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Chicago Cubs like that Baez is always 'on'

Javier Baez, the Chicago Cubs' hyperkinetic infielder, admits he doesn't have an "off" switch, and for the most part, that's a good thing for Baez and the team.

Now and then, though, manager Joe Maddon might like it if Baez had a governor switch, such as when he slides headlong into a base, a play that has gotten Baez hurt in the past.

But overall, Maddon likes what he sees from his 23-year-old prodigy, who scored from second base Saturday on a slow grounder toward third base.

"As he gets a little bit older, he might be able to control that a little bit better," Maddon said Sunday. "I'm always leery of that. He's been hurt in the past with the headfirst slide.

"It's just so hard to do. It's hard to do to take a guy's natural instincts and contain them in some way. It's a conversation: 'Have you tried doing this instead?' That kind of a thing.

"It's really hard. When you talk about a naturally instinctive player like what he did by just going to the plate. Ninety percent of the guys wouldn't have done that.

"Ninety-five percent of the guys wouldn't have done that on that play. Now if he's thrown out, you're really upset because you're set up for that first-and-third right there. But as it turned out, obviously, it was a very good play."

Maddon has said repeatedly that he does not want to "coach the aggressiveness out of a player." He also has praised Baez's "baseball acumen" as far back as spring training 2015.

"He sees things," Maddon said. "He's like a good running back. You give him the ball and he'll find the hole. A good point guard in basketball. He sees things, and not everybody does. He just has that chip. He came equipped with that chip in there.

"Sometimes it's going to get him in trouble, too. He's able to process so many items so quickly that he might choose the wrong door sometimes. And all of a sudden you're upset.

"But that's what I'm saying. You've got to take the bad with the good because he is that guy, and you don't want to coach that out of him. You're going to get the wrong choice on occasion. But I think he's made more good choices than bad choices this year."

Pitching plans:

The Cubs will start Mike Montgomery in Wednesday night's series finale at Milwaukee. Montgomery has made 3 starts in 10 appearances for the Cubs since coming to them in a July 20 trade with Seattle.

Joe Maddon said it's possible reliever Hector Rondon would be activated early in the upcoming three-city road trip.

That could come Monday in Milwaukee after Rondon threw a simulated game Saturday at Wrigley Field and reported feeling good.

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, front, bobbles the throw while Chicago Cubs' Javier Baez slides safely into home plate on a Jake Arrieta single during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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