Chicago Cubs' Maddon not against infield shift, despite struggles
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday he doesn't know how many times his players have hit into the infield shift for outs, but he does know it can be wearing on a player.
“I don't have any specific data,” Maddon said. “I just know that even mentally it bothers (players). That's the part that's not measurable. When you go up to home plate and the field looks different than you were 12, it's just a different thought. And you hit even one or two balls into it hard that you've struck well that normally have been a hit, and even if it presents a lower number, it's hard to evaluate the overall impact it has on you because it does.
“It does something to your mind, too. So there's the visual component you see. There's the mental component: ‘I do it. I strike the ball well and it's at somebody that's playing in a position he's normally not playing.' There's all those things to be considered that, really, I don't think are measurable but that do impact the hitter.”
Even so, Maddon said he is not in favor of banning shifts. On Saturday, he cited Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber as two left-handed hitters affected by the infield shift, in which teams place three fielders on the right side of the infield, with one in shallow right field.
“If you're identifying one of your players and you know he has that method of really pulling the ball and pulling it hard and often, you have two choices: Continue to do that or really try to work with him there to utilize the off field,” Maddon said. “Choice. Eventually the hitter may make it on his own.
“Rizzo will oftentimes stay inside the ball and utilize the other side. Schwarber hasn't gotten there yet but will. I just think it's the way this game is played right now. But I'm more in favor of organic methods, changing or getting hitters back to the other side as opposed to imposing rules and regulations that prevent defenses from moving.”
Weather or not:
Joe Maddon said he spent Saturday's non-rainy rainout “on my couch. Two naps. Cleaning of the apartment. Wash. Eventually dinner. More sleep. It was good.”
The game was called late Saturday morning because of expected rain in the afternoon. That rain never came.
“I didn't know that at the time because I was still in the apartment,” Maddon said. “It's just like the day before, everything indicated it was going to be exactly like the day before. That's the beauty of weather forecasting, and around here it's very difficult.”
The Brewers, who beat the Cubs in miserable weather Friday, were surprised by the rainout. They wanted to play.
“First time for us we've had players treated for sunburn after a rainout,” manager Craig Counsell said to the Milwaukee media.
Bryant's big numbers:
Kris Bryant collected his second multihomer game of the season and the ninth of his career. According to ESPN Stats and Info, he has 3 homers to the opposite field this season after having none last year. Also according to Baseball-Reference Play Index, he is the first Cubs player since at least 1913 with 2 homers and 2 hit-by-pitches in one game.