an explanation. "How do you break another team's will?" Maddon asked before drawing on Moore. "Through the relentless execution of fundamentals and technique. I've talked about process a lot. So a lot of my philosophy was validated through coach Moore, whom I have a ton of respect for." Stretching the mind:

Early this season, Maddon drew on Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. when he said: "A mind once stretched has difficulty going back to its original form." The quote may actually have been, "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." But you get the point. Once someone, including a baseball player, is open to new ideas and employs them, true growth happens. The process is fearless: Maddon kept the idea of "process" going all the way into late September as the Cubs were preparing to clinch a wild-card spot. "I want our players to be the same way, to really focus on the process of the day and don't get caught up on that stuff," he said. "The thing I want our guys to understand is the process is fearless. When you want to become outcome-oriented, that's where you can really run into some trouble. If we can just keep our guys focused on the process of the day, there's no fear in that. If we can think in those ways, in those terms, we're going to do pretty well" "I've talked about September having its own energy. It's there." And now October is here. -- Daily Herald Chicago Cubs relaxed and ready to go at Pittsburgh By Bruce Miles PITTSBURGH -- The Chicago Cubs' team doctor was on hand Tuesday at PNC Park, and judging by the players' demeanor, he was probably there to make sure pulses didn't get too low. As the players took the field for an afternoon workout, the focus was on fun, as it has been for the entire season. Backup infielder Jonathan Herrera wore a helmet with a pair of fake hands taped to the top, mimicking the Cubs' rally cry of rubbing their hands on their heads. Players also mock exhorted each other to get it going during the team stretch. That's not to say this bunch of upstart Cubs isn't aware of what's at stake. They'll take on the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night in a one-game, win-or-go-home, wild-card playoff game. The Pirates finished second In the National League Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals with a record of 98-64. The Cubs were second at 97-65, giving them the third-best record in baseball. By the end of the night, the season will be over for one of two very good teams. Still, the Cubs were trying to enjoy the whole thing. That goes for pitcher Jake Arrieta, who starts against the Pirates. Arrieta already has had some back-and-forth with Pirates fans, urging them to make it loud at PNC Park. The Cubs ace said that was "all in fun," and that he's keyed up in the right amount. "It's a nervous excitement," he said. "It's not anxiety. I mean, this is why I've prepared as hard and as rigorous as I have for the past however many years for this game.

"This is one of the moments that you think about when you're training in the off-season in early December. You think about pitching in games like this. So I've already processed it, I've already visualized the scenarios. I feel like anything that's thrown at me (Wednesday) or really in any game, I'm ready to handle and deal with and move forward." Cubs manager Joe Maddon refused to divulge his starting lineup, saying he didn't want to give the Pirates any early advantage. During the workout, Tommy La Stella took groundballs at third base early, giving way to Kris Bryant later. It's possible Bryant could start in the outfield, with La Stella at third against Pirates ace Gerrit Cole. Maddon probably would urge the public and media not to overthink that, just as he has urged his players not to overthink the importance of the game. "It's not, 'Try to become a better team all of a sudden or try new things and become this big, creative force,' " Maddon said. "Just go out and play. Go out and play, man. You've been playing all year. We won 97. They won 98. Neither one of us can believe we're in the wild-card game." This is the Cubs' first playoff appearance since 2008. The Pirates, on the other hand, are playing in the wild-card game for the third year in a row -- they beat the Cincinnati Reds in 2013 and lost to the San Francisco Giants last year. They know the result can turn on any little thing. "A lot of luck involved," Cole said. "But there's a lot of little details that matter. And the team that takes are of those the best comes out on top usually." If the Cubs beat the Pirates, they'll travel to St. Louis to start the division series Friday. Left-hander Jon Lester would start that game for the Cubs. He has plenty of playoff experience with the Boston Red Sox, helping them win two World Series. Lester pitched in the wild-card game last year for Oakland, giving up 8 hits and 6 runs in 7⅓ innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the Athletics on the way to the World Series. "Like I've always said, the game doesn't change," Lester said. "The fastball down and away that you locate works just the same as it does in the postseason, in Game 7 of the World Series as it does on April 15. That doesn't change. "Just now, you've got a little more adrenaline. The buzz of the crowd is a little bit louder. The ramifications for bad pitches matter a little bit more. Your heart rate's going to be a little higher in the first inning. After that, you should be able to settle right back in and go about your business." Arrieta is 3-1 with an 0.75 ERA in 5 starts against the Pirates this year, while Cole is 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA against the Cubs in 4 starts. Familiarity may or may not come into play. "For me, at the end of the day, I feel like if I execute, regardless if I were to use the same sequencing as I have in the past against these guys, I still feel confident in my ability to have success," Arrieta said. "It's going to come down to who makes the fewest amount of mistakes, both on the mound, in the field, on the basepaths. "So this has been a long time coming, this moment. I've been waiting for it for a number of years, and I'm ready." -- Daily Herald Rozner: Young Cubs ripe to strike By Barry Rozner Anticipation versus expectation.

This season for the Cubs has been all about the former, while next season will be all about the latter. Just one more reason for the young Cubs to relax and enjoy the ride, but also make the most of an extraordinary opportunity. Jake Arrieta has been literally unhittable for long stretches of games in the second half -- and for at least one entire game at Dodger Stadium. He's been so good for so long that it's difficult to imagine him losing a game. So it's not absurd to think past Wednesday's wild-card game against Gerrit Cole in Pittsburgh and wonder how the Cubs will fare against the Cardinals in the NLDS. The good news is the Cubs won't be flustered by this game, and it goes back to something Jon Lester said earlier this season about -- essentially -- being too dumb to know any better. "This is going to sound really bad, but I've always been a big believer in playing stupid. Being naive," Lester said. "I saw it with the Rays in 2008. They were naive to the situation. They had nothing to lose. "We have nothing to lose. We're not supposed to win. We're supposedly still in the rebuilding stages. I like that. I like that we're not really the underdog, but we're not really expected to do anything." This wasn't expected in the fourth year of a five-year plan, but here the Cubs are and they're not taking lightly the chance to get to the World Series from the wild-card game, just as San Francisco and Kansas City did a year ago. "This is kind of the year we hoped and expected to have next year," Cubs president Theo Epstein told me on the Score last week. "The fact that everyone matured at a pretty rapid rate and that it happened now is great. It gives us a great jumping off point for next year. "We want to do consistent damage in October, and great organizations win a lot of games in October. We haven't done that yet, but this gives us an opportunity to start that process. Next year we'll have to earn our way back to October and try again. "Those opportunities are so hard to come by. Sometimes teams that look like they're set up for five years never fully materialize and end up having injuries or bad fortune and make bad decisions. "So we really want to capitalize on this opportunity this October while we're here." It will be considerably different next season, when the Cubs will be one of the National League favorites and expectations will be enormous. Just one more reason Joe Maddon wants his players to relax and have fun. "I want us to do less preparation for this game," Maddon said. "Less work, less prep, less video, less everything. Just go play. "This is the time of the year where you just go play and rely on your abilities, your instincts, all the training and the work you've done to get to this point. "The worst thing you can possibly do is overthink it. We've played them 19 times already this year. My goodness, you've got to know the other side. They know us. We know them. "We'll remind each other about a couple little things prior to the game, but it's about the players." This is a team that has played with youthful enthusiasm and no fear all season, and Maddon wants nothing different Wednesday night -- or any other night, if the Cubs advance.

"If you turn your players loose and let them play, that's your best chance of winning," Maddon said. "You don't want them to go out there encumbered with thoughts that are only going to get in the way." While the play-in game has added drama to the regular season, it has also added incredible stress for front offices involved in a one-and-done scenario. "That's the thing about the wild-card game," Epstein said. "You don't perform in that game -- you lose that game -- it's cruel, because your season goes up in smoke in an instant and you're forgotten right away. It's like you didn't even make the playoffs. That's the feeling afterward. "So all of our focus and all of our energy is on this game. We all feel like if we can get past this game, we can make our mark in October." So there it is. Lose and go home, win and dream big. In Chicago, it really does feel like October again. -- Daily Herald Maddon would prefer to play 3-game wild-card series By Bruce Miles PITTSBURGH -- Everybody knows the deal going in: Major League Baseball's wild-card playoff is a one-game, winner-take-all. That doesn't mean everybody likes it. "The only time you want a one-and-done is when you win that first game," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "That's when you love it. I always liked the idea of a best-of-three. I thought that would be the appropriate way to do it after a long season. So my stance has not changed on that." The Pirates and Cubs have the second- and third-best records, respectively, in baseball this season. They also play in the same division with the first-place Cardinals. The winner of Wednesday night's wild-card playoff game between the Cubs and Pirates will face the Cardinals in the division series, meaning two of these three teams will be gone before the championship series. On the other hand, If MLB had not added the second wild card in 2012, the Cubs this year would not be in the playoffs. "I think this is pretty cool," said Cubs lefty Jon Lester, who pitched in the wild-card game last year for Oakland against Kansas City. Lester also had World Series-winning experience. "It's unique. It's different. You don't play a one-game series against anybody all year. Now you're playing to survive on to the next round. "I think you could argue both sides of it. I think this adds a little more excitement, for the TV and the teams as far as pulling money in and ratings. It's probably pretty good for them. A three-game series would be cool, too. "This is so unique. This is so different than anything you do all year. It just adds that excitement to it. It gets the viewers to watch these games and see what happens." No doubt the PNC Park crowd will be plenty loud for Cubs-Pirates. Lester recalled what it was like last year in Kansas City, when the Royals beat the A's 9-8 in 12 innings. "That was probably the loudest stadium I've ever been in, for that one game," he said. "If you have a three-game series, does that happen? I don't know. Does that bring the excitement to the fans and to that particular moment? We don't know."

He's a best-seller: Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said he was surprised to hear that his No. 17 Cubs jersey is the most popular seller among big-leaguers. "That's a pretty big honor," he said. "I'm sure it's not like winning like MVP, but it shows me that I'm doing things the right way on the field and have been playing hard and people are respecting me for it. That's all I could ever ask. It's pretty cool." Bryant said the season has been a thrill for him. He came up from Class AAA Iowa April 17 and wound up with 26 homers and 99 RBI. He's the odds-on favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year award. "I can't really put into words, just going to spring training and then to Iowa and then back up here," he said. "It's gone by way too fast. I've had a lot of fun with it … It completely exceeded my expectations." Scouting the opposition: David Ross, the Cubs' backup catcher, gave a scouting report on Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who starts in the wild-card game. "He's got good fastball, good off-speed pitches," Ross said. "He's around the zone. He's going to challenge you. He's going to come right at you. "Gerrit's a really good pitcher, and our guy (Jake Arrieta) is, too. That's why you guys are here, to watch an amazing game and see the excitement that's going to come tomorrow night with those two guys on the hill." The quote: When asked about all of the Cubs' young players, David Ross said: "Those guys are used to the spotlight. They're young heroes in Chicago already." -- Daily Herald Imrem: Cubs have a true wild card in Castro By Mike Imrem Starlin Castro is the wild card in Wednesday night's National League wild-card game. That became the suspicion way back when it was clear the Cubs would qualify for the playoffs. Now that the Cubs and Pirates are about to play the win-or-else game, Starlin Castro's name continues to nag. Who is he? What is he? We tend to trick ourselves into believing that we know what to expect from the primary elements of a game. The pitchers are a couple of the best in baseball: Jake Arrieta for the Cubs and Gerrit Cole for the Pirates. Never mind that the anticipated 1-0 game just might turn out to be 7-6 or even 10-8. The managers are established in the sport: Joe Maddon for the Cubs and Clint Hurdle for the Pirates. Never mind that one of them will lose and the odds are that one of his strategic moves will be blamed.

There are stars, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates; there is a collection of emerging youngsters including Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Gregory Polanco of the Pirates; there are complete rosters of players you think you have a handle on after 162 games. Still, any of them is liable to do anything in this pressurized postseason setting. Baseball is a game of unpredictables under any circumstances but especially at this time of the year. "What it comes down to is the beauty of the game," Hurdle said Tuesday, "and what could take place." What could take place, for better or worse, is Starlin Castro. If the Cubs reach Game 7 of the World Series, Castro just might drive in the winning run in extra innings. Then again, Castro just might invent some sort of bonehead play Wednesday night to eliminate the Cubs. Starlin Castro is that level of unpredictable among unpredictables. At the all-star break in early July, Castro was one of the reasons the Cubs couldn't rise above a few games over .500. At the July 31 trade deadline, Castro seemed like a prime candidate to go in a deal if another team would take him. Now, Castro has moved from shortstop to second base and been one of baseball's best players for more than a month. So, seriously, who is this guy? What is this guy? Starlin Castro's ups and downs in 2015 reflect his entire six-season career with the Cubs. Castro is among the all-time elite as far as basehits at a certain tender age. He also has been among the all-time frustrating players in a franchise known for frustrating players. When the Cubs signed Castro to a long-term contract, he appeared to be a steal. After awhile, he appeared to be a mistake. Now, he appears to be a steal again. So, who is Starlin Castro? What is he? Maddon sounded like Bears coach John Fox on Tuesday by declining to reveal his starting lineup for Wednesday night's game. Despite Castro's recent hot streak, he still isn't guaranteed to be at second base until Maddon says he is. But assuming Castro does play, heck, he could make a great play … he could commit a klunker … he could do anything at any time. Hurdle, speaking in generalities rather than specifics, said that "different things happen from time to time" in baseball. The nagging suspicion continues to be that Starlin Castro will be responsible for something different, one way or the other.

-- Cubs.com Arrieta embraces being black hat on road By Carrie Muskat PITTSBURGH -- Jake Arrieta is so confident, he'll probably wear black tonight. The Pirates are encouraging their fans to wear black for the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser. Arrieta, who will start for the Cubs at 7 p.m. CT on TBS, already has had some fun with Pittsburgh fans on Twitter regarding their team colors. @Pirates_Parrot_ told Arrieta to "Be ready for the sea of black #BlackOut #BUCN #crowdisGoingToEatYoualive #walkTheplank @JArrieta34." Arrieta's response? Whatever helps keep your hope alive, just know, it doesn't matter. @Cubs https://t.co/bJDN1wP0tS — Jake Arrieta (@JArrieta34) October 4, 2015 "It's all in good fun," Arrieta said Tuesday. "I think it's just kind of a unique way to start interaction within the fan bases or with the players and fans. It's something I like to do." He also likes to pitch, and heads into the Wild Card Game on a roll, having posted 20 consecutive quality starts. He's 12-1 with a 0.75 ERA in 15 second-half starts, including three games against the Pirates. The key this season has been fastball command, although all anyone talks about with the right-hander is his other pitches and how he likes to vary his pitch sequences. When Arrieta was pitching for the Orioles, manager Joe Maddon said, teams could get the right-hander's pitch count up if they battled against him enough. "Now, you just can't do that," Maddon said. "He's a strike-thrower. I think the true definition of a really good Major League starting pitcher is the fact he can throw a strike with his fastball when he wants to, and [Arrieta] has arrived at that point." It isn't as if Arrieta hasn't pitched in big games before. He was the Orioles' Opening Day starter in 2012. He helped Team USA beat China in the 2008 Olympics. And he threw a no-hitter on Aug. 30 at Dodger Stadium, one of his Major League-leading 22 wins. Can Arrieta prep for the nerves of a postseason game? "There's going to be a lot of adrenaline, that's really the only thing that changes," said the Cubs' Jon Lester, who has pitched in World Series games. "The game doesn't change. The fastball down and away that you locate works just the same as it does in the postseason or Game 7 of the World Series as it does on April 15. That doesn't change. "Now, you've got a little more adrenaline, the buzz of the crowd is a little louder, the ramifications for bad pitches matter more," Lester said. "Your heart rate will be higher that first inning. After that, you should be able to settle right back in and just go about your business." The sudden-death element of the Wild Card Game is something Lester experienced last year with the Athletics. He started against the Royals, and gave up six runs over 7 1/3 innings in the A's loss. "Tomorrow's going to be different," Lester said of Wednesday's game. "I've been fortunate enough to pitch in some other postseason games, and that one [last year] was different than all those other games. It's just something you have to do, you have to go through. It's like a guy's first Opening Day or All-Star Game.

"No matter what you say, or what you do, tomorrow is a different animal," Lester said. "This one game thing is so unique that I don't think you can describe it to anybody." Arrieta says he'll do his homework the same way he has all season. "It's a team I'm comfortable with analyzing, scouting and pitching against," he said of the Pirates. "It's an extremely balanced group of guys in that order who can make a lot of things happen. And I feel confident I can neutralize a lot of their power, a lot of their speed guys with different sequences. You know, I intend to have some pretty good success tomorrow." Said Anthony Rizzo: "He's obviously really excited to go. So are we. We still have to go out and play." -- Cubs.com Cubs players trust in unconventional Maddon By Carrie Muskat PITTSBURGH -- All Starlin Castro wanted was a chance to win a spot in the starting lineup again, and Joe Maddon gave him that. All Jason Hammel needed was to pitch deeper in games, and Maddon explained his thinking. All Cubs fans craved was a winner, and Maddon guided the team to the postseason for the first time since 2008. And all Travis Wood wanted was a penguin, and Maddon delivered that, too. In his first season at the helm with the Cubs, Maddon has been a combination old-school/new-age manager, who likes red wine and bike riding on the lakefront. In Spring Training, he emphasized "Respect 90," and it's a message his players have followed. He's batted the pitcher eighth the majority of the season, nixed batting practice because he thinks it's "archaic," and trusted his players to do the right thing. They've responded well. And tonight at 7 p.m. CT (TBS), they'll take on the Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser. "There's so much that sets him apart," catcher David Ross said of his 61-year-old white-haired skipper. Let's start with the animals. Wood knew Maddon had brought snakes and other creatures to the clubhouse when he managed the Rays. The Cubs had a D.J. in Spring Training and a magician in New York. But no critters. Wood and Maddon were talking after the national anthem one day, and somehow the discussion turned to animals. "I was like, 'Speaking of that, where's all the animals you used to bring in to Tampa Bay?'" Wood said. "I said, 'I need some of that. I want some penguins.'" The Columbus Zoo delivered not only a penguin but two snow leopards, an armadillo, a sloth, a mongoose, a flamingo and a cheetah to Wrigley Field in September. "He got me a penguin," Wood said, beaming. Respect On Aug. 7, Castro was benched. A three-time All-Star shortstop, he was batting .236. The Cubs wanted to find a way to get Kyle Schwarber in the lineup. The rookie was promoted when Miguel Montero injured his thumb, and when Montero returned, it created a domino effect. Rookie Addison Russell, who was playing second, was moved to shortstop, Schwarber was moved to left, Chris Coghlan to second and Castro was the odd man out. Maddon broke the news to Castro, and the infielder agreed it was the right thing to do.

"I was struggling really bad, and those guys they had, they couldn't be out of the lineup," Castro said. "At that time, I said, 'Yeah, whatever's best for the team. I'll be here to help.'" He accepted a move to second base and sporadic starts, and this September, Castro led the National League with a .426 batting average. "He's different than anybody," Castro said of Maddon. "Not every manager has the confidence he's got. Every time he goes to the mound and tells the pitcher something, he's so confident, so positive. That's why we win a lot of comeback games. He comes out and says, 'Let's go, let's get the win. Next inning, we win the game.' It's that simple. Every time he says something, something good happens in the game." Communication Hammel wasn't happy when pulled from a game against the Giants in August after walking two batters. As a veteran, he wanted to be given the chance to work out of a jam. The pitcher and manager talked after an outing which Hammel felt ended too soon. The right-hander says he understands now. "The only way you can characterize Joe is that he wants to win," Hammel said. "He's going off a gut feeling in which he wants his best nine guys out there at the time. I think he takes the guess work out of it, he just goes with it. I'm looking for a little more room for error to get myself out of innings. That's how I can build the confidence again, is to get throughh those situations. Bottom line is, he wants to win and so do I. All egos aside, we're in a good place." Maddon has mentioned that the players' ability to put their egos aside has contributed to their success this season. He delivered the message in Spring Training, and players listened. Hammel was prepared for Maddon. He pitched for the Rays from 2006-08. "He does things differently and isn't afraid to go outside the box," Hammel said. "He's got an idea of what he's doing, he knows how to create an environment that promotes winning. Guys just want to have fun here. It's not like he's re-inventing the wheel. He's still managing baseball like a manager, but it's the culture inside the clubhouse with the group of guys we have and the character and the accountability that he expects. Guys get that. Other than that, we're allowed to be ourselves. It makes for a very interesting environment." Trust Ross has had more managers than he wants to count in his 14 big league seasons. Maddon is different. "He's a great communicator," Ross said. "He's a non-emotional thinker. He has a way with words to be able to communicate in a simple form what he's thinking or what he sees in baseball terms, which is good with a young group. He believes in the young guys and lets them be themselves and lets them play freely without a whole lot of judgment or extra thinking that could hinder their ability." Players haven't abused that freedom, and Maddon has been fortunate to have players like Ross to police the clubhouse. "He pays attention to the mental side," Ross said of Maddon. "The distractions at the right time are good. There couldn't have been a better time for that magician in New York after we lost five in a row. There couldn't have been a better time for 'American Legion Week' when it's the dog days of August and you're fixing to go on a West Coast trip." For those who aren't up on Maddonisms, "American Legion Week" meant no batting practice, and players could sleep in. They had a chance to rest and refresh, spending time with their families. These guys do have a life outside of baseball.

"The thing Joe brings," Ross said, "is he's a self-confident guy who believes in himself and that builds trust in the players, and when you trust your manager and your leadership, then you are able to go out and play without thinking, and thinking is going to hinder you. He creates a winning environment because of his personality and what he believes." That's all the Cubs want. -- Cubs.com Arrieta ready to carry Cubs on his shoulders By Phil Rogers PITTSBURGH -- There are some shots that you should never call. The expectations are too great, the odds too long. Jake Arrieta rolling through October, carrying the Cubs to a World Series title on his broad shoulders, is one of those triple bank shots to sink the eight ball, with everyone in the room watching. He might be able to pull it off, but it's unfair -- borderline insane -- to expect it. Madison Bumgarner did it for the Giants a year ago, starting in the same exact spot that Arrieta will tonight in the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser (8 p.m. ET, TBS) -- the visiting bullpen at PNC Park, with his every move jeered by the Pirates' fanatical fans. The appreciation for what he was doing grew with every hurdle that the Giants cleared, from the Pirates to the Nationals and Cardinals then, finally, the Royals. "I was glad everybody got what we got," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Tuesday. "We got shot down pretty quick and everybody sort of threw their hands up in the air [and said], 'That's it for the Pirates, that's all they've got.' Everybody got some of that. There was a lot. I was glad everybody got it, truthfully, because that was as good pitching as I'd seen in a long time. Everybody deserves to face the best, and they got to.'' During the 2014 season, Bumgarner was outstanding but not consistently dominant, ranking behind the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright in Cy Young Award consideration. Arrieta arrives with more advance billing. He's been so good lately that the best parallel to draw heading into postseason is Orel Hershiser in 1988, when he was riding his record streak of 59 consecutive scoreless innings. That worked out pretty well for the Dodgers, if you remember. Arrieta entered the season as Robin to Jon Lester's Batman, but has exploded onto the scene as an elite arm, like Max Scherzer did in escaping Justin Verlander's long shadow. His profile is as high as anyone on the field this October, thanks to his 0.75 ERA since the All-Star break and a finishing kick that saw him no-hit the Dodgers on Aug. 30. He allowed only two earned runs in his last nine starts. If his 22-6 record and 1.77 ERA doesn't earn him the Cy Young Award, it will only be because Zack Greinke kept his ERA at 1.66, the lowest mark in 20 years. This is Arrieta's time, and he isn't backing down from it. "It's been a long time coming to this moment,'' said Arrieta, 29. "I've been waiting for it for a number of years, and I'm ready.'' Gerrit Cole, the Pirates' ace who finished 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA, is extremely capable of stealing the stage. He's made nine career starts against the Cubs, and Pittsburgh has won eight, the most recent coming Sept. 25 at Wrigley Field.

"We like our guy a lot,'' Hurdle said. Hurdle bypassed A.J. Burnett to start Cole, then a rookie, in the deciding Game 5 of the 2013 NL Division Series against the Cardinals. He didn't get a crack to match up against Bumgarner last year, as Hurdle had started him in the final regular-season game in an attempt to win the NL Central. "It was frustrating for all 25 of us playing them,'' Cole said. "I thought we had total confidence in [Edinson Volquez] to get the job done. He pitched his [heart] out. It's just the nature of this one-game Wild Card. It can be the most exciting game of the year and for the other team it can be pretty disappointing.'' No one will be surprised if the Arrieta-Cole matchup produces a 1-0 or 2-1 game, decided by one big hit or one big mistake. Neither team had announced its lineup Tuesday, as coaching staffs and front offices continued to toy with various ways to manufacture and prevent runs. Cole expects minimal margin for error. "You can sit here and say he's probably going to go pretty deep and he's probably going to go pretty low,'' Cole said. "You're probably going to have to go pretty deep and probably going to have to go pretty low, too. You kind of know what you're going to get.'' Hershiser has long said the key to his success in October was that he tried to maintain the level he achieved during the season, not to do things differently. A lot of players try to raise their level in the biggest games and get themselves in trouble overthrowing or going outside the strike zone to try to be a hero. Arrieta is working to take the approach that it's his 34th start of the year, not the biggest of his life nor the biggest for his franchise since Kerry Wood started Game 7 of the 2003 NL Championship Series. "I don't necessarily think it's much different,'' Arrieta said. "It's the same preparation. It's a team that I'm comfortable with analyzing, scouting and pitching against. It's an extremely balanced group of guys in that order who can make a lot of things happen. I feel confident that I can neutralize a lot of their power, a lot of their speed guys, with different [pitch] sequences. I intend to have some pretty good success.'' After his four-hit shutout in the Wild Card Game, Bumgarner went on to make five other starts in the postseason, including two each in the NLCS and World Series, before capping his run with five shutout innings out of the bullpen in the Giants' 3-2 victory in Game 7. Hershiser was just as effective after his historic finish to the 1988 season, winning MVP honors in both the NLCS and the World Series. That's the template that's out there for Arrieta to follow. I'm not calling that shot -- if you're trying to pick a winner, just flip a coin -- but until further notice, it's out there, a legendary run waiting to happen. -- Cubs.com Russell turning heads in field since young age By Carrie Muskat PITTSBURGH -- When Cubs manager Joe Maddon first saw Addison Russell, he was impressed by the infielder's solid fundamentals. Karl Jernigan takes pride in that. He recalls all the grounders he hit to the young shortstop, starting when Russell was 9 years old. Jernigan was drafted three times and finally signed with the Giants in 2001. But he batted .224 in two Minor League seasons and never got above Class A. He returned to Florida and decided to coach, and a friend recruited Jernigan to help with a team of 9-year-old boys.

"I remember the first day of practice," Jernigan said. "I was new at the coaching thing, and I didn't really know what to expect, to be honest. Addison was the shortstop. I told the coach, 'That kid right there at shortstop, has he always been this good?' He said, 'He's pretty good.' I said, 'No, that kid's fricking really good.'" At just 9 years old, Russell was making plays "that most 12-, 13- and 14-year-old kids couldn't do talent-wise," Jernigan said. "All the success he's having right now doesn't surprise me," Jernigan said. "The kid has worked his tail off since I've known him. He's the last one to leave, he's the first one there." It wasn't hard to get Russell to do the drills. "He was always saying, 'Coach, can you hit me a few more after practice?'" said Jernigan, now the baseball and golf coach at Pace High School in Milton, Fla. "You hit them and hit them, and you think, 'OK, one bucket [of balls].' And after the bucket, you'd say, 'All right, are you good?' and he'd say, 'Can I get one more bucket?' You've already taken ground balls for about 45 minutes, an hour and now you want some more? You don't see kids do that. "I've been coaching high school ball for 12 years," he said. "When practice is over, they want to get out of there. Addy had a goal in his mind. Where he's at [in the big leagues] was his goal, and now his goal is to stay as long as he can." Russell often played against kids who were a couple years older, and Jernigan said he was never overmatched. Jernigan said he heard stories about when Russell was 5 years old, playing with kids who were 8. "And he was the best on the team then," Jernigan said. "I had a natural knack for the position," Russell said about playing shortstop. "I don't even remember getting taught the fundamentals, but I know I hardly missed. Growing up, my dad told me if there was a ball near me, I was down on the ground getting it. When I was a kid in T-ball, I'd dive for the ball and come up firing and throw the guy out. That was pretty incredible to [my dad]. I've been doing that my entire life. I'm very confident about my defensive skills." Jernigan, who played shortstop for four years at Florida State, won't take any credit for Russell's ability. "It has nothing to do with me," Jernigan said. "It's all him -- the kid is talented and has a great work ethic." But Russell gives Jernigan credit for fine-tuning his skills. "That's when I learned my fielding mechanics," Russell said of the travel team Jernigan coached, called "Pace Plays." "It just came kind of easy to me," Russell said. "[Jernigan] would say, 'Make sure your glove is pointed down,' just the small things. I just got the grasp of it, and the muscle memory of it quickly." Jernigan, 36, follows Cubs games closely and knows Russell will only get better. "Before his career is over with, he'll win two, three, four Gold Gloves," Jernigan said. "It was automatic when the ball was hit to him in high school. You hit it to short, you're out. If you hit it to the left side of the infield, it had to be over his head to get through. He challenges himself -- he's probably got 1,000 goals for himself, and things that you never thought about. He wants to be perfect. He's a special kid." -- Cubs.com Defense to likely dictate Cubs' WC lineup By Carrie Muskat

PITTSBURGH -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon didn't want to reveal his lineup for tonight's matchup against the Pirates because he didn't want to give Pittsburgh any edge. But judging by batting practice on Tuesday, the Cubs could have rookies Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber at the corner outfield spots. Tommy La Stella worked out at third base, including some extra work after batting practice on Tuesday at PNC Park. Bryant was in left field during the workout. "I can do it," Bryant said about playing the outfield. "I made a pretty good play here the last time I was in the outfield. [I'll play] wherever they need me. This is a game where it really doesn't matter where I play. I just want to help the team win any way I can. If that's in the outfield, then I'll play the heck out of the outfield." In the last 10 days, Cubs manager Joe Maddon has moved players around in preparation for the postseason. "I love the fact that we're so versatile," Maddon said Tuesday ahead of the NL Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser, airing live on TBS at 7 p.m. CT. "I love that young players are not stuck in one position, and if you move them, all of a sudden they freak out about it or it's going to hurt them in arbitration or whatever years from now because they don't have one position. "Our guys don't think that way and I love it," he said. "All of this has been experimentation waiting to get to this moment." Bryant has started 10 games in the outfield, including four in left, one in center and five in right. His only start in center was at PNC Park on April 23. In a doubleheader on Sept. 15, he started the first game at third, and was in right field for the second game. "Right field is a little different because there's a chain-link fence," he said of PNC Park. "There's not the traditional padded wall. Left field is pretty big, left center is huge. I hit a couple balls to left center that I thought were homers and they were outs, so it's a pretty big left field." The Cubs most likely would want La Stella in the lineup as the left-handed-hitting infielder is the only Cubs player with an extra-base hit off Pirates starter Gerrit Cole this season. Bryant is 3-for-9, striking out six times. Schwarber has started 38 games in the outfield, primarily in left (36 games). With Bryant, Schwarber, and shortstop Addison Russell, the Cubs could have three rookies starting on Wednesday. Maddon said he wanted to make sure the Cubs had the best defense behind starter Jake Arrieta as well. "When Jake pitches, it presents differently on his abilities and what you think the hitters may do against him," Maddon said. "That's part of the equation [of putting together the lineup]. Again, not to get complicated, but that's something I would look at, too." -- Cubs.com Starlin, Aramis square off one more time By Carrie Muskat PITTSBURGH -- When Starlin Castro was called up to the Cubs in May 2010, Aramis Ramirez was 32 years old, and had been with the team since July 2003. Ramirez was one of the veteran players who helped the then-20-year-old shortstop adjust to big league life. "He's a great guy," Castro said Tuesday of the Pirates' third baseman. "I think he had a great career. He's a really good baseball player. He was good to me when I came up my first year."

Ramirez became a free agent after the 2011 season and signed with the Brewers, before returning to Pittsburgh before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. Now, he and Castro will square off tonight in the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser, live on TBS at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. This season, Ramirez came through for Castro again when Cubs manager Joe Maddon decided to make a switch and start rookie Addison Russell at shortstop. Castro, a three-time All-Star, found himself on the bench. "He called me," Castro said of Ramirez. "We went to eat together, and we talked a little bit. He told me, 'Trust yourself and don't let any negative thing put you down. Keep working, you know you're good.'" Ramirez's message was one of the elements that helped Castro get back on track. The Cubs' infielder was batting .236 when he was benched; he led the National League in batting in September, hitting .426. "He's pretty good," Castro said of Ramirez. "He'll always talk positive. He has always been real. If he has to tell you something, he'll tell you to your face, he won't talk behind your back." Tonight's contest could be Ramirez's last game. The third baseman, who is back with the team that originally signed him in 1994, has said this will be his final season. "I told him, 'You can play,'" Castro said of his message to Ramirez. "He said, 'No, I don't want to. I know I can, but I don't want to any more.'" -- Cubs.com Moments that will matter in NL Wild Card Game By Adam Berry PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates and Cubs finished the regular season with two of the three best records in baseball. If not for the 100-win Cardinals, they'd be going through a workout day today, not competing against each other with their seasons on the line. But tonight night at PNC Park, the Pirates and Cubs could see their entire season -- successful as they've been to this point -- come down to their ability to execute in a few key moments. Here are three to look out for in the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser, airing live on TBS at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. 1. Attacking Arrieta When the Pirates' batting order turns over a third time, will they finally get the best of Jake Arrieta? Or will the Cubs' ace continue his season-long trend of shutting down opposing lineups? Before his last start against the Pirates, Arrieta joked that he was going to mix in a knuckleball. He didn't want to give the Pirates an idea of how he might approach them in the postseason. The Pirates already have seen Arrieta five times this season, but he's done enough to keep them off balance in each outing, going 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA. He credited that repeated success to his pitch sequencing and execution. Statistically, the more times a pitcher goes through a lineup, the more success opposing hitters have against him. The Pirates have been at their best the third time through the lineup, putting together a .775 OPS -- compared to a .667 OPS the first time through. But that hasn't applied to Arrieta this season, as he's actually been just as good the third time through the order (.540 opponents OPS) as the second (.541). 2. Who's on first?

This moment likely has already played out, as Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Tuesday he has decided on his starting lineup. But we'll find out this afternoon: Who's playing first base for the Bucs? Can Pittsburgh afford to send out Pedro Alvarez? He possesses game-changing power, as his team-leading 27 home runs prove, but he could make a game-changing defensive mistake, as evidenced by his 23 errors at first base. If Alvarez does play and the game remains tight, as expected, how long will Hurdle stick with him? If the Pirates take a lead, does Alvarez come out immediately? Hurdle didn't tip his hand Tuesday, but he seemed to prioritize defense over power given Arrieta's .271 opponents' slugging percentage this season. "How athletic do you want to be on the bases, with the gloves, in the batter's box?" Hurdle said. "Do you want to slug? There are some numbers that will show you slugging against him hasn't been a real big success this year." 3. Rookies on the corners The outfield at PNC Park is spacious and presents enough unique challenges to make it difficult for even those who play half the season here. Tonight, it appears the Cubs will start a pair of rookies in the tricky outfield corners. It seems like Kris Bryant will start the game in left field with Kyle Schwarber in right and Tommy La Stella at third base. Bryant has played eight games (39 innings) in left this season, but what happens if a Pirates hitter rips a line drive into the "North Side Notch" in left-center? Schwarber, meanwhile, has spent only 14 innings in right field. Is he ready to handle the carom on a ball hit high off the Clemente Wall? How will he handle the chain-link fence in front of the out-of-town scoreboard. At some point late in the game, Cubs manager Joe Maddon could move Bryant to third base, his natural position, to keep his bat in the lineup and strengthen his outfield defense. Will Maddon choose to take Schwarber out of the game if the Pirates bring in a left-handed reliever, or if he wants to protect a lead? The answers to those questions could hold the key to the Pirates' and Cubs' postseason hopes. -- Cubs.com Cubs' youth has grown up over breakout season By Carrie Muskat PITTSBURGH -- Cubs rookie Addison Russell proudly wore a blue T-shirt with "We Are Good" in gold lettering on the front. That's a message catcher Miguel Montero started this season. It's a message Cubs veterans have emphasized to the youngsters on the roster. "Every single time we put one of these shirts on, it means something," Russell said Tuesday. "People didn't think we'd be in this situation so early. ... We do believe that we are good." The young Cubs are in the postseason, and will face the Pirates tonight in the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser, live on TBS at 7 p.m. CT. Russell said the only situation he's been in that's similar was state high school baseball tournaments, but the shortstop and others felt as if every day were a playoff game in the last month of the regular season. "Just being around crowds like the crowd that will be here [tonight] -- I don't think I'll see a bigger crowd," Russell said of the crowd expected at PNC Park. "Being in St. Louis, playing these big-name ballclubs that have a lot of fans, I'll try to pull [experience] from that." From Kris Bryant dealing with not making the Opening Day roster to Russell having to learn second base at the big league level, the kids have done all right.

"These guys have had to deal with expectations and new things and adversity all year long, so this should be a walk in the park for them," Cubs catcher David Ross said. "It's a real mature group for how young they are. They've come up in the spotlight more than a guy like me. ... They're young heroes in Chicago already, I think they're going to be fine." Will Russell have butterflies? "It'll be like my debut, but it's one and done," Russell said of the Wild Card Game format. "It's going to be interesting. I'm excited and happy." Worth noting • The Cubs will release their playoff roster today. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and others from the front office were in Pittsburgh to discuss their options. • Jason Motte joined the Cubs in Pittsburgh after going to Arizona to rehab. He's been sidelined since late August with a strained right shoulder, and won't be ready tonight, but he could be available if the Cubs advance in the postseason. • Infielder Jonathan Herrera had a new helmet on Tuesday with a pair of hands attached to it. See, whenever a Cubs player gets a hit, he is supposed to look to the dugout, and then rub his hands on his helmet, which his teammates do in response. Even Cubs fans have joined in the fun. It's similar to the Rangers' antler-and-claw signals in 2010. Herrera started the Cubs' acknowledgement this year, which was something he did with the Rockies. -- ESPNChicago.com 2015 MLB Playoffs: How far will the Cubs go? By Carrie Muskat A Chicago Cubs fan is always looking for what's going to go wrong. Can you blame them? When it has been 107 years since your team's last championship, you tend to think negatively. With that in mind, it can be a much easier exercise in finding reasons why the Cubs will not go all the way. But this isn't any normal Cubs team. When a team wins 97 games with three rookies in the starting lineup, and a few more on the bench, something unusual is happening. Can the talent that got them here carry over to the postseason, or will their youth catch up with them? Here are five reasons why the Cubs will advance far into the postseason and five more why it'll be an early exit. FIVE REASONS THE CUBS CAN GO ALL THE WAY 1. Top of the rotation: Jon Lester has the playoff experience, Jake Arrieta has the stuff. The Cubs' one-two combination is arguably the best this side of Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, and it can take the team far. Both Lester and Arrieta are horses who reached 200 innings on the season with neither missing a start. You might already know of Arrieta’s second-half exploits, but Lester’s 0.96 WHIP was good for seventh in the league, and he boasts a 27-13 September and October regular-season record for his career along with a 2.57 postseason ERA. It might be Arrieta’s first turn at October baseball, but it’s hard to imagine his devastating array of pitches not keeping the Cubs in games, if not completely shutting down the opponent. 2. Depth: The Cubs have tons of it. When an opposing manager goes to his bullpen, Joe Maddon can bring in a slew of players who could be starting for most teams. If a righty is on the hill to start the game, Maddon usually has

Jorge Soler, Chris Denorfia and Javier Baez ready to go off the bench. If a lefty starts, then Chris Coghlan and possibly Kyle Schwarber or Baez can pinch hit or be double-switched in. And then there is Tommy La Stella, who provides a good at-bat no matter who’s pitching. If the game is tight or goes into extra innings, it’s a big advantage for the Cubs and presents matchup nightmares for the opposition. It’s one reason why the Cubs were dominant in September and October. A rotating lineup kept everyone fresh, and it means they’re fresh for the postseason as well. 3. Weatherproof offense: The Cubs led the league in walks, which could bode well for a postseason that could see cold weather as a factor in Chicago, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and New York. They also saw the most pitches per plate appearance, meaning elevated pitch counts for the opposition. In tight games, these little advantages should tip the Cubs' way. Getting a starter out one inning earlier than normal can be the difference between facing the opposition’s best relievers or a bridge pitcher who’s more likely to throw some good pitches to hit. 4. Tight games: Even though the Cardinals and Pirates had better bullpen ERAs, the Cubs were as good as anyone in close games. They compiled a 34-21 record in one-run affairs and a 13-5 mark in extra innings. It has some meaning as one of the youngest teams in the league never got tight in a big moment, especially late in games. The Cubs believe experience will pay off this month as close games in the playoffs tend to be the norm. This was part of the equation that led to September road success in Pittsburgh and St. Louis, too. 5. Starlin Castro: Yes, the once-benched infielder is a key player for the Cubs because of where he hits in the lineup. Maddon likes batting Castro fifth, behind Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, because Castro makes contact and is the least likely to strike out among the team's regulars. If the two sluggers ahead of him are going to be pitched around, then Castro will get his RBI opportunities and he’ll need to come through. The league’s leading hitter in September is a key cog in the middle of the Cubs' lineup. FIVE REASONS THE CUBS CAN'T GO ALL THE WAY 1. Back end of rotation: Sometimes winning can mask some issues, as it’s possible the final week or so of the regular season gave some false hope here. It wasn’t that long ago when people were wondering who would start a playoff game after Arrieta and Lester. And it even got to the point that Maddon talked of simply pitching several relievers to get through a playoff game, but that isn’t likely. Jason Hammel, Kyle Hendricks and Dan Haren all pitched well down the stretch after struggling in the second half, but the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds weren’t putting up much of a fight in the final month. Someone besides Arrieta and Lester needs to step up. 2. Strikeouts: K's can kill any small-ball attack, and the Cubs led baseball by a wide margin with 1,518 whiffs in the regular season. Eighty-four strikeouts came with a man on third and less than two outs, also tops in baseball. Striking out is part of their DNA, but it wasn’t a major issue in the regular season because the Cubs were hitting home runs, especially in the second half. If the long ball disappears, they’ll need more timely contact. That was an issue once the weather started to change. 3. Bullpen breakdown: The Cubs' bullpen is good, but it doesn’t have nearly the experience of other playoff teams. Can former Rule 5 pick Hector Rondon seize the moment? He might be the least of their worries as Pedro Strop and Justin Grimm have showed some cracks in their game at various times, though Strop is throwing the ball well now. The Cubs didn’t have many big moments in the final six weeks as they had a huge lead in the playoff race, so keeping an eye on a young bullpen in a tight playoff contest is a good idea. 4. The running game: The Cubs were second in the majors in stolen bases allowed. Their top two pitchers aren’t great at holding runners on, and catcher Miguel Montero was behind the plate for 71 steals in just 90 games started. It’s an issue that will pop up at some point in the postseason if the Cubs advance. A close game could come down to a stolen base. 5. Youth: As mature as the Cubs' young players are, they still have never experienced a playoff game. Veterans Lester and David Ross admit talking about it is nothing compared to going through it. That's why a one-game

playoff on the road could be a scary proposition if a rookie comes up to the plate in a big moment. How will they react? There is no individual history to fall back on. -- ESPNChicago.com Jake Arrieta comfortable with fan interaction before wild-card game By Jesse Rogers PITTSBURGH -- Some social media trash talking isn't going to slow down Chicago Cubs wild-card starter Jake Arrieta before the biggest game of his life. Arrieta is comfortable in his own skin -- and confident in his game -- he doesn't mind having some fun with Pittsburgh Pirate fans before the two teams face off on Wednesday night. "I think it's a big part of the fan/player interaction and it's all in good fun," Arrieta said Tuesday afternoon. "I don't mean anything negative towards anybody." Hopefully Pirate fans who have tweeted at Arrieta feel the same way. On Monday Arrieta asked Pirates fans for noise. Some players would go into hiding days before the biggest game of their careers but not Arrieta. He's happy to oblige. "It's kind of the build-up to the game," Arrieta said. "You've got two very passionate fan bases. ... I think it's just kind of unique way to start the interaction within the fan bases or with the players and fans. So it's something I like to do." -- ESPNChicago.com Small ball may be the key in National League wild card game By Jesse Rogers PITTSBURGH -- It’s best to assume a close, low scoring affair when Jake Arrieta and Gerrit Cole face off in the National League wild card game on Wednesday night. Of course this is baseball so that’s not necessarily going to be the case. “Well, it very well could be,” Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said half-sarcastically on Tuesday afternoon. “You take the numbers and you watch the way they both have pitched, would make all the sense in the world. I encourage you to write your storyline right now then.” Hurdle went on to remind everyone the “beauty” of the game is in its mystery. We have no idea what will happen so it’s a good idea to examine a few things which could affect a close game but aren’t discussed much. Here are a few storylines which are flying under the radar heading into Wednesday’s showdown. Stolen bases: The Pirates rank first in baseball in stolen bases given up while the Chicago Cubs rank second. Both starting catchers have had their issues. Francisco Cervelli has thrown out just 22 percent of runners (29-of-130) while Miguel Montero is slightly worse at about 20 percent (18-of-89). It’s not all on the catchers though. Arrieta has been on the mound for 27 stolen bases, good for fourth most in the National League while Cole ranks right behind him with 25. That’s a little skewed as the pitchers rank second and seventh in innings pitched meaning they were on the mound more often than most in the league. Still, they aren’t great at holding runners on and their catchers have problems throwing guys out. In a tight game a stolen base could make the difference. Advantage: Even Bunting: The Cubs don’t do it very often while it’s part of the Pirates game. Pittsburgh ranked third in the NL with 63 sacrifice bunts while the Cubs had nearly half (32) placing them second to last. The Cubs were working on

squeeze plays over the weekend but haven’t played much small ball this season. If they’re getting hits it won’t matter, but like the stolen bases a successful bunt at an opportune time could make the difference in the game. Advantage: Pirates Situational hitting: The Cubs have been notoriously bad at getting runners home from third with less than two outs. They were successful just 40 percent of the time in the regular season -- striking out too often. The Pirates got runners home 52 percent of the time which is just above league average. This could be a key unless the numbers reverse themselves in the playoffs. Sometimes “clutch” statistics tend to go the other way making for a surprise hero or two. But the Cubs will have to prove they can do it late in a tight game before we can declare it’s not a problem anymore. Advantage: Pirates Opponent OPS: This is less under the radar but not talked about enough as the Cubs pitching staff is the best in baseball in opponent’s OPS with a .662 mark. The Pirates are third at .672 but with Arrieta on the mound the Cubs have a distinct advantage. He tied for the league lead with a .507 mark while Cole ranks eighth at .623. The Pirates' bullpen ranked first while the Cubs were third. The point is the Pirates will really have to earn their runs against Arrieta as he simply gives up very little in terms of base runners – and the guys coming in behind him don’t as well. Maybe this mitigates the Pirates small ball advantage. They actually have to get a runner to third in order to bring him in. Advantage: Cubs -- ESPNChicago.com Retired pitcher Matt Clement rooting for Arrieta to claim mantle from most recent Cubs playoff winner By Jon Greenberg PITTSBURGH -- The most recent pitcher to win a playoff game for the Chicago Cubs is now a high school boys basketball coach in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Yes, Matt Clement, who won Game 4 of the 2003 National League Championship Series to put the Cubs up 3-1, is the latest Cub to win a postseason game. There's a trivia question to ask someone at the bar before Cubs ace Jake Arrieta starts Wednesday night's wild-card game against the Pirates at PNC Park. Clement now coaches hoops at his alma mater, Butler Senior High School. He helps with the baseball teams and also cohosts a sports radio show ("The Sports Soundoff") in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he grew up and where he is raising his four kids, who range from 4 to 12 years old. Clement, 41, pitched for the Cubs in 2003 and 2004, back when the team seemed destined to achieve the impossible -- only to fail again in a completely unique fashion. Although he likes the Pirates -- and is in awe of their ace, Gerrit Cole, and respectful of the front-office and coaching staffs that turned the Pirates around -- Clement doesn't mind making some enemies in Buccos country on his radio show. “It started last September,” he said in a phone conversation. “I caught a lot of crap from a lot of my friends when I said, ‘Listen, sooner than you all think, the Cubs are going to be the team in the division.’” That, he said, was before he learned about Kyle Schwarber or saw Kris Bryant swing a bat. He could feel the tide turning for his old team. Clement, who most recently pitched in the majors in 2006 and officially retired in 2009, speaks with a noticeable Pittsburgh accent, “the slurred argot of the community,” as Frank Deford once wrote.

Clement said he will root for whichever team wins Wednesday's one-game wild-card playoff. But he would be glad to be taken out of the record book as the most recent Cub to win a playoff game. Until recently, he didn’t even realize he held that distinction. “I was shocked,” he said. “My son’s tutor texted me something about the Cubs-Pirates playing Wednesday and 'I hope you can continue to be the last guy to win a playoff game for the Cubs.' I didn’t catch what she said at first.” He turned to Google and realized the Cubs hadn't won a game in their past two playoff appearances. Then, on Monday, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette high school sportswriter tweeted the fact, and I saw it. “Your email came like 30 seconds after someone sent me the tweet,” Clement said. Clement’s old team has lost nine straight postseason games since the right-hander's Oct. 11, 2003, start against the Miami Marlins at Pro Player Stadium. Arrieta, who is even better than Clement's old rotation mate, Mark Prior, is trying to end that drought. Clement thinks Arrieta is just the guy to do it. In August, Clement took his kids to Wrigley Field. They got the run of the place, thanks to his remaining connections, such as clubhouse manager Tom “Otis” Hellman, coach Eric Hinske, former hitting coach Bill Mueller and strength coach Tim Buss. His kids fell in love with the park and the team and went home with Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez jerseys. Clement found himself in awe of Arrieta. “I’m hanging out in Bussy’s room, B.S.-ing with him,” Clement said. “I had caught a couple of Arrieta games. I didn’t realize where he’d come from, but I knew he [was] pitching really good and starting to come on. So I’m talking to guys while he was working out, and I’m thinking: 'Holy crap, this guy is for real. He’s going at it in there.'” While his kids played, Clement and Buss left the room to watch batting practice, and Clement lingered over the bullpen, where Arrieta was throwing his side session. Reporters had buttered up Clement by telling him he looked like he could still pitch. He still throws with his older sons, who always ask to see his breaking stuff. Clement said he knew he was done when he retired, but like a lot of ex-pitchers, his arm felt live in retirement when he threw with his kids, who play competitive travel baseball and basketball. Clement could still dream about an unlikely comeback -- until he saw that Arrieta side session. Clement stood behind the netting as Arrieta’s upper-90s pitches darted across the plate. “I was thinking my arm does feel good, but then watching him throw, man, I knew I can’t come close to that,” he said. “I’m not in his atmosphere. I never was in that atmosphere when I was playing.” Clement said he was in a similar state of awe pitching with Kerry Wood and Prior in their abbreviated primes. Along with Carlos Zambrano, those four were a formidable playoff rotation. But it wasn’t meant to last. The disappointment of 2003 and the failures of 2004, when the Cubs won more games in the regular season but collapsed down the stretch, are a stark reminder of how quickly a playoff window can close. What does Clement remember about his 2003 playoff start? Well, for one thing, he was uncomfortable. Months before, he had been hit in the calf by Dan Haren, then a young Cardinals pitcher, during the heated beanball series between the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. “The night before I pitched, Kerry Wood hit two or three people, and it was mayhem,” he said. “I was notorious for leading the league in hit batsmen and walks -- not on purpose. I just had a lot of movement, and I hit a lot of people. So I’m sitting at home thinking, ‘This is going to turn into a complete melee. I’m going to run one in on someone -- not on purpose -- and tomorrow is going to be interesting.’”

Sure enough, Haren tried to bunt, and Clement hit him with a back-up slider. Haren retaliated with a ball in Clement’s right calf, which set off fireworks between the teams and their managers. Clement wasn’t angry; he knew it was coming. But his calf knotted up, he tried to pitch through it, and he injured his groin for the rest of the season in the process. He pitched in the playoff game with a wrapped groin. “My mechanics were totally different because of that,” he said. “I had to grind away that game. I [had] never pitched with a wrapped anything before.” Clement lasted 7 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on five hits and two walks. He logged only three strikeouts. The hero of that game was current Pirate Aramis Ramirez, who hit two homers, including a first-inning grand slam, and drove in six runs. Clement, like every Cub on that team, thought they were headed to the World Series with Zambrano, Prior and Wood on tap to pitch. But you know what happened next. "Realistically, the Marlins just got hot. Josh Beckett got extremely hot," Clement said. Clement wasn't nearly as fortunate in his next playoff appearance. Pitching for Theo Epstein’s Boston Red Sox, he started Game 1 of the 2005 ALDS against the White Sox and got rocked for three homers in a 14-2 loss. Clement said he’ll watch Wednesday's game from home with his kids. Mattix, who turns 13 next week, had his first birthday party in a Miami area hotel the day before Clement’s start in 2003. Madden is 10, and Mavrik is 7. Clement's daughter, Mallie, is 4. His boys have plenty of Pirates gear, he said, but they have a soft spot for the Cubs. They can name both lineups. “The kids are rooting for the Cubs after their trip to Wrigley,” he said. “We’re not going to the game. It’s going to be too crazy down there [at PNC Park]. My kids would want to wear Rizzo jerseys. I’ve been to enough Steelers games -- watching fans get the crap kicked out of them for wearing another team’s colors.” Clement isn’t fixated on what the Cubs didn’t do in the three games after his start, but he remains “bummed” that he wasn’t on a Cubs team that won the World Series. He said nothing in his career could hold a candle to the feeling of a standing ovation as he walked off the field at Wrigley during the pennant race. When he saw it happen to Arrieta late this season, Clement could remember what it was like to have that kind of civic joy wash over him. “It would be cool to be in that position, to be on that team for the city of Chicago,” he said. “I love Chicago. I loved being a Cub.” -- ESPNChicago.com Chicago Cubs' wild-card lineup coming into focus? By Jesse Rogers PITTSBURGH -- Neither Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon nor Pittsburgh Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle revealed their wild card roster or starting lineups on Tuesday as that’ll come sometime on Wednesday before the game. But an afternoon workout by the Cubs gave a good indication which way Maddon is leaning. Infielder Tommy La Stella was seen taking extra ground balls at third base even as the rest of the team was done with its afternoon workout. La Stella started six games at third in the regular season which encompasses all of his career starts there as well. He also started there on Friday when Jake Arrieta last started, against the Brewers. "With all of our guys, if you've seen them all play different positions during the course of the last two or three weeks, a big part of that was for me to get guys comfortable doing different things," Maddon said Tuesday afternoon.

Starting La Stella at third base means rookie Kris Bryant would be in left field while another rookie, Kyle Schwarber, would play right field. Schwarber started two games in right this season, games No. 160 and 161 over the weekend in Milwaukee. Being new to the outfield the thinking is right field at PNC Park is easier to play then spacious left field. "I love the fact that we are so versatile," Maddon said. "I love that young players are not just stuck in one position." The odd man out for the starting lineup looks to be Chris Coghlan who had a .827 OPS in September and October. He wondered over the weekend what his role come Wednesday might be. "Do I think I give our team the best chance to win in the wild card game against Gerrit Cole?" he asked. "Yeah, I do. I feel like I’m one of the best eight guys out there." Coghlan is likely to be the first left-handed pinch hitter off the bench but the fact of the matter is Maddon has chosen to play a third baseman in left field, a second baseman at third base and a converted catcher in right field. Of course it might not matter considering who’s on the mound. "When Jake pitches, it presents differently based on his abilities and what you think the hitters may do against him," Maddon said. "And that's part of the equation. Again, not to get complicated, but that's something that I would look at too." It sounds like Maddon is choosing offense over defense as Arrieta gives up very light contact anyway, but what does he like about La Stella’s offensive game over Coghlan? La Stella sees 4.29 pitches per plate appearance compared to 4.01 for Coghlan. That could be one factor. They both have good line drive percentages with La Stella at 30 percent and Coghlan at 29 percent but Coghlan’s walk percentage (11.5) is higher than La Stella’s (6.7). According to ESPN Stats and Information, La Stella is better against fastballs while Coghlan handles the off-speed stuff. Pirates starter Gerrit Cole is a power pitcher so than leans La Stella’s way as well. All things being equal maybe La Stella got the nod for one statistic in particular: Getting runners home from third base with less than two outs. Coghlan ranks last on the team having brought home 4-o- 20 while La Stella is 3-for-6. It’s a small sample size, of course, but remember we’re looking for reasons to start La Stella and getting them home from third is the Cubs' biggest weakness. La Stella’s season was shortened by an oblique injury so all his numbers are in a small sample size. "I know what I want to do tomorrow (Wednesday)," Maddon said. "I'm not ready to announce it yet because I don't want to do that. But the guys that are going to play tomorrow have been in the positions that they're going to play tomorrow at various moments during the season." With all this in mind let’s take another stab at the starting lineup: Dexter Fowler, CF Kyle Schwarber, RF Kris Bryant, LF Anthony Rizzo, 1B Starlin Castro, 2B Miguel Montero, C Addison Russell, SS Jake Arrieta, P Tommy La Stella, 3B --