From “The big deal”

By Paul Sullivan

July 31, 2016

Aroldis Chapman was nervous.

The 6-foot-4 closer, the guy with the Autobahn fastball and diamonds like disco balls sparkling in his earlobes, had just plunked himself on a well-worn bench in the visitors dugout at U.S. Cellular Field.

Chapman seemed confident and even a bit cocky from the outside, but the Cubs insisted the stressful moment had his insides churning.

What would possibly make this dude nervous?

Not making his Cubs debut before 40,000 screaming fans in the annual City Series between the crosstown rivals. Not meeting new teammates in a strange town while trying to impress his bosses.

Certainly not taking on the weight of ending the Cubs' 107-year drought.

The most intimidating pitcher on the planet, the Cubs insisted, was nervous about facing the Chicago media.

Chapman arrived in good time at the Cell on this warm July afternoon, ready to put on a Cubs uniform for the first time and start a new chapter in his short but brilliant career. The Cubs had acquired the Cuban-born lefty from the Yankees a day earlier for four players, including top prospect Gleyber Torres.

It was a steep price to pay for a two-month rental on a team that already had a bona fide closer in Hector Rondon. It was also the boldest move yet of “The Plan,” Theo Epstein's much-lauded rebuild, the morphing of the Cubs from bottom-feeders to World Series favorites.

Wrigley rocked like October the next night when Chapman followed up with a four-out save in his second game, a 3-1 victory over the White Sox.

The Chapman jolt was something no one could replicate. Upon entering the game to a Rage Against the Machine song, Chapman began firing fastballs, making the old park shake to its foundation.

This was something fans could get used to. Manager Joe Maddon admitted Mariano Rivera may have created that same type of energy at old Yankee Stadium, but he couldn't envision anyone topping the electric atmosphere Chapman created.

The Cubs were ready to win now, and Chapman would serve as the exclamation mark to the Plan.

“Given where we are, if not now, when?” Epstein asked. “We're going to err on the side of a chance to win now.”

After waiting 107 years, the Cubs were now in prime position to end the longest championship drought in sports.

And no one, including the closer, seemed the least bit nervous.

From “Getting start on finishing”

By Paul Skrbina

Nov. 1, 2016

Carl Edwards Jr. wore his black National League Central champion cap backward and held his 1-year-old daughter, Ava, in his valuable right arm as he and his family absorbed the division-clinching celebration at Wrigley Field on Sept. 16.

“This is something else,” one family member said.

Something else is exactly what Edwards' future may hold. If the present is an indication, the 25-year-old rookie reliever they call “the String Bean Slinger” could be the team's closer of tomorrow.

With current closer Aroldis Chapman likely to be costly on the free-agent market and former closer Hector Rondon and setup man Pedro Strop seeing reduced roles in the postseason, the 6-foot-3, 170-pound Edwards might be the next man to be the last man in for the Cubs.

“Sometimes he speeds things up, but that's part of my job — to make sure he keeps the ball down and he keeps calm,” rookie catcher Willson Contreras said earlier this season. “We're pretty much on the same page every time I'm catching him. It's a lot easier.”

Edwards came to the Cubs from the Rangers with Justin Grimm, Mike Olt and a player to be named for Matt Garza in 2013. He pitched 42/3 innings in five games last season.

This year the Cubs called Edwards up May 11 from Triple-A Iowa to serve as the 26th man on the roster for a doubleheader, and he returned to the big leagues June 20. Thanks to a 96-mph four-seam fastball and an exceptional curveball, Edwards has landed in the good graces of manager Joe Maddon.

Edwards raised his innings to 36 in 36 appearances during the 2016 regular season, when he had a 3.75 ERA and allowed just 15 hits while striking out 52 of 138 batters. He has allowed four hits and one run in 52/3 postseason innings.

Maddon hasn't been shy about using Edwards in key situations in the World Series. He brought him in to start the seventh inning of a scoreless Game 3. Edwards took the loss that night after allowing an RBI single to Coco Crisp for the game's only run.

But Maddon went right back to him in Game 5 on Sunday, again to start the seventh, this time to protect a one-run lead in relief of National League Cy Young Award front-runner Jon Lester.

Edwards didn't flinch.

“I didn't really feel any tension,” he said. “I was just trying to do what I have to do to keep my team in it, to help us survive another day.”