July 21, 2018

• The Athletic, What it would take for the Cubs to do a big deal at the trade deadline https://theathletic.com/439818/2018/07/20/what-it-would-take-for-the-cubs-to-do-a-big-deal-at- the-trade-deadline/

• The Athletic, Jon Lester doesn’t concern himself with ‘analytics BS’ https://theathletic.com/439917/2018/07/20/jon-lester-doesnt-concern-himself-with-analytics-bs/

• Cubs.com, Lester tagged for 8 runs in Cubs' lopsided loss https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/jon-lester-struggles-in-cubs-lopsided-loss/c-286525352

• Cubs.com, Cubs tie record using 3 position players to pitch https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-use-3-position-players-to-pitch-vs-cards/c-286546674

• Cubs.com, Reliever Chavez's 'versatility' a boon to Cubs https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/jesse-chavez-a-great-addition-to-cubs-bullpen/c-286527626

• NBC Sports , Cubs set the wrong kind of history in blowout https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-set-wrong-kind-history-blowout-cardinals-maddon- caratini-la-stella-happ-carpenter

• NBC Sports Chicago, Joe Maddon is liking the look of Cubs 'backwards' lineup https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/joe-maddon-liking-look-cubs-backwards-lineup-rizzo- bryant-zobrist-heyward-cardinals

• Chicago Tribune, Column: Dodgers' big move puts ball in Theo Epstein's court to shore up Cubs pitching http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-pennant-race-sullivan-20180720- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Fan who survived heart attack at returning to thank Cubs employee who helped him http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-haugh-nirav-thakkar-20180720- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Long day for Cubs as Cardinals' Matt Carpenter hits 3 homers and 2 doubles in 18-5 victory http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-cardinals-20180720-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, A scoreless ninth inning leaves one Cubs position player Happ-y http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-ian-happ-pitching-20180720- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, Cubs' Jon Lester tells the analytics crowd: 'Watch the game' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-jon-lester-analytics-20180720- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, 8 things to know about new Cubs Jesse Chavez http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-jesse-chavez-5-things-20180720- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, MLB fighting an unwinnable battle with Mike Trout http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-mlb-mike-trout-marketing-20180720- story.html

• Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs’ Jon Lester has worst outing of season as Matt Carpenter, Cards romp 18- 5 https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-jon-lester-has-worst-outing-of-season-as-matt- carpenter-cards-romp-18-5/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Is Cubs’ Tyler Chatwood running out of chances to get his act together? https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/is-cubs-tyler-chatwood-running-out-of-chances-to-get-his-act- together/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Dear Cardinals: We Chicagoans need your arrogance back in our lives https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-cubs-st-louis-cardinals-mike-matheny-theo-epstein- mike-shildt/

• Daily Herald, Carpenter hits 3 homers as Cards demolish Cubs 18-5 http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180720/carpenter-hits-3-homers-as-cards-demolish-cubs-18- 5

• Daily Herald, Cubs look forward to adding new reliever Chavez to the mix http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180720/cubs-look-forward-to-adding-new-reliever-chavez- to-the-mix

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The Athletic What it would take for the Cubs to do a big deal at the trade deadline By Patrick Mooney

When Tommy La Stella, Victor Caratini and Ian Happ combine to get more outs than Jon Lester, you know the Cubs aren’t done adding to their pitching staff.

“You all stuck around?” manager Joe Maddon said, walking into his Wrigley Field press conference after Friday’s 18-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals that lasted three hours and 54 minutes and featured the Cubs using multiple position players as in a game for the first time since 1884. “I thought I’d be talking to an empty room.”

An ugly loss on a rainy afternoon doesn’t change the trajectory of a 56-39 team. It would still take a perfect storm for the Cubs to do a huge deal before the July 31 trade deadline. It’s possible — but not necessarily likely — that team president Theo Epstein could make another move that shocks the baseball world. These situations are always fluid. Yu Darvish responded well after playing catch late Friday morning on Wrigley’s outfield grass, but the Cubs don’t know how their $126 million pitcher will feel the next day and the day after that.

The Cubs took a more pragmatic approach in targeting Jesse Chavez, knowing they are scheduled to play more games (69) after the All-Star break than any other team in the majors, starting with these five games in four days against the Cardinals. There are eight more games against the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, a 29-games-in-30-days stretch between Aug. 14 and Sept. 12 and major incentives to avoid playing in the National League wild-card game in October.

In ending World Series droughts that lasted 194 years combined, Epstein famously traded away Boston Red Sox icon Nomar Garciaparra and traded for Aroldis Chapman. But the under-the-radar Chavez deal with the Texas Rangers announced late Thursday night also illustrates Epstein’s trade-deadline playbook.

The Cubs have a realistic view of a bullpen that appears to be in better shape than it actually is because the team hasn’t played as many games. The Triple-A Iowa shuttle will probably break down at some point. There is an optimistic sense that closer Brandon Morrow (right biceps inflammation) only needs rest/recovery time on the disabled list — and will eventually return at 100 percent — but he also has a long medical history that’s made the Cubs very cautious with his workload.

Chavez, 34, will be pitching for his ninth big-league team when he joins the Cubs this weekend. The Cubs project Chavez — who put up a 3.51 ERA in 30 appearances out of the Texas bullpen this season — has the command, pitch mix and know-how to use the team’s advance scouting reports/game-planning system and attack different kinds of hitters as a spot starter/multiple-inning reliever.

“Chavy’s good people,” said outfielder Jason Heyward, who played with Chavez during his rookie season with the Atlanta Braves in 2010. “He’s going to fit in this clubhouse really well and he’s a guy that always wants the ball.”

“Great guy, low-key, good pitcher,” said Morrow, who overlapped with Chavez during his time with the . “That’s why we picked him up. He’s got a rubber arm out of the bullpen and can be a swing guy and do a lot of things well. Really versatile.”

Chavez only cost Class-A lefty Tyler Thomas, a seventh-round pick out of Fresno State in last year’s draft, and the balance of his one-year, $1 million contract, leaving the Cubs with the flexibility to make bigger moves.

Epstein didn’t trade off the big-league roster to shake last year’s team out of a World Series hangover and kept the young core intact after a disappointing ending in the NLCS. The Cubs instead made sweeping changes to their coaching staff and committed $215 million to free-agent pitchers.

On some level, holding onto those hitters reflected the reality of the marketplace more than any sort of organizational mandate or sense of loyalty. The Cubs aren’t philosophically opposed to trading from their position of strength. It might even become an inevitability at some point as all these players get more and more expensive through the arbitration system.

But outside of discussing Albert Almora Jr. as part of last year’s Justin Verlander negotiations with the Detroit Tigers, the Cubs feel like they haven’t really been offered a compelling deal or fair value for one of their up-and-coming big-league players like Happ.

Those positions could always evolve under deadline pressure, but Caratini, Triple-A infielder David Bote and top prospect Miguel Amaya are interesting trade chips to think about while the Cubs get linked to pitchers like Toronto’s J.A. Happ and Baltimore Orioles reliever Zach Britton.

Blocked by All-Star catcher Willson Contreras for the next several years, Caratini just needs an opportunity to play after putting up a .334 batting average, 14 homers, 83 RBIs and a .933 OPS in 115 career games at the Triple-A level. Caratini — who will be 25 next month and remain under control through the 2023 season — could fit into another franchise’s long-range plans.

Maybe a rebuilding team will have enough imagination to project Bote as the everyday player the Cubs envision. The Cubs think Bote has the swing and the versatility to have a nice career in the big leagues. It’s just that Bote has only shown it in flashes (.867 OPS in 20 games with the Cubs this year) and doesn’t have a clear path to regular playing time at Wrigley Field.

Amaya hasn’t generated the same buzz Gleyber Torres and Eloy Jiménez created when they came out of the organization’s valuable pipeline in Latin America. But the Cubs see Amaya as a top-50 prospect within the industry and believe he could leap into the top 20 by this time next year. Amaya, the starting catcher for the World Team in this year’s All-Star Futures Game, already has double-digit homers, an .800-plus OPS and a good defensive reputation during his age-19 season at Class-A South Bend.

Cleveland just used top catching prospect Francisco Mejia to get All-Star closer Brad Hand and right- handed reliever from the San Diego Padres. Caratini doesn’t represent the same upside/pedigree — Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Mejia anywhere from No. 5 to No. 20 on its lists of the game’s top prospects heading into this season — and Amaya hasn’t advanced to that level yet.

It all depends on the other contenders the Cubs are bidding against, what the sellers think of their farm system and how much Epstein is willing to pay to upgrade a potential World Series team.

“We’re in a spot where we have a really good chance to go really far this year,” pitcher Kyle Hendricks said. “Whenever we’re winning, we know we’re going to get guys. That’s just part of it. We get excited for it. Welcome them into the group and hopefully ride this thing and make them a part of the team as quick as we can.” --

The Athletic Jon Lester doesn’t concern himself with ‘analytics BS’ By Sahadev Sharma

Jon Lester has a message for all those numbers nerds out there: Save it.

The analytics community has been predicting a Lester drop-off in the second half, and after a three- inning outing in which he gave up eight runs on seven hits, five walks and two home runs in an 18-5 loss to the Cardinals, many were surely chirping.

The problem is, Lester doesn’t miss bats with any regularity, and his above-league-average walk rate and inability to consistently get weak contact or ground balls suggest that he can’t sustain success with such a low rate. Friday’s one strikeout in 21 batters faced lowered Lester’s strikeout rate to 18.5 percent on the season. With just one swing and miss over 86 pitches, his swinging-strike rate dropped to 8.2 percent. The league average for those numbers for starting pitchers are 21.5 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively. Both numbers would be the lowest Lester has posted since 2008, his first full season as a starter.

So after an outing like Friday’s and a season lacking in , how does Lester plan on getting outs going forward?

“I’ve been getting outs,” Lester said. “I think the biggest thing for me is when I’ve had guys set up, I haven’t been able to execute that particular pitch. Everybody wants strikeouts and everybody wants that whole deal. I feel like when I’ve had the strikeout or I’ve had the guy set up for a pitch, I haven’t been able to execute it. That goes back to Day 1. I think all this other nonsense is something for people to talk about. Everybody wants answers for why a guy’s pitching well or why a guy’s not pitching well. I guess I’m old school when it comes to: watch the game.”

Well, watch all the games before Friday. But Lester certainly has a point. Even if the peripherals suggest otherwise, he’s been getting results for much of the season. Even after a disastrous outing on Friday, his 3.14 ERA is strong (over a full run below the league average for starting pitchers). And even in his best seasons, Lester has had outings like these and bounced back rather nicely.

Lester says he’s less worried about strikeouts than the walks (his walk rate is up to 9.6 percent, one and a half points above the league average for starters). His manager, Joe Maddon, says he doesn’t want him to think about whiffs either.

“I don’t really want him to go up there trying to miss bats,” Maddon said. “I’d rather him elicit contact. Hopefully weaker contact that we can catch. There’s gonna be days where he’s feeling it. The backdoor cutter is gonna hit that outside edge for the righties and underneath them. He’s gonna dot the outside corner against lefties and he’s gonna get strikeouts. But if you don’t have that going on, just try to have them put the ball in play and have us catch it. That’s what he’s been doing. I’m not concerned about all that, quite frankly.”

The Cubs have an impressively built information system called IVY and a pitching infrastructure (run prevention coordinator Tommy Hottovy and catching/strategy coach Mike Borzello along with pitching coach Jim Hickey) that is a big part of their success. It’s people like Hottovy (a former pitcher and teammate of Lester’s) whose job it is to look at numbers and trends and then figure out how to translate those things in ways that work for each individual pitcher.

It’s clear Lester’s not exactly into diving into the data.

“I think there’s people that have nothing better to do that overanalyze things,” Lester said. “I’m a big believer in sitting back and enjoying the baseball game. Whether the ball’s hit hard or not – I mean I’ve given up plenty of my fair share of bloop singles and bloop doubles. It doesn’t matter what the exit velocity is, it goes down as a single or a double. I’ve gotten my fair share of outs that have been hit right on the screws at somebody. That’s part of pitching.

“I’m not worried about missing bats, I’m worried about not walking people. I think I need to get back to ground zero on that. I’ve been battling myself for the last three or four starts and it’s magnified itself and put me in some bad positions. High pitch counts, not going deep into games, because I’ve been giving at-bats back to guys. I’d rather guys square a ball up and get a base hit than walk them. Or square a ball up and hit it right at a guy and take my chances of maybe a mis-hit. I’m not too concerned about all the other analytic BS. I’m worried about what my mechanical fix is for my next start. I’ll continue to work on it. I just need to carry it into the game. I haven’t done that the last two or three starts.”

Lester talked about his mechanical issue after his last start. He felt he’d corrected it slightly after working on it in between starts, but clearly it’s still an issue. The way Hickey described it was that Lester was “getting a little bit out in front” and Lester said he was “trying to stay behind the ball better.” Essentially it was leading to a flatter ball — his fastball was lacking that downhill plane and without that, all his other pitches drop in effectiveness.

Lester seems to believe that he can have success without missing bats. His first half results suggest he’s right. Of course, those who lean on numbers would suggest that was all smoke and mirrors and what we saw on Friday could just be the beginning of an extreme regression. The reality is how Lester performs will likely be somewhere in between. The Cubs came into the year expecting Lester to settle into a role somewhere in the middle of this rotation, with Kyle Hendricks, José Quintana and Yu Darvish stepping up to pick up his slack. That’s what’s going to need to happen for the Cubs to really live up to their potential.

In the meantime, Lester will continue to work on his mechanics while Hottovy and Borzello work to translate those numbers into something Lester can use. And the rest of us can just enjoy a good anti- stats rant from an old-school ballplayer.

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Cubs.com Lester tagged for 8 runs in Cubs' lopsided loss By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- All-Star Jon Lester had a chance to become the National League's first 13-game winner on Friday afternoon. Instead, the Cubs left-hander struggled with his command, lasting a season-low three innings, and the team had to turn to three position players to pitch in an 18-5 loss to the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

Infielder Tommy La Stella, catcher Victor Caratini and outfielder Ian Happ each pitched for the Cubs, the first time the franchise has used multiple position players in that role in a single game since 1884.

Matt Carpenter had five hits, including three home runs, and drove in seven runs for the Cardinals, who have won six of 10 meetings against the Cubs this season. Lester was charged with eight runs on seven hits and five walks. "I would've liked to have minimized the damage," Lester said. "Mechanically, this has kind of been coming. I've been battling myself for the last three, maybe four starts and have been working underneath the ball too much. It nipped me in the butt today. I'll move on from it, learn from it."

Said manager Joe Maddon: "Stuff-wise, he was fine today. You could just see in the beginning, he was off a little bit. I thought it was going to be good, but it did not turn out that way."

Lester put things in perspective quickly. On Friday night, his NVQT Foundation was hosting a country- themed fundraiser for pediatric cancer research.

"I've been around long enough to wash this one aside," Lester said. "I was throwing the ball really well until this point. I think I can walk out of here with my head held high and try to raise some money for pediatric cancer research. I don't want to take anything away from the performance today, because it was pretty [bad]."

It was the second straight abbreviated start by a Cubs pitcher, which is not a good way to open the second half. On Thursday, Kyle Hendricks threw 113 pitches over 4 2/3 innings, and Lester was lifted after loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth inning. Lester threw 86 pitches on Friday, including 37 in the second inning.

The two teams play a doubleheader on Saturday, which is another reason Maddon turned to his bench players to pitch in.

"I wish the game would've gone differently, but it was a pretty cool experience to be on the mound at Wrigley," Happ said.

The Cubs lead the Major Leagues in comeback wins, but the Cardinals struck quickly as Carpenter hit Lester's seventh pitch of the game into the right-field bleachers. St. Louis scored four runs in the second, including two on Carpenter's second homer of the game, and opened a 12-1 lead after a seven-run fourth inning. Carpenter added a three-run homer in the sixth.

Carpenter and Chicago's Kris Bryant now share a record -- both have hit three homers and two doubles in a game. Bryant did so on June 27, 2016, against the Reds.

"It's so impressive, and you take in the fact with how he started the year," Bryant said of Carpenter. "I think it was 150 at-bats, and he was at .150. Now he's turned it around. It's fun to see. It stinks when it's against us, but he's a heck of a player."

St. Louis' Jack Flaherty held the Cubs to two hits, including Willson Contreras' solo home run in the second, over five innings for the win. Bryant added a solo homer in the seventh.

This was the Cubs' most lopsided loss of the season, and the Cardinals' 18 runs were the most Chicago has given up in a game since an 18-5 loss to the Mets on Sept. 5, 2010.

Maddon said it felt like a Texas League contest or a beer league softball game.

"There's tough losses and losses that don't stink so much," Maddon said. "This one doesn't stink."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Star power: On Tuesday night at the All-Star Game, Contreras hit the first pitch he saw from the Rays' Blake Snell for a home run. On Friday, Contreras waited until the second pitch from Flaherty. With one out in the second, Contreras hit his eighth home run of the season, pulling the Cubs within 5-1.

Pitching in: La Stella retired the first batter he faced to end the sixth, but he served up a leadoff homer to Greg Garcia in the seventh. The Wrigley Field radar gun credited La Stella with a variety of pitches, ranging from a 77-mph fastball to a 53-mph curve. La Stella went 1 1/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits.

Caratini took over in the eighth and served up a two-run homer to pinch-hitter Yairo Munoz. Happ pitched the ninth and was the most efficient. According to baseball historian Ed Hartig, the Cubs have not used two position players, let alone three, as pitchers in a game since at least 1907.

SOUND SMART The Cubs are the first team to use three position players as pitchers since the Brewers did so, on Aug. 29, 1979 (Sal Bando, Jim Gantner and Buck Martinez).

The last time the Cubs used multiple position players to pitch was June 16, 1884, in a 20-9 loss to the Buffalo Bisons.

HE SAID IT "The biggest thing for me is when I've had guys set up, I haven't been able to execute that particular pitch. Everybody wants strikeouts. I feel like when I've had the strikeout or had the guy set up for a pitch, I haven't been able to execute it. I think all this other [analytics] nonsense is something for people to talk about. Everybody wants answers for why guys are pitching well or not pitching well. I guess I'm old school when it comes down to it. Watch the game. Are there times at Wrigley when you fall behind in the count and the wind is blowing in, am I worried about throwing a ball down the middle? No. I don't care what the exit velocity is, I don't care how far it's supposed to go. Is it an out? That's what matters. I think there are people who have nothing better to do than overanalyze things. I'm a big believer in sitting back and enjoying the baseball game." -- Lester

UP NEXT The Cubs will play a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. Tyler Chatwood will start the first game at 12:05 p.m. CT against Luke Weaver at Wrigley Field, and Mike Montgomery will start in the nightcap, scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. CT. The Cardinals will counter with John Gant in the second game. Chatwood finished the first half as the Major League leader in walks (73 over 84 innings), and the Cubs are hoping the right-hander has better command in the second half. Montgomery most likely didn't expect to have nine starts in the first half -- he began the season in the bullpen until Yu Darvish was hurt. Montgomery is 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA as a starter this season.

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Cubs.com Cubs tie record using 3 position players to pitch By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- The first step before calling on any of his position players to pitch was to get first baseman Anthony Rizzo out of the game, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

The Cubs trailed by 14 runs in the sixth inning against the Cardinals after Matt Carpenter's third home run when Maddon called on infielder Tommy La Stella to get the final out of that frame. He got Yadier Molina to fly out to center on a 72 mph fastball. La Stella went 1 1/3 innings, and catcher Victor Caratini and outfielder Ian Happ each threw one inning, all pitching in after All-Star starter Jon Lester's abbreviated three-inning start.

"I said, 'Tommy, are you good with this?' [He said] 'I'm good with this,'" Maddon said. "'Victor, are you good with this?' [He said] 'I'm good with this.' Happ was imploring. It worked out really well. We had some fun with it."

The trio of position players combined for 3 1/3 innings, saving the Cubs relievers heading into Saturday's doubleheader. They couldn't slow down the Cardinals, who won, 18-5.

"I had to take Rizzo out of the game because he would've been badgering me the whole time," Maddon said of his plan. "It started by getting Rizzo out, and that made my decision-making process a lot easier. Imagine him being in your ear constantly that he wants to pitch."

Rizzo was still miffed in the clubhouse after the game.

"Rizzo is a little upset," Happ said. "He's been lobbying for a while. He's still lobbying."

"Riz always petitions. He wants it," said Chicago's Kris Bryant, who was a good pitcher in high school.

Happ, who hasn't pitched since the Cape Cod League, was the only one of the trio who didn't give up a run. Greg Garcia hit a solo homer off La Stella leading off the seventh, and Yairo Munoz connected on a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth off Caratini.

"My sinker was working," Happ said. "I tried to go four-seamer to Harrison Bader, and it didn't work. The sinker played."

Happ is now the clubhouse leader with the best ERA.

"It feels good to have the highest velo of a position player, and also it feels good to have a zero," Happ said.

Maddon had cautioned the three to not overexert themselves.

"I topped out at 78 [mph]," Happ said. "That's all I've got."

The D-backs were forced to use two position players on July 11. Prior to that, no team had used a true full-time position player to pitch before the seventh inning since 1983. It's now happened twice in nine days.

"When the game gets that out of hand, you just don't want to use your guys up," Maddon said. "We started putting the plan in play."

"I wish the game would've gone differently," Happ said, "but it was a pretty cool experience to be on the mound at Wrigley."

• The Cubs tied a Major League record by using three position players to pitch in one game. It also happened Aug. 29, 1979, when the Brewers used Sal Bando, Jim Gantner and Buck Martinez against the Royals, and also on Oct. 4, 1913, when the Washington Senators called on Germany Schaefer, Eddie Ainsmith and Joe Gedeon against the Red Sox. • Entering Friday's play, 28 position players had pitched this season (not including Shohei Ohtani). La Stella, Caratini and Happ are Nos. 29, 30 and 31. They join catcher Chris Gimenez, who pitched one inning June 23 against the Reds. The four players are the most by any team.

• The earliest a position player had been used as a pitcher this year was the fourth inning when the D- backs brought in Daniel Descalso on July 11. Friday was the second earliest.

• The last time the Cubs had a position player pitch in the sixth inning or earlier was on Aug. 27, 1968, when Willie Smith faced the Giants in the sixth inning and finished the game.

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Cubs.com Reliever Chavez's 'versatility' a boon to Cubs By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- The Cubs are hoping they got a new super utility pitcher in reliever Jesse Chavez, who was acquired from the Rangers on Thursday and is expected to be at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

The Cubs dealt Minor League pitcher Tyler Thomas to Texas for Chavez, 34, who has a 3.51 ERA in 30 relief appearances this season, striking out 50 over 56 1/3 innings while walking 12. Chavez has spent 11 seasons in the Majors with seven clubs: the Pirates (2008-09), Braves ('10), Royals ('10-11), Blue Jays ('12, '16), Athletics ('12-15), Dodgers ('16), Angels ('17) and Rangers ('18).

"The versatility is so attractive," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Chavez. "If you have a problem early in the game, he could easily fill that spot up. If it's in the latter part of the game, and some guys have been utilized a lot, you can fill him in there. He's kind of interesting. He's kind of a 'super [utility]' guy in the bullpen."

Lefty Mike Montgomery has filled that role for the Cubs, but this season, he has been used primarily as a starter, subbing for the injured Yu Darvish.

"Monty was the Swiss Army knife out there," Maddon said. "Now you've got Jesse."

Maddon wanted to talk to Chavez about what he felt comfortable doing. The right-hander started 21 games in 2017 with the Angels, and his longest outing this season was five innings in relief on June 1. He has thrown at least 60 pitches three times.

"He's the kind of guy who has a variety of different uses potentially for us," Maddon said.

Around the horn

• What influence does Maddon have on the Cubs' front office prior to the non-waiver Trade Deadline?

"Zero," Maddon said. "It should be. I don't get to go out and watch [the players]. The input would be if [the front office is] interested in somebody. They would ask me about them, and I would tell them what I think. I should have no impact on trades. We don't get to see these guys perform against somebody else other than us."

• Even though Willson Contreras and Kyle Hendricks will be at Wrigley Field this weekend, their presence will be felt a few miles south at Soldier Field, where the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics is taking place. Both Contreras and Hendricks are special ambassadors, the first Major League players to fulfill that role.

"You have so much fun with these athletes, and they bring us so much joy," Hendricks said. "It's amazing -- they're always so happy and so positive, it blows us away every time we go and spend time with them. It got to the point where, how could we not do this? We have so much fun. We love going to hang out with them."

Contreras wanted to get involved after a hospital visit he made with some kids. He also has a cousin and a neighbor in Venezuela who have Down Syndrome.

"That's what really motivated me to get involved in Special Olympics," Contreras said.

The first Special Olympic Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago in July 1968, so it seemed fitting to hold the 50th anniversary there. The event runs through Sunday.

• Cubs Minor League pitcher Saul Vazquez, currently on the team's Dominican Summer League roster, has received a 72-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Nandrolone, a performance- enhancing substance.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced the suspension on Friday following Vazquez's violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Vazquez, 18, was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts for the Cubs' Dominican team, striking out 18 over 20 innings.

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NBC Sports set the wrong kind of history in blowout By Tony Andracki

Cubs fans had plenty to cheer about late in Friday's game against the Cardinals, but not in the way they expected.

With St. Louis absolutely wearing out the Cubs pitching staff in an 18-5 blowout, Joe Maddon turned to a trio of position players to pitch.

In front of 41,077 people at Wrigley Field for the second game of the official second half of the season, Tommy La Stella came on to pitch for the Cubs with 2 outs in the top of the sixth inning. After La Stella got 4 outs, it was Victor Caratini's turn for the eighth inning.

The Cubs have actually used multiple position players as a pitcher before, but it was back on June 16, 1884 in a 20-9 loss, according to historian Ed Hartig. Obviously, the game of baseball was quite different back then.

But just using two position players on the mound wasn't enough for this wacky day at the ballpark.

Ian Happ got the nod for the ninth inning on the mound, serving as the third different position player on the mound. He joked he was using his sinker effectively and that he's now the Cubs clubhouse leader in ERA after not giving up a run in his inning of work.

Was there a friendly competition between Happ, Caratini and La Stella?

"Yes," Happ said. "I won."

How did Maddon determine who would get the opportunity to make history?

Well, for starters, the process began with getting a certain player OUT of the lineup.

"I had to take Rizzo out of the game because he would've been badgering me the whole time," Maddon laughed. "So it started by getting Rizzo out, and that made my decision-making process a lot easier. Otherwise just imagine him harping in your ear constantly that he wants to pitch and every time I go out to the mound and the game may be lopsided as I'm maybe bringing somebody else in, he reminds me.

"At some point, hopefully in a good situation where we're leading [he can get in and pitch]."

Seeing a position player pitch has actually been a pretty common occurence under Maddon as he's done everything he can to limit the stress on the bullpen: "I think the fans kinda started to enjoy it, too, which is always fun when you're getting blown out," said Kris Bryant, who connected on his 11th homer of the season in the blowout loss. "Those guys stepped up for us to save the bullpen. So there ya go. We're making history."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Matt Carpenter had a record-setting game.

Before being removed from the game in the sixth inning, Carpenter smashed 3 homers and 2 doubles and drove in 7 runs. It tied a Cardinals record for total bases (16) while tying the MLB record for most extra-base hits in a game (5):

It also was only the second recorded game in MLB history where a player had 3 doubles and 2 homers. The other? Bryant, of course — in Cincinnati in 2016.

Of course, the fact he did it all before the game reached the seventh inning is remarkable:

Offensively, the Cubs left 12 men on base, which would normally be the focal point of ire for the fanbase if not for the rest of the day's events...

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NBC Sports Chicago Joe Maddon is liking the look of Cubs 'backwards' lineup By Tony Andracki

No matter how much people complain and Tweet, Joe Maddon will never go with a set lineup every game.

But that doesn't mean he won't let certain spots in the lineup settle in for a couple weeks in a row.

That's what may be occuring right now with Anthony Rizzo holding serve as the "Greatest Leadoff Hitter of All-Time" once again.

Rizzo made his 5th straight start atop the Cubs order Friday after collecting a pair of doubles and a walk in Thursday's 9-6 victory.

Initially, moving Rizzo from the heart of the order to the top was in part to help the Cubs first baseman get going. Maddon is a big fan of hitting guys leadoff to help them reset mentally and find their stroke again.

But it is working — Rizzo entered play Friday 8-for-16 with 5 doubles, 3 walks, 3 runs and 3 RBI in the leadoff spot over the last week. The promptly reached on a hit-by-pitch and walk his first two times up Friday.

He's also been the team's biggest cheerleader:

So how long will Maddon keep this unconventional lineup?

"I don't know," he said, smiling and shaking his head. "I don't know. He came up again in crucial moments [Thursday]. He looks really good out there. I don't know. That's my exact answer."

Yes, Rizzo is looking good in the leadoff spot, but his insertion atop the order has given the Cubs lineup a new dynamic.

With Rizzo first and Kris Bryant second, the guys that are historically the Cubs' top two run producers are hitting atop the order and "behind" the pitcher's spot.

But they're also the Cubs' top two on-base guys and Maddon is liking the look of Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist — two high-contact guys — following Bryzzo in the order, as they have done recently. (It doesn't hurt to have the NL leader in RBI — Javy Baez — hitting cleanup, either.)

"It's almost a backwards way of doing this right now that I'm finding fascinating," Maddon said. "So I'm just gonna let it play for just a little bit and see where it takes us."

It's taken the Cubs on a 4-game winning streak endcapping the All-Star Break, though the Cardinals got up big early Friday afternoon.

For a team that leads the NL in just about every important offensive category, it's going to be a huge key moving forward if Rizzo gets going on a consistent basis in the second half.

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Chicago Tribune Column: Dodgers' big move puts ball in Theo Epstein's court to shore up Cubs pitching By Paul Sullivan

It has been a very strange season for the Cubs, who might claim the by default the way things are falling into place.

They entered Saturday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals with a three-game lead over the slumping Brewers and a 7½-game lead over the inconsistent Cardinals, in spite of a rotation that hasn’t lived up to its billing and subpar offensive performances from Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant.

Free-agent pitchers Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood haven’t been able to establish themselves because of injuries or control issues, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana haven’t put together a string of consistent starts and even Jon Lester was roughed up Friday before admitting his mechanics have been off over his last four starts.

The biggest bright spot thus far has been closer Brandon Morrow, who went on the disabled list Thursday for the second time, adding biceps inflammation to his recent back injury.

Morrow may be their most indispensable player at this point, but he’s coming off a grueling season with the Dodgers, for whom he pitched in all seven games of the World Series.

So while things are looking up for the Cubs, many of their key players either are ailing or are not having their best years.

They’ll take it, naturally.

It doesn’t matter how you’re winning as long as you’re winning.

But now that their fans have grown accustomed to looking forward to October in the middle of summer, there are reasons for concern over a possible postseason matchup with the Dodgers, who just added Manny Machado to a lineup that’s as deep as the Cubs’ and have ace Clayton Kershaw getting stronger.

Like the Cubs’ go-for-it trade for Aroldis Chapman in 2016, the Dodgers are gambling Machado can bring them their long-sought title even if he turns out to be a two-month rental.

“This is about 2018 for us,” general manager Farhan Zaidi said. “We’re not worried about what happens after 2018.”

It was an echo of Cubs President Theo Epstein’s line after giving up top prospect Gleyber Torres for Chapman: “If not now, when?”

Now the onus is on Epstein to shore up the Cubs’ rotation and add another piece to the bullpen. No one can predict whether Darvish ever will be ready or if Chatwood can turn things around in the second half. The non-waiver trade deadline is July 31.

The Cubs made a minor move Thursday when they acquired Rangers reliever Jesse Chavez, a 34-year-old veteran with a 4.61 career earned-run average for eight teams.

Zach Britton is still available, and the Cubs could use another closer if Morrow’s recent injuries become a recurring theme.

Sure, it was fun watching Tommy La Stella, Victor Caratini and Ian Happ pitch in the same game Friday, the first time the Cubs have used multiple position players as pitchers since at least 1907.

But it won’t be nearly as funny if manager Joe Maddon still is using position players as relievers to save his bullpen during the stretch run.

There isn’t much out there in terms of starting pitching, but a veteran such as the Blue Jays’ J.A. Happ would fit well like a glove on this team. Mike Montgomery has done a fine job replacing Darvish, but the Cubs have no one to replace Chatwood if he continues to struggle.

No one is worried about making the playoffs at this point. We have seen how the Cubs perform after the All-Star break under Maddon, and there’s no reason to believe this year will be any different.

The Cubs had a combined 149-73 record in the second half under Maddon from 2015-17, a .671 winning percentage. The next-closest team over that stretch was the Indians at .615 (136-85).

Maddon said the reason is relatively simple. He keeps his players rested by using different lineups and giving his stars a breather every now and then. It seems to work, in spite of the Maddon bashing on Twitter.

The Cubs also take less on-the-field batting practice than most teams, and Maddon allows them to report later to the clubhouse. We still haven’t had Maddon’s annual “American Legion week,” when the players are allowed to come in whenever they want and just play, replicating the feel of their American Legion days.

The Cubs now have a chance to push the Cardinals into “sell” mode, with five games at Wrigley and three next weekend in St. Louis.

If they open some space between them, they can just focus on the Brewers.

“Obviously, that would be great,” Bryant said Friday. “But sometimes that’s hard. Sometimes you just play .500 ball and you don’t really gain any ground. It would be nice to kind of separate ourselves and see what the Brewers are doing.

“But we’ve been playing good baseball, so there’s nothing to really worry about right now. We’re right where we need to be.”

Still, a few reinforcements now would help in October when it matters most. It’s time for Epstein to do his thing.

If not now, when?

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Chicago Tribune Fan who survived heart attack at Wrigley Field returning to thank Cubs employee who helped him By David Haugh

What do you say to a stranger who helped save your life and protect your child?

How do you put into words gratitude impossible to measure for a gesture unreasonable to expect?

Who can explain making a lifelong friend visiting “The Friendly Confines” without seeing a single pitch?

David Danner expects a flood of questions and emotions to overcome him Monday when he enters Wrigley Field for the Cubs-Diamondbacks game with his family and sees Nirav Thakkar, one of the team’s guest services ambassadors.

“I don’t know exactly what’s going to come out of my mouth or how I’ll feel,’’ Danner said in an interview from his home in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., about 50 miles northwest of Washington. “The last time I saw Nirav, I was laying on a stretcher, so I still need to shake his hand.’’

The last time Danner walked into the Wrigley bleachers almost 11 months ago, he left in an ambulance after a heart attack — setting off a frenetic chain of events that thrust Thakkar into the back of the emergency vehicle and in the middle of the Danners’ lives.

“We’re beyond thankful because if this had happened to Dave anywhere else, I don’t think it would have been a happy ending,’’ said Dana Danner, David’s wife. “I get emotional just talking about it. I might tackle Nirav when I see him, I’m so grateful for what he did.’’

Dana was vacationing in Florida with the couple’s 5-year-old daughter last Sept. 1 as David took their son, Dylan, then 11, to Chicago for a Cubs day game against the Braves. The Danner men arrived early for batting practice, positioning themselves in the left-field bleachers on a sunny, 68-degree afternoon.

As Dylan drifted toward where more of the home runs were landing, David sought to call the boy back. Suddenly, he lacked the energy to move or shout. He felt his arm go numb. He struggled breathing.

“I was only 40 years old and like, ‘This can’t be what I think it is,’ but in the back of my mind, I was like, ‘Your fat ass is having a heart attack,’ ’’ David said.

When Dylan chased down a home run ball closer to his dad, David finally got his son’s attention. He broke the bad news written all over his anguished face.

“He was having such a good time I didn’t want to tell him we had to leave, but I said, ‘I’m not feeling too good, buddy,’ ’’ David said. “That was hard.’’

They headed for help in the concourse, where David dropped to his knees to catch his breath. He sent Dylan to find an usher fast. Overwhelmed, Dylan nearly fainted from the anxiety.

“One of the things that went through my head was I was telling Dylan everything was going to be all right and my last words to my son were going to be a lie.” — David Danner

Enter Thakkar, a former cardiovascular stenographer the Cubs hired in 2016 who was working the bleacher gate. A supervisor asked Thakkar to clear a path to an elevator for a fan who suffered a heart attack, and he sprung into action. As paramedics from Superior Ambulance Service attending to David on a stretcher quickly passed, Thakkar followed them to the ambulance waiting by the statue at the corner of and Addison Street.

“Then my boss asked me if I would escort them to the hospital because he was from out of town and the son was shaken up,’’ said Thakkar, 43. “I felt I needed to make sure Dylan was comfortable. I hopped in.’’

On the short ambulance ride to Illinois Masonic Medical Center a mile away, Thakkar tried distracting Dylan by asking the Nationals fan about his favorite players, Trea Turner and Daniel Murphy. David, still conscious, found himself conflicted trying to keep his son calm.

“At first, one of the things that went through my head was I was telling Dylan everything was going to be all right, and my last words to my son were going to be a lie,’’ he said. “But when Nirav came into the picture, it was better than the nitroglycerin they gave me. I relaxed. It meant the world to me that Nirav was right there for Dylan, easing his mind.’’

At the hospital, Thakkar kept Dylan company after finding the boy food and coaxing him into providing contact numbers for relatives. He FaceTimed with Dana for reassurance. Ryan Mortensen, a former Cubs events official no longer with the team, kept in constant communication with Thakkar and Dana. Dana frantically left her young daughter in Florida with a good friend and immediately took the first flight from Orlando to Chicago.

Meanwhile, doctors rushed David into emergency surgery, where cardiologist Surender Kumar placed a stent in the main artery, which was totally blocked.

“They told me it was ‘The Widowmaker,’ ’’ David said. “They say you have 90 minutes from the start of the attack to the stent placement — and we did it in 81. Every minute counted. Every quick response saved my life. It’s unbelievable what they did.’’

What Thakkar did after the surgery touched the Danners just as deeply. He stayed to comfort Dylan until receiving the good news everyone prayed for before leaving the boy in the care of a nurse until Dana arrived about 11 p.m.

“As a mother, Nirav took care of my baby boy,’’ Dana said. “You can’t ask for anything more than what he did for my son.’’

Said Dylan: “It was nice to have somebody to spend time with until Mom got there.’’

When Thakkar finally left the hospital, he returned to Wrigleyville to locate David’s truck, parked in an alley just off Waveland Avenue. Thakkar spent 45 minutes on hold with SpotHero explaining to the company the circumstances so the truck wouldn’t get towed — then another hour searching for the vehicle.

“Then I finally found it after looking around the neighborhood,’’ Thakkar said.

He texted the address of the parking spot to Dana and sent pictures of street landmarks so she could avoid getting lost in unfamiliar territory.

“Going to look for some stranger’s truck parked in Chicago?’’ David said. “That’s above and beyond the call.’’

Almost a year later, the Danners stay in touch with Nirav, a Cubs fan who grew up on Chicago’s South Side. After the Cubs eliminated the Nationals — the Danners’ hometown team — from the playoffs last October, Thakkar’s phone buzzed with a text message.

“Dana said if it had to be anybody, they were glad it was the Cubs,’’ Thakkar said.

David reflects on the traumatic day that preceded his successful heart surgery as a blessing in disguise. He changed his diet and lifestyle, losing 70 pounds so the 6-foot-1 man now weighs 197. The family treasures the Javier Baez-autographed baseball the Cubs sent Dylan but cherishes each day together even more than before David’s near-death experience.

“We spend more time together, we’re more active, enjoying little things,’’ Dana said. “It makes you realize how short time can be — and the good in people.’’

The Danners can’t wait to see the person whose goodness they never will forget.

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Chicago Tribune Long day for Cubs as Cardinals' Matt Carpenter hits 3 homers and 2 doubles in 18-5 victory By Teddy Greenstein

If the Cubs prayed for rain, give them credit. It actually worked.

Little else they tried Friday did.

You know it’s a rough day when pinch hitter Tommy La Stella is summoned as a pinch pitcher, inserted in the sixth inning to save the bullpen with his mid-70s cheese. And when catcher Victor Caratini and outfielder Ian Happ close it out. And when Jon Lester gives up eight runs. And when the microphone goes out on country music singer/guest conductor Canaan Smith.

The Cardinals won 18-5 with 12 of them reaching base. They really needed only one guy, though: First baseman Matt Carpenter went 5-for-5 with three home runs and two doubles.

The last big-leaguer to do that? Kris Bryant, in 2016.

And before that? No one.

“He’s a pretty cool guy to share it with,” Bryant said, noting that Carpenter opened the season in a funk, batting .140 through May 15. He’s now at .274 after raising his average 11 points in one game.

Carpenter’s first blast was epic, a drive off the video board in right field that displays the lineups. He homered again off Lester in the second and took fellow left-hander Brian Duensing out of the park in the sixth.

His 16 total bases tied the Cardinals’ single-game franchise record. He also tied Lou Brock’s Cardinals record with his 21st career leadoff home run.

But enough about that team from down south that was in danger of falling to .500.

This was an epic stinker for the Cubs, but as is his wont, manager Joe Maddon looked at the bright side: His team played hard, it committed no errors and five of the team’s eight relievers did not get used. They likely will be needed Saturday during a day-night doubleheader.

“There are tough losses and (others) that don’t stick so much,” he said. “This one doesn’t stick.”

The first sign of trouble came in the first, when Lester did not get the call on a 2-2 pitch near the outside corner. Carpenter hammered his next offering, and Lester was fired up enough to have a few words for plate umpire Ben May as May tossed him a new ball.

May, of course, was not the problem. Lester threw 86 pitches and got only one swinging strike. The NL’s pitcher of the month for June (5-0, 1.13 ERA) retired nine batters, allowing seven hits and walking five.

Tough timing for Lester, who had to be social Friday night. He hosted his annual country-music-themed charity event at Joe’s Bar on Weed Street.

“I’ve been around long enough to wash this one aside,” he said. “I can walk out of here with my head held high and go raise some money for pediatric cancer research.”

The Cubs had a couple of bright spots between two downpours. Willson Contreras homered in his first game back from the All-Star festivities, and Bryant hit his 11th of the season.

Caratini managed to amuse what remained of the Wrigley Field crowd by lobbing to Cardinals hitters in the eighth. He allowed two runs. Happ worked a scoreless ninth.

Going back to at least 1907, the Cubs never had sent more than one position player to the mound in a game. On Friday they used three.

“There you go,” Bryant said. “We’re making history.”

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Chicago Tribune A scoreless ninth inning leaves one Cubs position player Happ-y By Teddy Greenstein

Amid a brutal defeat, Ian Happ scored a rousing victory.

Of the three (!) position players the Cubs used to close out their 18-5 loss to the Cardinals, Happ earned a lifetime of bragging rights.

Tommy La Stella gave up a run on three hits (and a homer) over 1 1/3 innings.

Victor Caratini surrendered a two-run bomb to pinch-hitter Yairo Munoz.

Happ allowed only one hit in the ninth, needing just eight pitches in the scoreless frame.

“Yes, I won,” he said dryly. “It feels good to have the highest ‘velo’ of a position player and it feels good to have a zero. I wish the game would have gone differently, but it was pretty cool experience to be on the mound at Wrigley.”

Manager Joe Maddon summoned La Stella and Caratini, whereas Happ had to lobby to get in the game.

“I had to take (Anthony) Rizzo out or else he would have been badgering me the whole game,” Maddon said. “I said: ‘Tommy, you good with this? Victor, you good with this?’ Happ was imploring me to pitch.”

Maddon didn’t want to extend any of them because he said they would be sore Saturday despite barely throwing hard enough to leave a bruise.

“I topped out at 78,” Happ said.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs' Jon Lester tells the analytics crowd: 'Watch the game' By Teddy Greenstein

Jon Lester knows where you can stick your analytics.

He’s not concerned with the data showing that despite his success this season (12-3 with a 3.14 ERA), batters don’t often whiff on his pitches.

Calling it “nonsense,” Lester said: “Everybody wants answers for why guys are pitching well or not pitching well. I guess I’m old school. Watch the game. There are times at Wrigley (Field) where you fall behind a guy with the wind blowing in. Am I worried about throwing the ball right down the middle? No. I don’t care what the exit velocity is. Is it an out?”

Only one of Lester’s 86 pitches Friday resulted in a swinging strike. He also had 12 pitches called strikes and another 18 fouled off, not that he cares.

“There are people who have nothing better to do and overanalyze things,” he said. “I’m a believer in: Sit back and enjoy the game. I’ve given up my share of bloop singles and doubles. It doesn’t matter what the exit velocity is. I’ve gotten my fair share of outs on balls hit right on the screws at somebody. That’s part of pitching.

“I’m not worried about missing bats, I’m worried about not walking people. I need to get back to ground zero on that. I would rather a guy square a ball up and get a base hit than walk him. I’m not too concerned about all the analytics BS. I’m worried about what my mechanical fix needs to be before my next start.”

The voice: With reliever Jesse Chavez schedule to arrive Saturday after being acquired from the Rangers, Maddon was asked how much input he has on trades.

“Zero,” he replied. “The input would be that if our (front-office executives) are interested in somebody they would ask me about him. And then I would tell them what I think. But I should have no impact on trades. Coaches and managers don’t get to see these guys perform against anyone other than us. You can fall in love with guys or start hating guys based on competing against you, and that’s a bad method. That’s what front offices and scouts are there for.”

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Chicago Tribune 8 things to know about new Cubs pitcher Jesse Chavez By Tim Bannon

The Cubs Thursday obtained right-hander Jesse Chavez from the Rangers, giving up lefty Tyler Thomas, who was 3-5 with a 2.88 ERA at low Class A South Bend. Here are some things to know about the new Cub.

1. Over 11 seasons, Chavez (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) has pitched for six major league teams, in this order: Pirates, Braves, Royals, Athletics, Dodgers, Rangers. And now the Cubs.

2. His career stats: 383 games, 799 innings, .408 ERA, 1.375 WHIP, 705 strikeouts, 262 walks.

3. He has mostly worked as a reliever, but in 2014 and 2015 he started 47 games for the Athletics, finishing 8-8 (3.45 ERA, 1.308 WHIP) in 2014 and 7-15 (4.18, 1.350) the next year. Altogether, he has started 70 times.

4. Chavez, 34, was born in San Gabriel, Calif., and went to A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, Calif.

5. The Cubs drafted him in the 39th round in 2001 out of high school. But he opted to go to college.

6. Chavez was the 1,252nd pick (42nd round) in the 2002 draft out of Riverside Community College. “It makes me realize you can’t take this game for granted, especially the round I went in,” Chavez told sfgate.com. “It keeps you that much more hungry to get to this level and to stay here.”

7. The White Sox had interest in him last winter, eventually opted to re-sign Miguel Gonzalez.

8. This season, according to brooksbaseball.com, Chavez has relied primarily on his cutter, sinker and two-seam fastball (averaging 94 mph). He also mixes in a slider, four-seam fastball and a .

Mark Gonzales contributed.

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Chicago Tribune MLB fighting an unwinnable battle with Mike Trout By Paul Sullivan

During a meeting Tuesday with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Commissioner Rob Manfred was questioned for more than 45 minutes about the problems confronting the national pastime.

Topics from defensive shifting to revenue sharing to stadium issues to cleat colors were addressed, without any concrete answers provided, before Manfred finally went off script, criticizing Angels center fielder Mike Trout, the best player in the game, for not allowing MLB to market him the way it would like.

“We are very interested in having our players more engaged and having higher-profile players and helping our players develop their individual brand,” Manfred said. “But that involves the player being actively engaged. … Mike’s a great, great player and really nice person, but he has made certain decisions about what he wants to do and what he doesn’t want to do, and how he wants to spend his free time (or) doesn’t want to spend his free time.

“That’s up to him. If he wants to engage and be more active in that area, I think we could help him make his brand really, really big. But he has to make a decision that he’s prepared to engage.”

It was strange to hear Manfred blaming a player for not being as high-profile as MLB officials would like, especially when he spoke during the same meeting of all the “negative” commentary about the game from fans and media.

Trout’s brand definitely isn’t where it should be, if one cares about a player’s brand.

According to a list of the most “well-known living baseball players” the Washington Post published the day of the All-Star Game, as ranked by “Q Scores,” Trout was tied for eighth with Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Bryce Harper and the unofficially retired Ichiro Suzuki.

Derek Jeter, who retired in 2014, ranked first. Another former Yankee, ESPN analyst Alex Rodriguez, was tied for second with ESPN football analyst and Mets minor-leaguer Tim Tebow. Cal Ripken Jr. and David Ortiz, also retired stars, were fourth and fifth.

Theories abound as to why Trout isn’t more famous: He plays for a mediocre team. He plays late at night in the Pacific time zone. He lacks charisma.

All are valid reasons, but this was the first time MLB publicly admitted Trout’s relative lack of fame is an issue.

After the inevitable internet outrage over Manfred’s comment, the Angels made the rare step of rebuking the commissioner, releasing a statement that they “applaud (Trout) for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion. That is rare in today’s society and stands out as much as his extraordinary talent.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, owner Arte Moreno was involved in drafting the statement. Trout later released his own statement, writing: “I am not a petty guy and would really encourage everyone to just move forward. Everything is cool between the commissioner and myself. End of story. I am ready to just play some baseball!”

This is one of those rare occasions when both sides are right.

Trout probably is less recognizable than 10 or 12 NFL quarterbacks alone, not to mention many other NFL stars and a dozen or so NBA stars. Baseball needs its superstars to be super, not just stars. Trout is its best player, by far, and it behooves the game to make him the face of baseball, something the sport hasn’t had since Jeter retired.

But Trout also seems more comfortable out of the limelight, and if he doesn’t mind giving up more money and fame for private time, more power to him. In an age of bloated athlete egos and paychecks, it’s refreshing to see someone who doesn’t need nonstop attention. And if he wants to market himself, he can get his own people to do it instead of letting MLB take over.

The only real solution is for MLB to turn to deserving superstars who have charisma, play for good teams and don’t mind the league marketing them. There are plenty around: Judge, Harper, Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Manny Machado, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve and Javier Baez to name a few.

Let Trout remain the game’s quiet superstar.

It worked for Joe DiMaggio, and he never seemed too worried about his “brand.”

Three up Yuli Gurriel: Astros first baseman was the game’s best clutch hitter in the first half with a .450 average with runners in scoring position.

Mike Trout: Not only does the Angels star lead the majors in WAR (6.5) and walks (84) with only 83 strikeouts, but he has yet to make an error in center.

Keone Kela: He may be closing for a terrible team, but Rangers reliever entered the second half a perfect 23-for-23 in save opportunities with a 1.091 WHIP.

Three down Yoan Moncada: Former top prospect in baseball entered second half with 130 strikeouts in 344 at-bats and MLB-worst 46.2 percent strikeout rate with runners in scoring position.

Cole Hamels: Buyer beware: The of 2018 bears only a slight resemblance to the old Cole, with 21 homers served up, third-worst in majors.

Tanner Roark: Shares MLB lead with Alex Cobb for most losses (12). Last pitcher with 20 or more was Tigers’ Mike Maroth (21) in 2003.

The list Best pinch hitters, first half (minimum 20 plate appearances)

Player, H-AB, Avg.

Nick Williams, Phillies, 10-22, .455

Chase Utley, Dodgers, 11-25, .440

Wilmer Flores, Mets, 6-15, .400

Ian Happ, Cubs, 6-16, .375

Daniel Descalso, Diamondbacks, 8-22, .364

Fact check The A’s entered the Bay Area series against the Giants on Friday with a 21-6 record in their last 27 games, the best in the majors since June 16. They also have hit a major-league-leading 85 home runs on the road and could challenge the record of 138 road homers of the the Barry Bonds-led 2001 Giants.

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs’ Jon Lester has worst outing of season as Matt Carpenter, Cards romp 18-5 By Steve Greenberg

The day began with Cubs manager Joe Maddon extolling starting pitcher Jon Lester’s excellence under duress and ended with three of the team’s position players comparing notes after having pitched in an 18-5 loss to the Cardinals.

Indeed, it was a strange one.

Lester (12-3) entered the game with an 8-0 record over his last nine starts and hadn’t taken a loss since May 23. Cardinals leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter apparently wasn’t impressed.

Carpenter crushed a first-inning home run off the video screen in right and went on to have a dream day, becoming the first Cardinals player in over a century to have five extra-base hits in a game. He also joined the Cubs’ Kris Bryant as the only players ever to have three home runs and two doubles in a game. Bryant pulled it off in Cincinnati in 2016.

“He’s always been good, but right now he’s probably at the top of his game,” Maddon said. “You know, bully for him.”

As for Lester, here’s what Maddon said before the game:

“I just think he’s pitching so well. He has turned into a pitch maker. Even when things don’t go well, he’s staying [steady]. He’s not letting things snowball.”

Eight earned runs allowed in three-plus innings later, the veteran lefty told a much different story.

“I don’t want to chalk it up to, ‘Days like this happen,’ ” he said. “Mechanically, I think this has kind of been coming. I’ve been battling myself a little bit, probably for the last three, four starts.”

It was Lester’s worst start of the season and easily in his bottom five since joining the Cubs in 2015. Add his mechanical issues — however small and temporary — to the list of pitching problems that includes Yu Darvish being missing in action, Tyler Chatwood being unable to throw strikes and closer Brandon Morrow being on the disabled list.

Lester’s ERA soared from an excellent 2.58 to 3.14 — still good, but perhaps no longer worthy of Cy Young conversation.

Speaking of ERAs, Ian Happ’s is a lot better — as in 0.00 — after the first inning pitched of his career. Tommy La Stella’s is 6.75 after he threw 1 1/3 innings. And Victor Caratini probably shouldn’t quit his day job as a catcher, although surrendering only a pair of runs before recording three outs isn’t so bad when you really think about it.

Together, the trio players put the Cubs’ bullpen in a less precarious position than it would’ve been in heading into Saturday’s day-night doubleheader. It was the first time since at least 1907 that more than one Cubs position player pitched in a game.

Was there some friendly competition between them over who threw the best?

“Yes,” Happ said. “I won.”

After the game, Happ noted the oddity of being surrounded by reporters who were asking about his pitching. When veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo — who has lobbied on many occasions for a chance to pitch — caught sight of the scene, he shook his head in mock disgust.

“I’ve been here eight years and I can’t pitch,” he said. “They’re pitching first-rounders now. Unbelievable.”

In one of those games when pretty much everything goes wrong, the key move for Maddon was yanking Rizzo from a hopeless game before he could badger the manager for the ball.

“That made my decision-making process a lot easier,” Maddon said.

Again, a strange day. Kind of fun, too, as it always is in fish-out-of-water situations like the ones La Stella, Caratini and Happ found themselves in.

Yet there’s also ongoing concern about a rotation whose imperfections have been largely hidden by a strong group of hitters and a solid bullpen. If Lester becomes shaky for a while, it won’t be a pretty picture.

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Chicago Sun-Times Is Cubs’ Tyler Chatwood running out of chances to get his act together? By Steve Greenberg

The heat is on Tyler Chatwood.

The pitcher who went into the season as the Cubs’ No. 5 starter — and leads all of baseball with 73 walks issued — will take the mound Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader against the Cardinals. Chatwood might be running out of chances to begin resembling the guy the Cubs thought they were getting when they signed him to a three-year, $38 million deal in the offseason.

How long is the team supposed to keep rolling with a starter with some of the most glaring command issues in the league?

“We’ve already spoken to Tyler, and he’s aware,” manager Joe Maddon said. “The walks are exorbitant, and he knows that. So, yeah, we’ve got to get him sharp. We’ve got to get him pitching more deeply into games and need to get him around the plate.”

Chatwood’s walks per nine innings over five seasons with the Rockies was 4.1. This season, it’s 7.8. Overall, his walks have been on the rise since he returned from the Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2015.

The Cubs could use a quality start from Chatwood on a doubleheader day that comes on the heels of Jon Lester’s rocky start in an 18-5 loss to the Cardinals. Lester lasted three-plus innings.

Mike Montgomery, the Cubs’ so-called “sixth starter,” will pitch the nightcap. The Cubs’ fondest hopes would involve Yu Darvish returning to action, Chatwood returning to form and Montgomery returning to primarily a bullpen role, but right now there doesn’t seem to be much reason to believe things will work out along those lines.

Unless you’re Maddon, that is.

“His stuff is extraordinary,” he said of Chatwood. “I’ll stand by that. His stuff is that good. It’s just about strike one, getting ahead of hitters and not all of a sudden maybe getting two quick outs and having trouble with the third one.

“We’ve got to get beyond that point. He’s done it before. He’s going to do it again.”

Closing time

Injured reliever Brandon Morrow wasn’t missed Friday. There’s something about closers and 13-run deficits that doesn’t mesh.

But with Morrow on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his right biceps, Maddon called the ninth-inning picture “nebulous.”

Steve Cishek and Pedro Strop have closed before. Carl Edwards Jr. has long itched for his shot.

“It’s just whoever is ready that night,” Maddon said.

But who’s counting?

The 18 runs scored by the Cardinals were the most allowed by the Cubs since another 18-5 game in 2010 against the Mets.

Two apparent morals to that little story: One, it’s hard to score 18 runs in a game. Two, it’s hard to win when you give up 18 runs in a game.

No extra charge for that analysis.

Contributing: Madeline Kenney

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Chicago Sun-Times Dear Cardinals: We Chicagoans need your arrogance back in our lives By Rick Morrissey

Come back, St. Louis Cardinals! Chicago misses you!

We miss your presence near the top of the standings. We miss your seriousness, your haughtiness, your humorlessness. We miss your Cardinals Way. We miss your noses being up in the air. We miss Tony La Russa’s raised nose serving as the grand marshal of the snob parade. We even miss your fans, named the best baseball fans in a vote conducted by Cardinals fans.

We miss all of it. Whatever this is – a scuffling, searching, .500-ish team – please make it go away and replace it with the version that was so easy to hate. It’s not as much fun when the Cardinals are like this.

A midseason manager change? The team president publicly questioning a veteran’s “effort and energy level”? A pitcher accused of harassing a rookie? These aren’t the Cardinals who have won 11 World Series titles, who have haunted the Cubs for decades. This isn’t the organization that always held itself up as above that sort of unpleasantness. This is every other franchise.

Please come back. We need a villain worthy of his sneer and waxed mustache.

The Cardinals Way is about making the correct play all the time. Players are indoctrinated in the minors about the importance of detail and doing things right. That’s why this stat is so jarring: St. Louis is last in the majors in errors, having made 81 in 96 games heading into Saturday’s doubleheader at Wrigley Field. The first-place Cubs, with 61 in 95 games, were 21st out of 30 teams.

“The one thing that I’ve always appreciated about this organization is there are high expectations,’’ said Cards interim manager Mike Shildt, who replaced Mike Matheny on Saturday. “… The expectation of this organization is to compete for world championships. Those are expectations that I, we, this organization embrace. Now it’s back to the execution and what that looks like. I view this as an opportunity, not a threat at all.

“… Yeah, it’s frustrating that we had a run of many years of really excellent baseball with high-level performance. We know that’s hard to sustain. We also know what that looks like and what that commitment is. There’s no absolute blueprint, but there’s some foundational things that this organization has done for years that we’re going to continue to reiterate.’’

Cardinals fans, so used to winning, are not a happy bunch right now, though they surely took pleasure in St. Louis’ 18-5 beat down of the Cubs on Friday. Since 2000, the Cards have finished in first place in the National League Central nine times and in second place five other times. So you can understand why their fans, who are all related to Abner Doubleday, are freaking out.

Lest you think I’m picking on the Cards’ faithful, let’s talk about their counterparts on the North Side. Since the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, some of their fans have become as obnoxious as any self- important Cardinals fans. They believe that if team president Theo Epstein is smart, it follows that they’re smart, too. Epstein might have graduated from Yale, but it’s apparently just a quirk of fate that they didn’t. Perhaps winning does this to some people.

The Cubs organization also has gotten a tad too big for its designer britches. It stamps anything that moves with a Cubs logo and then sells it for $29.95 plus shipping. Its glass-and-steel building spree has turned Wrigleyville into Naperville.

But for institutional smugness, very few teams could match the Cardinals. Lots of Cubs fans are glad to see St. Louis taking an extra helping of humble pie. They’d prefer that the Cardinals turn into the Reds. But it’s not better this way for anyone. It’s always good to have an archenemy.

Remember how galling/great it was when the Cardinals wouldn’t even acknowledge that the Cubs were their archrivals? That’s the kind of antihero that’s missing in the equation.

Remember when the Cardinals bristled while the Cubs were getting loads of national attention during spring training in 2016?

“Talk is talk,” then-Cardinals right fielder Stephen Piscotty huffed. “It doesn’t mean squat.”

“They can have all the hype they want,” Matheny sniffed.

The Cubs went on to win the World Series that year and lost in the National League Championship Series last season. The Cards won 86 games in 2016 and 83 last year. Piscotty was traded to Oakland in December, and we know what happened to Matheny.

It’s OK for the Cubs and their fans to be king. It’s just not as enjoyable when the Cardinals are mediocre. Something’s missing.

I asked Shildt if he could envision St. Louis doing what the Cubs did – go through several years of hard- core losing to get high draft picks in a complete rebuild.

“No,’’ he said. “That’s not what the Cardinals organization represents.’’

All right. That’s more like it. Not smugness, but a certain loftiness. Maybe there’s hope yet.

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Daily Herald Carpenter hits 3 homers as Cards demolish Cubs 18-5 By Bruce Miles

The sublime was the St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter.

The ridiculous was the rest of it.

Carpenter had himself quite a day, hitting 3 home runs and 2 doubles while driving in 7 runs as the Cardinals demolished the Cubs 18-5 Friday at Wrigley Field.

As ridiculous as it got for the Cubs, they managed to have some fun, using position players Tommy La Stella, Victor Caratini and Ian Happ to pitch the final 3⅓ innings.

When it was over, Cubs manager Joe Maddon was likening it to "Midland vs. El Paso" in the Texas League and hometown ball.

"It takes me back to the beer leagues," said Maddon, whose first-place Cubs fell to 56-39. "Both teams keep playing because you're supposed to. I loved their effort. Albert (Almora) diving into the bag. We kept playing defense. The guys that went out to pitch had a little fun with it, but nevertheless, we were in the game. You run into these moments sometimes, but I like the way we dealt with it."

The Cardinals scored once in the first inning and four times in the second against Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester, whose record dropped to 12-3 and whose ERA went from 2.58 to 3.14 as he gave up 7 hits and 8 runs in 3-plus innings.

St. Louis scored 7 runs in the fourth, 3 in the sixth, 1 in the seventh and 2 in the eighth.

Carpenter hit a solo homer in the first and a 2-run shot in the second. He hit a pair of doubles in the fourth and a 3-run homer in the sixth, off Brian Duensing.

"I'm having a hard time to come up with words to describe a day like this," Carpenter said. "I think more importantly, and I don't want to get lost in the shuffle, the fact we beat a really good team today with a really good starting pitcher who is having a great season. Obviously, it was a lot of fun personally to have a day like that.

"I can't think outside of tee-ball that I have ever done that, certainly a first for me."

He became the second major-league player with 3 homers and 2 doubles in a game, joining the Cubs' Kris Bryant, who did it on June 27, 2016 at Cincinnati.

"It's fun to see it," Bryant said. "It stinks that it's against us, but he's a heck of a player. Now there's two of us. He's pretty cool to share it with."

Lester admitted he knew something like this was coming, but not because of all the analytics that are out there dissecting his game. Some observers have said Lester has benefited from good defense behind him, citing a gap between his 2.58 ERA coming into the game and his fielding independent pitching (scaled to ERA) of 4.35.

"I don't want to chalk it up to, 'Days like this happen,'" he said. "Mechanically, I think this has kind of been coming. I've been battling myself a little bit, probably for the last 3, maybe 4, starts, just working underneath the ball a little bit too much. It bit me in the butt today. Move on from it. Learn from it."

As for the position players, La Stella worked 1⅓ innings, giving up 3 hits and a run, a homer to Greg Garcia. Caratini pitched an inning, giving up 2 hits and 2 runs, including a 2-run homer to Yairo Munoz.

Happ was the star, working a scoreless ninth, giving up a double to Harrison Bader. Maddon joked he used those three players only after subbing first baseman Anthony Rizzo out of the game so that Rizzo couldn't talk him into pitching.

Happ was beaming, especially about his 0.00 ERA.

"Awesome," he said. "I wish the game would have gone differently and circumstances (were) different, but pretty cool experience to be on the mound at Wrigley and get to throw some pitches. That was cool."

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Daily Herald Cubs look forward to adding new reliever Chavez to the mix By Bruce Miles

The Cubs can't wait for newly acquired reliever Jesse Chavez to show up.

Chavez is scheduled to be in uniform for Saturday's day-night doubleheader at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cubs obtained him Thursday night in a trade with the Texas Rangers. With Cubs starting pitchers consistently failing to go deep into games, the bullpen needs a shot in the arm. They had to use infielder Tommy La Stella, catcher-infielder Victor Caratini and infielder-outfielder Ian Happ as pitchers in Friday's 18-5 loss to the Cardinals. Manager Joe Maddon said he would talk to Chavez early Saturday.

"Just pop him in the bullpen, try to give him some definition once he gets here," Maddon said. "The versatility is so attractive. If you have a problem early in the game, you could easily fill that spot game. If it's the latter part of the game and some guys have been utilized a lot, then you can just throw him in back there. It's kind of interesting. It's kind of this super-u (utility) guy in the bullpen. I'll talk to him. I want to talk to hin first, see what he's comfortable with and then try to figure it out after that because he's very good. He's been good for a long period of time and I think he's the kind of guy who has a variety of different uses potentially for us."

For the Rangers, Chavez was 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA this season.

He's not the GM: Joe Maddon gave an interesting answer when asked how much input he has in trade talks.

"Zero," he said. "Should be (zero). I don't get to go out and watch them. The input would be if our guys are interested in somebody, they would ask me about him. Then I would tell them what I think. But I should have no impact on trades. Coaches and managers should never. We don't get to see these guys perform against somebody else other than us. You fall in love with guys, you start hating guys just based on competition against you. And that's a bad method. So for me, that's what front offices are there for, that's what scouts there for. Managers should not have a part of that."

Carpenter's a beast: The Cardinals' Matt Carpenter became the first Cardinals players since at least 1908 with at least 5 extra-base hits in a game. He matched the franchise record with 16 total bases with 3 homers and 2 doubles. His 6 leadoff homers this season represent a Cardinals record. He has 21 leadoff homers for his career, tying Hall of Famer Lou Brock for the franchise record.

This and that: According to research historian Ed Hartig, the Cubs used multiple position players as pitchers in a game for the first time since June 16, 1884, a 20-9 loss at Buffalo ... Jon Lester had his eight-game winning streak snapped and picked up his first loss since May 23.

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