Cubs' loss to Pirates can't overshadow winning record in April
With apologies to T.S. Eliot, April was the coolest month for the Cubs and their fans.
Even with an 8-1 loss Wednesday night to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs had themselves quite a first month of the 2015 baseball season, especially when compared with recent years.
There were the major-league debuts of hot prospects of Kris Bryant and Addison Russell. And there was some exciting, aggressive baseball.
The Cubs finished April play with a record of 12-8, their first winning record for the first month since the 2008 division winners went 17-10.
The cool of the Cubs starts with Joe Cool himself, manager Joe Maddon, who combines solid baseball sensibilities with a wholistic touch.
Maddon did something very cool Wednesday when the subject of the afternoon's White Sox-Orioles game came up. That contest was played before no fans in Baltimore because of public-safety concerns in that city in the wake of civil unrest.
"When I walked in today, I made sure that I stopped and signed every autograph on the way in," Maddon said. "That really emphasizes and reveals the role of the fans of our game and sometimes it can be taken for granted. To play a baseball game with nobody in the stands would be very not fun. I wouldn't want to do it.
"Regardless of how much guys say that we love this game and we'd do this for nothing, you would not do it for the lack of fans. I think that game more than anything today illustrated the importance fans play in our game. That was my take-away from that watching that today.
"I would like to hope or believe that the players would stop to reflect on that a little bit because sometimes I do think we get a little bit negative in that regard. Good or bad, coming from the fans, we need them, and they're a huge part of our game. It could not have been illustrated more plainly as it was today in that ballpark."
Maddon has allowed his players to be themselves, encouraging raucous celebrations after games, celebrations that include a disco ball and smoke machine in the clubhouse.
"I just think it's fun to celebrate," he said. "I want us to win hard for 30 minutes, lose hard for 30 minutes and move on. It's probably more obvious when somebody loses. They're sitting at the front of their locker and staring at their locker.
"They drive home, they come back the next day and they're still angry. That is ridiculous, and that's why teams go into long losing streaks. I think the more you celebrate, obviously, there's that camaraderie component that goes with it and you look forward to celebrating tomorrow night."
General manager Jed Hoyer said he likes what he sees from Maddon.
"It's been a lot of fun for us to be around him," Hoyer said. "He obviously creates a great vibe in the clubhouse. He encourages guys to be themselves. You can see they're being themselves. Strategically, he's always on top of everything."
In Wednesday's game, Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 5.23 ERA) endured a 31-pitch fifth inning and left after that trailing 2-1. The Pirates scored 4 off reliever Gonzalez Germen in the sixth.
bmiles@dailyherald.com