Schwarber wants to improve, stick around
Right to the bitter end this season, fans and media vented about Kyle Schwarber. Wasn’t he supposed to be a game- changer at the plate? Manager Joe Maddon’s handpicked leadoff man, even? And what’s with the butcher’s routine in left field?
Through it all, the 24- year- old lefty slugger kept his head down and worked. What else was he supposed to do, get all bent out of shape because Earl in Palatine disapproved?
“I don’t [ care] — people are always going to have an opinion,” Schwarber said. “But there’s always room to improve. I want to be the best possible player I can be, a better hitter, a better baserunner, a better defender, a better teammate. That takes constant work.”
Right to the bitter end, Maddon gave Schwarber chances to turn his season around. He started the series opener against the top lefty in the game, Clayton Kershaw, and homered off Yu Darvish for the Cubs’ only run in Game 3. In Game 4 on Wednesday, he was batting second and playing in left despite the Dodgers having their third lefty starter of the series — Alex Wood — on the mound.
“I think this year is going to benefit him next year,” Maddon said. “He’s going to do a lot of work in the wintertime. I think he can be an everyday guy [ against] righties and lefties.”
It only felt like Schwarber spent an entire career batting under .200 in 2017. By the end of the regular season, he’d dragged his average up to .211 to go along with 30 home runs. And though he’s still more barroom bouncer than ballet dancer in left, there was more than a smidgen of progress made defensively.
“I’m going to stay after it,” he said. “I want to play here for a long time.”
Same old, same old
Maddon cast a strong vote of confidence in his coaching staff, saying he wants all of his coaches back next season.
“The staff ’s done a great job, our staff ’s been awesome,” he said. “And it’s a tightly knit group. There’s a lot of synergy involved; nobody knows everything. There’s a lot of cross- pollination. Nobody’s on their own little island. I really like that.”
With the recent firing in Tampa of Jim Hickey, Maddon’s longtime pitching coach and confidant is available as a free agent. But Maddon said any speculation over Hickey joining the Cubs is unfounded and that Hickey won’t be on staff next year.
Contributing: Gordon Wittenmyer
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