Perfect finish to crazy year
Through highs and lows, Cubs have a big game for No. 162
CHICAGO — Confusion covered Ben Zobrist’s face as he sought clarity from reporters about all the scenarios still facing the Cubs, which range from clinching the National League Central to choking away the division title.
“That’s why I asked the question,” Zobrist said with a smile Saturday after Cubs lost 2-1 to the Cardinals at Wrigley Field and later fell into a tie with Milwaukee for the division lead. “There’s pressure in this game and you have to enjoy it.”
That parroted the familiar message Zobrist says Cubs manager Joe Maddon delivered Thursday at his annual pre-playoff meeting pushed up to reflect the urgency: Don’t let the pressure exceed the pleasure. While players did what they could to follow Maddon’s advice, fans dealt with another anemic offensive effort one day after the Cubs scored eight runs.
And so the Cubs regular season comes down to today, suspense still surrounding the 162nd game on the schedule, providing perfect symmetry for an imperfect season and preparing everyone who lives and dies with the so-called best team in the National League for the worst-case scenario. What frustration for those who allow the Cubs winning or losing to dictate their daily moods but what fun for those who win and lose, if you believe Maddon.
“It’s a blast,” Maddon said. “That was part of my spiel with the boys. Since the time you were in Little League, these are the situations you always want to be in. So why would you choose to not enjoy that and create an ominous situation? I want them to embrace it and enjoy it.”
That was easier said than done for a subdued crowd of 40,784 that saved the biggest cheers for Nick the ball boy, whose hustling entertained the home fans more than the Cubs hitting. Bears weather hurt too; brisk winds blowing in from right field on a 59-degree afternoon that felt chillier kept at least three hard-hit balls from going as far as they might have in milder weather. That takes nothing away from Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas’s performance.
“You have to admire his mustache as much as anything,” Cubs counterpart Cole Hamels said postgame.
You have to respect the way Mikolas made hitters feel like pulling their hair out after his league-best third victory over the Cubs this season.
Mikolas efficiently worked through the batting order as if he had early dinner reservations at Chicago Cut, requiring only 99 pitches to give up five singles and an unearned run over eight innings. At the end a rugged regular-season journey, a tough Miles was the last thing the Cubs wanted.
“He has had a great season and we saw why,” Zobrist said of the righthander who improved to 18-4.
This would be a bad time to remind you that the Cardinals signed Mikolas to a two-year, $15.5 million contract last December two days before the Cubs agreed to a three-year, $38 million deal with fellow free-agent starter Tyler Chatwood. If Cardinals second baseman Yairo Munoz had not dropped a fly ball trying to make an over-the-shoulder-catch, the Cubs would have been shut out. Hamels deserved better, giving up only three singles over seven innings, but it has been that kind of year at Clark and Addison where the unexpected has intersected too often with the expected.
If the inevitability of the postseason looms for the Cubs, a fear of finality hovers too. During this unprecedented run of four straight playoff appearances that spoiled the fan base, the Cubs relied heavily on a productive young nucleus of position players, a healthy intellectual marriage between Maddon and the front office and the feeling that the best was yet to come. All of a sudden, finding people around Wrigleyville who still feel that way poses a challenge.
Missing Bryant for almost half the season because of injuries and later losing Addison Russell, once a cornerstone, to allegations of domestic abuse should remind the Cubs how quickly future plans change in pro sports. No matter how October unfolds, the Cubs will head into the offseason more concerned about their core of position players than they were mid-summer. That doesn’t mean the Cubs should prepare to write blank checks to either highpriced free agent available, outfielder Bryce Harper or infielder Manny Machado. That means Cubs President Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer need to keep an open mind and engage in an open discussion about restoring some certainty to an everyday lineup full of guys who look as mentally and physically tired as they sound.
Coping with 30 games scheduled over 30 days wasn’t the toughest thing to overcome in September. The Cubs also lost two closers. They welcomed back Bryant after a long absence because of an injured shoulder only to see him miss a few more games after getting hit in the hand by a pitch. They endured the MLB investigation into the allegations of domestic abuse Russell’s former wife leveled against him, a process that could result in the player now on paid administrative leave becoming an ex-Cub. An update on Russell’s status could come today, before the most important game of the season.
“Like any other day,” Maddon said of Game No. 162. Except it isn’t for this Cubs team.