Feldman pleads, then completes
If the Wrigley rooftop owners continue to oppose the Cubs’ ballpark renovation plans, first baseman Anthony Rizzo thinks he might have a solution.
“I would tell them, ‘Come into the ballpark and get a better experience than watching it from afar,’ ’’ said Rizzo, who singled and scored in the Cubs’ 6-2 victory over the San Diego Padres, which came about 12 hours after chairman Tom Ricketts threatened relocation if opposition to ballpark signage prevails.
Cubs life without Wrigley Field?
Manager Dale Sveum laughed at the suggestion.
“I stay out of that,” Sveum said. “But it shows the urgency for those things to get done.”
Sveum has enough urgent matters on his hands daily, including the decision Wednesday night to let lights-out starter Scott Feldman talk him into pitching the ninth inning.
“I just told him, ‘I’ve never thrown a CG before; can I get a crack at a CG?’ And he was cool,’’ said Feldman, who in his 106th career start eventually struck out Yonder Alonso to finish his first career complete game.
“I was just thankful he let me go back out there,” said Feldman, who gave up a one-out homer to Chase Headley in the ninth, “and that he didn’t take me out after I gave up that home run.”
It was the Cubs’ first complete game since Jeff Samardzija’s in Pittsburgh on Sept. 8. And one of the last at Wrigley? Not likely. But if it means a better chance to win, Rizzo, 23, seems OK with departing the 99-year-old Confines.
“I know [Ricketts] wants to bring a championship here, whether it’s at Wrigley or not,” Rizzo said. “We all want to be at Wrigley. ... I think the renovations need to get done for everyone.”
Notes
Matt Garza (lat strain this spring) finally pitched in a game Wednesday for the first time since last July, going 2⅔ innings in a minor-league rehab start for Class AA Tennessee. It came a week after he was scratched from a rehab start because of arm fatigue/soreness. He’s scheduled for two more rehab starts.
Righty Scott Baker began playing catch this week, his first throwing activity since being shut down in March after suffering a setback in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. He’s not expected back until after the All-Star break.