It's Time For Cubs To Go "All-In"

Much like a see-saw rises and falls on both sides when children play outside without a care in the world, one of these days, the Chicago Cubs' see-saw will start tipping in the opposite direction it's been pointed in for the past 108 years.

Until now, the City of Big Shoulders has seen that see-saw tilted a little too much for its own liking in the direction of the ground, instead of the sky.

And after storming out to a 2-0 series lead in the National League Division Series over the San Francisco Giants (who are pesky the way buzzing mosquitos or flies around your head that you can't seem to swat are), I thought for sure last night's epic, heartbreaking 13-inning thriller was that tipping point.

When Jake Arrieta buggy-whipped a three-run homer off living postseason legend Madison Bumgarner in the second inning, the Cubbies celebrated in the dugout like all hell had broken loose.

Surely, this was a sign. The Giants were 10-0 in playoff elimination games since 2010 prior to last night, and suddenly, a three-run lead felt more like a slaughter rule.

But alas, it's just that kind of mentality these young North Siders will finally have to overcome if they want to make history, and overcome talk of the 1969 Mets, Black Cats, Billy Goats, Leon Durham and Steve Garvey, and the other Steve, whose last name we won't mention here out of respect to him.

We live in an era where almost every postseason reliever can hit 95-plus on a radar gun. And these guys are playing at a level where the skill sets are so good, so evenly matched, that even one seemingly innocent, insignificant thing can make the difference between a World Series and going home.

Make no mistake, a huge part of postseason baseball at the Major League level is a mind game.

Stunned Connor Gillaspie tagged the first 100-plus MPH pitch he's EVER seen in his career to give the Giants the lead in the bottom of the eighth? Welcome to the Show, kids. Where heroes are born, and even a career bench guy with a quick bat, just once, can change history. It happens. Why?

Because he knew what pitch he was looking for. Gillaspie wasn't sitting on Aroldis Chapman's slider. He was looking for his fastball. A fastball that may travel faster than any human being on the planet can hurl one in bullet-like fashion. But it's a straight fastball, nonetheless.

I mention this specific at-bat because it profoundly illustrates just how mental this game truly is.

Much like a game of high-stakes poker, pitching and hitting in the Bigs is about out-bluffing your opponent --- a lot.

Will you get a third straight breaking pitch on 0-2? Or will your hands be too slow to catch up when you're stunned with a 97 MPH heater down the middle instead, because it's the last thing you expected?

The mind games going on out there are the real beauty of the game of baseball. And the winner of those mind games, the team that makes fewer mistakes while bluffing better, will win almost every time.

It why when I see Anthony Rizzo mired in an 0-for-13 slump in these playoffs, after putting up an MVP-like season that included a .292 average with 32 homers and a team-best 109 RBIs, I wonder what's going on in his head.

That's not a knock on him, but clearly, when he falls behind the count early, as he has most at-bats in this series, the Giants are exploiting his adrenaline, aggressiveness, and know he's up there hacking.

As I said prior to the start of the playoffs, this was a problem for him, and many Cubs hitters, when they got swept by the New York Mets a season ago, just one step away from their first World Series air since the end of World War II.

There will come a point when Rizzo calms himself, much like someone meditating their stress away does, and tells himself, "Hey, maybe I should lay off early in the count, or find ways to get ahead, so the pitcher has to adjust, rather than me adjusting to him."

Such is the Buddhist-like Yin and Yang of this glorious game. There's always a chance to redeem yourself, and tilt the balance of things back the opposite way, if one so chooses.

It's why I was so impressed with reliever Mike Montgomery's four innings of relief last night, despite the fact he took the loss. This may be just his second season in the majors, at age 27, but he showed wisdom and discipline beyond his years, which I'm certain Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein knew when dealing for him from Seattle earlier in the year.

It was clear Montgomery had a plan, clear that he was prepared, keeping the ball down and away from Giants hitters, in an effort to limit their power. He utilized his breaking ball in devastating fashion, sweeping it down and away from lefty hitters with the taunting nature of someone teasing a dog who's been patiently waiting for a treat.

Montogomery is the kind of thinker who knows how to tip that imaginary see-saw I mentioned earlier a little bit more in the Cubs' direction.

It's something his younger Cubs counterparts will need to do, also, if they hope to win this series, both at the plate, and on the mound.

Having John Lackey on the mound tonight in Game 4, who knows how to pitch, rather than just throw hard, may be the biggest turning point yet in Cubs history. I mean that. Because he's the type of cerebral individual who possesses the veteran-like traits I've just discussed, which include poise, maturity, and most important of all, experience.

It's a huge obstacle the Cubs and Lackey are trying to overcome. You don't win 11 straight playoff elimination games, or three World Series crowns in a six-year span, on accident, as the Giants have. Experience matters, and right now, the Cubs are getting a hands-on lesson in that genre --- one that will benefit them, too, once they get over their biggest hurdle, which is themselves.

When the Cubs were stuck in a 1-for-24 slump in the late innings last night, I kept asking myself, "Who wants to be a hero? Who wants to be a legend? Who will find a way to get ahead in the count, or create a baserunner?"

Dexter Fowler had a gorgeous at-bat to reach base first. Then Kris Bryant answered that call loud and clear with his game-tying two-run blast that sent the game into extra innings, a towering homer that hit the top of a car advertisement in left field in such historic un-Cub-like fashion, it caused even Bryant to smirk as he rounded the bases.

But it's that sort of swagger, confidence and a plan, the Cubs need to sustain for nine innings, not just one or two. They need to develop that killer instinct, that trait that says, "We're about to finally smoosh you under our feet the same way an angry homeowner would say lights out to a filthy cockroach scurrying across the kitchen floor."

I'm convinced this next game, or possibly two, may represent the Cubs' biggest hurdle they will face this postseason. San Franciso has all the elements of a World Series team. So do the Cubs.

But this? This feels like a turning point. One that defines just how we all remember the 2016 Chicago Cubs. This has the potential to be the night we all look back one day, decades from now, and say, "This is where our baby Cubs grew up into huge grizzlies. This is where they took that next step. The one we've waited for for more than a century."

How Chicago's players make adjustments tonight, and the mentality they approach situations with at the plate and on the mound, as I've said countless times on social media and places like here, will be the difference between winning and losing.

Right now, the Cubs are at the poker table, and the sooner they learn, it's not the cards, but how you play them, the better off they'll be. The talent is there.

Because even if the Cubs are holding a two and a four in their hand, while the Giants have a pair of Jacks, the Cubs can bluff the Giants right out of the postseason. I promise you.

If they play their cards right, that is.

Tale of the Tape: Buffalo Grove vs. Hersey

Tonight's Tale of the Tape (Girls basketball)

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Buffalo Grove: (17-4, 5-0 Mid-Suburban East)

 

vs.

Hersey: (17-3, 4-1 Mid-Suburban East)

 

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Prior Matchups

Game 1: November 27: Hersey 60, at Buffalo Grove 50

Game 2: December 18: at Buffalo Grove 55, Hersey 52 (This was Hersey's first loss after starting 10-0). Junior Georgette Topalis' steal near midcourt and ensuing layup with under 8 seconds to go made it 54-52.

Game 3: January 22: Buffalo Grove at Hersey, 7:30 p.m.

 

Game Notes

-If Buffalo Grove wins this game, it will be on the fast track to winning the Mid-Suburban East having swept the other five division teams in the first round of action against them.

-If Hersey wins, they will be tied for first with the Bison. The Huskies are on a five-game win streak. Buffalo Grove has won its last six.

-Buffalo Grove fell behind by double-digits in both games against Hersey, only to rally and take the lead in both contests, though they only won one of the two. The first game between the two clubs didn't count in the Mid-Suburban East standings, only their overall records.

-This is the first game this season between the two teams on Hersey's home court. 

Something Extra:

Buffalo Grove: Sammy Stejskal, 5-10 senior guard, had a pair of career-high 31-point games against Lake Forest and Deerfield at the Lake Forest MLK Tournament. She tied the school record when she had a 25-point second half against Deerfield.

 

The Bison won their last three games by an average of 24.6 points per game, which included a 23-point victory over highly-touted Antioch.

Hersey: The Huskies' only division loss is to the Bison. Hersey won the Bison Holiday Classic in November and sports an outstanding resume with road wins against Burlington Central, New Trier, Rolling Meadows and Barrington.

 

They also beat an excellent Huntley team by nine in late December. In their most recent contest, Hersey fell behind Burlignton Central 8-0, then outscored them 52-32 the rest of the way.

Cubs face a must-win in Game 2 against Mets

Talk about a wake-up call.

That's what the Chicago Cubs and outlandishly expensive pitcher Jon Lester got last night in New York against the Mets --- a team many of you thought would be a pushover, leading to a Chi-Town sweep, or even a five-game cakewalk series win.

Tonight, it's Cy-Young worthy righty Jake Arrieta's turn, fresh off a historic August and September that bolstered talk of this team's first possible World Series crown in over a century.

But a few things have me concerned. The first was the Party-Like-A-Rockstar attitude from the boys in blue after eliminating their arch rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, in the NLDS.

The excitement, while understandable given the Cubs' past, was excessive. I know manager Joe Maddon is on-record saying his team should celebrate every win.

Just not to the degree it was taken to.

When I see photos splattered all over Twitter and Facebook of slugger Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber posing for selfies with scantily-clad blondes and brunettes for days after eliminating the Cards, it raises a red flag.

Now is not the time for such distractions, young men. Now is the time for making history, for curse-busting. And it's time for this team to realize there's no time like the present to mature.

I'm not trying to be a buzzkill. I'm just being a realist.



The Mets are no slouches, and are probably the most underrated team to make the postseason. They are the epitome of a team with solid pitching, timely hitting and fundamentals galore. You don't luck your way into beating a team like that by riding the coattails of your previous series wins. You do so by working your ass off and playing smart, fundamental baseball.

The Cubs looked like a team that was a deer in headlights last night. Even Joe Maddon looked flat, almost dejected and freezing cold in the visitors' dugout.

I noticed a number of key things:

1. Lester was not Lester-like. On the two homers he allowed, AND the RBI single on 0-2 to Granderson, he left pitches right over the heart of the plate. On the second homer, his pitch speed was a mere 87 MPH and a fastball. Is his arm hurting? He should be in the low 90s. Too many two-strike mistakes, and location mistakes.

2. Sending Starlin Castro...on the best outfield arm in baseball in Cespedes. Bad, bad, bad.

3. Kyle Schwarber's inability to throw out a runner at home on a 260-foot fly ball. Montero should get a little bit of blame for lining up behind home plate instead of in front of it, but that play NEVER would've been so close if Schwarber hadn't taken his sweet time catching, winding up and getting rid of the ball. His strong arm made the play close, but that guy would've been out by a mile with some basic fundamentals.

4. Poor hitting approaches and a lack of adjustments by Cubs hitters. Harvey was dealing fastballs on the outer half of the plate all night. Yet were the Cubs trying to go to right field? Not often. I saw a lot of big home-run swings and an unwillingness to modify approaches toward what Harvey was throwing. Veteran, experienced teams make these adjustments. The Cubs need to grow up fast and realize this.

5. Small mistakes. Bryant's dropped double play ball late cost the Cubs a run. And while no one play makes an entire game, those mistakes add up.

The good news is, Arrieta is on the hill tonight, but it still won't be easy. If the Cubs can win this evening then go to Wrigley for three, I like their chances. If they lose, I think they are in big...check that --- huge, trouble. They might be already, because their next two starters after Arrieta aren't nearly as skilled.

The bottom line is, if the Cubs want to make history, they're going to have to battle harder than this to do so. And remain lazer focused. Being aware of things going on in-game and adjusting to them is by far the biggest key to them winning.

Let's hope this young team matures quickly and realizes everything they've done prior to this doesn't mean squat. Only how they react tonight does. The Cubs looked their youthful ages last night, but thus far, they've reacted well to every bit of adversity thrown their way like champions.

The difference now is, tonight, they absolutely have to.