North: Maddon should change his Chicago Cubs lineup

The good news is that ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who just beat the Cubs 1-0, can't pitch every game for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the National League championship series tied 1-1 after two games at Wrigley Field, that's a big plus.

The Cubs, however, need some production from Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward - all three haven't haven't been getting the job done offensively.

I wrote in a previous column that the Cubs needed Rizzo or Kris Bryant to hit to succeed in the playoffs. Well, Bryant is hitting and Rizzo isn't, and that has been OK until now.

But how far can the team go if that continues?

Heyward, who hasn't hit well all year and ended the regular season with a .230 batting average, is a lefty and probably shouldn't have played against Kershaw, also a lefty.

Maddon should have at least pinch hit for Heyward after Javier Baez and Willson Contreras both singled with two outs in the fifth inning, but Heyward came up to bat and fouled out to end the inning.

That was the one glaring mistake I've seen by Joe Maddon, who has been outstanding.

That said, it gets a little easier because Kershaw won't be toeing the rubber until his next start.

But who knows? Remember, he came in as a relief pitcher to clinch a decisive Game 5 against the Washington Nationals.

Now the series shifts to Los Angeles, and I wonder if there will be any adjustments in the lineup. I doubt it, but three or four guys not hitting makes me think it needs to be addressed.

Bears arrow pointing down:

With the Bears (1-5) losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) at Soldier Field 17-16 on Sunday, and it doesn't get much worse than that.

I guess the Bears are in a rebuilding process, but how's that looking with a lame-duck quarterback with a bad thumb (Jay Cutler) and a journeyman quarterback named Brian Hoyer?

I think the team is trying, but clearly it just doesn't have the horses.

There were 6,000 unused tickets for Sunday's game, which means a lot of people don't care about this team right now, especially with the Cubs deep in postseason play.

The Bears' arrow is pointing down after playing another forgettable game.

I'm seeing where some of my media brethren are calling for Cutler to come back. That nightmare has been going on for eight seasons, and we aren't any better off.

General manager Ryan Pace, in his second year, got rid of Robbie Gould, Martellus Bennett and Matt Forte, and yet some people think Cutler should return!

Time to roll our eyes, because that's a lesson in futility.

• Follow Mike North on Twitter @north2north. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.