Chicago Cubs: One Day at a Time, There’s a Game on Tuesday
The Chicago Cubs showed evidence last night that they are finally getting the idea of playing in a World Series. It’s all about one day, one game, and a do-or-die frame of mind.
Jon Lester set the tone in the very first inning last night by striking out the side. And whether it registered at the time, Lester was sending a message to his teammates, and maybe even the city of Chicago that this thing ain’t over yet.
Later in the game, Kris Bryant and teammate Anthony Rizzo, who were a combined 4-for-50 in the World Series, woke everyone up with back-to-back smashes off 94 mph fastballs from Trevor Bauer, one of which disappeared into the left field bleachers in about three-quarters of a second off the bat of Bryant.
And suddenly the Chicago Cubs were playing baseball in the moment once again. Because that’s how a World Series has to be played. One pitch, one at bat, one run at a time. Just like you did during the regular season. And just like Joe Maddon, your manager, told you back in September. You never let up and you just keep looking ahead.
And then Maddon himself stepped up to the plate too, bringing his closer, Aroldis Chapman in for an eight-out save. It was unprecedented in Chapman’s career and Maddon knew it at the time. But it didn’t matter because that’s the way games have to be played in a World Series.
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It’s the way his counterpart Terry Francona has managed his team in the series since Game 1. And we can recall Francona’s move to bring his star reliever, Andrew Miller – who by the way now has the most strikeouts for a relief pitcher in a World Series with 29 and counting – into a game in the fifth inning the other night. Why? Because those were the outs that his Indians needed at that moment in the game. And never mind that Francona was outmaneuvered an inning later when he had to pinch hit for Miller, losing him to pitch another inning. He got those precious outs that could have easily turned the game around.
Up to last night, the Chicago Cubs had been sleepwalking through this World Series. They haven’t really won a game with a exclamation point since they toppled the mighty giant Clayton Kershaw in the NLCS. And they’ve been beaten in every way the Indians could possibly dream up.
And I’ll tell you a little secret. Yesterday, I submitted to my editors a piece that would be an autopsy on the Cubs losing the World Series. For obvious reasons, they’re holding back on it. But based on what I was witnessing prior to last night, the Cubs had shown nothing and they were a lock to lose.
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One night. One game. Tuesday night. That’s all it’s about. And I’m not talking about the hype and the (you know the other word I want to use) the 108 thing. I’m talking about these Chicago Cubs. This team, the one that showed some resilience last night. Truth be told, they are still facing a mammoth challenge to win two in Cleveland.
But at least for one night, they looked like the 2016 Chicago Cubs.