13 pitchers leave Cubs with short bench

One of the things baseball teams wrestle with coming out of spring training is how many pitchers to carry on the roster.

Just a few years ago, 11 seemed to be the norm, and then it rose to 12. These days, the Cubs are carrying 13 pitchers, which makes for a short bench.

An eight-man bullpen means manager Joe Maddon has four position players on his bench, with one of them being a catcher. In Saturday's 8-5 victory over the Washington Nationals, Maddon used all of his bench players and had starting pitchers ready to pinch hit, if needed.

It happened again in Sunday's 4-3, 13-inning victory. This time, Maddon did have to use a starting pitcher to hit as Jason Hammel struck out in the 10th.

Hammel started Saturday and batted in the fifth inning even though he was coming out of the game the next half-inning. Hammel laid down a sacrifice bunt.

"What you saw (Saturday) probably happened three or four times, maybe, where the bench has been depleted," Maddon said. "At some point you have to be careful what you think is going to happen more consistently: the depleted bench or do you want that extra protection in the bullpen?

"You just try to be as creative as you can and get the most out of the group. But it's always a concern, the National League game."

Maddon added that the decision of how many pitchers to carry is not one easily taken.

"There are so many different ways to look at it," he said. "It's a discussion we've been having all year and even in spring training, trying to figure out what better way to align the bench and the bullpen."

Managing to manage:

Saturday's and Sunday's games were fascinating to watch because of how hard Joe Maddon managed. The players could only sit back and marvel.

"I guess I don't really understand how to really do that, just seeing some of the moves he made," said Kris Bryant. "He's a genius out there. He knows what he's doing. He's been doing it for a long time. We trust him and trust everything that he does out there. It's good to have a leader like that."

Maddon wasn't taking the "genius" characterization seriously.

"He said that?" Maddon asked. "Why would he ever say that? Because of the cool things I say to him before he goes to hit? I'll say some goofy things in the dugout. And sometimes they happen. I'm just totally being flippant. Sometimes it sticks. If you keep saying the same stupid stuff, sometimes it sticks."

Ramirez returns:

The Cubs reinstated reliever Neil Ramirez from the bereavement list Sunday and optioned reliever Spencer Patton to Iowa. Ramirez was away to attend the funeral of his grandmother. Patton appeared in Saturday's game and pitched to two batters, giving up a walk and a double.

He said it:

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was asked what he said to the Nationals' Bryce Harper, who walked six times and was hit by a pitch.

"Honestly, we ran out of stuff to talk about," Rizzo said. "We talked about everything. We talked about life, baseball, everything."