Successful teams need players like Cubs' Coghlan
Chris Coghlan's next birthday will be the big 3-0, but he hardly considers himself a veteran.
"I don't even know what my service time is now," he said Sunday. "It's my fifth or sixth season. Guys who play eight, 10, 12 years are veteran guys, have been around and seen a lot. I just consider myself still trying to establish. I'm still trying to establish myself. Yeah, I may have more years. I may look like that because we're so young (as a team)."
Coghlan, the Cubs' left fielder, was the media go-to guy Sunday, one day after his big day, when he went 4-for-4 with 2 homers, a double, a walk and 3 runs in the Cubs' 8-7 come-from-behind victory over the Dodgers.
For the record, Coghlan came into this season with 3 years and 171 days of major-league service time. He was the National League Rookie of the Year with the Marlins in 2009, but he has seen minor-league time in the years since.
Coghlan went to spring training on a minor-league contract with the Cubs this year, and he came up from Class AAA Iowa in early May.
He's a pretty good talker who seems to have a feel for the game. He's playing on a Cubs team with a lot of young players. If this team indeed is going to take the next step toward winning, it should behoove the front office to bring in some veteran players who can show the kids the way.
That includes not only playing the game the right way every day, but setting examples as far as showing up on time, doing the proper work before and after games and managing what can be a difficult schedule at Wrigley Field.
Former Cubs players Reed Johnson, Alfonso Soriano and David DeJesus were those kind of players.
Coghlan was more expansive than manager Rick Renteria, who offered up only: "If you get the right veterans, it plays a big part, for sure. I think the way they go about their routines and just handle the day-to-day existence of playing through a grinding season in which you're trying to have success on a daily basis."
Coghlan cited examples from his own experience.
"I know that every team that wins has got those guys," he said. "When I was young, we had guys like Ross Gload and Wes Helms and Nate Robertson that really helped me.
"They're able to tell you some things to expect. In your ignorance and youth, you're still going to do the same things even when they tell you. Sometimes, hopefully, you don't have to spill the same blood and learn before you have to go through it yourself."
Coghlan led the way with his bat Saturday, when the Cubs trailed 6-1 after three innings but still found a way to win, doing so against the first-place team in the NL West and a team that had beaten them up pretty good in the first two games of the series.
"Games like (Saturday), games that you grow in experience to learn how to win those games," Coghlan said. "The thing that was so encouraging to me was that we stayed in it. You're talking about one of the better teams in baseball. To be able come back from that deficit, especially after the last two games, I thought showed a lot of fortitude with young guys. So we have to learn how to win with that.
"The other thing is talent doesn't win games. It doesn't. You can have all the talent in the world. You got to learn how to play as a team, come together as a team and do all the aspects of the game fundamentally sound. I think that's something that next year we're probably going to have to work on in spring and hopefully carry on into the season."
The Cubs look to have a whole lot of young talent, with Starlin Castro, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Hendricks, Arismendy Alcantara, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler already here.
Kris Bryant, Pierce Johnson, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber are in the pipeline and on the way up.
They know how to play baseball. Could Coghlan be one of those guys who imparts knowledge about getting proper rest, knowing when to head home the night before a day game and taking early work enthusiastically?
"There are things I think I can bring just because of the things I've been able to see even in the young career that I've had," he said. "I'm still young. I've been fortunate enough to see a lot of different things, good and bad. I can share those, but I don't consider myself a veteran."
Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field
TV: WGN Monday; WCIU Tuesday; Comcast SportsNet Wednesday
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Travis Wood (8-12) vs. Adam Wainwright (19-9) Monday; Kyle Hendricks (7-2) vs. Shelby Miller (10-9) Tuesday; Jake Arrieta (9-5) vs. John Lackey (3-2) Wednesday. All games 7:05 p.m.
At a glance: The Cardinals are trying to put things away in the NL Central. The Cubs are 7-9 against St. Louis this year, 3-3 at Wrigley Field. Wainwright is trying to join the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw in the 20-win club. Kershaw won his 20th Friday at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals entered Sunday tied for last with the Padres in the NL for home runs hit (104). The Cubs were second (152). St. Louis ranked fourth in on-base percentage, but was in the lower half of most offensive categories.
Next: Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, Friday-Sunday
- Bruce Miles