Cubs prepping for home-field festivities
MILWAUKEE - After Sunday's series finale at Miller Park, the Cubs will finally get to come home and enjoy more spoils of their 2016 World Series championship.
Before Monday night's game against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field, the championship banner will be raised. Tuesday will be an off-day. Before Wednesday night's game, the Cubs will receive their World Series rings from a selected group of fans.
"It's really a special time," manager Joe Maddon said Saturday. "Like everything else, I will encourage my guys to slow it down, take those mental snapshots, enjoy it, don't let it happen too quickly, understand this is good, you celebrate achievement. So for all those different reasons, I am looking forward to it. I will tell myself to slow it down and enjoy it."
Maddon added he's looking forward to the banner raising the most.
"I love banner raisings," he said. "Rings are wonderful, but I love banner raisings. That's symbolically there all the time. Every time a kid shows up at the ballpark, he sees that banner. Hopefully we're going to be able to add more."
Guest of honor:
Joe Maddon revealed Saturday that has invited Soot Zimmer, the widow of former Cubs manager Don Zimmer, to attend Monday's opening-night festivities. Don Zimmer served as a coach with Maddon in Tampa Bay.
"I said, 'Zim's going to be there (in spirit), so you might as well be there too,'" Maddon said of his phone call with Soot Zimmer.
Baez bounces back:
Javier Baez was back in the Cubs lineup at second base, one night after a nasty-looking collision with center fielder Jason Heyward. Baez had to leave Friday night's game after suffering a bruise near his left eye.
"Good, good, 100 percent normal," he said. "I'm seeing good."
Baez showed no signs of damage except for a bloodshot left eye. He said he began icing the area since coming out of the game. He did take some ribbing from his teammates.
"The guy's made of steel," Kyle Schwarber said.
As for Heyward, he was not in Saturday's lineup, but Joe Maddon said he had planned to give Heyward the night off against Brewers lefty Tommy Milone. Heyward said he was fine.