'Pretty impressive,' says Chicago Cubs' Maddon on Hendricks
Unless Kyle Hendricks goes the distance in his final start, the Chicago Cubs won't have a starting pitcher reach 200 innings for the second year in a row.
Hendricks has 191 innings under his belt this season, and that pleases manager Joe Maddon.
"Pretty impressive," Maddon said Monday, one day after Hendricks tossed 7⅔ innings against the White Sox. "How about the velocity that he's been throwing at, too? The big difference for me this year is the maintenance of his velocity. That was different.
"No. 2 was the changeup kept getting better. He's always had a great changeup, but they weren't swinging at it earlier. Remember, earlier in the season they were taking that pitch? Now there's greater deception and it's being swung at.
"(Sunday) the curveball was a big pitch. So now when he goes changeup-curveball and then 87-88-89 (mph) on occasion, that's why he's pitching 191 and looking as good as he is right now."
All about conditioning:
Ben Zobrist is battling for a batting title his year after hitting just .232 last season. Joe Maddon said the key has been Zobrist being in great physical condition at 37.
"He's been spectacular," Maddon said. "He had the year last year that he didn't really like, and he did something about it, which did not surprise me. He came to camp. He looked entirely different to me, even physically. The biggest thing this year is to make sure that we didn't run him into the ground.
"We've had a lot of conversations. Does it surprise me? Not at all. The bat's still quick. He doesn't have to cheat to get to a fastball. That's kind of nice. A lot of times when a guys gets to be that age he has to cheat to get to velocity. He does not have to cheat to get to velocity. That's why you're seeing the results that you're seeing."
Upbeat about Strop:
Joe Maddon said he isn't sure whether Pedro Strop will get into a game before the regular season ends. Strop has been nursing a hamstring injury, suffered Sept. 13 while running to first base.
However, Maddon said he likes what he has seen from Strop in recent days. Even though Maddon never named Strop the closer in the absence of the injured Brandon Morrow, Strop had been doing that job.
"I talked to him (Sunday), Maddon said. "He's feeling really good. When he walked in, he was kind of chirpy. He said he's feeling really good. In spite of being injured, he's been able to keep his arm moving.
"So I'm curious to see what he has to say today because he was pretty upbeat yesterday about where he's at and his ability to throw in the near future. You want to make sure that he doesn't rush it. But he was pretty happy yesterday."