To me, the most interesting thing about this photoset can be seen in photos 14-17, where you see a concrete pour going on in the bleachers, specifically the upper center-field bleachers. This is an area that has needed concrete to be re-done; it’s the only part of the original bleacher structure from 1937 that remained after the rest were rebuilt, first in the 2005-06 offseason and again in 2014-15. So that original concrete is either being replaced or reinforced, which is a good thing.
BCB’s Mike Bojanowski has the rest of this weekend’s report.
These photos were taken Saturday, March 4 in the afternoon and evening. It was very busy at all times and you can see many small changes and improvements.
Perhaps the biggest news of the last week is the absence of the "W" banner atop the centerfield board. It's my habit to try to see whether it still flies every evening as I pass it on the Red Line on my way home. Thursday evening was the first time I saw it missing since the title was won. Saturday was the first opportunity I had to observe it in daylight. The anchorages on the left-field side of the yardarm are broken, as seen in the pics. There were high winds and storms last week, especially Tuesday evening (tornadoes downstate), the most likely cause.
The windiest in-game conditions I ever saw personally at Wrigley Field came in a two-day stretch vs. the Dodgers, May 4 and 5, 1976. The first day, the banners on that side of the board indeed blew off their moorings, and some fell to the street below. The next day was the windiest Wrigley afternoon I ever attended (the box score says winds were blowing out at 31 miles per hour), the banners were not raised in any part of the park. The Cubs and Dodgers combined for nine home runs and 37 hits that day. L.A. won, 14-12.
Speaking of the Cubs and Dodgers, they will play the Wrigley Field 2017 home opener five weeks from today, April 10. The ballpark and area are rapidly getting in shape, helped again by mostly benign weather. I’m sure they’ll be ready to go 35 days from now.