Joe Maddon continues to cost the Cubs games and almost cost them others by not having smart rules in place, by allowing the same mistakes to be made over and over, and by not clearly explaining to his players what is smart and what isn’t smart. The game two days ago was the fourth straight game that terrible baserunning either contributed to a loss or almost resulted in a loss, and this has been a problem for far longer. I will review the mistakes Maddon allows the Cubs to continually make.
Strategy: Letting the opponent’s hottest or best hitter beat you in situations with a runner or runners in scoring position with two outs and first base open. McCutcheon and Goldschmidt have hurt the Cubs in this situation over and over, and Votto has also hurt the Cubs. In Thursday’s game, Votto was up with runners on second and third, two out, second inning, and the Reds up 4-0. Votto not only hurts the Cubs, but at the time was one of the hottest hitters in MLB history. Maddon pitches to him, he hits a 3-run homerun, and it’s now 7-0. The Cubs got down 9-0 and tied it before losing, so this decision contributed to the loss. This happens over and over and Maddon continues to pitch to these guys in that situation.
Baserunning 1: Batters get a hit to drive in a run and are then out trying for second (or the runner on first is out trying for third) because the runners assume the throw will not be cut off. When it is cut off and they are out on the bases, this ruins the inning, which is an inning where you have momentum and just scored. In Tuesday’s game, Almora was thrown out at second on a hit when it could have been first and third, no outs, late in a 0-0 game. They didn’t score that inning as a result, and lost 2-1. Almora assumed they would throw to third, so tried to take second, and it was costly. On Friday, Almora hit an RBI single and was caught between first and second, resulting in Baez trying to score from third and being thrown out at home. These mistakes continue to happen and are tolerated.
Baserunning 2: Being smart on the bases. On Wednesday, Lackey wandered far off second and was picked off.
Baserunning 3: Sliding into first base, other than to avoid a tag, slows you down and can be the difference in being safe or out. Players want to showboat and show everyone how much they hustle, so they do this and it costs their team. On Thursday, Zobrist slid headfirst into first base and was out, when he would have been safe if he had run through the bag. Had he been safe, it would have been first and third, no outs, down 9-8. The Cubs lost the game, so this was an important play. To show that Maddon never addresses this, Baez slid headfirst into first later in the same game, again being called out.
Baserunning 4: Headfirst slides are dangerous and Maddon should not allow them unless a runner is diving back to a base. On the Baez headfirst slide on Thursday, he was shaken up on the play.
Baserunning 5: Making an out at third is, in my opinion, one of the most foolish plays in sports. You are already in scoring position, and the risk/reward doesn’t make sense. If I was a manager, I would tell my players unless it’s 100% you’ll be safe at third, you don’t go. I’ve seen Cub players thrown out at third on balls that got away from the catcher. Outs at third base ruin innings. In Friday’s game, in the bottom of the 7th with the Cubs up 5-1, Zobrist tries to steal third and is out. This ruins the inning and changes the momentum. The Blue Jays scored 3 runs the next inning to make it 5-4, and it could have cost the Cubs the game.
Batting: There are situations where a batter has to make contact, such as in today’s game, where the tying run was on third with one out in the tenth inning. Batters are not adjusting and shortening swings, especially with 2 strikes, and continue to take wild swings trying to hit a homerun, resulting in key strikeouts. Sports is all about adjusting, and batters don’t adjust with two strikes. They should shorten their swing, choke up, and make contact.
A manager’s job is to put his team in the best position to win, and allowing these mistakes to occur over and over is doing the opposite.