'Banged-up' Bryant at DH for Chicago Cubs
When the Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant slid into second base Monday night trying unsuccessfully to stretch a single into a double, he went head first and hit White Sox second baseman Tyler Saladino hard.
It took Bryant a few seconds to right himself, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon said afterward that Bryant was a little "woozy."
Bryant played third base Monday, but he started as the Cubs' designated hitter Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
"He's a little banged up from that play at second base," Maddon said. "His head took the brunt of it initially, but he also slid with his hand on the ground. I've had that, so I know what that feels like.
"When he came in today, I originally had him at third base, but he felt as though when he swung the bat it was less intrusive than when he threw the ball.
"I asked him just to play catch during the game and let me know if he can. I'm not afraid to put the DH in the game if we've got to do that in the latter part of the game. We're used to playing National League rules."
In the clubhouse before the game, Bryant said he was fine.
"I'm good other than overall soreness from playing a lot of baseball games," he said.
Beyond that, he said he knows sliding feet first might be safer.
"It's just instinct," he said of going head first. "Something like that (head first), I feel like there's more of a chance for me to get a hand in there than my whole big lower body. It's instinct.
"Anything with the head is serious. I was fortunate enough that it wasn't serious. After that I felt fine. I went out there. In the bottom of the ninth, I felt fine. The adrenaline started pumping. Five minutes after it, I was fine."
Waiting for Soler:
Joe Maddon said outfielder Jorge Soler likely would need "9 or 10" more at-bats on his minor-league rehab assignment. Soler has been on the disabled list since June 7 with a strained left hamstring.
"We had to get him more timing back at home plate," Maddon said.
Been there, done that:
Newly acquired closer Aroldis Chapman has supplanted Hector Rondon in that role. Rondon has taken the "demotion" to setup man well.
Chapman has been down this road before.
"This is something that's already happened in my career because when I got to the Yankees they took Andrew Miller out of the closer's role and put me in," Chapman told ESPN's Pedro Gomez in an interview conducted in Spanish.
"So it's something that I've already gone through and thankfully Rondon is taking it really well. And I'm thankful that the manager has all the confidence in me to put me into that closer's role."