August 21, 2018

Chicago Tribune, 'It's grind time': Cubs facing a stretch of 23 games without a day off http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-schedule-marathon-20180820-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Reliever Steve Cishek provides control in Cubs' inconsistent pitching staff http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-steve-cishek-20180820-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Jason Heyward might deserve a look at leadoff spot for Cubs against Tigers http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-jason-heyward-20180820-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Unlikely ex-Cubs pitchers fueling Athletics' stunning surge http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-pitchers-athletics-edwin-jackson-20180820-story.html

Chicago Sun-Times, With MRI results pending, Cubs teammates eye long-term value of Yu Darvish https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/mri-cubs-long-term-value-yu-darvish-elbow-injury/

Chicago Sun-Times, The 23 days that could define this Cubs team, season https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-define-season-23-days-playoffs-pennant-race-nl-central/

Chicago Sun-Times, ‘Get in or get lost’? Please — Cubs’ Joe Maddon deserves more respect than that https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/joe-raddon-chicago-cubs-mlb-postseason-2018/

Chicago Sun-Times, With Yu Darvish as a backdrop, a weird, winning season continues for the Cubs https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-cubs-yu-darvish-nl-best-record-joe-maddon-theo-epstein-jake-arrieta/

Daily Herald, Can the Cubs maintain their lead in NL Central? https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180820/can-the-cubs-maintain-their-lead-in-nl-central

Daily Herald, Scouting report: Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180820/scouting-report-cubs-vs-detroit-tigers-at-comerica-park

The Athletic, Two steps forward, one step back: The ugly numbers behind the Cubs’ slumping offense https://theathletic.com/481266/2018/08/20/two-steps-forward-one-step-back-the-ugly-numbers-behind-the-cubs-slumping-offense/

The Athletic, A conversation with Kyle Hendricks: How to ride the Cubs rollercoaster https://theathletic.com/481006/2018/08/20/a-conversation-with-kyle-hendricks-how-to-ride-the-cubs-rollercoaster/

Cubs.com, Inbox: Do Cubs have too many starters? https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/does-cubs-roster-have-too-many-starters/c-291129176

-- Chicago Tribune 'It's grind time': Cubs facing a stretch of 23 games without a day off By Mark Gonzales With an ominous stretch of 23 games without a scheduled day off starting Tuesday, manager Joe Maddon’s annual American Legion Week can’t last long enough for the Cubs. “The body never feels the same every day,” reliever Pedro Strop said. “Just take the rest when you need it.” The Legion Week, when players are encouraged to arrive at Wrigley Field as late as they want before home games to try to get more rest, starts Thursday and will run through the Cubs’ seven-game homestand that concludes Aug. 29. They then embark on a four-city, 11-game odyssey to Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Washington. “I’m more conservative about how much (pregame) work I put in, and I’ll try to be careful about that,” said Ben Zobrist, 37, who has remained largely injury-free this season because of a schedule he and Maddon script as far as a week in advance. But there’s a National League Central title at stake, so Maddon faces the challenge of keeping his players fresh while trying to maintain a lead in the division. “It’s grind time,” Kyle Schwarber said. Here are some factors, however, that might not make the Cubs’ journey as daunting as what teams encountered in the past. Schedule The Collective Bargaining Agreement states that teams cannot play more than 20 consecutive days. But the Cubs’ rainout in the final game of a three-game series on May 17 caused that rule to be waived because the Cubs weren’t scheduled to return to Atlanta, and Aug. 30 was a mutual day off. “(The players) got the hard job,” said Vijay Tekchandani, the Cubs’ director of team travel and clubhouse operations. “I just got to make sure they’re organized.” This 23-game stint, however, pales in comparison to a 39-game, 36-day jaunt that included four doubleheaders that was covered by the 1975 Athletics, or a 35-game, 34-day trip by the 1979 Rangers that featured three road doubleheaders in a four-day span. Their “day off” was spent in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the Rangers played in the annual Hall of Fame game before traveling to Detroit to play consecutive doubleheaders caused by two rainouts in April.

The Cubs’ record for most consecutive days with a game is 41, from Aug. 20 to Sept. 29, 1985, according to team historian Ed Hartig. Personnel The Cubs will catch a break when rosters can be expanded to 40 from 25 on Sept. 1, giving Maddon more flexibility. Reinforcements are expected to include slugger Kris Bryant, pitcher Mike Montgomery and closer Brandon Morrow, all of whom are on the disabled list. “Playing 23 straight games in August and September is not ideal, but this is why you get the rest early on,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “I plan to play in all 23. If things change and we feel we need a day, we take it.” The Athletics survived a 38-game, 35-day stretch to win their third consecutive World Series in 1974. “The big difference was the four-man rotation,” said Jon Miller, whose Hall of Fame broadcasting career started that season with the A’s, whose starters included Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman and Vida Blue. Those three pitchers combined to make 119 starts and complete 44 of them. The A’s used only 11 pitchers in ’74. “With an off-day, they could skip Blue Moon Odom, Glenn Abbott and Dave Hamilton. Rollie Fingers was the closer, and he ended up throwing 119 innings. Sometimes teams would open the season with nine-man pitching staffs.” Travel After a three-game series in Philadelphia on Aug. 31-Sept. 2, the Cubs will play the next day in Milwaukee. But they will have the luxury of flying on a charter flight, a convenience that wasn’t afforded the A’s of the 1970s. The team had to fly commercial (with three seats for two players) because of the oil crisis, and often they would play a night game in one city but not fly to the following city until the following morning, then bus directly to the park to play a day game. “There were no maximum limits on consecutive days played,” Miller said. The Cubs lost their day off scheduled for Aug. 30 because of their May 17 rainout in Atlanta, where they start their journey. As a consolation, the Sept. 3 day game in Milwaukee allows the players the option of making the 90-minute jaunt to their homes, even for just one night. “That will help break up a long trip, just having dinner and getting one night in bed,” Rizzo said. -- Chicago Tribune Reliever Steve Cishek provides control in Cubs' inconsistent pitching staff By Mark Gonzales

All was not lost for the Cubs in last winter’s free-agent pitching sweepstakes. While the team awaits the results of an examination on Yu Darvish’s right elbow and decides whether control-plagued Tyler Chatwood will get another start this weekend, their best offseason acquisition has been versatile reliever Steve Cishek, whose two-year, $12.5 million contract ranks as one of their best free-agent signings. “I can remember getting a call from (director of pro scouting) Kyle Evans this winter and as soon as he brought his name up, my response was ‘absolutely, positively, go get him,’ ” pitching coach Jim Hickey recalled. “He’s going to make any team better. He has no ego.” Cishek, 32, has provided versatility, quality and stability to a successful bullpen that has endured the loss of closer Brandon Morrow (bone bruise) for nearly six weeks. And Cishek has been at his best lately while the Cubs are trying to protect a small lead in the National League Central. Cishek had a 1.75 ERA through the first three months, and sees room for improvement. In his last 21 appearances, Cishek has walked only four batters and he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 games. His control in 60 appearances has been extremely impressive, considering his sidearm delivery and 6-foot-6 frame that requires precise balance. “Early in the season I walked too many people,” said Cishek, who walked 17 in his first 35 innings. “I don’t know what it was, but I just focused on tightening up my delivery, and it’s worked out since then. “Sometimes during the season I’ll go without a walk for a while, and then I’ll (issue) a walk an outing. Don’t know what it is. I feel locked in, just a big difference.” Hickey saw a snippet of Cishek’s talents during the final two months of 2017 when Cishek was traded from the Mariners to the Rays, where Hickey was the pitching coach. Cishek walked only seven in 24 2/3 innings for a 1.09 ERA in 26 appearances. “He is the real deal,” Hickey said. “He was extremely effective, extremely durable, and extremely resilient. He would take the ball and never say ‘no.’ That’s just his MO. He constantly attack hitters and it’s no surprise to me.” Cishek has pitched as early as the fourth inning — in the season opener — and he’s also notched three saves while pitching later in games with Morrow sidelined. He’s allowed more than one run only once – at Colorado on April 22 when he walked two and was charged with two earned runs. “You don’t notice until he’s had that bad day, and all of a sudden he goes seven in row without allowing a run,” Hickey said. “They’re like the offensive linemen who do their job for 100 plays in a row but when they call that penalty and the touchdown comes back, everyone knows about it. But I’ll take a bunch of him, and we have a bunch like them.” Cishek dished plenty of credit to his teammates, coaches and scouting department. He credited catcher Willson Contreras for insisting to throw a first-pitch fastball to the Pirates’ Josh Harrison on Thursday with the tying run on first in the 7th that eventually resulted in a pop to second. “This year I’ve paid more attention to scouting reports than ever,” Cishek said. “These guys put in an insane amount of work in them, and I’ve seen the results pay off. As the season has gone on, the

communication has gotten better between me and Hickey, or if it’s (coach) Mike Borzello or (advance scouting coordinator) Tommy Hottovy. We’re always talking pitch strategy.” -- Chicago Tribune Jason Heyward might deserve a look at leadoff spot for Cubs against Tigers By Mark Gonzales Manager Joe Maddon has used eight leadoff batters this season, including four in the Cubs’ last four games. Those hitters have combined to produce a National League-best .374 on-base percentage. They rank fifth in the league with 86 runs, a drop-off that is more a reflection of the struggles and injuries that have affected the middle of the Cubs order. Which brings us to Jason Heyward as the Cubs try to snap out of their offensive funk Tuesday night in an interleague series against the Tigers at Comerica Park. Heyward is one of the few Cubs currently producing, going 7 for his last 19. It might not be a reach for Maddon to elect to bat Heyward leadoff for the first time this season. Heyward is 6-for-17 (.353) with a .476 OBP, two doubles and a home run and against Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann. But the Cubs were hitless in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position during their four-game series against the Pirates, so Maddon has an interesting decision. Heyward is batting .326 with runners in scoring position and .333 in those situations with two outs. The only other enticing option is Anthony Rizzo, who is 5-for-12 (.417) against Zimmermann, but Rizzo suffered from a lack of run-producing opportunities when he batted leadoff earlier this month. At this point, giving Heyward a shot at the leadoff spot might be worth the risk, as the Cubs will be able to use the designated hitter in this two-game series. -- Chicago Tribune Unlikely ex-Cubs pitchers fueling Athletics' stunning surge By Tim Bannon Tucked away in the story of the Oakland Athletics’ remarkable surge is a surprising sub-plot: Former Cubs pitchers. Edwin Jackson, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and even Fernando Rodney, all of whom were either disappointing or unremarkable in Chicago, have helped Oakland’s rise to playoff contention. Who saw that coming? Cahill threw seven scoreless innings Saturday as the Athletics beat the Astros 7-1, which put the A’s into a tie with Houston at the top of the AL West, where they remain as of Tuesday morning.

The Athletics had trailed the Astros by 11 ½ games on June 24 and were still 10 games out on July 10. The Athletics are 3.5 games ahead of the Mariners for the second wild-card spot. Cahill, who pitched for the Cubs for two seasons, is now 5-2 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.038 WHIP. But over his last five starts, Cahill is 4-0. Cahill joined the Cubs in August of 2015 and even pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the National League Division Series. He worked mostly out of the bullpen for the Cubs in 2016, making 50 appearances, finishing the year 4-4 with a 2.74 ERA. He had no postseason appearances as the Cubs went on to win the World Series. Cahill did, however, get a ring. A free agent in 2017, Cahill signed with the Padres. He inked a one-year deal with Oakland in March. The A’s are the 30-year-old right-hander’s sixth major-league team. Since making his debut with the Athletics on June 25 against the Tigers, Jackson has started 10 games and has won four and lost two. He has a 1.062 WHIP and a 2.58 ERA. “He’s been fantastic for us,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I can’t say enough about what he’s meant to this team.” Now in his 15th season, this is Jackson’s 13th team, equaling a major league record. Back in 2010, the White Sox had acquired Jackson from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline. He went 11-9 with a 3.60 ERA in 30 starts before the Sox dealt him a year later with Mark Teahen to the Blue Jays, who immediately sent him to the Cardinals as part of an eight-player trade. The Cubs signed Jackson to a four-year, $64 million deal in January 2013. They released him on July 27, 2015, after he went 16-34 with a 5.37 ERA in 82 games (58 starts). Anderson pitched 22 innings for the Cubs in 2017, compiling an 8.18 ERA and a whopping 2.091 WHIP. For the Athletics, he has pitched 55 innings this season, starting 11 games. His ERA is 3.90. As for Rodney, the A's got him in a trade with the Twins on Aug. 10. Since then he has pitched five innings over five games, and has yet to give up a run. Rodney played briefly with the Cubs in 2015, pitching 12 innings over 14 games. The Cubs had acquired the then-38-year-old from Seattle for cash. -- Chicago Sun-Times With MRI results pending, Cubs teammates eye long-term value of Yu Darvish By Gordon Wittenmyer DETROIT — As the Cubs awaited the latest MRI results Monday on $126 million pitcher Yu Darvish, the attention began to shift to next year and the remaining five years on his contract. Darvish left a rehab start Sunday after only one inning because of pain near his surgically repaired right elbow similar to the pain that scuttled his previous comeback effort in June.

The Cubs haven’t said it officially, but Darvish isn’t expected to have time to go through the rehab process again and return this season, even though he said he hoped to Sunday. He last pitched May 20 and has made eight starts (1-3, 4.95 ERA) for the Cubs since signing with them as a free agent. Teammates expressed disappointment for Darvish. ‘‘Hopefully he has the MRI and he won’t have any damage,’’ pitcher Jose Quintana said. ‘‘I saw him the last two weeks, and he was real excited and happy.’’ ‘‘It stinks for him,’’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. After three months without Darvish nobody in the clubhouse was banking on him. ‘‘I was looking forward to it, I can’t deny that,’’ manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘But my minor-league training has taught me you’ve got to go out there with the guys you’ve got, and when the cavalry shows up, you utilize them.’’ But the Cubs are banking on him in the long term, with $105 million riding on the next five years. ‘‘He’s obviously going to be a big part of this team,’’ left fielder Kyle Schwarber said. ‘‘We just need him to get healthy. . . . We’re in the stretch run right now, but there’s also a long-term thing here where this guy’s going to have to help us for another [five] years. So we want him to get better and we want him to feel like he’s healthy where he can come back and help us win ballgames.’’ -- Chicago Sun-Times The 23 days that could define this Cubs team, season By Gordon Wittenmyer DETROIT — A Monday never looked so good to the Cubs as the one this week. ‘‘Thankfully, we have this off day,’’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. That was the collective sentiment in the Cubs’ clubhouse as players packed their duffels after an 11-inning loss Sunday to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. And it had less to do with all that didn’t happen offensively during a low-wattage, four-game series than it did with all the happenings that will be packed into the next 23 days. “We’re grinding. We’re doing our best to string stuff together. It’s just not cooperating right now,” said Rizzo of the team’s recent offensive struggles. Thanks to one of many early-season rainouts, the Cubs embark Tuesday on the most grueling part of their schedule this season: 23 games in 23 days, including six getaway/travel days, with their lineup slumping and their starting pitching stretched as thin as it has been all season. ‘‘No one’s panicked,’’ said left fielder Kyle Schwarber, whose two solo home runs in the series against the Pirates accounted for half the Cubs’ scoring in the four days. ‘‘It’s just that we’re ready to have this off day, refocus and get ready for this next series.’’

Forget the final two weeks of pennant fever in the tightly packed National League field of contenders. The next three weeks might tell the story of the season for a Cubs team that opens its meat-grinder stretch with the best record in the NL and the Brewers and Cardinals within striking distance in the Central. The promise of right-hander Yu Darvish rejoining the rotation during the back half of that stretch was dashed by another setback during his rehab assignment Sunday. Mike Montgomery, the Cubs’ best starter since Darvish last pitched in May, is a week into a stint on the disabled list for a sore shoulder without a firm timeline for his return. And Tyler Chatwood’s command issues looked even worse than they did before his demotion to the bullpen when he made a spot start for Montgomery on Saturday. All of which points to the significance of the lineup quickly figuring out how to score more than a run a game again and of the guys left in the rotation staying healthy and performing up to their potential. ‘‘Hopefully this is just a little blip in the road right now,’’ manager Joe Maddon said of a group that has been outscored in eight of its nine series since the All-Star break but has managed to lose only one of those series. The Cubs get what looks like a forgiving week to start, with the also-ran Tigers, Reds and Mets. They then will play the Braves, Phillies, Brewers and Nationals before their next day off. ‘‘This is the time where it’s going to be grind time,’’ Schwarber said. ‘‘Late August, going into September. . . . But we’ve still got the lead. We need to take this off day, relax, do what you want to do and then it’s time to take off with this thing.’’ -- Chicago Sun-Times ‘Get in or get lost’? Please — Cubs’ Joe Maddon deserves more respect than that By Steve Greenberg Fire him. No, that wouldn’t be enough. Tar and feather him, then fire him. And if you want to heave a few dozen eggs at his Winnebago as he steers clear of our town once and for all, have at it. Isn’t that the treatment manager Joe Maddon deserves if the reeling Cubs fail to make the playoffs? But I should stop there and make this very clear: I don’t mean any of it. I’m a big enough sucker to think Maddon — 118 games above .500 in less than four full seasons with the Cubs — is still pretty good at this whole managing thing. I see his team — bitten by a ferocious injury bug and in an offensive rut — winning its division again, with the best record in the National League, and suspect he might not be a complete schnook after all. No, Maddon, who has one year left on his contract, shouldn’t be fired no matter how this season plays out on the field. But tell that to the jabberjaws on sports-talk radio who’ve been weighing that very topic of late. Speaking of whom:

‘‘Whoever said that is an idiot,’’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. ‘‘That’s my opinion. Joe’s the man. With all due respect, that’s sports radio. Whoever said that is just trying to get some hits.’’ Many in the Chicago sports media bend over backward to avoid appearing overly impressed by Maddon. They rip him for his Aroldis Chapman obsession during the postseason in 2016. They put much of the blame at his feet for the Cubs’ wayward first half in 2017. They criticize his ever-changing lineups and his itchy bullpen trigger finger. All of which is legit. They’re also quick to roll their eyes at Maddon’s sloganeering (coming to a T-shirt near you!), his costume-party road trips, his hiring of magicians and mimes and his unrelenting positivity. When the Cubs fail at trying not to suck, good luck getting Maddon to say it. When the rest of us are out on ledges barking at the moon over Cubs shortcomings, Maddon keeps grooving to the feel-good soundtrack in his head. I’ve regarded it all cynically at times myself. But I have to disagree with my favorite columnist, the Sun-Times’ Rick Morrissey, who wrote this season of Maddon’s “deep need to be the center of attention.” Maddon could point to his three decades in baseball when pretty much no one knew who the heck he was. Come to think of it, he points to those days all the time. (OK, so he likes to talk.) Presumably, he didn’t have many bad days then, either. There’s a certain amount of shtick with Maddon, no doubt about it, but there’s plenty of authenticity to his process, too. How else could he have won more games than he lost in nine seasons with the godforsaken Rays? The Cubs need that process, that unrelenting positivity, now. Pitcher Yu Darvish isn’t about to re-enter the building. We might not see the best version of third baseman Kris Bryant until next spring. The health of closer Brandon Morrow is a question mark. The starting rotation is in flux. The bats come and go. If Maddon can keep smiling through it all, good for him. ‘‘I’m not going to tell anybody what they should be thinking, but I don’t understand why anybody would be criticizing Joe right now,’’ said infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, who also played for Maddon with the Rays. ‘‘I think that he’s done a fine job. He’s not the one out on the field. Besides . . . we’re in first place, and there are a whole lot of things that are going right. I think people need to remember that.’’ Pitcher Jon Lester, who, like Maddon, joined the Cubs in 2015, laughed when asked if a managerial change would be in order if the season were to go off the rails. ‘‘As far as anything that might be going wrong, that’s not Joe’s fault,’’ Lester said. ‘‘I think he has done a great job of managing what’s been in front of him this year. The criticism is just the nature of the beast of being good.’’ Maddon has ventured that seven to 10 years is about as long as a person ought to stay in any one job. Seven to 10 years of Maddon should suit the Cubs — and everyone else around here — just fine. One more contract? He has earned it. A zillion more sayings and slogans? We can deal with it.

And all the rest? Maybe I’m a sucker for saying so, but the Cubs are lucky to have it. -- Chicago Sun-Times With Yu Darvish as a backdrop, a weird, winning season continues for the Cubs By Rick Morrissey What a strange vibe there is right now to the Cubs. They have so many things going on, ranging from weird to unfortunate to bad, that you’d think they were scratching to get to .500 instead of owning the best record in the National League. The never-ending Yu Darvish saga has been hanging over the organization like a piano on a pulley. The cartoon version would have the rope snapping and somebody getting pancaked by an 800-pound musical instrument. What’s left of that somebody would look suspiciously like team president Theo Epstein, who signed the right-hander in the offseason. The real-life version would have Darvish’s fussy right triceps standing as a metaphor for an odd, successful season. Can an odd season be successful? The Cubs seem to be on a mission to prove it can. There’s an explanation for Darvish’s struggles – his arm hurts – but there isn’t one for what’s going on with the Cubs right now. In four recent games against the Pirates, they scored a total of four runs, all on solo home runs. Yet, somehow, the Cubs left Pittsburgh with a split. The Vatican is investigating it as a possible miracle. Cubs manager Joe Maddon takes pride in his teams’ strong second-half performances, but this year’s version is 16-14 since the All-Star break. Jon Lester has been up and down, as has Jose Quintana and Kyle Hendricks. Tyler Chatwood? More like Tyler Disastwood. Epstein’s three-year, $38 million offseason signing was demoted to the bullpen a few weeks ago but got a start Saturday against the Pirates after Mike Montgomery went on the disabled list. Chatwood was yanked after walking the leadoff hitter in the third inning. Did I mention that the Cubs still have the best record in the National League? You want weird? Here’s weird: Before the trade deadline, they acquired 34-year-old Cole Hamels, who was 5-9 with a 4.72 earned-run average with Texas. Now he’s acting like he’s the Cubs’ best pitcher, possibly because he is. He’s 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA with his new team. Addison Russell, normally an extremely reliable shortstop, has as many errors (14) as he has ever had in a season. A finger injury might explain that and his loss of power (five home runs). Or it might not. That’s how it goes with the Cubs. The only consistent thing has been Maddon’s optimism. A house could be in flames and Joe would call it a controlled burn. But even he can’t hide the fact that his hitters have forgotten how to – what’s the word? — hit. “We have to get our offense straightened out,’’ he said. “I can’t make any excuses for it.” The only explanation is a very baseball one: These things happen. Baseball is a game of two- or three-week stretches, and this stretch is a lifeless one. The fan base is on edge, and the team shrugs. Is what’s

happening anything other than weird? Or is there deeper meaning to it? If you know, feel free to hang a Psychic shingle. Like the Cubs of late, Epstein has had a rocky season. He has had bad luck with Darvish. The chorus from his critics is that Epstein should have known that the right-hander was “soft.’’ Somehow, an injury that won’t go away has become a window to a player’s mental makeup. Sorry, not buying that part of it. If you want to argue that Epstein made a bad decision by choosing Darvish over fan favorite Jake Arrieta, that’s completely fair. Especially with Arrieta’s ERA at 3.25 for the Phillies. The decision to sign Chatwood looks even worse with the struggles of the rest of the Cubs’ rotation. Epstein gets kudos for Hamels and rookie David Bote, who is hitting .290 after 39 games, but let’s not have a parade for two guys who haven’t been with the club long. I keep coming back to this: Isn’t it odd to be scrutinizing so closely (and harshly?) a team that is 19 games over .500 and 3½ games ahead of the second-place Brewers in the NL Central? A team that is without one of its best players, Kris Bryant, who is injured? But that’s where the Cubs are now, floating on weird crosscurrents. Darvish pitched one inning in a rehab start Sunday, then walked off the mound with discomfort near his right elbow. One inning? Of course it was one inning in this strange season. The Cubs are going through a stretch in which things don’t feel right, so it made perfect sense that Darvish would reflect that uneasiness with a pain-shortened outing. A good year so far for the Cubs. And an odd one. -- Daily Herald Can the Cubs maintain their lead in NL Central? By Bruce Miles Sunday marked the 49th anniversary of Ken Holtzman's no-hitter for the Cubs against the Atlanta Braves. The 1969 Cubs seemed on top of the world then, with an 8-game lead in the National League East. Things went downhill from there, as the Cubs wound up 8 games behind the hard-charging New York Mets, who went on to win the World Series. Little did anyone see at the time, but the '69 Cubs team was crumbling from the inside. Fast-forward to today. The Cubs enjoyed an off-day Monday in possession of the best record in the NL (71-52), good for a 3½-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers and 4 games over the hard-charging St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. The '69 Cubs could not hold on. Can the 2018 Cubs hold on?

There's still a lot to like about this version of the Cubs, who are shooting for their fourth straight postseason appearance and who have what seems to be a favorable stretch of games ahead of them against sub-.500 teams: Detroit, Cincinnati and the Mets. But there are plenty of warning signs, too, some obvious and some not so obvious. To wit: • Since coming back from the all-star break with an NL-best run differential of plus-114, the Cubs have lost 25 runs off that, seeing their differential shaved down to plus-89. The good news for the Cubs is that the plus-89 still gives them an "expected" (or Pythagorean) win-loss record of 72-51, better than that of the Brewers (66-60) and the Cardinals (69-56). The Cubs scored only 1 run in each of the four games at Pittsburgh this past weekend. Players such as Javier Baez (.239 in August), Addison Russell (.231), Willson Contreras (.208), Albert Almora Jr. (.200) and Ian Happ (.167) will need to pick it up in support of Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist, who have carried the team on offense this month. The team continues to miss their top player, third baseman Kris Bryant, who has been on the disabled list since July 24 with left-shoulder inflammation. • The problems of the starting rotation have been well documented. Big free-agent signing Yu Darvish has not pitched since May 20, and he cut short yet another rehab start Sunday as his right elbow continues to bother him. Now, it's questionable whether he picks up a ball again this season. Another free-agent signing, Tyler Chatwood, has been wholly wild and ineffective, with a record of 4-6 with a 5.22 ERA and an astronomical WHIP of 1.81, thanks largely to a league-leading 93 walks in 101⅔ innings pitched. Rotation replacement Mike Montgomery went on the disabled list last week with shoulder inflammation. One result of all this has been a precipitous drop in the number of quality starts turned in by the Cubs. In 123 games, they have 47 quality starts, going 37-10 in those games. Their starters have a 1.37 ERA in quality starts. The Cubs have 76 non-quality starts, and they have gone 34-42 in those games, with the starters having an ERA of 6.45 in those games. After 123 games last year, the Cubs had 57 quality starts. In their world-championship season of 2016, the Cubs had a staggering 77 quality starts over 123 games. The July 27 trade for lefty Cole Hamels has been a godsend for the Cubs, and it may end up saving the season. • Although the bullpen has been stalwart for the Cubs -- their relief ERA of 3.22 is second best in the NL -- they continue to do it without closer Brandon Morrow, who has appeared in only 35 games this year because of injury. The lack of quality starts poses a real threat to the freshness of the pen. Unheralded reliever Pedro Strop has picked up the slack with 10 saves. Strop currently ranks 12th all time in appearances for the Cubs (352), and he's certain to move into the top 10 before the season ends.

The one saving grace for the Cubs has been the "Iowa shuttle," by which the team has been able to call up and send back relief pitchers with minor-league options between Chicago and Class AAA Iowa. Counting Montgomery, who started the season in the pen, the Cubs have employed 20 relief pitchers this season. When the season ends, you may or may not remember the names of Luke Farrell, Justin Hancock, Cory Mazzoni, Rob Zastryzny, Dillon Maples, Alec Mills and James Norwood. All came in from the pen at some point this season, and the Cubs got big contributions from Randy Rosario and Anthony Bass. -- Daily Herald Scouting report: Cubs vs. Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park By Bruce Miles TV: NBC Sports Chicago Tuesday; WGN Wednesday Radio: WSCR 670-AM Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Kyle Hendricks (9-9) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (5-5) Tuesday; Jon Lester (13-5) vs. Francisco Liriano (3-8) Wednesday. Both games 6:10 p.m. At a glance: The Cubs swept the Tigers in two at Wrigley Field in early July. There's not much to like about the Tigers. They rank last in the American League in both on-base percentage and home runs. Their run differential is minus-105. Nicholas Castellanos leads the team in most offensive categories at .290/.343/.490 with 18 homers and 69 RBI. Former Cubs prospect Jeimer Candelario is at .226/.315/.405 with 15 homers and 45 RBI. The Cubs are beginning a stretch of 23 games in 23 days, including a makeup game in Atlanta on Aug. 30. They've dropped from first to third in runs scored in the NL entering Monday, but they still lead in batting average and OBP. Next: Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, Thursday-Sunday -- The Athletic Two steps forward, one step back: The ugly numbers behind the Cubs’ slumping offense By Sahadev Sharma Early in the season, the narrative surrounding the Cubs is that they were changing their collective approach under new hitting coach Chili Davis. By August, it was assumed, the hard work would pay off as the group coalesced into a finely tuned unit terrifying opposing pitchers. Instead, in recent days, the likes of Heath Fillmyer and Trevor Williams have shut down this group as easily as Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin.

There were signs that the Cubs had embraced the contact-oriented, all-fields approach manager Joe Maddon preached and Davis was brought in to instill. When it worked, the Cubs looked relentless. But there has been little proof that this new approach is now part of the team’s DNA. “We’ve been talking, talking, talking,” Maddon told reporters in Pittsburgh. “It’s just a matter of going out there and performing. The mantra to myself is ‘Trust your guys,’ which I do. Hopefully, this is just a little blip in the road right now. But I really thought by this time of the year we would have kicked it pretty good. We talked about it from the beginning, young hitters that I thought were going to keep getting better. I thought we were. And then we kind of slid backwards a little bit.” That’s what it’s been all season long. Two steps forward, one step back. Starting Aug. 21 in Detroit, the Cubs will play 23 games in 23 days with an offense stuck in neutral and little reason to believe they will be anything more than inconsistent going forward. It’s easy to get lost in the stats and believe the offense is fine. The Cubs lead the National League in batting average and on-base percentage and are second in wRC+ and runs per game. On paper, they look like a strong offensive team. But digging into those numbers shows a different story. From early May on, I’ve tried to convey the Cubs’ run-scoring distribution isn’t normal for a good offense. As we get deeper into the season, the small sample excuse becomes stale. Here’s how they compare to the top 10 teams in baseball according to wRC+. (chart in link) And then against the two other NL teams in that top 10. (two more charts in link) At this point in the season, you don’t want this to look like a straight downhill slope, but that’s what it looks like for the Cubs. A team of their offensive caliber definitely wants some more notches in the four- to seven-run range, but they peak at zero, one, two and three runs scored. A veteran Dodgers team and a precocious Braves team look much more evenly balanced at this point in the year. It’s a clear illustration of what many have feared with the Cubs: they’re a hot-and-cold offense that has proven time and again that they can’t be relied upon to deliver consistent at-bats. With the Cubs scoring four runs over four games, all coming on solo homers, this past weekend in Pittsburgh, you might surmise the Cubs are overly reliant on the long ball to get their offense going. While they have struggled to score runs of late without hitting home runs, that just hasn’t been the case all season. The Cubs, who have the aforementioned second-highest scoring offense in the NL, have scored just 34.2 percent of their runs via home runs. That’s 26th in baseball. If anything, this team doesn’t hit enough home runs. Their 128 on the season is tied for 21st in baseball with three other teams. Since the All-Star break their offense has absolutely cratered — they’re 25th with 28 home runs and unsurprisingly, their 3.73 runs per game ranks 25th in baseball as well. Their walk rate has dropped to a so-so 8.7 percent since then and their batting average is down to .251 during that time, 18th in baseball. So they’re not hitting as much and they’re walking less, but again, it comes down to a jarring lack of power. Their .136 ISO is 27th in that span, with only the Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins and San Francisco

Giants behind them — two rebuilding teams and one that’s been lacking power for years now. This is a Cubs offense that’s built on power. But right now, almost no one is living up to their capabilities. Since his dramatic walk-off grand slam over a week ago, David Bote has just two singles and is in the midst of an 0-for-14 stretch. Meanwhile, Javy Báez has a .434 OPS in his past 11 games. Those were two players who were picking up the slack with Kris Bryant sidelined along with Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist. But no one else has consistently emerged, outside of a little boost for Kyle Schwarber and some signs of life from Jason Heyward. With so few players being simultaneously productive, the Cubs have become a mediocre offense that’s lucky to have a suddenly hot pitching staff carry them for a short while. Schwarber has a 77 wRC+ since the break and Willson Contreras is at 78. Schwarber actually has the fourth-highest hard-hit rate in the second half for the Cubs (38.7 percent), behind Bote, Zobrist and Rizzo, and only Ian Happ and, shockingly, Tommy La Stella, have higher line-drive rates. If anyone is on the verge of turning a corner, it’s likely Schwarber. But Contreras’ lack of power is almost as confusing as the team’s widespread issues. He has an .098 ISO since the break and just two extra-base hits in August, both coming on Aug. 1. He’s second on the team in soft-contact rate since the break behind Heyward, and his strikeout rate is 28 percent (compared to 20.8 percent in the first half). His at-bats seem to be getting progressively worse and he’s making mistakes on the bases as well. That’s also the case with Addison Russell, who has a dreadful 37 wRC+ since the break. His defense is still strong, but it’s becoming clear he’s either perpetually going to be a negative on offense or his finger injury is inhibiting him at the plate to the point that a DL stint might make sense if and when Bryant finally returns. Bryant’s mere presence in the lineup is proving to be quite valuable — at minimum he forces the opposing pitcher to attack him cautiously, and at his best makes the entire offense look much more fearsome with his MVP bat. Add in low wRC+’s since the break from Happ (68), Albert Almora Jr. (49) and Victor Caratini (19), plus the fact that four players have hit well (five if you count La Stella and his 40 plate appearances) in the second half, and two of them (Zobrist and Bote) have been part-time players. And then Báez goes into a slump with no one else stepping up, and you get a performance like we saw this past weekend. When the Cubs have gotten runners on base in the second half, they’ve been inept, posting a 62 wRC+ and a hard-hit rate of 25.6 percent with runners in scoring position (both the worst in baseball) and a groundball rate of 53.7 percent (the highest in baseball). This is no longer a situation where the Cubs just get so many men on base and in scoring position that their numbers are artificially low because they just have so many opportunities. Since the break, they have 266 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, 14th in baseball. They’ve been striking out a bit more with runners in scoring position (22.2 percent) than in all situations (21 percent) since the break, but they’re also walking a lot more (15 percent compared to 8.6 percent). Again, the problem points to a lack of power. And as much as Maddon wants them to use the whole field, especially in those moments, they’re actually not pulling the ball much in those situations. Their pull rate of 38.4 percent with runners in scoring position in the second half ranks just 24th in baseball. And of course, when they get runners in scoring position, their lack of power is all the more glaring — a .084 ISO, worst in baseball. There’s no one solution here. It’s not about just hitting better the other way, hitting for more power, bringing a more sound approach to the plate or anything like that. It’s a combination of all those things. It’s been an utter breakdown on offense over the past 30 games. And yet, the Cubs are finding a way to

stay atop their division and the league as a whole. But nobody believes this is a route to sustainable success. With the pitching finally looking like it might be finding its stride, it’s time for the offense to step up and be a force. Until then, the Cubs will continue to look like a team that’s good enough to make the playoffs, but not do much more than that. -- The Athletic A conversation with Kyle Hendricks: How to ride the Cubs rollercoaster By Patrick Mooney PITTSBURGH – Few can think, talk and play the game like Kyle Hendricks, who does it all without sounding smug or condescending or ever really changing the expression on his face, whether it’s the playoffs or a Cactus League game. Hendricks is a Dartmouth College graduate with a degree in economics and a World Series Game 7 starter with a 2016 championship ring, bridging the Cubs from Year 1 of Theo Epstein’s rebuild to the baseball superpower they’ve become now. The Cubs acquired Hendricks – a Class-A pitcher and the other prospect in a deal headlined by Christian Villanueva – in the Ryan Dempster trade with the Texas Rangers at the 2012 deadline. Hendricks debuted in 2014 and grabbed a spot in the rotation after the Fourth of July trade with the Oakland A’s that flipped Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for Addison Russell. Hendricks, Anthony Rizzo, Pedro Strop and Javier Báez are the only other active players remaining from that last-place team. Even without Yu Darvish – Sunday’s shutdown at Class-A South Bend appeared to be a season-jeopardizing setback – the Cubs can still line up a playoff rotation with Jon Lester, Cole Hamels and Hendricks (2.88 ERA in 10 career postseason starts). With the Cubs about to begin a stretch of 23 games in a row – Hendricks starts Tuesday night against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park – The Athletic caught up with The Professor to get his perspective on a Cubs season that has not gone according to plan but is still on track for more October baseball at Wrigley Field. How do you stay in the present tense and not ride the rollercoaster metaphor that everyone seems to be using this season? It’s just focusing on the process the whole time. When you get results-based, it’s obviously really, really easy to ride that rollercoaster and the emotions of the ups and downs with it. When you trust in your routine and the work you do, then you know it will come. You get satisfaction out of the things you do day in and day out, so it’s not just everything riding on every fifth day. You know what you’ve been working on in the bullpens and how everything’s been feeling every single day, so if the results aren’t there, you don’t panic too much. As a group, how do you find that balance between not overreacting – while also not letting things slide – and giving a realistic appraisal of where you’re at? A lot of it is experience, to be honest with you, and the personalities of the guys in this clubhouse, having the steadying voices in here [with Jason] Heyward. Rizz has been around a long time, obviously, on the pitching staff, Lester. It’s just having guys like that around. The message from Joe [Maddon] to

just never panic – that filters all the way down. But then when you have guys like that who have been around, they know when to kind of kick it in gear, and when something is needed to light a fire. Looking back on it, what sort of subtle impact did Ken Ravizza have on what the Cubs have become now, in terms of confidence and personality? (Ravizza, a trailblazing sports psychologist and Joe Maddon’s longtime confidante, died last month at the age of 70.) It was a huge impact. It feeds right into what Joe does. It’s a lot of the same mindset that Joe carries. Whenever he was in here, it was the same message. He treated everyone the same. When you have those traits that everyone has in the organization – everyone’s treated the same, no one’s above anyone else and you treat everybody with respect – it’s the same message coming from everyone. It’s pretty easy to get on board all together. Ken was at the forefront of that because he was the one talking to Joe. And I know Joe got a lot of his ideas from Ken as far as the mental approach to things. It definitely trickled down to all of us. It’s still relatively early, but has this been maybe the best job Maddon has done as manager in his four seasons here, all things considered? For sure. It’s been more managing in a way than it has been the last few years, so just with that alone, I think so, for sure. Having to move guys in and out, different lineups, the stuff with the pitching staff that’s been going on, it’s just been a lot of unknowns. But you look at the end of the day, and the results are there, and so is the record. Yeah, it is amazing that we’ve been able to shift all these guys in and out. That all starts with that mindset that everyone’s treated the same. So when these young guys come up here, a [David] Bote or whoever, they feel like they can be themselves and contribute right away and they help us win ballgames. How do you explain what David Bote has done since he’s come up here? Man, it’s fun to watch. Really fun to watch. You can’t explain it, man. You saw it in spring training, though, the energy he played with and just the confidence in his game. It was there in spring training and it’s really never left through this whole year so far. He’s just been riding the wave. When you get that good feeling and that confidence, it just kind of keeps growing. To just have it translate from spring training to Triple-A right to the big leagues – through all those levels – it’s been the same game for him. He hits. He makes the plays on defense. Good baserunner. He’s just a good baseball player all-around. This has been an MVP-caliber season for Javier Báez: What’s your favorite “Javy Being Javy” story from the minors before he blew up nationally? Man, he was doing all the same things. It was the tags. It was the great baserunning. I loved seeing the baserunning plays, the swim moves, getting safe at second or third base when he’s stealing. You think he’s dead to rights sometimes and he just makes something happen. That was always happening in the minor leagues. And then just the defensive plays. He was always on top of it, just his instincts and like moving himself positionally in the minor leagues, having a good feel for what was going to be thrown and getting a better first step than really anybody else. What have you observed watching Cole Hamels? Is it surreal seeing him in a Cubs uniform, even after all the big-name additions to this team? For sure, it’s really strange. I was sitting in my college dorm watching the Phillies go to the World Series [in 2008]. It’s really weird to see him here, but he’s one of those guys, personality-wise, who just fits in perfect. He’s just such a good guy, and a baseball guy. At the end of the day, that’s what we have in this

clubhouse, guys who just love the game, love playing the game. The knowledge that he brings in here, it’s just a little bit of renewed energy for the pitching staff, but it filters down to everyone else, too. It’s just sitting on the bench talking baseball with him, whatever it might be, the things he learned in Philly. He talks about working with Carlos Ruiz a lot. Just little tidbits. You’re not really going to learn how to throw a certain pitch from him. It’s a mindset thing. He just brings a lot of knowledge on that front. Just a really good guy to talk to – for all of us. What gives you the confidence that come October Jon Lester will be the pitcher that everyone expects? Just that he is Jon Lester. At the end of the day, that’s really all there is to it. He’s Jon Lester. When hasn’t he done that? He’s the guy and he’s been unbelievable for us this year. It’s just been a stretch lately where I know he hasn’t thrown the ball the way he wants to, but it’s still only been a couple starts. The year as a whole, he’s really been throwing the ball unbelievable and he puts in more work than anybody. Especially his sides, his bullpen sessions, I know he’s been getting after it. He’ll go out there and he’ll throw a 70-pitch side, fully sweating, 100-percent effort. He’s going to do whatever needs to be done to find it and adjust. I know he’s doing that in preparation for October. And he’s been there enough times that he knows what needs to be done to get himself ready for that – 100 percent he’ll be there. What are you going to do with all the bobbleheads? (The Cubs did a Hendricks giveaway last week at Wrigley Field.) Phew, that’s a good question. I got 36 of ‘em in my locker. I got a pretty big family on my mom’s side, but I don’t think it’s that big. So I guess whoever wants two or three of ‘em? I’ll give ‘em all to family. There are people asking, but I’ll definitely be left over with probably 20 of ‘em that I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with. -- Cubs.com Inbox: Do Cubs have too many starters? By Carrie Muskat I know you say you can never have too much starting pitching, but look at the Cubs in 2019: Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, Drew Smyly (coming off Tommy John surgery), Mike Montgomery and an option on Cole Hamels, plus any Triple-A Iowa Cubs or free agents. Did they overdo it? Outside of Montgomery, there are a lot of big contracts (for example, Chatwood) to be a middle reliever, assuming he loses out to Smyly or Hamels. -- Tim O., Cedar Falls, Iowa The Cubs acquired more pitching because you can never have enough -- and that has become evident in the past few days. They were counting on Darvish in September. On Sunday, he cut short his rehab start and requested another MRI on his right arm. Montgomery has a 3.08 ERA as a starter, but he is now on the disabled list because of inflammation in his left shoulder. Smyly has yet to make a Minor League rehab start. Chatwood's contract, by the way, has nothing to do with whether he starts or relieves. He had a good relief outing against the Nationals, but unfortunately, he struggled against the Pirates on Saturday. Have the Cubs considered reaching out to John Lackey as a potential starter? I bet he's tan, rested and ready and will give the team that "edge" they've been missing since they won it all in 2016. -- Rich B., Suwanee, Ga.

Lackey is tan and rested, but being ready to pitch is something else. I believe he's ridden off into the sunset. I've been following the Cubs all my life, and I remember the starting pitching being heavy on right-handers. Now, with Lester, Hamels, Montgomery and Quintana, they have four lefties. Has there been a time when the Cubs had four or more lefties in the rotation? -- Mike P., Buckeye, Ariz. This is the first time the Cubs have started four lefties since Sept. 21-23, 1966, when Ken Holtzman, Dave Dowling, Curt Simmons and Dick Ellsworth did so. Has there been any thought about promoting Dakota Mekkes from Iowa? He has had a meteoric rise through the Minors. Seems to me we might have the answer to our bullpen needs in-house. -- Steve P., Effingham, Ill. Mekkes is not on the 40-man roster, and I haven't heard his name mentioned yet. He is on the fast track. For those who don't know, the right-hander compiled a 0.81 ERA in 16 games at Double-A Tennessee, striking out 30 over 22 1/3 innings. So far with Iowa, Mekkes has a 1.65 ERA in 21 games, with 32 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings. He was a 10th-round Draft pick in 2016 out of Michigan State. I know 15 or so of the Cubs' top prospects in the Minors are pitchers. Are any of them ready to come up and help this year? Or in the next two years? -- Michael H., Las Vegas, Nev. Of the Cubs' top 12 prospects on MLB Pipeline's list, only two were at Iowa -- Duane Underwood Jr. and Adbert Alzolay. Alzolay is out for the season with an injury. Be patient with the kids. The Cubs like the young pitching talent, and they are looking ahead to 2019 and '20. Rizzo's leadoff home run Rizzo's leadoff home run 00:47 May 1st, 2018 It's been well documented that Anthony Rizzo is putting up big numbers at leadoff. What's the Cubs' record with each of the leadoff guys we've had this year? -- Brock B., Mesa, Ariz. Here are the players, number of games and the team's record: Albert Almora Jr.: 40 games (25-15) Rizzo: 28 games (16-12) Ben Zobrist: 27 games (16-11) Ian Happ: 13 games (7-6) Kris Bryant: 7 games (4-3) Javier Baez: 4 games (3-1) Tommy La Stella: 3 games (0-3) Willson Contreras: 1 game (0-1) --