Chicago Cubs: Three things to watch in Spring Training opener

How does bullpen fare?

One must imagine that we’ll see at least a couple of the bullpen arms the Chicago Cubs hope to depend on in today’s game.

And though one Spring Training game hardly dictates the future, their comfort levels and ability to locate pitches will bear watching. That goes for the new guys and the team veterans.

Can Brandon Morrow look comfortable in the closer role with the Cubs and stay healthy?

He certainly has the arm and the production, at least from last year, to suggest he’ll do just fine in such a role. The Cubs don’t need Wade Davis levels of dominance here, but they did need him to stay steady.

Perhaps only slightly less pressing: Carl Edwards Jr. put his maddening control issues behind him?

When he was on last year, he was the Cubs’ best reliever outside of Davis, hands down. But if he can’t throw strikes, he puts the Cubs in a tough spot.

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Furthermore, how do Steve Cishek and Justin Wilson look as they vie for roles in the bullpen? In Wilson’s case particularly, can he throw strikes enough to reliably be that power lefty the Cubs badly want him to be?

We might not get all those answers today, but there are little things that could be worth watching in the first baseball action of the season for the Chicago Cubs.