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At some point Saturday, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles transformed from a patient NFL draft observer into a frenzied deal broker. Poles knew the depth of this year’s draft class matched up with massive holes across his roster. He knew the limited draft capital he had to work with and was determined to do something about it.AdvertisementA call with the Los Angeles Chargers heated up early, with the Bears pushing to deal a 2023 sixth-round pick for two late swings in Round 7 Saturday evening.A little while later, the Buffalo Bills called with interest in the Bears’ first of two picks in Round 5. Done deal. Poles happily slid back 20 spots and picked up an extra sixth-rounder.AdvertisementThe Houston Texans called next. Another deal. Once again, the Bears backpedaled down the Round 5 draft order while adding more picks for Saturday’s proceedings.A subsequent trade was executed with the Cincinnati Bengals.By 2 p.m., Poles had turned the three Saturday picks he woke up with into eight overall selections.[ Column: Ryan Poles makes several moves on Day 3 of the draft with eyes on improving the Chicago Bears O-line ]The Bears’ draft hive was so alive with a flurry of trades and then a wave of picks that area scout Breck Ackley found himself dizzy and excited.“Fast and furious,” Ackley said. “It was a little like ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ there for a minute.”No wonder Poles entered his post-draft news conference just before 7 p.m. with a look of fatigue and a sense of fulfillment. “I’m exhausted,” he said.Understandable after Poles slept at Halas Hall on Friday night and then selected eight new rookies in a span of 3 hours, 36 minutes Saturday afternoon to finish off his 11-player draft class.AdvertisementExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 17A fan attempts a field goal during an NFL draft party at Soldier Field, April 29, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)In all, the new Bears GM grabbed four offensive linemen, including Southern Utah offensive tackle Braxton Jones and Doug Kramer, a center from Illinois by way of Hinsdale Central.Poles also found two defensive players for new coach Matt Eberflus, including promising but ultra-raw pass rusher Domonique Robinson from Miami of Ohio, who just three years ago was a wide receiver in the Redhawks program. Now Robinson will push to develop into a respected pass rusher in a franchise with a rich defensive history.After the Bears went without picks in the first and fourth rounds, eight of their selections were scooped up in the final 100 picks Saturday. Therefore it’d be imprudent and borderline reckless to forecast this as a class that will change the meandering direction of the franchise.But in a draft world with an unsettling success rate leaguewide, Poles felt satisfied that he gave himself an opportunity to take more swings.“Any time you have more ammunition,” he said, “the better it is in terms of getting hits. That was kind of the thought process.”[ NFL draft tracker: Here are all 11 Chicago Bears picks, from Kyler Gordon to Trenton Gill ]Who knows what any of it actually means. We all know the old John Wooden-ism: “Never mistake activity for achievement.” And on the first day of May 2022, it’s impossible to forecast whether a guy like Southern offensive lineman Ja’Tyre Carter will one day emerge as a starter for the Bears or whether he’ll simply fade away like so many Day 3 prospects before him.AdvertisementLikewise, will Baylor running back Trestan Ebner quickly emerge as a significant contributor as a pass-catching change-of-pace offensive weapon and as a return specialist? Or will he one day become just another big shrug like other Day 3 backs chosen by the Bears over the last decade? (Remember Ka’Deem Carey, Jeremy Langford and Kerrith Whyte?)Obviously, Poles wishes he had a crystal ball to provide long-term answers on how many of the 11 picks from his first draft will ultimately be considered hits. But alas …“I’d like to know tomorrow,” Poles said. “But it’ll take a year or two just to see who develops, who jumps out really quickly, who takes a little bit of time.”And, of course, who’s no longer around in four months. Or a year. Or two.As a former offensive lineman, Poles’ push to add athleticism and tenacity to the line won’t happen overnight. But with four linemen picked Saturday, the new GM feels he made a step in the right direction.“We added competition,” he said. “When you have competition, it brings the best out of you. … It’s all in an effort to get better — not only to improve our skill set up front but also just making the entire group function at a higher rate.”AdvertisementPoles was pleased for the Bears’ legion of scouts, who spent months ompiling detailed reports on prospects and were rewarded with the team’s largest draft class since 2008.“(As scouts), it’s all smiles,” Ackley said. “That’s what you want. You want those chances and swings. We take a lot of pride in this.“You write up 400 guys during the course of the year and sometimes when you get down to it, you don’t even get one pick. That’s the way the job goes. But it’s really cool when you add picks like this and you see the names on the board and you start looking up and saying, ‘Man, we’ve got a chance to get these guys.’”[ Chicago Bears undrafted free-agent tracker: Ryan Poles adds several WRs and DBs on deals or minicamp invites ]The Bears’ willingness to make four trades Saturday, of course, hinged on the way their draft board was aligned. And the ripple effect of the COVID-19 pandemic — with many college players taking advantage of an extra season of eligibility in 2021 — gave this draft intriguing volume deep into Day 3 even if the event lacked some of its usual sizzle in Round 1.“I didn’t think it was that exciting at the top,” longtime Bears scout Jeff Shiver said. “There was not the movie star up there. But (the depth) just kind of blended through, all the way down. … There will be guys in the seventh round where somebody is going to get a steal.”Poles made it clear Saturday night that his eagerness to roll the dice so many times was a vote of confidence in Eberflus and his coaching staff, who will now take over the developmental process.Advertisement“We brought a lot of good teachers into this building,” Poles said. “So that’s where it pays off.”For a franchise that hasn’t had three consecutive winning seasons since 1988, the early stages of another major reset can seem tedious and unfulfilling. But there is no magic potion in the NFL that generates instant turnarounds.Poles did what he could Saturday to add to his depth chart and give Eberflus a place to start. Now, the Bears will march forward with an understanding that they still have a long way to go.

Biking around her Far Northwest Side neighborhood, Monica Dillon’s eyes sometimes linger past a nondescript parking lot east of O’Hare International Airport, squeezed between the Kennedy…

“How did the Sure Power herbicide you referenced in a column last year work to control lesser celandine in your lawn?”— Samantha Jefferson, Highland ParkAdvertisementLesser celandine (Ficaria verna) is a very invasive spring ephemeral perennial plant that has become more prevalent in gardens and lawns.Leaves begin to emerge before flowering in very early spring, so look for it before other plants have started to grow.AdvertisementBecause lesser celandine emerges well before native and ornamental species, it has a developmental advantage that allows it to establish and overtake areas.It forms large, dense patches in your garden, so watch for it and eradicate even very small clumps as you see them.You can also find it growing in the crowns of perennials and bases of shrubs.Plants consist of a basal rosette of succulent, dark green, shiny, kidney- to heart-shaped leaves that creep across lawns and beds.The flowers are easy to recognize with eight (typical) to 12 bright yellow petals arranged symmetrically around a slightly darker center that rise above the leaves on single stalks. Lesser celandine can be easily confused with marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) — a native plant found in wetland habitats and in some home gardens with moist areas.Some of the lesser celandine plants in my home garden are starting to flower now. The foliage begins to die back after flowering and will mostly disappear by June or earlier if temperatures are consistently warm.Lesser celandine spreads primarily by vegetative means through prolific tubers and bulblets, each of which can grow into a new plant once separated from the parent plant. The tubers may be unearthed and scattered by the digging activities of animals, as well as weeding, and spread to new sites during flood events.For small infestations in garden beds, lesser celandine may be dug up using a hand trowel or shovel. It is very important to remove all bulblets and tubers, since each one left in the ground can grow into a new plant. For example, rototilling a bed simply propagates this plant, allowing small plants to come back the following year.AdvertisementBe persistent in removing the weed. I have had success in eliminating it from vegetable garden beds by weeding it out year after year. All parts of the plant must be bagged and disposed of properly. Do not put it in a compost pile.While manual removal methods are possible for small infestations, using a systemic herbicide is more effective for small and large growth because it kills the entire plant — including the roots — and minimizes soil disturbance. Expect to treat plants two to three times each year over a period of years to get this plant under control if it is already well established in your garden.It’s important to apply an herbicide just as the weed begins growing for the best control and to minimize damage to adjacent desirable plants. Start applications prior to flowering and up until about 50% of the plants are in flower and then stop.I usually make two to four applications in my garden beds as more plants continue to sprout over time.It’s getting to be late now for optimum results but it is still worth trying. Applications can be made early in the season when the temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above, and no rain is anticipated for 12 hours. It is best to use a spreader sticker with the herbicide, since the leaves of lesser celandine have a waxy covering that repels water.AdvertisementGlyphosate herbicide is systemic, with the active ingredient absorbed by the plant and eventually killing it. Re-treatment over a few years will probably be necessary. Because glyphosate is a nonspecific spray, it should be applied so that it contacts only lesser celandine and does not drift onto desirable plants such as turf grass or perennials.Over the last two years, I have used the product Sure Power for the lesser celandine growing in my lawn.Sure Power seemed to knock it back more dramatically than other products. The large stand of lesser celandine returned this spring, though in slightly smaller numbers with generally smaller and less vigorous foliage.I sprayed twice again this spring and had good timing on the first application with the foliage curling, stopping growth and turning brown. Plants that I missed on the first application and sprayed about a week later are less affected by the spray.I plan to continue treating with Sure Power in future years and have opted not to use the nonselective herbicide glyphosate to treat the lawn. I doubt that it can be eradicated with one season of spray and do not want to reseed my lawn multiple times. It’s important to read the label on whichever herbicide you decide to use to make sure you are using it properly and safely.For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

TONKAWA, Okla. (AP) — Three University of Oklahoma meteorology students were killed in a crash when their vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in northern…

The Chicago Fire’s winless run continued Saturday when Patryk Klimala’s two late goals rallied the New York Red Bulls to a 2-1 victory at Soldier Field.The Fire (2-3-4, 10 points) are winless in their last five Major League Soccer matches — and six overall when counting their quick exit from the U.S. Open Cup. AdvertisementMeanwhile, the Red Bulls (5-2-2, 17 points) became just the second club in MLS history to open a season with five straight road wins. The LA Galaxy opened the season with five straight road wins in 1996 and 1998.Xherdan Shaqiri gave the Fire the lead — and ended their 385-minute goal drought — in the 17th minute when he nailed a penalty kick after Ashley Fletcher was called for a handball in the box.AdvertisementKlimala netted the game-winner on a penalty of his own in the first minute of second-half stoppage time after scoring the equalizer in the 75th minute.“A lot of the goals that we’ve given up have been set pieces, tonight we gave up a PK goal,” Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson told reporters after the game. “So for us, it doesn’t matter how we get the goals, we just know that we need to get more goals.”The match was delayed for 80 minutes because of heavy rain and lightning, and the Fire went down to nine players in the second half after forward Jhon Durán and defender Rafael Czichos each picked up second yellow cards. “It was not a normal day, right?” Fire defender Jonathan Bornstein told reporters. “Yes, it was difficult to make that pause for the weather, the rain and the lightning, but we stayed focused and I think we still came out of the pause really well. “Of course, playing with nine men on the field is difficult. I applaud my teammates. Nobody put their arms down and everyone gave their all to the very end.”Carlos Coronel had two saves for the Red Bulls. Gabriel Slonina saved two for the Fire.Associated Press contributed.

Dear Amy: I am a self-supporting working woman.Over the past decades, I’ve written personal essays for various publications. I don’t make money at this; I wish I could!AdvertisementI have a portfolio full of my work. Some pieces are humorous; some are serious.I moved to a new town three years ago and made a new friend. She was going on a long car ride, so I offered to give her a few of my essays to read while she was away.AdvertisementShe has not said a word about any of the essays. I’m surprised because two of the pieces mention how my son battled cancer as a teenager. I had never discussed this extremely personal topic with my friend. I thought this was a good way to enlighten her. (My son is now cancer-free.)I finally asked her if she read any of my work. She said she did. She had no comments. Nothing positive; nothing negative.I find this very odd and a bit insulting. I am not a terrible writer. If the pieces were poorly written, they wouldn’t have been published in the first place.Is my friend upset that I never broached the subject of my son’s illness before? I believe she’s the type of person who would let me know that the omission upset her.She didn’t comment on the humorous pieces, either. Wouldn’t a friend say SOMETHING?I just don’t get why she hasn’t said a word about something very close to my heart.Any ideas?– At a Loss in ColoradoAdvertisementDear At a Loss: A negative response from a friend could be deflating, but no response is much worse, because the writer in you fills the void with questions and doubt.Yes, I do think it’s possible that your friend was shocked by some of the personal revelations you wrote about but had never disclosed to her. But some people simply do not realize that the kindest response from a friend is to offer encouragement, a question, or a compliment, along with any less-positive comments if the conversation goes deeper.It is possible that your friend simply didn’t like your work, and doesn’t know how to deliver a vague and friendly acknowledgement that might satisfy you.Because this worries you, you could say to her, “I’m a little thrown off that you haven’t had anything to say about my work. Are you open to having a conversation about it?” If she demurs, accept it. You should re-publish your work on a website, so in the future anyone who is interested in your writing can easily find and read it on their own, without you pressing it upon them.Dear Amy: I had only been living with my boyfriend for two months when his mother’s living situation (in another state) took a turn for the worst. He wanted to have her move in with us. I was truly naive and discounted all the negative stuff his siblings warned me about. They said that she would try to destroy our relationship.Well, she moved in and slowly began a campaign. She made snide comments and criticized me constantly. Her son would confront her and take up for me, so she ramped up the attacks every time he wasn’t physically present.AdvertisementShe and I had a few brutal arguments and he confronted her and made her apologize, but I knew she didn’t mean a word of it.I told him that while I accepted her apology, she and I couldn’t live under the same roof. We took her back to her home state.After we dropped her off and drove back home, he informed me that he’d had second thoughts and was moving his mom back in with us, and understood that meant that I would leave. I am furious and hurt.He says it’s temporary. He minimizes her abusive behavior and even blames me for being combative.Should I leave the relationship, or am I being too difficult?– Am I Moving?AdvertisementDear Am I Moving?: Yes, you are moving. You are moving because your boyfriend has accepted your non-negotiable and has demonstrated to you that he prefers to live with his mother.Ask AmyDailyNo-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. For a limited time, sign up for the Ask Amy newsletter and get the book “Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist” for $5.Dear Amy: “Surviving Sister” described a harrowing situation where a “wellness check” on their brother resulted in armed police taking the man away in handcuffs.People seem to wonder why family estrangements happen. In my opinion, it often comes down to the refusal to acknowledge and apologize for unintended consequences.– Been ThereDear Been There: I completely agree.Got a question for Amy? Enter it here and we’ll send it to her.AdvertisementSign up here to receive the Ask Amy newsletter to get advice e-mailed to your inbox every morning, and for a limited time — get the book “Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist” for $5.©2021 Amy Dickinson.

MILWAUKEE — The Chicago Cubs lost for the ninth time in 11 games and have been outscored 20-2 by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first two games of the series.Marcus Stroman takes the mound Sunday in search of his first Cubs win.AdvertisementHere are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.Starter Justin Steele shrugged off the first-inning lapses that put the Cubs in a 3-0 hole.Advertisement“It was kind of funny, wasn’t it?” he said after the game. “It’s just baseball. You’re going to have these kinds of days. Sometimes you’re lucky. Sometimes they’re hitting line drives right at people and you go 1-2-3 with not a lot of pitches. … You’ve just got to grind through it.”It started with an error by third baseman Patrick Wisdom on an Andrew McCutchen grounder to lead off the inning and was exacerbated when center fielder Michael Hermosillo booted an easy pick-up of Christian Yelich’s single up the middle. Steele fielded Hunter Renfroe’s dribbler down the first-base line but couldn’t make the play, allowing a run to score.Steele thought he was out of the inning trailing 2-0, but a replay challenge reversed the call on an inning-ending double play.After a long delay before and during the challenge, Steele returned from the dugout, took some warm-ups and served up an RBI single to Rowdy Tellez.“Kind of a delay there once we were in the dugout,” he said. “But I felt like I refocused , went out there and started throwing pitches again.”Manger David Ross spoke with crew chief Jerry Layne after the delay but declined to say what the discussion was about.“We had a conversation about a lot of things,” he said. “We’ll keep that in house. Thanks for asking.”Chicago Cubs starter Justin Steele pitches during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, April 30, 2022, in Milwaukee. (Morry Gash/AP)Steele failed to get into the fourth inning for the third straight start, but said it was “one of the better times I’ve felt his year” as far as his stuff.AdvertisementHe’s 1-3 with a 5.50 ERA and allowed 23 hits over 18 innings in five starts.“There are times when you see electric stuff,” Ross said. “One thing we’ve got to do, we’ve got to play some better defense behind him. … We can’t beat ourselves.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Ross said he didn’t think Steele was affected by the errors.“I don’t think things went his way after,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating when you’re out there and make pitches and plays aren’t made. But there are going to be times when he doesn’t make pitches and they make great plays behind him. … We’re all going to make mistakes. You’ve just got to execute pitches.”Five Cubs hitter struck out at least twice, including Madrigal and Michael Hermosillo, who were fanned three times apiece. Brewers starter Eric Lauer struck out the first four hitters and 11 over seven innings. The Cubs struck out 15 times overall.Madrigal, who is hitting .203, had never struck out three times before in a major-league game. Ross said it was a matter of timing.Advertisement“Very uncharacteristic of him,” Ross said. “Had a couple days off. Maybe just getting back into that timing for him. That’s what I see — just a little bit late.”Madrigal had only seven strikeouts in 103 at-bats as a rookie with the White Sox in 2020. Last year he struck out 17 times in 200 at-bats before a season-ending hamstring injury, which preceded his trade to the Cubs.Madrigal finished April with nine strikeouts in 59 at-bats.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles ended Saturday with 11 newly draft players, but that wasn’t enough to fill his roster needs.So he set out to add more depth to the team by signing a number of undrafted free agents.AdvertisementPoles said he wanted his staff to sell players on being able to compete for opportunities.“It is a crazy process,” he said. “They’re up there scrambling right now and doing a really good job. This is probably the best process — the way we started this tonight after the draft — that I’ve been a part of. Very organized. Using technology to stay connected and linked up while being in different rooms so you don’t have the noise and people scrambling and screaming. It is a crazy time. Advertisement“But I will guarantee you there will be some guys from this undrafted free agent process that are going to develop and be good players.”Here’s a list of players who are joining the Bears via UDFA contracts or rookie minicamp tryouts, based on reports from the players, schools and others.Jean Delance, FloridaTristen Taylor, Eastern WashingtonCyrus Holder, DuquesneLandon Lenoir, Southern IllinoisLuke Little, MaryHenry Litwin, Slippery RockAdvertisementSavon Scarver, Utah StateKevin Shaa, LibertyDrew Plitt, Ball StateMaster Teague, Ohio StateDe’Montre Tuggle, OhioChase Allen, Iowa StateAdvertisementJohnny Huntley, LibertyJake Tonges, CaliforniaJoshua Black, SyracuseMicah Dew-Treadway, MinnesotaKainoa Fuiava, Idaho StateElijah James, LibertyAdvertisementChristian Albright, Ball StateJaylan Alexander, PurdueC.J. Avery, LouisvilleEzekiel Barnett, Louisiana TechJoshua Black, SyracuseJamal Brooks, South AlabamaAdvertisementJack Sanborn, WisconsinJon Alexander, CharlotteRoy Baker, Eastern KentuckyTre Bugg, Air ForceDerick Bush, Coastal CarolinaConey Durr, MinnesotaAdvertisementAllie Green, MissouriJaylon Jones, MississippiMatt Coghlin, kicker, Michigan StateAntonio Ortiz, long snapper, TCU

Ryan Poles made four trades Saturday in the final day of the draft, but the deal the Chicago Bears general manager could not make was finding a taker for veteran quarterback Nick Foles.That led the team to agree to release the veteran and former Super Bowl MVP, allowing Foles to become a free agent and search for his next team. NFL Media reported the move Saturday night.AdvertisementFoles’ contract called for him to receive a fully-guaranteed $4 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the current league year that began in March. He was due to earn a $4 million base salary this season with $1 million of it also fully guaranteed.The Bears effectively replaced Foles, 33, when they signed veteran Trevor Siemian to be their No. 2 quarterback behind Justin Fields. Foles did not attend the voluntary minicamp earlier this month at Halas Hall.AdvertisementPoles was asked about Foles’ status earlier Saturday evening but didn’t offer an update.“We haven’t gotten there yet,” he said. “Obviously, we’ll update you when the next move happens. We’ve kind of phased that into different phases. So now that it’s post-draft, we’ll have some conversations and see where we want to go next with that.”Former GM Ryan Pace in 2020 traded a fourth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire Foles, who was deemed a good fit for coach Matt Nagy’s offense with the team uncertain about its future with former first-round pick Mitch Trubisky. The quarterbacks battled for the starting job in training camp with neither performing particularly well. Trubisky was named the starter but was benched during the Week 3 game at Atlanta. The offense rallied to a 30-26 victory and the job belonged to Foles.He would win only one more game as a starter that season, a 23-16 victory at Carolina in Week 6. Foles’ record as the starter was 1-6 before he left the Week 10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field with a hip injury.The Bears let Trubisky go, signed veteran Andy Dalton and then traded up for Fields, effectively making Foles the No. 3 quarterback last season. His only action came in a Week 16 start at Seattle, throwing for 250 yards and a touchdown in a 25-24 victory over the Seahawks.Getting a team to trade for Foles and his contract earlier in the offseason wasn’t something the Bears could accomplish. He exits as another example of a Bears quarterback plan that didn’t pan out.

MILWAUKEE — After years of failing to develop starting pitching, the Chicago Cubs finished 2021 with three potential starters in Justin Steele, Keegan Thompson and Adbert Alzolay.The prospect of those three joining Kyle Hendricks in the rotation for the next few years was an enticing one for fans eager to see something new at Wrigley Field. And without having to spend a fortune on the rotation, the Cubs theoretically could’ve used the money saved to fill other holes on the roster — and maybe have some left over to sign catcher Willson Contreras to a long-term deal.AdvertisementBut things change quickly in baseball.Alzolay was shut down in spring training with a lat injury and will miss multiple months. Even when he returns, he likely will start out as a reliever. Thompson returned to his former role in the bullpen and has been too dominant to mess with, at least for now.AdvertisementThat has left Steele, 26, as the last man standing. And with the calendar turning to May, the jury is still out on whether he can stick in the rotation the entire season.Steele entered Saturday’s start against the Milwaukee Brewers looking to find his mechanics and prove his endurance. He got off to a rocky start thanks to a pair of Cubs errors and his own fielding miscue in the Brewers three-run first inning. He allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk over three innings, throwing 74 pitches and striking out four.Steele threw five scoreless innings against the Brewers on April 9, but failed to last more than three innings in his last three starts, including Saturday.“The main thing we’ve seen is the inability to repeat his delivery,” manager David Ross said during batting practice. “He just kind of loses it, the strike zone or the feel for the baseball, in an inning. He falls behind hitters and has to work really hard to get back.“Just finding a consistent rhythm out there as the game goes on seems to be (the issue). He usually starts out pretty well, and then that third or fourth inning, he struggles a little bit finding the zone. His stuff plays in the zone. We know that. But you’ve got to get ahead of hitters, keep them off balance.”The short spring could be a factor. But Ross said Steele’s lack of experience probably is the biggest reason. After a brilliant stint in the bullpen last season — he compiled a 2.03 ERA — Steele stretched out at Triple-A Iowa to return to the Cubs as a starter after the sell-off. He went 2-4 with a 4.95 ERA in nine starts, but finished with seven scoreless innings in his final outing Sept. 30.Growing pains were expected in 2022, and the Cubs are willing to live with them as long as Steele shows progress.AdvertisementChicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“When you don’t a have feel for a certain pitch or you have trouble commanding one, what do you go to?” Ross said of the thought process. “I think all that stuff, experience drives that. You get some tough lessons at this level. He’ll continue to grow and make adjustments to it.”If the Cubs hope to be competitive, the starters need to pick up the pace. Entering Saturday’s game Cubs starters were a combined 3-10 and ranked 27th in the majors with a 5.54 ERA.Marcus Stroman (0-3, 6.98 ERA), who starts Sunday in the series finale, hasn’t lived up to expectations, while Hendricks has been up and down since a strong opening-day start against the Brewers. He was beaten up in Friday’s 11-1 loss in Milwaukee, serving up three home runs, and his 5.47 ERA is fourth-worst among starters with 20 or more innings.“Consistency is what you’re striving for,” Hendricks told reporters after Friday’s loss. “And that starts with pitch to pitch for me. I’m just not having that right now. It’s kind of been one game to the next.”Before the game Saturday the Cubs optioned starter Mark Leiter Jr. to Triple-A Iowa while calling up lefty reliever Locke St. John, leaving a vacancy in the rotation. The rosters will be pared from 28 to 26 on Monday, after teams were allowed to carry two more players early on because of the short spring training.With two upcoming off days, the Cubs probably don’t need a fifth starter until May 10, leaving Hendricks, Stroman, Steele and Drew Smyly as the foursome. Wade Miley, rehabbing from left elbow inflammation, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Sunday. Alec Mills remains in limbo after suffering a right quad strain while rehabbing from a lower back strain.AdvertisementIf the Cubs continue to fall in the National League Central, you wonder how long it will be before Thompson gets another shot at starting.