Hammel open-minded about playoffs roster
Jason Hammel is sounding the part of the good soldier.
With the playoffs less than two weeks away, the Chicago Cubs will have to make some tough decisions about who makes the roster for the first round and who doesn't.
Much of the talk has centered around the Cubs using four starting pitchers for the best-of-five division series, and media speculation has Hammel being the odd-man out. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta are locks, and the Cubs signed John Lackey because of his toughness and playoff experience.
Even though Hammel didn't help himself in Saturday's 10-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Joe Maddon said the Cubs will be taking a big-picture approach to setting their roster for the division series and any subsequent rounds, should they advance.
“I'm not worried about a good or bad outing right now,” said Maddon, whose team dropped to 98-56 but has homefield advantage throughout the National League playoffs. “Pretty much you know who the guy is. You know if he's got his stuff going on or if he doesn't. Does he have a little injury that nobody's aware of that he's not bringing forth?
“All that stuff. How's his breathing? Is he under control? All those different things to consider, but the greater body of work matters.”
Hammel allowed 4 runs in the first inning Saturday and was gone after just 2⅓, having allowed 6 hits in 6 runs. His record fell to 15-10, and his ERA rose from 3.56 to 3.83. Overall, Hammel has pitched well at Wrigley Field, with his 2.42 home ERA being seventh best in baseball.
But he also can count, and he again addressed the postseason-roster question.
“I've answered that one before,” he said. “Honestly, I would love to be a part of it, as the rest of the guys on the team would love to. I know there's only a certain amount of spots. If I'm handed the ball, I'll be ready. That's the way I'm going to view it.
“Obviously, you want to be part of something special like that, but I think everybody here has still already been part of something special. To get to this point, we're all very proud. We've still got eight regular-season ballgames left to go out and build some momentum. Postseason, whether I'm on the roster or not, I'm going to enjoy it.”
The Cubs did battle back in this game early, scoring twice in the first inning and trading runs with the Cardinals in the second. But the Cardinals blew the game open late as they battle for a wild-card spot.
For Maddon, getting the Cubs to 100 victories is important.
“Ninety is special,” he said. “For me, when you start the year, you think 90 wins. That should get you to the dance, pretty much. You always think of that in terms of 90. But when you get a chance to do 100, that is special. I don't know how many times it's happened. It just really indicates your tenacity per day to be able to do something like that.
“First of all, you have to be good. Second of all, you really do have to approach the day properly because we have rested guys. Everybody's played.
“It's special. Annually, I want to see 90-plus, but to hit 100, like I said a couple days ago, I've been on the down side of (100), and it's an awful winter.”