What we learned at the Cubs' snowed-out home opener

What we learned Monday during the Cubs’ home-opener snowout:

Turning on the sprinklers at Wrigley Field with snow on the grass was not accidental.

When the Cubs turned on the sprinklers in the morning, most assumed it was an accident. The snow-covered field was bad enough. Why make it even soggier?

“It’s an interesting question,” Chairman Tom Ricketts said. “The way they melt the snow is to put water on it and then squeegee off the moisture. That’s the strategy anyways.”

Whether the strategy would’ve worked became moot when the game was postponed until Tuesday. Obviously the playing conditions would’ve been subpar at best, and the chances of injury likely would have increased with a wetter surface.

Ricketts said players’ health is “always a consideration,” but added: “We don’t want to cancel the game lightly. We’ve got (Tuesday) to reschedule, but you never know what tomorrow is going to be like. Unfortunately, weather predictions aren’t predictable enough to really lean on, regardless of what the actual weather does.”

Maybe he doesn’t know Tom Skilling.

The Cubs bullpen dancing after home runs will no longer be an automatic occurrence at Wrigley.

Carl Edwards Jr. revealed that the relievers’ custom of dancing after homers is being altered.

“It probably won’t be every home run,” Edwards said. “Maybe a big home run. Like, down by one, a two-run homer. Or tie ballgame, (a) go-ahead homer.”

The dancing got so much publicity last year, the Cubs have scheduled a “Dancing bullpen” tumbler giveaway on April 28 against the Brewers. It was a risky move by the marketing department, knowing what happened on Randy Myers poster giveaway day in 1993, when fans littered the field with the posters after a blown save against the Giants.

Why the change after only one year?

“It’s not really a change,” Edwards said. “Last year, late in the year, we stopped dancing. It was nice. It was fun. We’ll still do it.”

A conspiracy theorist accused Edwards of “big-leaguing” the dancing now that the Cubs lead the majors with an 0.94 bullpen ERA.

“Not big-leaguing the dancing,” Edwards said. “Just got to do a little bit more choreography, man.”

With each home run judged on its own merits now, how will the relievers know whether it’s time to dance or to continue sitting?

Edwards said they’ll just give each other “that look,” and then they’ll all start dancing. They like to keep fans guessing.

“Only time will tell,” he said.

New closer Brandon Morrow will not have to dance, according to Morrow.

“I won’t be dancing,” he declared Tuesday.

Last year’s closer, Wade Davis, either didn’t have to dance or declined to dance, depending on whom you ask. Closers typically don’t even go out to the bullpen until later in the game.

Morrow, closing for the first time in his career, said he has a couple of entrance songs in mind but doesn’t want to reveal one yet.

“It’s not that big a deal,” he said. “I don’t even know if I’ll stick with the same one. I might switch them up. I know most people stick with one, but maybe I’ll (mix it up), depending on how it feels.”

The ramp to the upper deck now includes some stairs near the top

Maybe this is an aesthetic improvement over the long and winding ramp, but it probably will cause more congestion going down after games. It takes longer to walk down the individual steps than it would to go with the flow of people down the ramp.

The Hotel Zachary has nice robes

Many of the rooms in the new Hotel Zachary, which has opened on Clark Street across from the ballpark, include an up-close view of the west side of Wrigley Field. More than a couple of the occupants were standing in front of their windows Tuesday morning wearing white robes from the hotel, seemingly oblivious to the fact they can be seen from the park or street.

psullivan@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @PWSullivan

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