Maddon welcomes second-guessing of Game 7 moves
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. The Chicago Cubs might have won the game, but the secondguessing of manager Joe Maddon’s Game 7 decisions have carried into the offseason.
Speaking at baseball’s winter meetings Tuesday, Maddon was peppered with questions about how he managed the decisive game of the World Series. The Cubs blew a 5-1 lead against the Cleveland Indians but won in 10 innings to claim their first title since 1908.
“It’s fascinating to me regarding the second-guessing, because the only reality I know is that we won. That’s the one reality that I do know,” Maddon said. “We have oftentimes talked about outcome.
“If you had done something differently, would it have turned out better? But better than winning, I don’t know what that is.”
Leading 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Maddon pulled starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks with a man on first and two outs. Lefty Jon Lester entered the game, along with catcher David Ross. Jason Kipnis hit an infield single, and a throwing error by Ross moved the runners to second and third. Lester then threw a wild pitch, allow- ing both runners to score, making it 5-3.
“If David is able to make that play and Kipnis is out at first base, there is no narrative to follow that,” Maddon said.
“But the ball dribbled far enough away that a wild pitch occurs and two runs score, and all of a sudden it’s a concern.”
Ross hit a solo home run to extend the Cubs’ lead to 6-3, and Lester pitched two scoreless innings before departing with a man on first and two outs in the eighth inning.
Closer Aroldis Chapman entered the game, giving up a runscoring double to Brandon Guyer and then a dramatic tying home run to Rajai Davis.
The Cubs pushed across two runs in the top of the 10th and managed to hold on for an 8-7 victory.
And for Maddon, that’s really all that matters.
“The second-guessing component, to me, is part of the game. And I do embrace it. I kind of enjoy it.
“But in a situation like that, the outcome was a good one, and everything that we did prior to win that game was pretty much set up before that game began.”
It was a draining way to win a World Series. Maddon, however, isn’t complaining and has found it easy to bask in the afterglow.
“It wasn’t awful, I swear it wasn’t. I felt pretty good actually afterwards,” Maddon said of Game 7. “I didn’t feel totally drained. We drove the RV back, hung out a little bit. Been riding my bike and doing normal stuff.
“I didn’t feel that bad.”