Rozner: Cubs just about ready to get hot

It didn't feel much like Opening Day.

More like part of the NHL Stadium Series, though it's been warmer for some of those hotly-contested matches than it was Monday at Wrigley Field.

Sure, it had bunting. And there was supposed to be a ceremonial this and a ceremonial that.

But, really, it would have been the 10th game of the season for a Cubs team trying to get on a roll after a couple of weekend wins in Milwaukee.

There was a little pomp, a tad of circumstance and a lot of snow, but for some reason the Cubs were intent on pretending there was a prayer the game would be played.

The truth is the Cubs could have called the game Sunday night - or Saturday or Friday, for that matter. Apparently, MLB thought this was a big deal and insisted the Cubs try to play amid the snowplows.

So they had the grounds crew shovel the tarp, run sprinklers in the outfield and fight the good fight against the ice covering the grass.

They even moved the game time back an hour at 9:30 and then finally canceled the game at 11 a.m.

For anyone observing the blizzard on the North Side, it was somewhere south of shocking that they called it a day.

So the Cubs will try again Tuesday afternoon when the forecast is for clear skies and 46 degrees, a far cry from the season opener 12 days ago in Miami, where they somehow managed to lose a pair of games to the miserable Marlins, who were stuck on two victories until taking down the Phillies and Jake Arrieta Sunday.

It was an unspectacular road trip that featured a bit of good, a bit of bad and a lot of mediocre.

"We haven't been home for a while. Christmas was the last time we were home," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "It's been a tough road trip because it's been long."

It's an odd start, for certain, with three road cities and two postponements before introductions at Wrigley Field Tuesday, but the Cubs managed to salvage the journey with a rally Saturday and a strong performance from Jose Quintana Sunday.

That's really what the ugly was about on the road, the starting pitching.

Quintana followed up an awful start with a good one. Jon Lester has had one good and one bad, as have Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish. Tyler Chatwood allowed only a run on 4 hits in 6 innings of his only start, but also walked six in a 1-0 loss in Cincinnati.

The defense and baserunning have been uneven, but the truth - as always - is that the Cubs will be great if their starting pitching is great.

The bullpen, a question coming in, has been fantastic in a small sample, and the offense hasn't done much, contributing 26 of its 39 runs in 3 games.

Of course, Anthony Rizzo missed the last 3 games with a bad lower back and is hitting .107. Rizzo keys the lineup and they need him healthy, so with four days off already the disabled list isn't a terrible idea.

This doesn't work without Rizzo delivering in big situations.

So you add it up and 5-4 isn't bad for the way the Cubs have played, and if their starters find some consistency the Cubs should start to roll here soon.

A sudden end to winter might help.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.