Maddon understands Marlins series moved to Milwaukee
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday he has "no issue" with Major League Baseball moving this weekend's series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins from Florida to Milwaukee.
Even though the games will be played at Miller Park, the Marlins will be the home team.
Major League Baseball requested that the Brewers host the three-game series because of the effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida. Marlins Park in Miami did not suffer major damage, but the Marlins told MLB they didn't think they could be ready to host the series.
The Brewers entered Wednesday third in the National League Central, 2½ games behind the Cubs. They swept the Cubs in three games this past weekend at Wrigley Field. The Cubs received permission to move last Friday's game from day to night because they had a Thursday night game at Pittsburgh and wanted more rest for their players.
The Brewers were not happy with that. Nor were they happy about a game on May 20 being rained out when it did not rain that afternoon.
Maddon took the high road.
"Obviously, something had to be done," he said. "I have no issues with it. None. Listen, the situation being as severe as it is in South Florida and Florida in general, there's no time to quibble over situations like this. I think it's just a matter of you're getting to the latter part of the season.
"Whatever MLB thinks works best is fine. It's tough to play the Marlins with Giancarlo (Stanton) doing as well as he is. Regardless, the ball carries there (Miller Park) pretty good, too. So who knows? But I don't think there's anything to quibble about. I just think it's about making sure the games are played.
"Of course, there's a roof there, and they know the games will be played under those circumstances. So I have no issues."
Sim game for Uehara:
Reliever Koji Uehara threw a simulated game Wednesday at Wrigley Field. He has not pitched since Sept. 2 because of what the Cubs said was an infection in his right knee.
"He got through it," Joe Maddon said. "We'll reassess tomorrow and see how he feels. Of course, by throwing as much as he did today, he won't be available tomorrow. But hopefully the next day."
Awards and a roster move:
The Cubs named catcher Victor Caratini and Jen-Ho Tseng their minor-league player and pitcher of the month, respectively.
Both players are now with the big club. Caratini is in his third stint with the team this season, and Tseng was selected Wednesday from Class AAA Iowa to start Thursday night against the Mets and make his big-league debut.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Tseng, the Cubs designated pitcher Pierce Johnson for assignment. Johnson was taken between the first and second rounds (43rd) overall in 2012. At Iowa this year, he was 3-2 with a 4.31 ERA and 9 saves. He appeared in 1 game for the Cubs this year.
The Cubs signed Tseng as a nondrafted free agent out of Taiwan in 2013.