June 29, 2015 CSNChicago.com Cubs get reinforcement with Neil Ramirez back in bullpen By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS — Neil Ramirez is part of the wave of players the Cubs hope will get healthy and feel like a trade-deadline boost. The Cubs activated Ramirez before Sunday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, adding his powerful right arm to a bullpen that’s starting to click after initially feeling his absence. Ramirez — who had been sidelined with shoulder inflammation since April 15 — emerged as a dominant setup guy during his rookie season last year (1.44 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 43-plus innings). “Early in the year, something wasn’t right,” Ramirez said. “It’s something I tried to battle through. But when I’m out there throwing 90 (mph), I know that’s not me. “We did it the right way, and I’m back to being where I need to be to compete with these guys.” The Cubs placed left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada on the disabled list with deltoid inflammation to make room for Ramirez. Right-hander Donn Roach stuck around after his spot start in Saturday’s 8-1 loss to the Cardinals, but it’s unclear who will take the fifth spot in the rotation the next time it comes up for the Cubs. Jorge Soler — who’s been sidelined with a sprained left ankle since June 1 — will begin his rehab assignment on Monday at Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs hope the young Cuban outfielder will be back in their lineup later this week and create some offensive force, the same way Ramirez can be a difference-maker out of the bullpen. “It’s pretty brutal — I hate being hurt and I hate not being able to pitch,” Ramirez said. “It’s been fun to watch them, though. This team is so special and we have a chance to really, really be good. And we are good, so I’m just ready to get back and help out.” -- CSNChicago.com Swept out of St. Louis, Cubs waiting for trade market to accelerate By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS — This isn’t fantasy baseball, and there aren’t many teams like the 2012-14 Cubs out there hanging “For Sale” signs right now. Even if the Cubs wanted to overreact to getting swept out of Busch Stadium after Sunday night’s 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals — which finally ended at 12:05 Monday morning — they probably couldn’t. They still have to be

patient after sitting through a tornado watch, two rain delays that lasted two hours and 29 minutes combined and a season-high five-game losing streak. But the Cubs (39-35) will eventually have to do something to close the gap on their biggest rivals and keep playing meaningful games into September. Setting aside the legitimate questions about how much financial flexibility they will have, the second wild card already changed the calculus for the July 31 trade deadline. “There’s a chance this is one of the tightest markets we’ve ever seen,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “We’re going to have to be creative. A lot of teams will have to be creative, because there’s not going to be a lot of sellers. We keep on assuming that the next four or five weeks will shake some of that out, but it may not.” It’s fun to play connect the dots with Cubs hitters and New York Mets pitchers, which will happen during the three-game series that begins Tuesday night at Citi Field. You can wonder about which players to prioritize from the Oakland A’s — left-hander Scott Kazmir or super-utility guy Ben Zobrist? — when the Cubs don’t have a clear No. 5 starter and their lineup generated only four runs in 28 innings over the weekend, going 2-for-27 with men in scoring position against the Cardinals (51-24). “They’ve beaten us with their experience,” manager Joe Maddon said. “They come up with the hit, we don’t. They make the pitch, we don’t. “We’ve blinked and they haven’t. That’s what it’s really come down to.” Go ahead and debate over Twitter the prospects you would give up in a deal. But all that won’t change the illusion of contention when only three teams entered Monday more than eight games back in the wild-card race: The Milwaukee Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke in early May and have sunk to 19 games under .500. But would they trade within the division and with their rivals 90 miles south? The Miami Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond in the middle of May and just lost superstar outfielder Giancarlo Stanton for at least a month with a broken bone in his wrist. Good luck trying to guess what happens next on that reality show. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg resigned last week before the Philadelphia Phillies could fire him as part of the major shakeup that franchise desperately needs. Ex-Cubs executive Andy MacPhail is reportedly on the verge of being named Philadelphia’s new head of baseball operations. Delusional or not, teams like the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds can try to tell themselves they’re one good week away from jumping right back into this, or one good player away from being relevant. “You never know how that’s going to work,” Hoyer said. “Some teams might claw themselves back into the race and decide not to sell. You have to think about it creatively. You have to think about what would happen if there weren’t deals to be made, because there may not be a lot of deals out there.” The Cubs already trail the Cardinals by 11.5 games in the National League Central. But they now have enough going for them — star manager, young blue-chip talent, veteran leadership and good clubhouse vibes — to justify the investment in the big-league team. “It’s the same balancing act that we always go through,” Hoyer said. “This is a very important season. Every season that you’re in the race you have to take seriously, because you can’t always count on tomorrow. As much as we’re built for the future, you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. “You don’t want to do anything that you’re going to look back on and say: That was hasty. But you never want to only look towards the future and ignore the fact that: Hey, this has been a really fun season with a lot of big positives. And can we improve some of the weaknesses we have to keep that going?”

Also remember the Cubs said things about the slow pace of deal-making at this time last year, just before shipping Jeff Samardzija to Oakland in the Fourth of July blockbuster that yielded Addison Russell. The Cubs also “jumped the market” in 2013, flipping Scott Feldman to the Baltimore Orioles on July 2 and remaking their pitching staff with Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. “We’re going to have to wait awhile to see how this trade market shakes out,” Hoyer said. “But there’s a chance it’s an extreme sellers’ market with so few teams selling. And only the next 25, 30 games will tell whether more teams end up in that sellers’ column.” The Cubs won’t be selling like crazy, the way they did the last three summers, but a lost weekend in St. Louis also showed that maybe we shouldn’t automatically assume they will be such big buyers this time. -- CSNChicago.com Cubs: Pedro Strop accepts apology from Bob Costas By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS — Bob Costas apologized to Pedro Strop for his bizarre comments about the Cubs reliever’s family during an MLB Network broadcast. The two had a face-to-face meeting on Sunday in the lobby of the team’s St. Louis hotel. Costas had called a Cubs media-relations official to make the request, and Strop handled the awkward situation with class. “Everybody makes mistakes,” Strop said at Busch Stadium. Costas caught fire on social media during Friday night’s game against the Cardinals. Strop couldn’t protect a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning, giving up a leadoff homer to St. Louis pinch-hitter Greg Garcia, hitting a batter and walking another. As Strop walked off the mound, Costas said: “Strop is on his way out, pointing toward the heavens. We can only ask — or wonder — that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance.” The Cubs wound up losing to the Cardinals in the 10th inning. Strop — who’s normally a lights-out reliever and always one of the most approachable/upbeat guys in the clubhouse — discovered the Costas reaction after the 3-2 loss. “That night, I didn’t know anything about it until I got into my room,” Strop said. “I was just laying in bed and then my Instagram was blowing up, people saying to me: ‘Hey, just don’t worry about what Bob said.’ “I finally went on Twitter and I saw the comments.” Costas went to the hotel lobby on Sunday and saw Strop before the team left for Jason Motte’s charity event. “He also asked me who else he has to apologize (to),” Strop said. “I told him: ‘You can just apologize to me. There are more people upset because of what you said, but we all make mistakes.’ I’m not going to judge him just because he made a mistake. “I just feel better now that he’s apologized. And we all do stuff that we have to apologize (for). “I didn’t want to talk to him. (But) I realized he’s a good dude. A lot of people told me he’s a great guy and he’s a legend. He’s one of the best at what he does.” Costas — a marquee personality for NBC Sports — told the New York Daily News: “The tone of it was not what I intended. I intended it as a kind of sarcastic comment about this overall thing where everybody seems to be pointing toward the heavens for every accomplishment, large and small, or even for no accomplishment at all.

“I inadvertently appeared harsh toward Strop. That wasn’t my intention. And so I owe him an apology.” Strop is an emotional, demonstrative player who makes pointing to the sky part of his routine. “I always thank God for everything,” Strop said. “(It’s) for the opportunity. It’s nothing to do with (how I) perform. Oh, because I did good, I’m going to thank God? No, no, no, I thank God for everything. I always do that.” -- Chicago Tribune Growing pains affect Cubs' batters By Mark Gonzales As far back as spring training, manager Joe Maddon said his Chicago Cubs would experience a five-game losing streak. That time has come, and his young hitters are in the midst of a tough education against some of the National League’s best pitchers. “You’re not going to be perfect all year,” Maddon said late Sunday night after the Cubs were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at moist Busch Stadium that shoved them 11 1/2 games back in the NL Central. In the past week, the Cubs have faced the likes of Cy Young Award winners Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, but the Cardinals’ pitching staff was as dominant as any staff the Cubs have faced through their first 74 games. Carlos Martinez and three relievers put the clamps on the Cubs’ hitters when it counted most. “You have a young, inexperienced group offensively that they’re being schooled a bit,” Maddon said. “Eventually it will come back to us and we’ll benefit from it, and we will down the road.” The Cubs are 4-for-37 with runners in scoring position during their five-game skid. Their lack of success in clutch situations magnifies their 12-32 record since 2011 against the Cardinals, who have outscored them 246-158 during that span. And for all the hype regarding the Cubs’ talented young hitters, Martinez (9-3) joined Michael Wacha (10-3) as the first pair of pitchers 23 or younger with nine or more wins in a team’s first 75 games since the 1986 New York Mets (Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez). “Look at their numbers,” Maddon said, “They’re ridiculous.” The Cardinals lowered their team ERA to 2.61, and they’re 33-5 when they score more than three runs. “We have to do a better job offensively, and we will,” Maddon said. “As our young guys get more seasoning, we will hit in those situations better.’’ Maddon pointed to the inexperience of his young hitters. Rookies Kris Bryant and Addison Russell are a combined 6-for-34 during the five-game losing streak, but Miguel Montero and Anthony Rizzo were 3-for-20 against the Cardinals. “It’s been a tough week,” Russell said. “I believe in myself. I just have to go back to trusting myself. I do trust myself. I just got to make my (strike) zone small. “My legs feel good, and my arm feels good. It’s more mental than physical. I just have to get back to playing the baseball I know I’ve played.”

Meanwhile, Maddon didn’t want to risk injury after two rain delays, so he pulled Jason Hammel after Hammel allowed a double to Kolten Wong to start the fifth. Hammel played catch in a corridor, stretched and rode a stationary bicycle during a one hour, 43-minute rain delay before the bottom of the second but wasn’t affective after taking the mound. Hammel blamed poor location more than the layoff for the fact that five of the six hits he allowed were doubles – all after he returned from the delay. “It’s not like we got blown out here,” Hammel said. “A couple bad innings we had here ended up costing us. It happens to the best teams. You want to make the valleys shorter and the peaks higher. So we’ll lick our wounds, take an off-day and go to New York.” The Cubs will rest before starting a three-game series against the pitching-heavy Mets. But Maddon doesn’t plan any tricks to lighten the mood. “What you do is keep going out there and staying with game plan, which there’s no reason to abandon,” Maddon said. “We just have to get guys back on track. Sometimes you abhor a day off, but right now I think the day off is well-planned. We need it. Some guys need that mental break as much as anything. “Take our day off and get to New York and play on Tuesday and see where we’re at. You expect this to happen at some point. Let’s get through it and move on.” -- Chicago Tribune Clutch hitting, back end of rotation problem areas for Cubs By Mark Gonzales Two rain delays Sunday night at Busch Stadium further tested the patience of a Cubs team trying to generate more offense from someone other than Anthony Rizzo and stabilize the back end of a wobbly rotation. Following Monday's scheduled day off, the Cubs will try to generate more resources during a stretch in which they will play 14 games in the 14 days leading up to the All-Star break. As challenging as that stretch seems — which includes a July 7 split doubleheader against the National League Central-leading Cardinals — manager Joe Maddon remains focused on the immediate task. That includes finding a starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Marlins. "We're not looking too far into the future," Maddon said before the Cardinals' 4-1 victory that extended the Cubs' skid to five games. "The doubleheader always presents a challenge when this thing starts popping up on us. "Right now, the focus is on what happens next Saturday." Jhonny Peralta, Jason Heyward and Yadier Molina hit doubles off Jason Hammel to snap a 1-1 tie in the fourth on Sunday. Hammel and Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals, who yielded just two hits in six innings, returned following a 1-hour, 43-minute delay after the top of the second. As for Saturday, the internal option to start is Donn Roach, who threw 61 pitches in 31/3 innings in Saturday's loss. It's no secret the Cubs are searching for starting pitching and they could get an up-close evaluation Tuesday night in New York, where they face left-hander Jonathon Niese.

According to Foxsports.com, the Cubs and Dodgers are interested in Niese, 28, who is making $7 million this season and is due $9 million in 2016. Meanwhile, the bullpen was strengthened by the return of Neil Ramirez, who was activated before Sunday's game and tossed a perfect seventh with two strikeouts. He had missed 21/2 months because of right shoulder inflammation. "I'm a little surprised it took (so) long," Ramirez said. "I started feeling good initially and started throwing, and (the discomfort) kind of crept back. So we had to pump the brakes, and that's why it took a little longer. For whatever reason, there were some underlying strength issues that I had to address." At the plate, the Cubs need to address their inability to produce with runners in scoring position. They were 0-for-10 Sunday, 2-for-27 in the series and are in a 4-for-37 slump. One of those stranded runners was Rizzo, who moved from the second spot to third partly as an effort to help Kris Bryant break out of a rut. "To envision the lineup without him out there would be very difficult," Maddon said of Rizzo, who has a .415 on-base percentage, a .306 batting average, and 15 home runs and 43 RBIs. In the meantime, Maddon continues to monitor the strength of rookies Addison Russell and Bryant, who are a combined 6-for-33 with 15 strikeouts since the Cubs' last win on Wednesday. "I'm talking about mental fatigue as much as any of this," Maddon said. "When you play every day and they count every night and you can't take off a pitch, you're never used to doing this stuff. It all adds up." -- Chicago Tribune Forgive and forget: Pedro Strop accepts Bob Costas' apology By Mark Gonzales ST. LOUIS — Pedro Strop initially didn't want to meet Bob Costas but wound up happy that he allowed the veteran broadcaster to apologize face to face Sunday at the Cubs' team hotel. "He also asked me who else he would have to apologize to," Strop said. "He just apologized to me, and there are more people upset because of what he said, but we've all made mistakes. I'm not going to judge him just because he made a mistake. "I just feel better now that he's at least apologized. We all do stuff that we have to apologize for." Costas apologized for his remarks about Strop, who departed Friday's game after a rough outing against the Cardinals. "Strop is on his way out, pointing toward the heavens," Costas told MLB Network viewers. "We can only ask, or wonder, that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance." Strop said he points to the sky after an outing to "always thank God for the opportunity. It's nothing to do with the performance." Strop said he was unaware of Costas' comments until he checked his messages in his hotel room late Friday night. "At the moment, I felt very bad," Strop said. "I didn't want to talk to him."

But Strop said he realized Costas is a "good dude" after meeting him. "A lot of people tell me he's a great guy and a legend, and one of the best in what he does," Strop said. "Like I said before, we make mistakes." Injury report: Jorge Soler will start his minor-league rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Iowa, and manager Joe Maddon envisions that his right fielder might need as few as four games before rejoining the Cubs. "He's not that far off," Maddon said of Soler, who suffered a left ankle sprain June 1. Left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Tuesday, to make room for reliever Neil Ramirez. Wada, who was diagnosed with inflammation of his left deltoid muscle, is eligible to be activated July 8. -- Chicago Tribune Tsuyoshi Wada placed on 15-day disabled list By Mark Gonzales Chicago Cubs left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Tuesday, to make room for reliever Neil Ramirez. Wada missed Saturday's start because of inflammation in his left deltoid muscle. The Cubs have not set their rotation for next weekend's series against Miami at Wrigley Field. Ramirez has missed nearly 2 1/2 months because of right shoulder inflammation. "I feel very good," Ramirez said. "I'm back to where I need to be. The biggest thing was seeing how I recover." Ramirez made three appearances on a minor league rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. -- Chicago Sun-Times Young Cubs 'schooled' as Cards hand Cubs 5th straight loss By Gordon Wittenmyer Forget mystique, mental skills, getting over “humps,” and differences in experience. The Cardinals are simply better than the Cubs. They have more very good players who play better baseball than the young, transitioning Cubs. And what they do best is what the Cubs figure to have the most trouble trying to catch over the next few years – never mind the next few months – as they chase the National League Central gate keepers. They pitch like nobody else in the game, from top starter to the last guy in a bullpen with five ERAs under 2.00. If the Cubs didn’t know it after the first two series against the Cardinals this year, they felt it like a foot on their throats during a three-game sweep by the Cardinals that ended with a twice-delayed 4-1 loss on a soggy night at Busch Stadium.

“Obviously, you look at their numbers, they’re ridiculous,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of the Cardinals’ pitching – which held the Cubs to four runs over the three games. Those numbers include: A 2.61 team ERA that leads the majors, including a 2.89 rotation ERA and 2.01 bullpen ERA – both of which also lead the majors. And they’re 43-10 when they score more than two runs in a game – an 81-percent clip. This even after losing ace Adam Wainwright in April to a season-ending injury. Nobody on the active pitching roster has an ERA higher than John Lackey’s 3.35. “There’s no denying that they’re good,” said rookie Addison Russell, who went 1-for-10 in the series with five strikeouts. He wasn’t alone. Russell, fellow rookie Kris Bryant and even lineup linchpin Anthony Rizzo combined to go just 4-for-31 with only one extra-base hit in the series. In fact, only five of the Cubs’ 25 hits in the series went for extra bases, compared to 14 of the Cardinals’ 27. And the Cubs were just 2-for-27 with men in scoring position – including 0-for-10 Sunday. “We’ve seen really good pitching the last week. Really good,” Maddon said. “We’ve seen the Dodger pitching, you’ve seen the Cardinal pitching that’s really good pitching. And you have a young, inexperience group offensively that’s being schooled right now a little bit.” Of course, it was hard to blame experience Sunday, considering the Cardinals’ starter was 23-year-old Carlos Martinez (9-3), who’s in his first full season as a big-league starter. “Eventually, it’s going to come back to us,” said Maddon, who welcomed the off day Monday. “They’re going to benefit from it, and we will down the road. For right now they got us. I get it, and I concede in that regard. But I thought we pitched well and played really good defense. We did a lot of things well and just could not get the hit.” It was the first time this season the Cubs have been swept in a series. And it might not get much easier after Monday’s off day when the Cubs open a three-game series against the pitching-rich New York Mets – trying to snap their longest losing streak of the season. That five-game stretch has included only six runs. In fact, the last time the Cubs won, on Tuesday, they scored only one run – and needed 10 innings to do that. Maddon said one of his big takeaways from the weekend series in St. Louis that knocked the Cubs out of wild-card playoff position was that the Cubs made only one error – their only error in their last seven games. Of course, it was on the 10th-inning throw to the plate by Mike Baxter that sailed wide and ended Friday’s loss. That’s the kind of week it’s been for a team that has four more games in a three-day span against these Cardinals next week at home. “It’s not like we got blown out here,” said Cubs starter Jason Hammel (5-3), whose four-inning start was impacted by 1-hour, 43-minute delay in the second inning. “Couple bad innings we had that ended up costing us. That happens to the best teams. Peaks and valleys. You just want to make the valleys shorter and the peaks higher longer. “We’ll lick our wounds, come back, take an off day, and be ready in New York.”

-- Chicago Sun-Times Danger zone: Cubs' Rizzo doesn't fear tempting fate with historic HBP pace By Gordon Wittenmyer ST. LOUIS – It’s part of what works for Anthony Rizzo. Part of what makes him the Cubs’ most dangerous hitter – definitely what has made him one of baseball’s best left-handed hitters against left-handed pitching. But is all that crowding the plate, especially against lefties, and all that up-close-and-personal intimacy with the strike zone, also putting Rizzo in a danger zone the Cubs can’t afford to risk? Rizzo, who has been the one, productive constant in the Cubs’ lineup during this up-and-coming season, already has been hit by pitches a career-high 15 times – which leads the majors and is just two off the franchise record. If he keeps up that pace, it will mean getting hit 33 times – more than anyone in the majors in 18 years. It would be the fourth-highest total since 1900. “Honestly, it is what it is. I can’t control it,” Rizzo said, who on Friday was drilled high on his right arm by John Lackey – one of the few he admitted hurt. “I don’t like getting hit. I don’t like getting hit with the first pitch up and in, but what am I going to do about it? “There’s only been one or two that stung a little bit.” Rizzo is fearless enough that he wears no protective gear on his arms or legs when he bats. He said he doesn’t worry about a 92-mph fastball that finds the wrong part of his hand or wrist – and he has done a good job of keeping his hands out of harm’s way. But even he knows it only takes one. And that’s a point not lost on the rest of the Cubs, who watched prospect Corey Black put Giants All-Star Hunter Pence on the DL with an errant pitch that broke Pence’s wrist in spring training. Giancarlo Stanton, the Marlins’ young star, wears a facemask on his helmet because of the pitch in September that broke facial bones and wiped out the last 17 games of his season. Stanton’s latest injury – a broken hamate bone from a swing Friday night – turned the Marlins from wait-and-see hopefuls to bona fide trade-deadline sellers in one fell swoop. Cubs manager Joe Maddon acknowledged he sometimes is concerned for the safety of the hitter he calls the “linchpin” of his lineup. “Of course you are,” Maddon said. “But I never want any of these guys to worry about getting hurt. I think that’s when you do get hurt, and that’s when you mentally do something different that causes you to get hurt. “I’ve known a lot of guys that got hit a lot. It’s part of the game sometimes. And I trust his instincts that he’ll react properly. Of course, not only him but you worry about anybody getting injured or hurt [by an HBP]. But he’s a pretty tough guy.” Of course, no loss of a player would have a more devastating effect on the Cubs’ ability to compete and score runs than Rizzo, who is producing at an even higher level than last year’s All-Star season. “He’s really critical,” Maddon said. “Every team needs that [guy], at least one. You have to have that one guy that can play or can hit at that level and he has.” He’s been protection and a catalyst for Kris Bryant’s strong career start, a hitter who – in part because he will take walks – seems impervious to whatever quality of hitter is providing him protection.

“To envision a lineup without him out there would be very difficult,” Maddon said. “He hits righties, hits lefties, plays really good first base, has been a really good base runner for us – has played a really complete game. It’d be hard to imagine us playing without him.” Rizzo is not as dismissive about the subject as he sometimes tries to suggest. “I usually do a pretty good job of bracing and getting hit in good spots and recognizing it’s going to come for me and brace for it,” he said. “I don’t dive, so I’m not ever worried about getting hit in the head, or lunging over and not being able to get out of the way. “I mean, it’s baseball. It’s an athletic, competitive sport. I’m not worried about getting hit.” Said Maddon: “He’s on the plate a lot, and people try to get in. And then when they don’t, he hits the ball pretty good, too. It’s his choice to be where he wants to be in the batter’s box, and I’m all for it.” -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs' Neil Ramirez back; Tsuyoshi Wada to DL By Gordon Wittenmyer ST. LOUIS – An afternoon of roster activity by the Cubs Sunday restored strength to the bullpen, suggested hope for a struggling lineup and threw the back end of the starting rotation into greater flux. Most significantly, the Cubs activated right-hander Neil Ramirez after two months on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, putting the late-inning corps back to full strength. The Cubs also placed fifth starter Tsuyoshi Wada on the DL, retroactive to Tuesday, because of a lingering shoulder injury and added Saturday’s spot starter, Donn Roach, to the bullpen until they make a decision on who will take that turn in the rotation next Saturday against Miami. They also sent rookie right-fielder Jorge Soler (ankle) to AAA Iowa to start an injury rehab assignment they hope will lead to a return from the DL next weekend at home. Ramirez, who produced a 1.44 ERA as a rookie last season, had one setback during his rehab work but said he’s confident he’s ready to make an impact for a bullpen that was seen as a team strength when the season opened. “I’m just here to continue what these guys have been doing,” he said of a pen that has produced a 1.78 ERA over the past 32 games since manager Joe Maddon started using a committee approach to the setup and closer roles. “Obviously, this team is so special, and we have a chance to really, really be good. And we are good. I’m just ready to get back and help that out.” -- Cubs.com Hammel: Location after delay was issue By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel played catch in the tunnel, rode the stationary bike, and probably played a few video games during the lengthy one-hour, 43-minute rain delay in the middle of the second inning Sunday night against the Cardinals. That wasn't the problem. "Honestly, I didn't feel any different," Hammel said of his before-and-after performances in the Cubs' 4-1 loss. "The difference before was I was dotting, and I couldn't get the ball at the knees after [the delay]. It was either a

strikeout or a double. Missing with teams like this, gap-to-gap guys, they put good swings on the ball. It's hard to beat a team when you have guys trading places at second base all night long." Hammel retired the side in order on 11 pitches in the first, but his turn in the second was interrupted by the lengthy delay that included a tornado warning. When Hammel returned, he got the first two batters out in the second, but then Yadier Molina doubled before scoring on Xavier Scruggs' single. Hammel needed 20 pitches to get through the fourth, serving up RBI doubles to Jason Heyward and Molina, and started the fifth, but after giving up a double to Kolten Wong, he was pulled. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he kept a close eye on the right-hander and felt it was time to make a change. The four-plus innings matched Hammel's shortest outing of the season, first done June 18, but his turn then ended early because of rain. On Sunday, he tried to shrug it off. "They're quality hitters, professional hitters," Hammel said of the Cardinals. "That's what you get in the big leagues. You can't be in the middle of the zone, and that's where I was when I came back [from the delay]." -- Cubs.com Cubs can't solve Cards in series finale By Jenifer Langosch and Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- After weathering two hours and 29 minutes' worth of rain delays, the Cardinals ran their winning streak to six by finishing off a three-game sweep of the Cubs with a 4-1 win at Busch Stadium on Sunday night. The Cubs, who fell 11 1/2 games behind the National League Central leaders, have dropped five straight. "The division games, obviously when the outcome is a win, you can put more distance between you [and a division opponent]," Cardinals outfielder Jason Heyward said. "We had a great environment to play in tonight. Obviously, when it's Cardinals-Cubs, it's a lot of fun. The fans here at Busch always stick around." Severe storms, which produced tornado warnings in nearby areas, paused the scoreless game after the top of the second. Both Cubs starter Jason Hammel and Cards starter Carlos Martinez returned after the one-hour, 43-minute delay. And each gave up a run in their first inning back on the mound. But Martinez was then able to settle in, while Hammel wasn't. The Cardinals knocked Hammel out in the fifth en route to scoring four times with the aid of six doubles during the righty's outing. Martinez did not allow a hit over his final three frames, while the Cardinals' bullpen followed with three scoreless innings. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Double trouble: The Cardinals clubbed a half-dozen doubles before the end of the sixth, marking the first time since April 30, 2014, that the offense had tallied at least six doubles in a home game. A two-out double by Yadier Molina sparked the Cardinals' rally in the second. A trio of doubles in the fourth inning then helped the Cardinals build a two-run lead. "It's hard to beat a team when you have guys trading places at second base all night long," Hammel said. More > Martinez masterful: Despite waiting nearly two hours between throwing his final pitch of the second inning and first one in the third, Martinez provided the Cardinals with another quality start. He became the team's second nine-game winner while limiting the Cubs to one run on two hits over six innings. Martinez maneuvered around a leadoff double in the second and a Xavier Scruggs error in the fifth to limit the damage. "When I got back from the rain, I was weary on the mound for all the time I waited," Martinez said through a translator. "But after that [first inning], I was comfortable and figured out how to a good job."

Hammel time: Hammel retired the side in order on 11 pitches in the first, but his turn in the second was interrupted the game's second rain delay. When he returned, he got the first two batters out, but then Molina doubled and scored on Scruggs' single. Hammel needed 20 pitches to get through the fourth. But after a leadoff double by Kolten Wong in the fifth, the right-hander was pulled. This matched his shortest outing of the season -- four innings June 18 vs. the Indians -- and that was abbreviated because of rain. "The difference was I was dotting before [the delay], and I couldn't get the ball at the knees after that," Hammel said. "It was either a strikeout or a double. Missing with teams like this, gap-to-gap guys, they put good swings on the ball." QUOTABLE "This is awesome. It's everything you dream of just being a part of the best team in baseball, and to play a little part is great for me. I'm just having fun with it." -- Scruggs, on contributing an RBI single as the Cardinals improved their home record to 29-7. "They kept us in check offensively, which they've done to a lot of different teams. We have to get back our offensive mojo." -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Martinez and Michael Wacha have become the first teammates aged 23 or younger to secure at least nine wins in the team's first 75 games since Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez did so with the Mets in 1986. ROSTER MOVES Cubs reliever Neil Ramirez was activated from the disabled list and pitched in the seventh inning, his first game action since April 15. Ramirez struck out two of the three batters he faced. He'd been sidelined with inflammation in his right shoulder. The Cubs put Tsuyoshi Wada (shoulder) on the DL, retroactive to June 23. WHAT'S NEXT Cubs: After an off-day Monday, Kyle Hendricks will open the Cubs' series against the Mets on Tuesday in New York. Hendricks is 0-2 in his last three starts, and has a 5.88 ERA in his five starts in June. The right-hander did well at Citi Field last Aug. 18, holding the Mets to one run on three hits over seven innings. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT. Cardinals: After an off-day on Monday, the Cardinals will open a two-game Interleague series against the White Sox with a 7:15 p.m. CT game at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. With the Cards needing to skip Jaime Garcia's spot in the rotation, Lance Lynn will draw the starting assignment on regular rest. -- Cubs.com Maddon: Cubs need 'mojo' back on offense By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- Joe Maddon predicted this would happen. In Spring Training, the Cubs' manager said his team would endure a long losing stretch during the season, and on Sunday, it reached five games with a 4-1 loss to the Cardinals. The good news? "In the last week, we only made one error," Maddon said.

On Sunday, the Cubs went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. In the last five games, they've gone 4-for-37 with RISP, stranded 44 runners, collected 42 hits, and scored six runs. They're now 11 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the National League Central. "You have a young, inexperienced group offensively, and they're being schooled a little bit," Maddon said of his team. "Eventually, it will come back to us. They'll benefit from it. Right now, [the Cardinals] got us -- I get it. I thought we pitched well, played really good defense. We did a lot of things well, we just could not get the hit." Addison Russell, for example, was 1-for-10 against the Cardinals. "I have to do a better job of recognizing pitches and laying off pitches out of the zone," Russell said. He's not alone. Kris Bryant was 2-for-11, while Anthony Rizzo went 1-for-10 in the three-game series. "As our young guys get more seasoning, we will hit in those situations better," Maddon said. Sunday's loss meant it was the first time the Cubs have been swept this season. Flashback to 2014, and Chicago had the fifth-worst record in the Majors on June 28 (34-46). Despite this current skid, this year's team is 39-35. "They kept us in check offensively, which they've done to a lot of different teams," Maddon said of the Cardinals. "We have to get back our offensive mojo." -- Cubs.com Wada to DL; Ramirez activated, added to 'pen By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- The Cubs placed Tsuyoshi Wada on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, retroactive to June 23, with left deltoid inflammation, and activated right-handed reliever Neil Ramirez from the DL. Ramirez has been sidelined since April 16 with right shoulder inflammation. "I'm back to where I need to be," said Ramirez, who made three rehab appearances. "I think the biggest thing was seeing how I recover. I'm fine." The rehab did take longer than Ramirez anticipated. "I felt really good initially, and then once we started throwing again, it kind of crept back in, so we had to pump the brakes a little, and that's why it took a little longer," he said, adding that there were some strength issues that needed to be addressed. "We did it the right way, so I'm back to being where I need to be," he said. Manager Joe Maddon said he'll be careful with the right-hander, who compiled a 1.44 ERA in 50 games last season. Ramirez was expected to be a key piece of the Cubs' bullpen this year but was sidelined with the shoulder injury after five April outings. Wada came out of his last start after two innings with cramping in his left shoulder. "He's better, but not where he needs to be," Maddon said of the lefty. "We'll give him a little bit more time. We don't want to run him out there unless he's feeling 100 percent." Donn Roach was promoted from Triple-A Iowa to start Saturday in Wada's spot, and he will stay with the big league club. Roach could be used in relief during the Cubs' upcoming series against the Mets. With an off-day Monday, the Cubs don't need a fifth starter until next Saturday.

Roach gave up four runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Saturday in his second career big league start. "He's high-contact, high-ground ball, low swing-and-miss, thus the ball is going to be in play," Maddon said of the right-hander. • The Cubs will celebrate the Fourth of July next weekend at Wrigley Field with the venue's first postgame fireworks on Saturday. The pyrotechnics will be lit 100 years to the date after the Chicago Whales held an evening of entertainment at then-Weeghman Park in 1915. The fireworks will be launched from various points inside the ballpark. On Friday, the Cubs will open a new outdoor concession area behind the center-field scoreboard. Broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies will conduct their television broadcast from the new left-field porch in the bleachers on Friday, as well. -- Cubs.com Soler to begin rehab assignment with Iowa By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- Cubs outfielder Jorge Soler, on the disabled list with a sprained left ankle since June 3, will begin a rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Iowa. "We were thinking about having Soler matriculate at Notre Dame, but instead we're sending him to the University of Iowa, and he'll be playing over there," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday. The Cubs do have a Class A Minor League team in South Bend, Ind., where Notre Dame is located. Soler was batting .265 with four home runs in 49 games before he was injured. At that point, he was leading the National League in strikeouts, as well. Maddon said they did not have a set number of games for Soler to play before he can be activated from the DL. "There's no finish line, but I think he's not far off," Maddon said. "He's been taking a lot of [batting practice], done a lot of baseball activity." -- Cubs.com Hendricks, Cubs face off with Mets in series opener By Joe Trezza If Jon Niese's last four starts have indeed been auditions, then consider Tuesday his call-back. Niese will be front and center for the Cubs to see, opposing Kyle Hendricks as New York and Chicago start a three-game series at Citi Field. Niese hasn't won since May 9, but has been more effective lately after posting a 5.67 ERA in May. That stretch of rough outings began in Chicago, where the Cubs swept a four-game set from the Mets earlier this year. Niese allowed six runs (four earned) in 6 1/3 innings in that loss. He's 0-2 but pitching to a 3.46 ERA in four June starts. After going 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA in 13 starts as a rookie in 2014, Hendricks is suffering from a sophomore slump. The righty is winless in his last three starts and 2-4 with a 4.46 ERA overall. In almost the same number of innings as 2014, Hendricks has allowed more than twice the number of home runs. Things to know about this game

• Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo ranks in the top 10 in the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. But he's rarely found success against Niese, hitting just .091 in 11 at bats. Backup catcher David Ross (.375 in 16 at bats) has better history vs. Niese, but he's not expected to start Tuesday. • Mets infielder Daniel Murphy is expected to return from the disabled list Tuesday after missing three and a half weeks with a strained left quad. Mets manager Terry Collins plans to start Murphy at third base, shifting Ruben Tejada to shortstop and Wilmer Flores to second. Flores started his first game of the season at second Sunday. Murphy hit .283 in 55 games before injuring himself June 4. At that time he was in the midst of a .346 six-week hot streak. • Dating back to last season, the Cubs have won nine of their past 11 games against the Mets -- Cubs.com Motte unites Cubs, Cards to help K cancer By David Cobb ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals and Cubs are rivals on the field, but at Sunday morning's St. Louis Cornhole Challenge, they were teammates in the fight against cancer thanks to the efforts of former Cardinal and current Cubs reliever Jason Motte and his wife, Caitlin. Before reporting to Busch Stadium for the series finale, several players from both teams and a throng of fans comprising 158 cornhole teams packed Chaifetz Arena at Saint Louis University to raise money for the Jason Motte Foundation and the league-wide effort to "strike out cancer." "With the Cubs-Cards series, it was one of those things where it was the perfect chance to do it," said Motte, who was drafted by the Cardinals in 2003 and played for St. Louis from 2008-14. The event raised more than $90,000 last year, but its future came into question when the Cardinals did not re-sign Motte this offseason and the Cubs inked him to a one-year deal. "Initially, we weren't going to do anything here, because we weren't here and we didn't know how everything would go over," Motte said. "We ended up having a bunch of people ask us about it. Our whole thing with our whole foundation is we don't just throw our name on something. If we're going to do it, we want to be there and see the finished product." Any doubts about if a Cubs player could successfully throw an event in Cardinals territory were quelled by Sunday's turnout and the validity of a cause that has spread through the Majors with the "K cancer" T-shirts that come in the colors of all 30 teams and are associated with a specific player representative from each team. "It's been great," said Cardinals center fielder and co-presenter of the event Jon Jay, who is now the St. Louis representative for K Cancer. "I was telling someone the other day, what Jason has been able to do with this whole K Cancer movement, it's really special. When we look back in 10 years, I think we'll say, 'Wow, this is big.'" Players from both teams mingled with each other, and with participants and spectators on the arena floor lined with cornhole boards. Cardinals reliever Randy Choate teamed with Motte, who could hardly maneuver freely without being greeted by a friend or fan wishing him well. "Jason is just such a good person to bring both teams together, because he's such a good clubhouse guy," Choate said. "Everybody can get along with him and knows he's doing things for the right reasons. He's such a good person that it makes it easy, whether you're his old teammate or his new one, that you want to come out and help support them any way you can." Fittingly, the bean bags were blue and red, the colors of the teams represented at the event. But at least for a morning, the Cubs and the Cardinals were indeed on the same team.

"The thing is, Major League Baseball is a small fraternity, and when you get in between the lines, you're competing to win," Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan said. "That's the bottom line. But once you're done, you realize that you're all just human beings, and what we have in common is baseball, and that's cool. "I think it's a very difficult thing to do when you start something here and then go to a new city, and [the city is] Chicago, of all cities. It's cool that there is still support, and praise God that Jason is as passionate as he is about raising awareness for cancer." -- Cubs.com Strop feels better after Costas' apology By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS -- MLB Network broadcaster Bob Costas met with Cubs pitcher Pedro Strop on Sunday to apologize for comments he made during Friday's telecast, and the reliever says the incident is water under the bridge. Strop had entered the game in the eighth inning with the Cubs leading 2-1 against the Cardinals. He served up a game-tying leadoff home run to pinch-hitter Greg Garcia, then hit the next batter. Matt Carpenter then flied out but Strop walked Jhonny Peralta and was pulled. As the right-hander walked off the field, he pointed to the sky, something Strop does after every outing. "I always thank God for everything, for the opportunity," Strop said Sunday. "I always do that." Costas offered his opinion during the MLB Network broadcast. "Strop is on his way out, pointing toward the heavens," Costas said. "We can only ask, or wonder, that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance." Strop didn't know what Costas said until he got back to his hotel room and got reaction from fans and friends via Instagram. "People said, 'Hey, don't worry about what Bob said,'" Strop said. "I was like, 'What's going on?' Then I went on Twitter and saw the comments that he said. I felt pretty bad. At the moment, really bad. I didn't want to talk to him. Somebody told me he wants to apologize to you, and I was like, 'I don't want to talk to him.'" But Costas did meet with the pitcher in the lobby of the Cubs' team hotel on Sunday before Strop went to a fundraiser event with teammate Jason Motte. "I saw him in the lobby and he apologized to me," Strop said. "We all make mistakes, and I'm not going to judge him because he made a mistake. I feel better now that he apologized. We all do stuff that we have to apologize for. "I came down and realized he's a good dude," Strop said. "A lot of people told me he's a great guy and he's a legend and one of the best at what he does. Everybody makes mistakes." -- ESPNChicago.com Joe Maddon: 'Our inexperience showed up' By Jesse Rogers ST. LOUIS -- It was a weekend the Chicago Cubs would like to forget -- and that's not just because of the rain/tornado delay they had to sit through on Sunday night. The total delays of 2 hours, 29 minutes didn't hurt as

much as the St. Louis Cardinals did in sweeping the Cubs and sending them to New York on a season-worst five-game losing streak. "Our inexperience showed up this week," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "They're being schooled a little bit." The Cubs scored 11 runs in their seven games this past week prompting their manager to wonder where their "offensive mojo" is. He believes they'll get it back but not before the young Cubs learn some lessons at the plate. Rookies Addison Russell and Kris Bryant struggled all weekend. Russell was the tying run on Sunday night in the ninth inning, long after the tornado had come and gone in the area. He struck out on five pitches and went 1-for-10 in the series, leaving runners on base all over the place. "I have to make my zone a little smaller," Russell said. "I'm swinging at pitches out of the zone. The pitchers are doing a good job of executing their pitches." Russell and Bryant may be talented but they're still just rookies and now they're taking their lumps. Maddon warned of a five- to six-game losing streak in spring training, and now it's here. "You're not going to be perfect all year," he said. "We've seen really good pitching this week." And they'll see some more from the Mets starting Tuesday. Maddon was asked if he needs to lighten the mood, especially for his hitters. "I can't lighten it up any more than I do," he responded. This is why he is who he is. Maddon has done a fantastic job of maneuvering his team around the longer losing skids, but when your offense dries up there isn't much you can do but wait it out. You can tell Maddon sees something different in his team this week as he usually likes the games to keep coming. But they need to hit the reset button after a brutal month of travel as they limp to the finish line. They'll get a breather on Monday. "Sometimes you abhor a day off, but right now the day off is absolutely well planned," Maddon said. "We needed it." Young players such as Russell and Bryant insist they aren't hitting a wall and keep finding positives in their game. Russell says he likes how he's playing defense while Bryant ended his night with a double after earning a walk in his last at-bat the night before. He thinks it'll pop for him soon. "You can see the inexperience showed up these last seven games," Maddon said. And the exact opposite showed up on the other side of the field. The Cardinals may have some young players -- such as Sunday's starter Carlos Martinez -- but they're chock-full of championship experience. "There's no denying they're good," Russell said. The Cubs got taken to school by the Cardinals and now have to lick their wounds. The Mets are the bigger concern for the playoffs anyway. A wild-card battle is still to be had because a division title feels as far away as an 11.5 game deficit should. And there's no guarantee the sinking will end now. They need to find that mojo Maddon talked about -- and fast. The manager reminded reporters of his March prediction, knowing it would come true for his young team at some point. Maybe it actually came later than anyone expected. "We're going to lose five, six games in a row," Maddon said. "And we just did." -- ESPNChicago.com Rapid Reaction: Cardinals 4, Cubs 1 By Jesse Rogers

ST.LOUIS -- The Chicago Cubs lost 4-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night. Here's a quick look at the game. How it happened: After two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 29 minutes, the Cardinals came out swinging off of Cubs starter Jason Hammel, who gave up five doubles in less than five innings pitched. Xavier Scruggs, Jason Heyward and Yadier Molina drove in runs off of Hammel before he was pulled. Matt Carpenter promptly doubled off reliever James Russell to add to the lead. The Cubs got on the board in the third inning after Dexter Fowler doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Rizzo. Other than that it was more of the same in terms of hitting with men in scoring position. The Cubs went 0-for-10. Rain delays: The first one lasted 46 minutes, but that was before the game began. Less than two innings into the contest another storm came through, along with tornado warnings, delaying the game another 1 hour, 43 minutes. The way the Cardinals hit Hammel it's safe to say the second delay did him no favors, but it was the same for both teams and the Cards' Carlos Martinez didn't give up nearly as much hard contact. The Cubs might wonder why the game started in the first place. What it means: It's official, the Cubs are playing their worst baseball of the season in dropping their fifth consecutive game -- a season high. They got swept by the best team in baseball, which the Cubs felt they could play with. Maybe they can but not so far this year as they dropped to 1-6 at Busch Stadium and 2-7 overall against the Cardinals. If you're into pointing fingers there's equal blame to go around. The offense has dried up having scored just 11 runs the entire week while going 2-for-27 with men in scoring position in the series. Cubs starters aren't much better as they're finishing up a brutal month, which had them averaging the second fewest innings per start in the National League ahead of only the woeful Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs dropped to 39-35 on the season, 11.5 games out of first place but are finally completing a road-weary month that has been full of rain delays and brutal travel. There's one more series left though. Ramirez returns: Reliever Neil Ramirez made his first appearance since April 15 as he returned from shoulder inflammation to pitch a clean seventh inning. He struck out two batters while hitting between 91-93 mph on the radar gun. What's next: The Cubs will arrive in New York in the early morning hours on Monday before enjoying a day off there. They open a three-game series with the Mets on Tuesday as Kyle Hendricks (2-4, 4.46) faces lefty Jonathon Niese (3-7, 4.12). -- ESPNChicago.com Neil Ramirez's return a boost for the bullpen, rotation still has a hole By Jesse Rogers ST.LOUIS -- The Chicago Cubs activated reliever Neil Ramirez from the disabled list on Sunday while placing lefty Tsuyoshi Wada on it with inflammation in his throwing arm. “I feel real good,” Ramirez said Sunday after missing nearly two months with shoulder inflammation. “I’m back to where I need to be.” Ramirez was a key part of last year’s success in the bullpen as he struck out 53 batters in 43.2 innings pitched. He appeared in 50 games producing a sparkling 1.44 ERA as well proving to be a go-to-guy in the late innings. If he recaptures that form the Cubs bullpen could return to prominence -- though it’s been very good lately without Ramirez. “For whatever reason something wasn’t right,” Ramirez said of his end to spring training. “When I’m out there throwing 90 mph that’s not me.”

Ramirez started, then stopped, his rehab after feeling something so his recovery took longer than expected. Cubs manager Joe Maddon will try to ease Ramirez back into action but his presence can make a big difference for an effective but overused bullpen. “There are some underlying strength issues we had to address,” Ramirez said. “We did it the right way and I’m back to being where I need to be to compete with these guys.” Another start for Roach? With Wada needing more time to recover from a deltoid cramp, which forced him out of his last outing, Donn Roach could get another start but right now he’s been relegated to bullpen duty. Maddon thinks Roach threw well in his debut on Saturday night though he lasted only 3.1 innings after the Cardinals peppered him with singles and doubles in their 8-1 victory. The move to the bullpen means the Cubs need a starter for next Saturday against the Miami Marlins but manager Joe Maddon isn’t committing to anyone just yet. It still could be Roach but it depends if he’s called upon this week. “He’s high contact, high ground ball,” Maddon said. That trait could prove useful coming out of the bullpen in case Maddon is looking for a ground ball. The more important issue is who gets that spot in the rotation against the Marlins. “The focus is going to be what happens next Saturday,” Maddon said. The uncertainty highlights the Cubs inconsistency in their rotation right now. They’re a far cry from rolling five starters out every five days so mixing and matching while taking a wait-and-see approach is about the best they can do right now. “We’ll just play it out,” Maddon said. “Of course there has to be a conversation as you get closer. There has to be a Plan B ready but if we need to utilize him in another role we’ll do that.” -- ESPNChicago.com Cardinals showing young Cubs what winning is about By Jesse Rogers ST. LOUIS -- It was after Friday night's game, when the Chicago Cubs lost a heartbreaker to the St. Louis Cardinals, that Cubs manager Joe Maddon said his team needed to get over the "mental hump" of beating the best team in baseball. That was before the Cardinals whipped up on them, 8-1, in Saturday's contest, handing the Cubs their four straight defeat. But Maddon isn’t being swayed. His 39-34 team is still in playoff contention, though they're 10.5 games out of first place in the NL Central right now. "I'd almost be more concerned if it flipped too easily," Maddon said. "I would. Because then I'm looking for the trap door. Right now everything is progressing pretty much as it should." They might not get over that hump this season, but Maddon and the Cubs are here for the long haul. They know -- or at least hope -- this is just the early stages of some contending seasons. Like a baby taking its first steps, Maddon's Cubs are doing the same when it comes to winning. And the sooner they match mental wits with the most consistent winner in the land the sooner they might be able to overtake them. "I think they beat us with their experience," Maddon said of the Cardinals. "They come with the hit, we don't. They make a pitch, we don't. We've blinked and they haven't. That’s what it’s come down to."

If the division is not in play, than maybe a wild-card berth is in the offing this season. That's a more realistic goal, as the Cubs currently are just on the outside of a playoff spot looking up at the world champion San Francisco Giants and as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's just their luck that the Cubs are in the toughest division in the NL, playing next to two perennial playoff teams in the Cardinals and Pirates, not to mention having to fight the battle-tested Giants, to play longer in October. "I feel like there comes a time and point where you have to learn how to win," veteran Cubs catcher David Ross said. "You have to figure it out. We're getting there, but there's a reason why they're the best team in baseball. It's not just talent." At least the Cubs have Maddon, as good a communicator as you'll come across in the game. Using WAR-type vernacular, with a replacement level manager the Cubs would be about a .500 team right now. Maddon has been good for 4-5 wins at least. This has nothing to do with in-game strategy and everything to do with the tone he sets. Consider this: The Cubs might only send 1-2 players to the All-Star game. Anthony Rizzo is a near-lock, but after that they might get one starting pitcher in, either Jake Arrieta or Jason Hammel. That’s it. For a team like the Cubs, who happen to have one of the top 5 winning percentages in the NL, it's a testament to Maddon he's kept them in the race despite not having a fully formed contender or fully matured star players. Kris Bryant and Addison Russell are on their way to becoming household names, but they aren't there quite yet. The Cubs employ three rookie position players, have two reliable starters and have chosen to go with a bullpen and closer by committee. What they're good at is playing and winning close games. They're 18-13 in one-run affairs and 8-4 in extra innings. That's basically the margin of games above .500 they've been all season. "If there is any trick it's that we don't get too despondent after a loss," Maddon said. "We definitely celebrate the victories, and I love that, but we don't get down on ourselves after we lose a tough game. I think that's the secret in order to bounce back." Earlier this week the Cubs reached a season-high nine games over .500 after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, more specifically Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. The bottom has fallen out since, as they’ve lost the last four, tying a season-high losing streak. More than anything else, the young Cubs have stayed in the race so far because somehow, someway, they’ve avoided longer losing streaks. This four-game skid is just the second of the season and first since early May. They've survived, and that's as much on the manager as anyone else. A loss on Sunday night would be nothing short of devastating for a rabid and starved fanbase. It would send the Cubs to New York for a date with the Mets having been swept by their archrivals, riding their longest losing streak of the season and a season-high 11.5 games out of first place. Maddon claims he's seen stranger things then a double-digit lead in a division evaporate, but there’s also those Pirates to contend with. They're not going anywhere either. Perspective is a useful tool in sports when things aren't going your way, and it bears remembering a young team can't just flip a switch and have the needed experience to win. Even if they don't get to the postseason the Cubs will give it a good battle behind their charismatic leader. "I like how we're playing," Maddon said. "We can play with these guys. We just need to get over the hump." --