CHICAGO _ When the Cubs released a video last week of the new bullpens under the Wrigley Field bleachers, they highlighted a "fun feature" in which fans would be able to watch the pitchers warm up behind a glass window.
It was seen as a concession to critics who complained the switch from the field to an enclosed area would deprive fans of ever seeing the pitchers getting ready for the game, a longtime Wrigley tradition.
They even put a sign on the glass outside the Cubs' bullpen reading: "Please do not disturb the Cubs. Kindly keep your paws off the glass."
But so far, the Cubs pitchers and their opponents have warmed up in privacy. A green metal barrier has been pulled down over the bullpen windows all week, including Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Pirates.
Arrieta had the barrier down when he threw a side session earlier this week and when he warmed up Saturday, but doesn't mind if fans watch him get ready.
"If they're bothering you, hitting on the glass like you're at the zoo, maybe lower the (barrier) down," Arrieta said Friday before his first Wrigley start. It's going to take a little adjustment period."
Fan access aside, the bullpens have worked out well so far, with minor complaints.
"I actually liked it," said Arrieta, who is to make his first Wrigley start this season on Saturday. "I'm usually not a big fan of indoor throwing in general at all, just because the environment, the atmosphere (is different). You feel closed in, and the ball comes out of your hand a little differently. Visually it's different, but there are a lot of nice things about it."
The biggest adjustment has been going from a warm, quiet room to a chilly, noisy field.
"It's a little weird, kind of being quiet in there when a bunch of crazy stuff is going on outside," John Lackey said. "But it wasn't that big of a deal."
Arrieta said the climate-controlled setting should benefit the relievers and help keep them loose.
"It was done really well," he said. "The mound is really, really nice and pretty much mimics our game mound, or as close as they could get it. The lines are straight, so you're not throwing off-set to the plate, four inches this way or that way.
"All things considered, they did a tremendous job with it. It's really neat how they put it under the bleachers. One drawback is they took away some of the foul territory and we didn't have much as it is. But at the end of the day it's going to be a good thing for Wrigley."
Arrieta was skeptical about the plans when he first heard them, saying he preferred to warm up under game weather conditions.
"I'm always skeptical of indoor throwing, or half-indoor, half-outdoor," he said. "But my (side sessions) felt great and I didn't feel off because of the surroundings. From my first experience it was good. I know some guys are on the same page as me. Some guys are a little less happy about it. But it will grow on them."
The players look out on the field behind tinted green glass windows that fans see as the Under Armour ad on the green doors in left and right.
The Cubs did not invite the media to check out the bullpens, but an impromptu visit before the home opener revealed the home bullpen had three folding chairs in the first row of the window and two in the second, next to a small platform.
Justin Grimm quickly pronounced "dibs" on the platform.
"I took over the back platform," he said. "I put one chair in the middle of it and said 'This is my platform. Don't get on it.' I kind of play king of the hill."
Seeing out of the windows is OK in the daylight, but Grimm said the sight is "tough at night because of the vinyl protecting the Under Armour sign."
"But we have nice TVs in there to check it out," he added.
As for the fans watching through the windows, Grimm conceded the pitchers prefer to keep the barriers in place, at least for now.
"We keep it closed just in case we do something we're not supposed to do," he said with a grin. "We might have to open it up in the summer days."
