The “L” flag flew over Wrigley Field, and the fans went home unhappy. But the sky wasn’t falling in the home clubhouse.
For the first time since 2015, a team other than the Cubs won the Central Division crown, the Milwaukee Brewers turning in a shut-down performance in Game 163 and having the party inside the Friendly Confines. The team that spent months atop the standings lost the tiebreaker game and stared a new reality in the face: a do-or-die contest in Tuesday night’s NL wild card game.
To many Cubs fans, that’s a disappointing state of things. The expectations raised so high thanks to 2016’s curse-smashing World Series championship leave no room for anything other than first place, well illustrated by the fact that there still hasn’t been a celebration for this playoff-bound club.
To those aforementioned fans, it sounds a lot like the worst-case scenario.
But inside the locker room where so much champagne and beer has flowed over the last three falls, this postseason-tested group had no such end-of-the-world feelings.
“We’re not dead in the water,” manager Joe Maddon said. “We have another opportunity. And I’ve been involved with wild card teams that have gone all the way. It happens. You’ve got to throw this away very quickly, you cannot let it negatively impact your thought process ever. And it shouldn’t, it really shouldn’t.
“There’s no lamenting, there’s no crying, none of that. It’s getting back in the huddle. When something happens, you’ve got to get back in the huddle and prepare for the next play.”
MLB
Indeed the season has not yet reached its conclusion on the North Side. There will be another night. No, this wasn’t where the preseason prognostications placed this team, which made such a splash in February with the signing of Yu Darvish that they looked like the Senior Circuit’s runaway favorite. But to suggest this team, which has been through so much over the past several seasons and postseasons, is dead and buried, that’s just irresponsible.
“This is nothing new to us,” outfielder Jason Heyward said. “We’ve been fortunate to see a lot of crazy shit happen the last few years. So just keep adding on to the story. That’s what 2018’s been, and I feel we’ve done an outstanding job of looking that in the eye and keep it moving.”
Cole Hamels, one of this team’s newest arrivals and an accomplished playoff veteran in his own right, has been talking for days about this team’s experience-packed roster. Rizzo, Bryant, Schwarber, Hendricks, Baez and Lester were all around for the last time the Cubs played in a wild card game, that 2015 win in Pittsburgh. Zobrist, Heyward, and Contreras joined them for the run to the title in 2016. This team has been through win-or-go-home moments before. Lester and Hamels will be the pitchers Maddon turns to Tuesday, and they’ve both got postseason track records a mile long.
Yes, there are reasons to be concerned — the three hits against Brewers pitching Monday chief among them — but there’s a bunch of reasons for this group (and their fan base) to be confident about the situation.
“This is a do-or-die moment,” Hamels said. “At the same time, we get a second chance, and I think that’s kind of great for everybody and what everybody’s been able to do here. This is one of the best environments to play in front of, and we’re very fortunate we get to do it again tomorrow.
“This is a tremendous team to be around. Guys know how to get the job done. We’ve got a lot of playoff experience in this locker room, so I think that’s what we kind of have to pull on. And just support each other and be there and live in the moment because there’s not too many opportunities that we get to be in this. There’s a lot of teams that are at home right now, and I think they would love that one more opportunity to play a meaningful game. I think that’s kind of what we have to look at. This is a great, meaningful game in our home stadium.”
The expectations have soared so high for this Cubs team, that a trip to the postseason alone isn’t something worth celebrating. Certainly the players have their eyes on the biggest prize, but playing in the NL wild card game rather than receiving a first-class ticket to the NLDS doesn’t bring an end to 2018’s Cubs story.
It might be a stretch to say this is exactly where this team wants to be. But don’t think for one minute they’re uncomfortable with the circumstances.
“That’s what you want. You want a chance to play with higher stakes, and I feel that’s kind of what we thrive off of and enjoy that chance,” Heyward said. “We don’t take it for granted. So that’s what we’re going to keep trying to do: keep making sure we keep playing games when the stakes get higher and see what happens.”
The stakes won’t get higher than Tuesday’s: Win. Or go home.