(670 The Score) Joe Maddon's Cubs teams play well after returning from the All-Star break, and that's just plain fact. Now adding in their three-game sweep of the Pirates, they've compiled an eye-popping mark of 192-103 in the second half in Maddon's tenure here, a topic that came up in the conversation on the Maddon's Post show on 670 the Score on Sunday evening.
Maddon himself explained that he has learned to value both mental and physical rest over the taxing slate of 162 games, specifically mentioning how his experience with the Angels informed him of the perils of overworking players. After seeing enough September struggles there, he noted that extra practice can end up being self-defeating, and it's better to do less than more.
"We get rid of a lot of the eyewash," Maddon said, using the baseball term for fake hustle and/or performative grinding. "I prefer a rested athlete. I don't like to push too hard and make them do superfluous stuff. Coming into this second half, I want a fresh mind and body, and you'll get a better result."
That's all spoken like a confident and successful skipper, certainly, allowing him to take credit for his decisions regarding playing time and overall roster deployment that keep the team at optimum readiness. It also seemed to cause left-hander Jon Lester to interrupt moderator Ron Coomer so he could make his own, entirely different point.
"No offense, Joe, but I think we've just got a bunch of adrenaline junkies on our team," Lester said. "When it matters, our guys play better. We need rest to get to that point, but our guys just like the second half. I think our guys like having that on our back and on our shoulders, and the pressure means something to them."
Well, then. OK.
Now we have questions. Are they both right, in that prioritizing freshness allows them to respond better to seemingly more important games? If Lester's correct, what happened at the end of 2018 when the Cubs shriveled as the games became increasingly meaningful? Where was the response to pressure then? In a sport like baseball that one can't play harder, how does that tendency actually manifest itself? And why then did Willson Contreras admit earlier this season that he allowed himself to get "way too comfortable" last year?
I'm most curious about how it would apply in the context of this season, one that began with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein's urgency declaration after last season, on which he doubled down in spring training with his statement that "October begins in March." These adrenaline addicts got that memo and fired right out of the gate, promptly losing six of their first seven games.
So I have a hard time buying at face value what Lester is selling.
My best interpretation of the exchange is two parties wanting it known that they bear responsibility for the team's proven performance in that period. The manager details what he thinks has mattered about his approach, but the veteran pitcher who has risen to alpha-dog status as a leader felt compelled to stand up for his constituents in a way that credits them as well.
It's the best kind of conflict a team can have, figuring out how to parcel out kudos for jobs well done. If the Cubs' hot start to the back nine of 2019 foreshadows more talk of this instead of nagging situational hitting woes and inconsistent starting pitching, they'll take it.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's Bernstein & McKnight Show in midday. You can follow him on Twitter @Dan_Bernstein.
