MILWAUKEE -- After five straight wins, the Chicago Cubs find themselves in Milwaukee for the last regular-season series of the year. Reaching 97 victories is a real possibility as the Brewers, like the Cincinnati Reds before them, have turned the page on 2015. Not so for the Cubs. Their incredible season just keeps going.
The sweep of the Reds was capped off by “rookie dress-up day,” which certainly was more fun after Jason Hammel righted his own ship by throwing five shutout innings. File that away for the division series if the Cubs get that far.
The sight of the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, Kris Bryant, wearing an Elsa costume from the movie "Frozen" ranks right up there with Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta wearing a onesie at his post no-hitter press conference as most memorable off-field moment of 2015. But neither of those things go down as all that surprising. Not on a Joe Maddon/Anthony Rizzo-led team. These guys know how to have fun.
It’s why general manager Jed Hoyer’s comments before Thursday’s game ring true. Hoyer was talking about trade deadline moves and team chemistry. For whatever reason, the team didn’t trade for reliever Jonathan Papelbon, who could have been a nice fit at the back end of the bullpen. The front office knows Papelbon well, as he had some huge years in Boston when Hoyer was one of his bosses. Papelbon imploded this week, choking Washington Nationals teammate Bryce Harper after hitting the Orioles' Manny Machado on purpose earlier in the week. He was suspended for each incident.
“It’s one of the things you wrestle with at the trade deadline,” Hoyer said. “It’s a house of cards all the time. You don’t know which move is going to topple things or which move is going to bolster things.”
Maybe it’s not fair to pick on Papelbon, because we don’t know how he’d react in the Cubs clubhouse. It’s a different vibe in there. Maddon is most impressed with the leadership of his club. It took some time to develop in Tampa Bay, but the first-year Cubs manager found what he was looking for right away in Chicago. Bottom line, there’s no room for anyone to go off on his own.
“The veterans on this team help a lot in regards to making it all play in that way,” Maddon said. “This is human being stuff. We have really good human beings that relate to others and keep them in line. The group within the clubhouse has done a wonderful job.”
At the deadline, the Cubs picked up Austin Jackson, Trevor Cahill and Dan Haren. They’ve fit in and performed as well. So the camaraderie is great, as is the play on the field. With every passing victory, the Cubs continue to blow by any reasonable expectations for themselves. Even the staunchest, most die-hard fan could not have seen this coming. Nearly 100 wins? C’mon.
“I think everyone would be a little surprised at that,” Hammel said Thursday. “Not to say it wasn’t in the cards. We’re good and we know it. It’s nice to see it come together so quickly.”
So what could derail them? As with any team, there are a few question marks. Can they play small ball if they need to? Will the back end of the bullpen, which has never performed on the postseason stage, hold up? And what about all the youngsters playing in the biggest games of their lives? Well, if that was going to be a problem it would have reared its ugly head by now, right? Have you seen Addison Russell or Bryant overwhelmed?
“I’d be surprised if our guys went in that direction,” Maddon said. “I think we’ve built up a nice method of operation this year that our guys have adhered to. I want us to do less preparation. Less everything. Just go play. You rely on your abilities and instincts. The trap is to overthink it. That’s the worst thing you can possibly do. Whoever we play, we’ve played them 19 times this year. They know us, we know them. If you turn your players loose and let them play, that’s your best chance at winning that particular game.”
It’s another version of Maddon’s message to play October like it’s March or April. In fact, those were his exact words back in spring training. Who knew they would ring true all these months later?
Maddon wants his guys to do what they’ve done all season come next week -- no more, no less. He’s delivered that message all year, even to the point where people might wonder if they’ll take batting practice before a playoff game. They will. But only because they’ll be off a couple of days before the game. Less is more for Maddon, and it’s worked.
The other gem of the Cubs right now is their depth. No single player is being relied on. Starlin Castro and Jackson this week are just the latest heroes, but we’ve seen each regular on the roster do damage to help the Cubs to where they are today -- 94 wins with three games to play.
“I think our best attribute these last 45 games or so has been depth,” Hoyer said.
And it might be their biggest advantage starting next week. Maddon has a choice of some dangerous hitters he can call upon off the bench no matter who’s in the starting lineup. But first things first. Arrieta is on a Cy Young Award mission, which means the Brewers could be in for a long night on Friday in his last regular-season start. And Bryant needs one more RBI to reach 100. First come the individual milestones, then come the playoffs.
The Cubs are confident but loose. Rested but not rusty. And they look good in a dress.
“I knew it was coming,” Kyle Schwarber said of dress-up day for the rookies. “I just didn’t know when.”
He could have been talking about the Cubs this season. And the answer appears to be now.