Chicago Cubs: Joe Maddon has to quit gambling his team’s success

Despite a 7-1 start to the second half, the Chicago Cubs have trotted out some highly questionable lineups – especially when it comes to two young players.

We can’t ask for much more out of the Chicago Cubs lately. The team has done it all coming out of the All-Star Break, sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking two of three from the Cincinnati Reds and then going 2-for-2 to open this weekend series against San Diego with a chance for another sweep.

On Saturday, Javier Baez stole the show, falling a triple shy of the cycle and sealing the victory with an unbelievable no-look tag on Wil Myers in the top of the ninth inning. Really, he put the Cubs on his back – and even his skipper acknowledged that.

"“We needed him to do that today,” Joe Maddon told MLB.com after the game. “Quite frankly, we needed him to be that guy today and he was.”"

Well, maybe, just maybe if Maddon didn’t trot out Albert Almora as the leadoff hitter against a left-hander and continue slotting Addison Russell into the lineup on a near-daily basis, we wouldn’t need these types of performances to come away with victories.

Sure, at one time, having Almora in that role would’ve made sense. But it’s been a long time since that’s been the case. Need proof? Here you go.