Rain-check: Maddon confused by decision to postpone game
WASHINGTON — The Nationals Park tarp was pulled off the infield shortly after Friday night’s game was postponed after a second delay of 2 hours, 55 minutes, further raising the bewilderment of Cubs manager Joe Maddon.
“We played when we shouldn’t have (after the game’s start was delayed 1:21), and we didn’t play when we should have,” Maddon said.
That second delay wasted a start by Jon Lester, who threw a 14-pitch first inning.
“I voiced my opinion at the appropriate moment, and we wanted to play (Friday night),” Maddon said. “We wanted two one-gamers. We waited as long as we could, and the skies were absolutely cleared from that moment on. And they said they cannot be sure there (wouldn’t) be another popup. I’m beyond an amateur meteorologist. I (could) see it wasn’t going to rain anymore. So it’s kind of confusing to us.”
A message to Major League Baseball seeking comment regarding the postponement wasn’t answered.
“It was just unfortunate,” Maddon said. “We made it clear in the beginning we wanted to wait and play. We were willing to wait and play. And about 10 o’clock it didn’t look good, but all of a sudden it started to look better and we had no issues with starting at 11:30. None.” Veterans to the rescue: The Cubs’ hopes for a second World Series title centers partly on the quartet, or “Core Four,” of young homegrown talents Javier Baez, Albert Almora Jr., Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber.
But the stability that the seasoned veterans such as Ben Zobrist, Anthony Rizzo and newly acquired Daniel Murphy provides further validity to their postseason push.
“We’ve gotten better in a lot of ways, but they haven’t hit their potential yet,” Maddon said of his young players. “Then the real stability comes from Murphy, Zo and Riz.
“The oldest guy (Zobrist) has been setting the example for a while, and he’s going as well as anybody.
“And Murphy coming in (on an Aug. 21 trade from the Nationals), I can’t envision us being in the position we’re in had he not shown up in the lineup, the productivity, what he has done for us.”