Cubs manager Joe Maddon thought the game Saturday against the Braves shouldn’t have been played. He had no problems with the decision to postpone the game Sunday.
“Driving out again, it was remarkably bad. It’s just the right thing to do,” Maddon said. “It’s not about just getting games in. You want to be able to play the game on a major-league caliber, championship-caliber level.”
RELATED STORIES Joe Maddon expects Anthony Rizzo to start Monday against Cardinals Early-season weather issues have become big problem for MLB
The Cubs’ 14-10 victory Saturday was dramatic, but it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece. There were errant throws and wild pitches, and the weather certainly helped the Cubs rally from a 10-2 deficit. Dazzling Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies lost control of a throw, and reliever Peter Moylan’s very wild pitch in the eighth inning led to two Cubs runs.
“[Saturday’s] game, we were fortunate, actually, that it was played in its entirety because that’s why we won that game, based on how bad the conditions were by the end of the game,” Maddon said. “We’ll take it, but I’m glad that the decision was made this way today. Even if it’s not actually physically raining, there’s a lot of other different reasons that make a game unplayable. [Saturday is] a perfect example.”
The game Sunday was postponed around 10:30 a.m. as the nasty conditions persisted and more were forecast. It will be made up at 1:20 p.m. May 14, one day before the Cubs and Braves begin a three-game series in Atlanta.
Tyler Chatwood (0-2, 4.91), the scheduled starter Sunday, is expected to pitch Monday in the series opener against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. The rest of the rotation will stay in turn.
“Knowing what we went through [Saturday], I would’ve been fine coming back here [May 14] and playing a doubleheader,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “After getting through that, it was literally miserable.”
The forecast Monday doesn’t look optimal, either, though that’s a fact of life playing games in April in Chicago. Maddon said the decision to postpone games shouldn’t always be based on precipitation, even though he thinks it always is.
“There’s times when the game actually isn’t playable based on wind and cold and maybe just a damp field or the field might be wet in and of itself from previous rain,” Maddon said. “I always thought there should be an actual number, like a temperature number, that if it gets below that number, that’s good enough for me. The game wasn’t meant to be played in these -methods.
“There’s so many games to stuff into the regular season, and I get it. And there’s always concerns about making things up based on travel, and I get it. However, that doesn’t mean you should play a game that’s unplayable.”
One idea posed to Maddon was playing more early intra-divisional games, making them easier to postpone and reschedule if needed.
“I’m sure it’s really difficult to try to figure,” Maddon said. “I have no idea what it takes to make the schedule up. That looks really impossible, actually. I don’t want to bang on that. I’m just saying the game itself is meant to be played in somewhat decent weather conditions for grip, footing.”
The Cubs persevered in the conditions Saturday for a memorable victory. Maddon again credited his players for how they handled the game. He also said that the way the Braves hit was “really impressive.”
“Nobody complained,” Maddon said of the Cubs. “If they were, they didn’t complain to me. I wasn’t complaining to them.”
On Sunday, Maddon had nothing to complain about.
