Cubs' Maddon on trades: 'You can't have it both ways'
Cubs manager Joe Maddon would like to remind you that when it comes to trades, you can't have it both ways.
Jose Quintana was on the mound Saturday night, as the Cubs lost to the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at Wrigley Field. He lasted just 4⅓ innings, throwing 83 pitches.
The Cubs obtained Quintana from the White Sox last July 13 in a trade that sent prospects away, including outfielder Eloy Jimenez and pitcher Dylan Cease.
Two years ago, the Cubs sent infielder Gleyber Torres to the Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman.
Torres is tearing it up as a rookie in New York, with 9 homers and 24 RBI entering Saturday. But the Cubs won the 2016 World Series with Chapman playing a huge role.
In other words, to get something, you have to give up something even if the jury is still out on the Quintana trade.
"You can't have it both ways," Maddon said. "I'm happy for Gleyber. When he left, we talked about it. And we talked about the kids who went to the White Sox. It's good stuff. I'd really be disappointed if anybody's disappointed we won the World Series in 2016 and the fact that the guy we gave up Gleyber for was so instrumental in that happening. That's bad process if you're going to be stuck on something like that. Be happy for Gleyber."
Maddon also touched on something that fans and media seem to fixate on: the idea that a team "won" or "lost" a trade.
"I'm going to be happy when Eloy makes it up here, Dylan, all these dudes," Maddon said. "I want them to get here and be really good. And the guys that we get, I want them to be really good. I don't understand why somebody's got to lose all the time. This is an absolute classic example of what was good for both teams."
Quintana now has a 4.14 ERA and a WHIP of 1.25 during his time with the Cubs this year and last. His teammates staked him to an early 2-0 lead against the Giants. Jason Heyward walked with the bases loaded in the second, and Kyle Schwarber crushed a 437-foot home run to the bleachers in right-center in the third.
Brandon Crawford hit a 2-run homer in the top of the fourth after falling behind 0-2 in the count to tie it before Javier Baez gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead with a homer in the bottom of the fourth. The Giants chased Quintana with 2 in the fifth, and they added another in the seventh.
"I can't give up that homer at that time," said Quintana who is 5-4 with a 4.78 ERA this season. "It was a battle. I tried to come back but it was hard, that last inning, for me."
Maddon says he believes the left-hander has the right mentality to pitch for a contending team.
"He's really a focused and motivated individual," he said. "I know he likes pitching in games that are meaningful. He's of the ilk that he feels like he let us down if he doesn't pitch well, which is not true. But he takes it that seriously. The days that he pitches, it's rare to see him smile. I'm not saying that in a good or a bad way. It's just how he is. He's locked in. When he comes out of the bullpen to the dugout, man, you give him that fist bump and it hurts a little bit. He's loving this. We love having him here. And he's a pro's pro. I always anticipate a good outcome when he pitches. He's just one of those guys."