Two More Losses

Recent games are confirming a worrisome trend.  On Thursday night, the Cubs lost a winnable game against a terrible Braves team.  Hard to figure.  The Cubs had lots of baserunners and lots of chances, but mostly did not deliver.  Overly anxious?  Seems like whenever someone bats with men on base, they try to hit a home run and instead hit into a double play.

Also yet another case of over-thinking on Maddon's part.  OK, Hammel gets hurt, so Wood is summoned to get two outs.  Why not let him?  Instead Hendricks comes in to pitch the next two innings, which is fine except that, for some odd reason, Edwards comes in for the final out of the eighth inning.  The Cubs go ahead 3-2, but Rondon blows the save, so Spencer Patton is the only guy left for extra innings and at they lose in 11.  There is one wasted arm in that mix that cost a win.

A similar story Friday night in Pittsburgh.  Arrieta is not sharp early, but he settles in until the 7th when he gets in trouble.  Again, you have to ask yourself whether, given you only have reliable relievers for the 8th and 9th, it is better to just ask the starter to get out of a jam than to call for a reliever who is unlikely to deliver at best.  So Arrieta is replaced and the Cubs lose again, squandering numerous chances along the way.

I do not mean to put all or even much of the woes on Maddon, but there is a tendency on the part of most modern managers to handle a bullpen in a very rigid way, so you wind up saving your best guys for the 8th and 9th when the team is ahead, which are often less stressful situations and, as a consequence, not using them earlier when the outcome of the game is frequently determined.