Otto: Despite huge NL Central lead, Cubs keep foot on gas
After today's game, only 20 games remain for the Cubs in the regular season.
There's not much drama remaining as to what team is going to win the National Central, and that is always a concern for a team getting ready for the postseason.
There are milestones and statistics that each Cubs player is individually striving for. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are duking it out for MVP honors, while Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester are all in the hunt for the Cy Young Award.
All of these individual achievements by Cubs players have been very impressive. It is a very talented group, but what strikes me as more impressive is the way this team has kept their foot on the accelerator, despite a sizable lead in their division. Miguel Montero took an extra base Saturday against the Astros, hustling from second to third base on an errant throw from the outfield. It turned out Montero's hustle had no bearing on the inning, or the game overall. However, Montero is one of the leaders on this team, and hustle plays like that have a tendency to perk your teammates up.
Jason Heyward is still making diving catches in foul territory.
Dexter Fowler is still fighting to extend each and every one of his at-bats.
Javier Baez is still diving after everything but the rosin bag. Although Baez needs to use better judgment on when to dive and when not to dive.
Jon Lester is still treating a tight spot in the seventh inning just like a World Series game.
Since returning from the disabled list, John Lackey appears to still really enjoy conversing with home plate umpires.
Anthony Rizzo still gets upset when Joe Maddon pinch-runs for him in a one-run game, like Saturday's game against Houston.
All those little signs indicate an intense, locked in ballclub.
For a player, it's too difficult to turn the "intensity" switch on and off. The Cubs have too many veteran players and a skipper that would never allow that to happen. I remember A's skipper Tony LaRussa calling a clubhouse meeting with his Oakland team in the middle of September 1988.
I had gotten called up to the major leagues that September, had only pitched a couple of times for the A's, and was curious why a manager would call for a clubhouse meeting when our team was on a 6-game winning streak. The speech was vintage LaRussa. Play hard, focused baseball and don't ever let up. Prepare and treat each game like a playoff game, and there will be no surprises mentally when it does become playoff time.
Two weeks later, the A's swept the Red Sox in 4 games to win the American League pennant. And while the A's then lost to the Dodgers in the World Series, it was eye-opening to see how truly great teams go about their business. They just don't let up. On this road trip, the Cubs collectively have not swung the bats well.
The Cubs had zero hits in 9 attempts with runners in scoring position on Saturday against the Astros, and have only mustered 3 runs in the first two games of this 3-game series in Houston.
The Cubs hitters look overanxious, swinging at pitches out of the zone, while missing their pitches in the zone.
Hitting is always a streaky element for any ballclub. What isn't streaky, though, is a team's focused intensity. It sure feels like this club will be ready in October, because that "intensity" switch has been on all along.
• Dave Otto, a standout athlete at Elk Grove High School, pitched from 1987-1994 for four MLB teams, including the Cubs. A former baseball analyst for WGN Radio, FoxSportsNet and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Otto also is a member of the University of Missouri Hall of Fame.