Maddon says some roster decisions were difficult

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon acknowledged Friday that it was tough to leave some players off the roster for the National League division series.

If there was a surprise, it might have been that rookie outfielder Albert Almora Jr. made it over outfielder Matt Szczur, who was with the big-league club all year. Almora came up in early June and stayed until late July before going back to Class AAA Iowa. Almora then was a September call-up.

Almora is a superior defender at all three outfield spots. Szczur's bat tailed off at the end of the year, as he went 3-for-25 in September.

"We just think that Albert's a really good defender," Maddon said. "He's a very good defender, and also, he's been swinging the bat well lately. You can't take away from Albert, regardless of age or whatever, how long one guy's been here during the year or not. (Reliever Mike) Montgomery's not been here a long time. We feel very confident about him. Right now we just thought moving it forward the kind of talent, the skill set we're going to need at the end of the game, we thought Albert fit in pretty well.

"We think that he's definitely not going to be afraid. He's definitely going to relish the moment. He's looking for that moment. He's not going to run away from it. He's young. He hasn't been here very long, yeah. When you talk to this fellow, when you look him in the eye, there's no hesitation on his part."

The Cubs kept 11 pitchers on the 25-man NLDS roster. Right-hander Justin Grimm made it over Joe Smith. The lefties in addition to closer Aroldis Chapman are Travis Wood and Montgomery.

As expected, starting pitcher Jason Hammel did not make the roster, as the Cubs are carrying four in the rotation: Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and John Lackey.

"They're not easy," Maddon said of the decisions. "But it also speaks to depth. We've been saying that all along. I thought Smitty was really throwing the ball well, too. The biggest thought there, the driving thought, was whether you want one more pitcher or one more position player. So we just chose to go with one more position player."

Catching the drift:

David Ross started behind the plate Friday night, as he is Jon Lester's catcher. It's likely Miguel Montero will catch Jake Arrieta in Game 3 Monday at San Francisco. So if rookie Willson Contreras is going to get a start, it seems logical it will come Saturday night with Kyle Hendricks on the mound.

"He's going to get a start," Joe Maddon said. "Part of it was to not beat him up so that he can do that. That's what we've been talking about all year. I was told that from the time he got here: Just be careful with him because he hasn't caught that many games. He hasn't played this late into the year. We anticipate him going deeper, and we wanted him to still be able to catch at a high level, and he has. So yeah, he'll play."

In Game 3, Arrieta likely will face Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.

Da Coach weighs in:

Chicago Bears legend Mike Dikta was on the field before the game. He played tight end for the Bears' 1963 NFL championship team and was head coach of the 1985-season Super Bowl winners.

"It's a great city, great people, great sports town," Ditka said of Chicago. "The Cubs have always been special. I came here in 1961 as a player. I went to all the games. I knew Billy (Williams). I knew Ernie (Banks). Ron Santo was a good friend of mine. I hung out with the guys. They were good guys."

The '85 Bears performed the "Super Bowl Shuffle" during the regular season. Ditka said it's OK for the Cubs to talk about the World Series.

"What's their goal?" he said. "If you can't mention your goal, then you're foolish. If your goal in life is to succeed, you better mention it"