Mills goes on injured list; Cubs open season with much different look
The Cubs set their Opening Day roster on Thursday morning and it includes just four players who were active for last year's opener - Kyle Hendricks, Willson Contreras, Ian Happ and Jason Heyward.
All four are in the starting lineup against the Brewers in frigid conditions at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs added pitcher Alec Mills to the injured list with a low back strain, so that means if they use a fifth starter, it will most likely be Keegan Thompson, but there is an off-day scheduled for Monday and the threat of April rainouts always looms.
Left-handed pitcher Wade Miley (left elbow inflammation) and infielder Andrelton Simmons (right shoulder inflammation) are also on the injured list.
"I think it's a really big deal to make the Opening Day roster," manager David Ross said. "I go back to my first time I got to make an Opening Day roster in L.A. I landed in L.A. and still didn't know if I made the team. Shawn Green sat behind me on the bus and he leans forward and he says, 'Rossy, you know you made the team if they have a picture of you on the side of the stadium.'
"So we drive into the stadium and we go all around the stadium and I'm like, 'Son of a gun.' I don't see it anywhere. Then we pull into the player's lot and there's a big David Ross poster on the side of Dodger Stadium. I get chills thinking about that. It's just one of those things that you don't take for granted, it's special for everybody.
"I counted like six or seven Opening Day guys here for the first time today, so I'm announce that when I talk to the team and congratulate those guys. It's a really big deal and something I think guys don't ever forget."
Thursday's lineup features Rafael Ortega leading off and playing DH against Milwaukee right-hander Corbin Burnes. The outfield features Happ in left, Heyward in center and newcomer Seiya Suzuki in right.
The expected group will man the infield, Patrick Wisdom, Nico Hoerner, Nick Madrigal and Frank Schwindel from third to first, with Contreras catching.
One of the biggest questions out of the gate will be a completely different bullpen from last season, with the exception of Rowan Wick, who didn't join the big-league squad last year until Aug. 10 due to an oblique injury.
"It's a really good group," Ross said. "Now that you (reporters) are back in the clubhouse, you'll get to see what a fun group this is and guys that have been around. I think they understand this is a unique place to play and they really feel fortunate, especially those guys coming over from other organizations. Walking around the clubhouse yesterday, you can tell the excitement on their face."
Expectations in general are low for the Cubs as they prepare for the first full year of the post-2016 rebuild. Ross shared his own thoughts.
"My expectation is for us to win ballgames," Ross said. "We're going to go out and compete really hard. I think it's a fun group, it's a group that gets along, a group that's still growing together. We're going to go out and try to compete every single day.
"I think the goal here is to win championships, as I always say. So we're going to work toward that. We're going to be better at the end than we are right now, I'm sure of that, and I think we've got a lot of talent."
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