Cubs' Maddon impressed by bullpen's transformation

One of the most fickle aspects of a baseball season for any time is the bullpen.

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon spent the first month of the season figuring out what he had. Later in the season, the shifting of lefty Travis Wood from the rotation to the bullpen and the in-season acquisitions of left-hander Clayton Richard and right-hander Trevor Cahill helped transform the Cubs' pen from a decent one to a formidable one.

"I'm impressed with these guys: Travis Trevor and Clayton with what they've done, in season, to transform the outlook of how people view them right now," Maddon said Tuesday, before Game 3 of the National League championship series against the New York Mets. "It's pretty impressive, because none of them complained about being thrust into that different kind of a role."

The Cubs obtained Richard in a July 3 trade with the Pirates, and after that, they designated him for assignment twice. Cahill signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs Aug. 18 and was a September call-up.

"The fact that Cahill has come on the scene has made a big difference because he wasn't even a part of that original maneuvering," Maddon said. "He permits us to do a lot of little things. He permits us to be able to spot up (Clayton) Richard a little more. Regarding the way we've been pitching since the middle of August, Cahill adds to that, which we did not have before and permits us to do other things."

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Joe Maddon has earned quite a reputation as a motivator and as a players manager. However, he admitted to some mistakes along the way during his managerial career.

"One time I overreacted as manager in Midland, Texas, in 1986, when I actually went to a local newsstand and bought newspapers from throughout the country and took the classified ads and pasted them all over my locker room," Maddon said. "I told my players those were your alternatives to not playing baseball well and hard, and that was a mistake. So I learned from my own mistake there. I did it. Had them on the back of the stalls in the bathroom. So the guy would sit down there, and all of a sudden he'd close the door and there would be classified ads in San Antonio, you know. So I did all that. I was wrong."

Warming things up:

The gametime temperature Tuesday night was 72 degrees with a light southwest breeze. For the first two games in New York, it was 48 and 45 degrees, respectively.

"It's just a feel, it's just a feel thing," Joe Maddon said. "It's kind of tough to go up there, and I think both sides would concede to that. It's never comfortable playing a very important baseball game in 30-degree weather, but it's the same for both sides. I understand that.

"From a hitting perspective, your hands are a little warmer, just a little bit. You get a better feel about it. It's a feel situation. It's a feel part of the game. But I'm certain they're going to feel better also, not just us. But I just like the idea that our guys are going to go into the game with a better feel in their hands, a little bit more warmth and we'll see how it plays out."