Cubs looking forward to homefield time
The Chicago Cubs woke up Saturday morning, or went to bed late Friday night, assured of homefield advantage throughout the National League playoffs. Homefield was sealed Friday, when the Cubs beat the Cardinals and the Pirates beat the Nationals.
Now, it's up to the Cubs to make the most of it.
"We've been playing for that," said manager Joe Maddon. "I was watching the end of that game with the Nationals and the Pirates. That's one of our goals. The other one still is to get 100 wins. We've played so well in this ballpark. Look at our record right now (56-24 at home). Obviously you can't deny that. Moving down the road, again to be able to take advantage of it, we have to be able to play our game. I'm really confident that we will. But it's nice to hit another check mark in the box."
The experience factor:
Willson Contreras started at catcher for the Cubs in Saturday's 10-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He went 2-for-4 at the plate, including his 11th homer.
Contreras is a rookie who has gotten a crash course in handling big-league pitchers. With pitching being so important in the playoffs and with veteran Miguel Montero playing well of late, Joe Maddon may rely on Montero and veteran backup David Ross in the playoffs. But Maddon isn't ruling out Contreras.
"I remember in 2008, Dioner Navarro did great behind the plate for the Rays with very little experience," Maddon said of his days in Tampa Bay. "He was really good that year. Navy would come out to the mound and he'd be calm. He'd be like, 'There's no rush. I'm fine. Talk to me. I'm good.'
"All of our three guys, Willson particularly, is going to be the same guy in that particular moment, where he can slow things down. If the guy can't slow things down, that's different. When it comes to experience, yeah, it should be helpful. But if you get the young guy that has that still heartbeat, that listens well, is able to take the moment and process it properly, which I think he is, I don't know that it's a disadvantage because his talent, he's so good. I just think it's up to the guy."
Mapping it out:
The Cubs have pushed their "bullpen day" from Tuesday to Thursday in Pittsburgh. Kyle Hendricks will open the series Monday night. John Lackey will pitch Tuesday, and Jake Arrieta will go Wednesday before the Cubs use bullpen pitchers in Thursday's series finale.
The day after:
Reliever Pedro Strop said he felt fine Saturday after pitching the eighth inning of Friday's 5-0 victory over the Cardinals. It was Strop's first appearance since Aug. 10, when he injured his knee. The injury required arthroscopic surgery.
"I wasn't nervous at all," he said. "It was just the normal excitement that you pitch in a real game. It was a really good adjustment for me. I think that was good for me. I feel good. I thought I was going to be really sore today because it was the first game in a long time, but it feels really good."
Strop figures to get 4 or 5 appearances total before the playoffs begin.