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Cubs’ David Ross on criticism from fans: ‘I’ll take all the heat and keep it off the players’

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Cubs manager David Ross at Wrigley Field.

Festivity was in the air Friday at Wrigley Field, and not just because it was Cinco de Mayo.

It was “Mash” Mervis Day, too.

Sure, everybody was excited to see powerhouse lefty slugger Matt Mervis, a 25-year-old first baseman, make his debut in the big leagues. May he have a long, loving relationship with Sheffield Ave.

But Mervis is here because there’s room for him, and there’s room for him because the Cubs recently stopped hitting.

The sights and sounds of conviviality are — even on a gorgeous day at Wrigley — a bit strange, a bit out of context when the bats are in the deep-freeze and the team still is bruised and bloodied from a 1-6 road trip that was part of a 4-10 slide.