Chicago Cubs Joe Maddon feels the pressure to find a closer

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.