Theme of Maddon's midseason Cubs meeting: Focus

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon held his annual all-star break team meeting a little early.

He gathered the troops before Thursday's game, and the Cubs promptly went out and lost 11-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Maddon shrugged off the loss as an "anomaly game." He said the message of the meeting was a simple one.

"I did go over what we did or talked about in spring training," he said. "Beyond that just try to have them understand that the solutions are in the room right here. For me, I've always enjoyed the conversation among the group that winning creates chemistry. And I really don't agree with that. I really believe that chemistry can create winning."

Maddon isn't much for meetings. He did point out he held last year's all-star break meeting in Pittsburgh before the break.

"Part of the message yesterday was actually I'm very pleased with where we're at right now, meaning that we've gone through a lot of different moments already this season regarding injuries, etc., and we've held our heads up pretty good," he said. "Coming off two long seasons, there's a human component to all of this that I wanted to really clarify regarding focus. I think there's a natural tendency athletically and human wise when you come off two long seasons like that, I don't want anybody to be satiated with what we've accomplished.

"We've had a tough first half. Maybe we all haven't played up to our capabilities yet, but we're still in really good shape. And now it's really time to sharpen our focus because I'm not accusing anybody of being satiated. I'm just telling them that this is what I'm seeing right now. We're a bunch of humans. We've had two long years. We're in good position right now. Let's really kick in the focus gene right now. I think this can really help catapult us in the second half."

A Maddon miscalculation:

Joe Maddon admitted he may have made one miscalculation regarding left fielder Kyle Schwarber, who came back up from Class AAA Iowa Thursday.

"With him specifically, in my mind's eye, the overreaction on my part was the fact that I didn't take into consideration enough that he did not even play last year," he said. "That to me is the one part that probably more than anything has created a little bit of a setback for him.

"I really firmly 100 percent believe he's going to overcome all this. But I think coming off last year and going into this year, missing so much time probably led to that, and then it compounded. When you go up to the plate and your number's really low and you see that all the time and you start pressing, it's difficult to dig out of that hole. He just needs to accumulate at-bats again. As he continues to do that, you're going to see him start to hit like we had imagined."

Schwarber missed most of the 2016 regular season with a knee injury before coming back and starring in the World Series.

First-rounder in fold:

The Cubs have signed pitcher Alex Lange, their second pick of this year's draft, and the 30th pick overall. He is out of LSU. The bonus is a reported $1.925 million. In June, they signed their other first-rounder, lefty Brendon Little. He was the 27th pick overall.

Hendricks throws again:

Pitcher Kyle Henricks threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Friday. The Cubs will see how he responds and then determine if he can go out on a minor-league rehab assignment. Hendricks has been on the disabled list since early June with inflammation in his right hand.

No all-star, no problem:

Third baseman Kris Bryant had mixed emotions about falling short in the final fan balloting for the All-Star Game. The Cubs will have one representative next Tuesday at Miami: closer Wade Davis.

"I guess kind of a win-win," he said. "It will be nice to have few days off. Maybe we'll go on vacation. I haven't had an all-star break in a long time. I think we'll probably just head home to Vegas and spend some time with family. The extra days, I think, will be huge for all of us. I think a lot of us need it. I think a lot of us are pretty tired and beat up. I think we'll come back refreshed."