Chicago Cubs: Joe Maddon Needs To Find a Lineup and Stick With It

It is time for Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon to stop messing around. He needs to find an everyday lineup and stick to it.

After a less than stellar beginning to the 2017 season, the Chicago Cubs have started the second half of the season with flying colors. They swept the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves, and have finally started to show signs of life on offense. However, despite the Cubs strong start to the second half, one trend continues from the first. Cubs manager Joe Maddon continues to toggle with his starting lineup.

Due to his pedigree and success, I will never doubt anything that Maddon does. However, this strategy of constantly tinkering the lineup can hurt the Cubs in the long run.

The important thing to take away from this road trip is how the Cubs are going to make a push. After winning six straight, you’d think that they have found their groove. The Milwaukee Brewers have started out slow to begin the second half, giving the Cubs a fantastic opportunity to capture the weak NL Central.

Establishing A Good Rhythm 

Assuming the Cubs are able to separate themselves from the rest of the central, they’ll need to establish some flow to their offense. This is where the issue of constantly juggling the lineup causes issues.

If the Cubs want to repeat in October, outfielder Kyle Schwarber can’t be tossed out of the lineup every time a lefty is on the mound. It’s this kind of tinkering that can disrupt the natural rhythm of a player. Schwarber could get on a two or three game stretch where he is hitting the ball well, and then have to sit out a day because a lefty is pitching.

It’s encouraging that the Cubs have started out strong in the second half. The bats have been out in full force. Over the course of their six-game road trip, the Cubs hit 16 home runs. One of those 16 coming from the bat of pitcher Mike Montgomery. Whereas in their final six games before the All-Star break, they hit five.

The emergence of the bats can be attributed to a majority of the Cubs roster getting the All-Star break off. It isn’t very hard to conclude that if the long ball is working, there is no need to make adjustments. Especially when you can throw in a six-game winning streak.

Looking Ahead

One of the great concepts of sports writing is playing the hypothetical game. This winning streak will at some point end. The important question to ask is when that comes, will Maddon tinker the lineup again? While six games aren’t the largest sample size, it’s the best sample the Cubs have had this season.

Unless the bats completely fall off, I don’t want to see Maddon tinker around with the lineup.

The only slot that I am content with seeing a change in is the leadoff spot.  You think the Cubs miss former leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler? Unless the Cubs make a deal at the deadline for a quality leadoff hitter, the No.1 hole will continue to be a revolving door of Ben Zobrist, Jon Jay and the legend himself Anthony Rizzo.

However, there is no denying that putting  Zobrist as the leadoff man is making the best out of the current situation the Cubs have. He’s a switch hitter that should eventually level out to a .260-.270 average. It’s not an ideal average for a leadoff hitter, but you can live with it considering the power the Cubs have in the middle of their order.

It’s great that the Cubs have started the second half so well. Baltimore and Atlanta are certainly not the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Washington Nationals, but it’s reassuring to see that on the road trip the Cubs scored 44 runs. In their final six games before the All-Star break, the Cubs scored 22.

While it’s tough to really judge if the Cubs have found their groove offensively after six games, it’s enough to convince me. This is the lineup that Maddon should stick with, even if it cools off. It at least has shown that it can produce runs, unlike many other lineups throughout this season.

The Importance of This Weekend

This three game set against the St. Louis Cardinals could very well serve as the table setter for the Cubs. There are two reasons why this series holds a large amount of importance for the Cubs. The first being that they can push the Cardinals back down in the division by as many as 7.5 games.

However, the more important thing to consider is that the Brewers play the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. The Phillies own the worst record in baseball, at 32-61.

It’s fair to assume that the Brewers will take at least two out of three against the Phillies, which could put the Cubs in a very tough position to gain ground back if they were to struggle against the Cardinals this weekend.

It’s going to be interesting to see if Maddon rolls out the same lineup that he has been using this weekend. If there is one team that knows what the Cubs do and don’t do well, it’s the Cardinals.

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However, the Cubs will need to find a way to at least take two out of three this weekend. They can’t afford to lose ground on Milwaukee. Every win from here on out is going to be very important. If the Chicago Cubs want to make it back to the playoffs, you shouldn’t be throwing away wins to a sub .500 team in St. Louis.