Maddon not happy with 'neighborhood' call

Saturday was not a beautiful day in the neighborhood for the Cubs.

They were no-hit by the Phillies' Cole Hamels at Wrigley Field. And although it didn't end up mattering, a play in the bottom of the first inning rankled Cubs manager Joe Maddon.

With Dexter Fowler on first base after walking, Anthony Rizzo grounded into a 4-6 forceout. Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis appeared to receive the throw from second baseman Cesar Hernandez off the bag.

However, that play is not reviewable by replay because it's called the “neighborhood play.” In other words, if the fielder is considered to be “in the neighborhood” of the second-base bag, the force is given. It's one way of having middle infielders avoid injury.

However, Maddon argued that the call should not have been considered a neighborhood play.

“I think the shortstop's off the bag because of a bad throw, not because he got out of the play too quickly or moved his feet too quickly,” he said. “I thought the throw was bad enough to get him off the bag. Thus, it should not be a neighborhood play.

“That's one of those semantical things that's probably going to have to be reviewed even further or talked about more.”

Check that board:

The Cubs fell out of the second wild-card spot with Friday's loss to the Phillies. That put them one-half game behind the Giants.

Maddon was asked if he is a scoreboard watcher.

“Yes,” he said.

And when is it appropriate to start?

“Every day,” he said. “I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't (watching).”

No hitter? No problem:

The Cubs lost their second game in a row to fall to 51-45. They have not been hitting well lately, and Joe Maddon was asked if a no-hitter could affect the confidence of his team's young hitters.

“No,” he said. “Honestly, it's a loss. We didn't get any hits today. Nobody likes to be no-hit. But it's just a loss.

“No, I don't worry about stuff like that, I really don't. It's just about coming about tomorrow and trying to be normal.”