Livid Lackey just the norm
LOS ANGELES — The optics couldn’t be worse. But the Cubs say it’s an optics illusion when it comes to John Lackey’s wrathful emotions and how they affect his young teammates and his relationship with his manager.
Lackey snapped at second baseman Javy Baez and rookie catcher Willson Contreras after mistakes in the field Wednesday night in Game 4 of the NLCS. And it didn’t take an expert lip reader to see Lackey saying, “You gotta be [ freaking] kidding me,” as manager Joe Maddon walked out to pull him from his start two batters into the fifth inning.
“John gets angry, and it shouldn’t surprise anybody,” said Maddon, who took a more circuitous rout to the mound than normal to get Lackey. “I took a deep breath.
“You have to understand I’m dealing with some really highly charged personalities here — guys that have been there, done that. And they’re good, and they’re very proud men.”
Maddon said before Thursday’s game that he hadn’t yet talked with Lackey since those charged moments, which lingered as thinly veiled anger in the clubhouse after the game.
Teammates say his temperament is nothing new.
“Once I got here, I realized how Lackey acts,” Contreras said. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve just got to deal with it. I don’t care if he showed me up or not. I’m not trying to make a [ catcher’s] interference. I’m just trying to play the game as hard as I can. He knows that I’ll be there to do my best for him.
“He’s just a gamer, and everybody knows that. He wants to win. Especially in games like this, we can’t make those mistakes. But we did. We’re human beings.”
Said Maddon: “It’s John. He vibrates on that frequency. He’s an edgy human being. He’s an edgy baseball player. If you’re surprised by it, that’s your fault.”
Edwards escapes injury
Carl Edwards Jr., who left in the seventh Wednesday because of a tight hamstring, was diagnosed with only a cramp and was considered available Thursday.
This and that
Kris Bryant ( 10) and Dexter Fowler ( eight) rank 1- 2 in career postseason extra- base hits in Cubs history. No. 10 for Bryant was a one- out double in the fifth inning Thursday.
† With his third- inning single, Justin Turner had reached base in 15 straight postseason games, a Dodgers franchise record.
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