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Chicago Cubs Joe Maddon feels the pressure to find a closer
Joe Maddon has his hands full trying to pick closers nightly to finish up games for the Chicago Cubs while Theo Epstein quietly is considering upgrades to the bullpen. Will he make the move?
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is having quite the season thus far. First, Maddon finds out he’ll be without their primary closing pitcher, Brandon Morrow, for an extended amount of time and then a windfall of issues rose up:
- The Chicago Cubs start slow and pile up some early losses.
- Starting pitcher Jon Lester gets hurt running during his trip to bat.
- Outfielder Ian Happ and pitcher Carl Edwards Jr., are sent down to Triple-A Iowa.
- Darvish starts throwing some stinkers.
- Catcher Victor Caratini gets hurt and is put on reserve.
- Acting-closer Pedro Strop gets hurt and is put on reserve.
- Both first baseman Anthony Rizzo and third baseman Kris Bryant struggle at bat.
- Rizzo hurts his back and has to sit out several games.
- Utility player Ben Zobrist takes an extended leave of absence for personal reasons.
With all of this happening in the opening months of the season, how is it even possible that the Chicago Cubs are in first place in NL Central?
Chicago Cubs: Worst to First
If you’re the president of baseball operations, like Theo Epstein for the Cubs, you wouldn’t want anyone else behind the wheel other than Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon. This is where Maddon’s genius and ability to walk-thru the entire game on paper and in his mind becomes so valuable to the organization. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like Maddon enjoys working like this as reported by Forbes contributor Phil Rogers, but he has no choice when his hands are tied by missing personnel:
Maddon sighs when he’s asked about managing his bullpen without Strop. “You have to save somebody for that moment,’’ he said. “In advance you start looking at their lineup — here’s the seventh inning, here’s the eighth, here’s the ninth. If things go well, maybe four hitters that inning, maybe four hitters that inning, who’s the best guy for the last three outs, maybe four hitters? “It’’ll be all the guys, it’ll be everybody. It’ll be (Steve) Cishek, it’ll be (Brad) Brach, it’ll be (Brandon) Kintzler, it’ll be Carl (Edwards), it’ll be Kyle Ryan. I think (Mike) Montgomery’s capable. (Tyler) Chatwood, I’m really curious about this too. If Chatty goes out there and pounds the strike zone, there’s a lot that he can do good for us. It’s wide open. It is the wild, wild West.’’
Amidst all of this chaos, Maddon is managing a strong-performing Chicago Cubs team that stands in the lead in their Division. Don’t think this hasn’t gotten everyone, and I mean everyone, spooked. Any manager will tell you that the way to win championships is managing (winning) with injuries.
The character of a team can be determined in the way they battle adversity, and the Cubs have had (and continue to have) a lot of difficulty in their short season so far which means this could be another championship team. So where is the help for Maddon as he continues to piece together pitching lineups to win?
Chicago Cubs: Epstein’s upgrades
Maddon is undoubtedly earning his pay this season, and fans are loving the spirit of this team. If there was ever a good time to bring up his own contract, Maddon might want to consider sending it Express Mail to Epstein’s office. There is no better time to ask the boss for a raise than when you’re working double time like Maddon.
But what is Epstein doing to help the situation? All eyes are looking at Epstein for some bullpen help and, to be honest, Epstein is no stranger to seasonal upgrades. Remember pitcher’s Aroldis Chapman and Wade Davis and second baseman Daniel Murphy? Epstein can pull the trigger when he finds a deal worth grabbing as reported by Rogers in Forbes:
Epstein says he’s constantly monitoring upgrades to the bullpen and hints that he’ll likely use his trade capital to acquire bullpen arms in mid-season deals. “We’ll have to tweak and adjust over the course of the year as we go,’’ Epstein said. “Then we’ll receive a lot of help both internally and probably at some point from outside the organization. We have been in and will continue to be in an aggressive mindset with respect to the bullpen. I think the results thus far have been outstanding but that doesn’t mean we become passive or assume that’s going to continue going forward.’’
That’s good news for Maddon, although I’m sure he’d prefer a text from Epstein saying he just signed closer Craig Kimbrel. Eventually (we hope) Maddon is going to get everyone back; his players, his injured reserves and his Triple-A wayward sons. Although, many Cubs fans are starting to have that notion, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” and leave things as they stand, Maddon knows what it takes to go the distance in a season.
Epstein certainly wouldn’t argue with the jobs Maddon and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy have done thus far with the Cubs sitting fourth in the league boasting a 3.80 bullpen ERA. You could almost call them both miracle workers for what they’ve produced under the adversity they’ve faced. If you’ve been reading the Cubbies Crib, you know the next several days could launch the Cubs comfortably into first place with an almost double-digit game cushion and that make the gravy.
Chicago Cubs: Bullpen help and gravy
Remember all those negative things happening to the Cubs I mentioned at the beginning of the piece? Slowly those have turned out to be not so bad. Lester is back and pitched a helluva game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Darvish has cleaned up his game, Rizzo and Bryant are killing the ball, and Carl Edwards Jr. has looked pretty darn good in his return to the Northside.
In fact, the Cubs could make this run gravy with some sweeps of the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals. To learn more, see this: Chicago Cubs: Now’s the time for a big move in NL Central Division
The fact remains that even if closer Brandon Morrow returns he is not a sure bet to stay healthy the rest of the season. If Epstein brought someone in now, it would ease the pressure on Maddon to keep looking at lineups and figuring out hitting and pitching puzzles. The new closer could get acclimated to the Cubs right now.
Right when the Cubs are winning and leaving everyone in their dust. Isn’t it important to let a new closer experience that gravy feeling of a first-place club and how they go about their business? To know how it feels when you have the right tools to go all season and win?
Next. Cubs need ace-caliber arms in Lester, Hendricks. dark
You’ve got be from St. Louis not to recognize the Chicago Cubs have a winning team this year.
Mr. Epstein, give Joe Maddon his contract and give us closer pitcher Craig Kimbrel or similar in the next couple of weeks and we’ll be seeing the Chicago Cubs in October.