With playoffs on horizon, Maddon has Cubs working on the little things
MILWAUKEE - Before Cubs manager Joe Maddon met with the media in the dugout Saturday, he ran out to the field to gather his players and talk about bunting.
Players then went through some bunting practice. Of course, the Cubs are heading into the playoffs, and little things such as a well-placed bunt could matter a lot.
"It's something we wanted to work on," Maddon said. "These are major-league players who are going to the playoffs, and they're out there paying attention, and they're very enthusiastic about it. Wow. That's pretty solid.
"I don't care if anybody's watching. It's all about execution anyway. So we wanted to get some stuff done."
Maddon said batting-practice time does not have to be used just for batting practice. It also can be a time to work on bunting or baserunning.
"Having the energy, like I've talked about, September's energy," he said. "Now it's October's energy, which is even greater. So now they're out here with really the right attitude."
Pirates make it official:
The Pittsburgh Pirates made it official Saturday: Gerrit Cole, as expected, will start against the Cubs in Wednesday's wild-card playoff game. It will be Cole's third career postseason start.
"I'm fortunate to be able to pitch in the postseason my first year and draw from experiences like that," Cole told the Pittsburgh media. "I'm just going to treat it like any other game. Obviously there's big ramifications, but that's the nature of the business. Just deal with it. Don't treat it any differently."
The Cubs will go with Jake Arrieta. Saturday's official word out of Pittsburgh didn't change anything for the Cubs.
"Pretty much, we figured that," Joe Maddon said. "So I don't think there's anything to be derived from that or gained from that. We thought it would play this way."
Motte starts to rehab:
Cubs reliever Jason Motte, who has been on the disabled list since Aug. 24 with a right-shoulder strain, is heading to Arizona to step up his rehab with the hope of being able to help the Cubs at some point if they go deep into the playoffs.
"He has to still go through a process," said Joe Maddon. "He's got to go through a process of throwing simulated-game kind of stuff and then an actual game.
"He talked to me yesterday, and he knows how much experience could matter to the bullpen this time of the year. The fact that he's been there … and he's kind of torn between leaving to go do this or staying around.
"He wanted to get ready for down the road."