Cardinals again a force for Cubs to face in NL Central
During his first season as manager of the Cubs, Joe Maddon had one important task among many: to get his young team over the hump against the St. Louis Cardinals, especially at Busch Stadium.
It took the entire 2015 season.
The Cubs dropped three of four in St. Louis in early May of that season before getting swept in late June.
Finally, during a series that began on Labor Day, the Cubs took two of three at Busch Stadium.
“We've played well, but we haven't finished games off here,” Maddon said to a group of us in the dugout that Labor Day. “We have to start finishing games off here. Historically, I've gone through this in the past with other young teams. We have a little bit more experience now. You have to teach yourself a lesson sometimes. And that lesson you have to teach yourself is you can win here. And the other team knows you can win here, and that matters. That's all part of the maturation process. We have played well. Our guys are ready for the challenge.”
The Cubs finished the Cardinals' postseason by beating them in the National League division series as the second wild-card team and never looked back.
The Cardinals have not been to the postseason since. But guess what? They're back in contention.
The Cubs and Cardinals begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Busch Stadium tied for first place in the NL Central at 56-49, with the Milwaukee Brewers 1 game behind.
Maddon said Sunday in Milwaukee that he is not surprised.
“No, not at all,” he said. “I like their team. I like a lot of these teams in our division. These teams got better. The part of the conversation I don't think is given enough consideration is that teams have gotten better. We have a standard that we have to live up to now, but other teams have gotten better over the last couple years. That's where this gap has been closed.
“We have to continue to maintain that gap. We haven't. Where is it coming from? For me it's offensively, that we really have to pick it up a bit to recreate that gap. Team on the field, the way we're playing the game, I'm OK with that. Starting pitching's been outstanding. I like the names in our pen. We've been struggling as of late, but overall, I like that.”
The Cubs salvaged the final game of their three-game series at Milwaukee Sunday, with Kyle Schwarber driving in 7 runs with a grand slam and a 3-run homer. The Cardinals are 7-3 over their last 10 games, but they lost the final two games over the weekend against the Houston Astros.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, a noted Cubs killer, has been on fire lately, and the Cardinals have gotten good contributions from shortstop Paul DeJong, a graduate of Antioch High School.
Schwarber had a big hand in sending the Cardinals away for a few years. His mammoth home run to the top of the right-field videoboard in Game 4 of the 2015 division series helped propel the Cubs into the NLCS. He, too, is respectful of today's Cardinals and the rest of the division.
“They're a good team, they've always been a good team,” he said. “They made some additions to get some really good players. We just got to go out there, play our game and we're going to take the end result at the end of the day.”
Schwarber also gave some props to his own team, which has endured an inconsistent season despite being tied for first place.
“I wouldn't say it's been a weird season,” he said. “There's just been ups and downs. This group, the way that we handle it, is second to none, and that's why we all love this group. The way that we come and want to take care of business every day and we have that mindset, I feel like we're one of the most prepared teams in baseball when we step on the field, and I mean it.
“That's what makes this team special. It's no secret the division's gotten better. Everyone's gotten better. But we're a really good team. When we're playing our baseball, it's hard to beat us.”