- AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
- A new closer for the opener: Kyuji Fujikawa
UPDATE—6:30 PM: The Cubs have lost just one game at home all season.
Is there a better week for the accomplished Chicago sports fan? True, the Bears are hibernating. But the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks will all be playing, the NCAA championship is tonight, and the Masters starts on Thursday.
The Cubs struggled on the road last week (2-4), but now they return to Wrigley, where they’ve yet to lose this season. The home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers begins at 1:20 PM.
Manager Dale Sveum has already demoted closer Carlos Marmol to setup man. This was after just five games, but there’s a previous body of evidence. Marmol has a slider that lately has been breaking sharply over the outfield fence. The last straw for Sveum came on Saturday, when Marmol surrendered two ninth-inning homers in the Cubs’ 6-5 loss to Atlanta. The new closer will be former setup man Kyuji Fujikawa, who set up Marmol Saturday by allowing three runs in the eighth.