Still the GLHOAT, Anthony Rizzo won't be 'Wally Pipped' after day off

Still the GLHOAT, Anthony Rizzo won’t be ‘Wally Pipped’ after day off

By Gordon Wittenmyer

Big flies and small ball. No wonder this guy calls himself the greatest leadoff hitter of all-time.

MIAMI — And on the 11th day, the Greatest Leadoff Hitter of All-Time rested.

Despite coming off a shutout loss Friday night during a roller-coaster stretch for his battered lineup, Cubs manager Joe Maddon stayed committed to the scheduled day off for Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs’ self-proclaimed GLHOAT.

“I’ve been a part of way too many teams that have been exhausted in September,” Maddon said. “I don’t want our team ever to be exhausted in September.”

The only game Rizzo missed this season before Saturday was May 10 in Colorado, the day after playing both games of a doubleheader.

“I didn’t fight it. It’s a long year,” Rizzo said. “You’ve got to be smart with days and knowing that you take a day off now, it’ll help in the future.”

But what about all that newfound value the Cubs have found in Rizzo — who played the role of leadoff man for the first time in the last 10 games — and all that renewed vigor Rizzo found?

He said he hoped the leadoff man Saturday, Jon Jay, would go 5-for-5 with five homers. Then he joked about getting “Wally Pipped out of that spot.”

No chance.

“He’s been going after it pretty hard being the leadoff hitter,” Maddon said. “He’s done a wonderful job, obviously. But you don’t want to beat him up.”

In other words, Rizzo will be back in the leadoff spot Sunday.

“Absolutely,” Maddon said.

Since making his career debut at the top of the lineup June 13 in New York, Rizzo is hitting .342 with six walks, four home runs, a .763 slugging percentage and 1.185 OPS.

Leading off the game, he’s 6-for-9 with three homers and a walk, giving him a .700 on-base percentage.

“It’s pretty decent, I guess,” Rizzo said.

The Cubs are 6-4 and have averaged 5.8 runs a game with him hitting there.

In fact, Maddon likes the lineup so much that he might stay with it even when Ben Zobrist, the next-best leadoff option, returns from his wrist injury.

“We’ll see how it’s all still playing out,” Maddon said. “If you could just move Zo down to 3 or 4, that’s not a bad thing, either.”

Maddon excited the Marlins Park crowd when he used Rizzo, a South Florida native, to pinch-hit for the pitcher with one out and nobody on in the ninth. The move drew a huge and sudden ovation.

“I didn’t even realize we were doing that for them,” he said. “I had no idea. I was looking around like, ‘Somebody walk in the door? Was it A-Rod and J-Lo?’ No, it was Anthony. That was pretty cool.”

NOTES: With Ben Zobrist (wrist) still unsure about a date for a brief rehab assignment, the Cubs have all but ruled out a return from the disabled list for a four-game series in Washington this week.

• Kyle Hendricks is expected to test the injured finger on his pitching hand by playing catch Sunday for the first time since suffering a setback June 13. He has been on the DL since June 5 because of tendinitis in the back of the middle finger.

• Kyle Schwarber is to report to Class AAA Iowa on Monday, when the team returns from a road trip, team officials say.

• Left-hander Brett Anderson (back strain) was to join Class AA Tennessee on Sunday to start a rehab assignment.

• The Cubs’ 2-0 loss Friday marked the sixth time they have been shut out this season, matching last year’s season total in 73 games.

Follow me on Twitter @GDubCub.

Email: gwittenmyer@suntimes.com