Cubs relieve restroom pressure

With a Wednesday afternoon crowd announced at 26,814, there was much less pressure on the Wrigley Field restroom facilities.

Even so, the Cubs said they were ready after Sunday's opening night fiasco, when fans waited in long lines after two upper-deck restrooms went down with malfunctions.

"We were short 72 fixtures total, and we've added 72 portable restrooms inside the left-field concourse and outside the Gate K area," said Carl Rice, the Cubs' vice president for ballpark operations. "We knew that we were going to be short bathrooms on Opening Day. We were really clear with that.

"When we started to lose the bathrooms in the left-field upper deck and sent fans down to the concourse, it created even more gridlock. We did not expect that we were going to have the situation we had, and in hindsight, we should have had the portable restrooms here."

The Cubs have completed the first winter of their multi-year renovation of the 101-year-old ballpark. Rice said the Cubs hope to have one men's and one women's restroom ready to open by May 11, also when the left-field bleachers are expected to reopen.

He reiterated that the Cubs have no plans to move games to another park.

Pickoff problems?

Ace lefty Jon Lester did not seem happy when reporters surrounded him on the field to ask about his problems, or alleged problems, making pickoff throws to first base. On Opening Night, the Cardinals stole three bases while Lester was on the mound, two on a double-steal.

Lester did not make a pickoff throw to first last year while with Boston and Oakland.

"I really didn't have to do it last year," he said. "Obviously coming over here is a little different, more runners. Part of the game. Something we're working on.

"It really wasn't a big issue until somebody brought it up on TV, and I'm standing here answering questions about it. It must have been a slow news day and they wanted to talk about it."

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said Lester worked on the move all spring.

"I think a lot of things get magnified on Sunday Night Baseball, Opening Day," Hoyer said. "It was something he worked on all spring and it's something I think they can put a stop to.

"Obviously, with every pitcher, you want to make sure they control the running game. You want to make sure that bases are difficult to take. You want to make sure that teams don't start running the bases especially against a pitcher that's really hard to hit. You want to make sure that scoring runs is as difficult as it can be."

Cubs re-sign Russell:

The Cubs have signed left-handed reliever James Russell to a minor-league contract. After working out at extended spring training in Arizona, he'll report to Class AAA Iowa on Sunday.

Russell was a workhorse for the Cubs from 2010 until being traded last July 31 to the Braves, who released him at the end of spring training.

"He had a good run here," said Jed Hoyer. "We like him. We made the trade last year. Even making the trade, he's a guy we always liked. Obviously, he struggled this spring with Atlanta and got released. Hopefully, we can bring him in and take advantage of that."