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Home , Bat flip, Buddy Bailey, Cole Irvin, David Bote, Drew Smyly, Halas Hall

August 14, 2018

• Cubs.com, From Africa to hero, Bote's had quite a journey https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/david-botes-path-to-hero-was-long-winding/c-290148964

• ESPNChicago.com, Brewers face uphill battle in trying to dethrone Cubs http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24368467/mlb-milwaukee-brewers-dethrone--cubs- nl-central

• NBC Sports Chicago, State of the Cubs: What is the identity of this 2018 team? https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/state-cubs-what-identity-2018-team-identity-world- -darvish-bryant-lester-hamels-bote-morrow

• NBC Sports Chicago, Of bat flips and Ford Escapes: The legend of grows https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/bat-flips-and-ford-escapes-legend-david-bote-grows

• , Everything you need to know about the Cubs-Brewers series at http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-brewers-preview-20180813- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, offers thoughts on civility but shuts down talk of a future in politics http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-joe-maddon-politics-greenstein- 20180813-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, David Bote won't change his approach after hitting an 'ultimate ' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-david-bote-ultimate-grand-slam- 20180813-story.html

• Chicago Tribune, ESPN can't match Cubs voices Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer for the vivid picture of David Bote's slam http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-espn-david-bote-20180813- story.html

• Chicago Tribune, 3 things we learned from the Nationals-Cubs series http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-nationals-three-things- 20180813-story.html

• Chicago Sun-Times, How do Cubs shed Brewers, win the fall? Just don’t screw up these 7 things https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-brewers-win-playoffs-nl-central-dont-screw-up/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Grand-slam hero David Bote has made a name for himself among Cubs fans https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/david-bote-cubs-grand-slam-making-name/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Still rehabbing from surgery, awaits chance to for Cubs https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/drew-smyly-tommy-john-surgery-cubs-return/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Despite a below-average of HRs, Cubs still lead the NL in runs scored https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-obp-sabermetrics-david-bote-ben-zobrist-home-runs- grochowski/

• Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs’ David Bote, White Sox’ Adam Engel show gold can be found late in draft https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-cubs-david-bote-chicago-white-sox-adam-engel-mlb- draft-ryne-sandberg/

• Chicago Sun-Times, pitches in home derby at youth baseball camp in Rosemont https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-anthony-rizzo-youth-baseball-camp-2018-video/

• Daily Herald, Hamels sets table for , Bote clears plate in big win https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180813/hamels-sets-table-for-chicago-cubs-bote-clears- plate-in-big-win

• Daily Herald, Constable: Bote miracle rekindles feelings from 'Sandberg Game' https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180813/constable-bote-miracle-rekindles-feelings-from- sandberg-game

• Daily Herald, Rizzo leads baseball camp for kids in Rosemont https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180813/rizzo-leads-baseball-camp-for-kids-in-rosemont

• The Athletic, Sharma: Reliving the David Bote Game…one more time https://theathletic.com/471975/2018/08/14/sharma-reliving-the-david-bote-game-one-more-time/

• The Athletic, Editor’s notebook: David Bote raises the ‘W’ flag, then buys one? https://theathletic.com/472260/2018/08/14/editors-notebook-david-bote-raises-the-w-flag-then- buys-one/

• The Athletic, on why playoff experience matters, how the Cubs offense is evolving and those rumors https://theathletic.com/471649/2018/08/13/jason-heyward-on-why-playoff-experience-matters- how-the-cubs-offense-is-evolving-and-those-bryce-harper-rumors/

• The Athletic, Tyler Chatwood is waiting for the phone to ring, searching for that familiar feeling https://theathletic.com/470371/2018/08/13/tyler-chatwood-is-waiting-for-the-phone-to-ring- searching-for-that-familiar-feeling/

• The Athletic, The powerful lessons of trailblazing sports psychologist Ken Ravizza live on with Phillies whose lives he touched https://theathletic.com/471462/2018/08/14/the-powerful-lessons-of-trailblazing-sports- psychologist-ken-ravizza-live-on-with-phillies-whose-lives-he-touched/

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Cubs.com From Africa to hero, Bote's had quite a journey By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- In a matter of weeks, David Bote has gone from an 18th-round Draft pick nobody knew to a Cubs hero, schmoozing with actor Bill Murray after hitting a pinch- walk-off grand slam. Maybe now people will pronounce the rookie's last name correctly.

It hasn't been a smooth ascension to the Major Leagues for Bote. To tell his story, you need to start at an airport in Mombasa, Kenya. That's where Bote learned he was selected by the Cubs.

Africa

In June 2012, Bote was with his then-girlfriend, Rachel, his older brother, Danny, plus another friend on a two-week mission trip to Kenya and Tanzania for the New Hope Ministries. He was playing for Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan., and wasn't thinking about the Draft.

Cubs scout Rick Schroeder told Bote that he was going to do whatever he could to sell the team on the versatile infielder.

"I said, 'OK, I'm going on a mission trip,'" Bote said.

The Royals also were interested, but they thought Bote would be gone for at least a year. It felt as if he spent that much time in the Mombasa airport, because their plane was diverted there. The airport was about the size of a baseball , with a concrete floor, some chairs, no walls and a roof.

"We saw the sun rise. We saw the sun set there," Bote said of being rerouted because a plane had gone off the runway in Nairobi.

They were able to find an internet hotspot, and Bote's brother sent emails to tell family and friends about their situation.

"At that point, my brother looked up and said, 'Hey, congratulations, you were drafted by the Cubs,'" Bote said. "There was no call or 'Hey, we're going to draft you,' or 'We're looking to draft you in this round.' It was in the airport. I'm like, 'Hey, let's get of here.'"

Once they got to Nairobi, they set up a sports camp for the kids who lived in the Kibera slum in Kenya.

"We just got them out on green grass and just played with them, loving on them, show them what the love of Jesus is," Bote said. "The amount of joy they have and the smiles on their faces for as little as they have -- they're playing soccer ball with trash bags wrapped up with string and they're loving it, loving life."

Bote's group learned some Swahili and helped the children with their English.

"It was an incredible experience," Bote said. "One of the most eye-opening things was we were invited to dinner by one of the locals there in Tanzania. They provided us with an unbelievable feast. The water there can be tricky to drink, so the family went out and bought sodas for us.

"Someone said, 'Just so you know, the sodas alone was this man's monthly wage,'" Bote said. "We drank it in two minutes. It brought tears to your eyes. For what little they had, they sacrificed a month's wages to make sure we had something to drink. They did it with such a gracious heart. It changes your perspective and how you treat people. It's like, 'Wow, if I had that kind of courage, that kind of gratefulness and sacrificial love and giving' -- it was incredible."

The five-star hotels in big league cities are a long way from what Bote and his group saw in Kibera. He also recognized that's all the Kenyan kids knew.

"To see the joy on their faces is what sticks out," Bote said. "In our view, they have nothing, but they have everything in their eyes. They appreciate what they have and appreciate the love and their family and the whole community they have that supports each other is something you don't see very much. It's eye opening."

The Minor Leagues

Bote did sign with the Cubs, and he batted .232 on the Rookie-level Arizona League team. In 2013, he hit .227. The next year included a brief stop at -A Iowa, but Bote was a combined .235.

In 2016 at Myrtle Beach, Bote batted .337. Sitting in the last week in Kansas City, Bote was asked what turned his career around. He just shook his head.

"So many things, so many things," he said.

It wasn't for lack of trying. Bote wasn't producing, so he wasn't playing. That's the business.

"You're trying not to get frustrated, and I was frustrated many, many times," he said. "Being able to listen to the coaches, listen to the player development [staff], who said, 'Hey, we're going this direction and trust it,' and I got an opportunity to play every day in August '15 and did well. In '16, in the second half, I started playing every day and got into a little groove and a little confidence."

Bote recalls a game at Myrtle Beach in '16. He went 0-for-5 with five , and he doesn't remember making contact in any of the at-bats.

"I was pressing as hard as you could possibly press," he said. "That's when I had my first conversation with [then hitting coordinator] Andy Haines. He said, 'I know what you're doing is incredibly tough, but you have to find a way to not press. You have to take one at-bat, one pitch, and not even think about your numbers, not think about getting a hit. Just win that pitch.'"

Haines, now the assistant hitting on the Cubs, didn't have a relationship yet with Bote.

"[Haines] was honest -- he said, 'I didn't say anything to you, because I didn't know what to say,'" Bote said. "It came down to, 'I've just got to tell him what I see.' He did, and it helped. It was like a catapult."

The Cubs could easily have walked away from a struggling player who was a low-round Draft pick. They didn't.

"I'm not a high-profile guy, I'm not a high prospect," Bote said. "Andy knew that everybody in the organization matters. He found what he needed to say, and it worked: Be confident in your ability and just go out there."

Mark Johnson, one of Bote's Minor League managers, also gave him a pep talk.

"I said, 'Man, am I ever going to get a chance?'" Bote said of a conversation he had with Johnson, now in his third season at -A Tennessee. "He said, 'You are. You have a jersey on your back.' There were times I wanted to put the blame on somebody else, and he put it right back on me. He said, 'You have to take responsibility.'"

Give Myrtle Beach an . Bailey would wear Bote out by hitting ground balls to him at second, third and shortstop, telling the young infielder he needed to be ready for anything.

Wife Rachel deserves credit, too.

"If I didn't have my wife, I'd probably be out of baseball," Bote said in April. "She was the one who said, 'Hey, we didn't stay in ball for four years for you to give up now.'"

The big leagues

Bote's father, Bob, is a baseball coach who won five state championships at Niwot High School in Colorado. Bob Bote was at on April 21 when his son made his Major League debut against the Rockies. David hit a double in the second in his first at-bat. It's appropriate Bote faced the Rockies. David was born on April 7, 1993, two days before the Rockies played their first game in .

Bote was promoted in April because was hurt. Now he's on the Cubs' roster subbing for 2016 MVP .

"I just like his self confidence," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He does it in a way that's not offensive, it's not like this braggart kind of a thing. It's a humbled confidence. It's really worn well by him. I think it will continue to get better. He's not changing -- I promise it's not going to change. I don't care how much success this guy has, he's not changing, and he's the consumate team player. Plus, he's good."

Where does that come from? Think about what Bote saw in Africa.

"I'll put all my effort into the game, but at the end of the day, I have food on the table, a family that loves me and a place to stay, and that's not always the case for everybody," Bote said. "It's humbling and I don't take it for granted, and want to be as generous as we can."

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ESPNChicago.com Brewers face uphill battle in trying to dethrone Cubs By Jesse Rogers

CHICAGO -- They face each other eight more times, beginning with a quick two-game series at Wrigley Field that starts Tuesday, as the Central race between the Chicago Cubs and Brewers is beginning to come to a head.

Will the experience the Brewers gained in last year's race, combined with being a deeper team, pay off? Or will the two-time defending division champs, and 2016 champions, prevail once again?

Three games separate the Cubs and Brewers -- thanks to a walk-off grand slam by Chicago's David Bote on Sunday night -- while the home team the next two days has four games in hand. The Cubs seem to have the upper hand, but they haven't been playing well of late.

So what do the experts think? We asked one NL scout, player and executive -- all employed outside the Central Division -- to weigh in on the race. Spoiler alert: It's not good news if you're a Brewers fan.

"When does the wind start to blow consistently in again?" the scout asked. "The Cubs have a better chance when the wind blows in and here's why: They're a better team."

In other words, a Wrigley slugfest is up for grabs, as evidenced by some recent losses by the Cubs at home, but if those elements are out of the equation, Chicago has the edge, according to the scout.

"The second thing is they have more experienced starting pitching," he said.

That notion was echoed by the NL executive. Even when it was pointed out that the Cubs' rotation has been worse than the Brewers' most of the season, it didn't change their position. They would take the Cubs' starters down the stretch. And all three believe will find his form again, no question.

"Lester is the man, unless he's injured and not telling anyone," the scout said. "It's baseball. Sometimes you suck."

For a lot of the season, the Brewers' was the envy of the division. The Cubs had a good relief staff as well, but they walked too many. Now the Brewers are feeling the heat. They have a 5.72 ERA since the All-Star break, 26th in baseball.

"Milwaukee has used their bullpen a whole bunch and now [Josh] Hader isn't doing what he was doing," the scout said, adding that Corey Knebel also has not been as effective as usual over the past few weeks.

The executive pointed out that the Cubs' had never closed before, but was doing well filling in for Brandon Morrow. He and the scout indicated that when Strop loses command, it could go in the other direction for him. It's up to manager Joe Maddon to see when that's coming.

"Joe understands that when certain things trend against Strop, he'll use someone else," the scout said.

"I like Strop but you have to be careful," the executive stated.

The NL player couldn't choose one bullpen over the other when asked -- mostly because Hader is still a difference-maker -- but noted how underrated Cubs right-hander Steve Cishek is.

"Righties don't like to face him like lefties don't like Hader," he said. "Maybe not exactly the same but same difficulties."

Asked for the path in which the Brewers could take down the Cubs -- FiveThirtyEight.com gives Chicago a 78 percent chance of winning the division -- the scout said he thinks the only way would be with their bats.

"Glass half full for them is their offense and how they're playing at the time, if that makes sense," he said. "When they get rolling, they're formidable, but they have to slug their way there. They aren't very good in situations."

In fact, the Brewers are third to last in baseball in getting a runner home from third with less than two outs. That has been a sore spot for the Cubs in recent years, but they've improved this season as they're nearly at league average.

The scout also gave the Cubs the nod on defense, at least in the infield, where Milwaukee has revamped things.

"They have no range," the scout said of the Brewers.

The biggest difference with the Cubs is in their offense. They can score in different ways, though they've been slumping lately. Still, there was no question who our experts favor.

"We're throwing some maybes out [regarding Milwaukee] and there are yeses on the Cubs' side," the executive said. "I like to know what to expect from a guy when the game is on the line. I don't want to have to guess. I want to know."

So the Brewers clearly are behind the eight ball -- in the standings, the math and the eye test of some in the game. But right now the Cubs aren't playing great baseball. A two-game sweep by the Brewers would certainly invigorate them. It's not like they have no chance.

"They have good offensive players, but their starting pitching is the thing that's going to be the wild card," the scout said. "I still choose the Cubs to prevail. ...The Brewers are going to have to bang [hit] to win."

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NBC Sports Chicago State of the Cubs: What is the identity of this 2018 team? By Tony Andracki

Who are the 2018 Cubs?

It's mid-August, there's only seven weeks of regular season action left before the playoffs and yet the Cubs still don't have an identity they can hang their hats on.

Maybe they are just a team with an underachieving rotation, an inconsistent offense, a bullpen that is fantastic when rested and an elite defense.

Yet they maintain there's more in the tank and with a roster this talented and track records this extensive, it's easy to believe them.

But when will that show up on a regular basis?

Mind you, the Cubs aren't complaining where they're at.

They woke up Monday morning with the best record in the National League by three games and the peace that no matter what happens in a two-game series with the Brewers this week at Wrigley Field, they'll head to Pittsburgh Thursday at least a game up in the division.

Of course, where would the Cubs be right now without David Bote's ninth-inning heroics Sunday night or against the Diamondbacks two weeks ago? Fortunately for the Cubs, that's an alternate universe they don't have to think about.

They'll take this current position, of course. Especially with the two biggest free agent additions of the offseason — Brandon Morrow and Yu Darvish — combining to throw just 70.2 to date plus a balky shoulder that has put Kris Bryant on the shelf for nearly two months (assuming he returns late August or early September) and has sapped the power of the 2016 NL MVP even when he has been healthy enough to suit up. And don't forget Carl Edwards Jr. — the team's second-most important reliever — also missed time (nearly five weeks) and has appeared in just 39 games.

"I don't take anything for granted," Joe Maddon said. "The Cardinals are playing a whole lot better, the Pirates have done a nice job, Milwaukee's not going away. I get all that. But at the end of the day — and this has been my mantra forever — worry about the Cubs. Worry about you guys.

"We just gotta play our game and if we do that, that stuff becomes secondary at every stop, whether it's Milwaukee, St. Louis, Pittsburgh. Cubs do what they're supposed to do, that other stuff becomes moot.

"That's about getting the rotation back where we think they can be. That's about getting our offense percolating on all cylinders again while we continue to play this defense. If we could somehow get KB, Darvish and Morrow back for that stretch run, my god, you can't get better acquisitions at the end of the year.

"That's all a possibility, but I don't on it. I'm not waiting for that day to happen. In the meantime, you work with what you got and try to make that as best you can."

What Maddon has is a team that is 13-11 with a -21 run differential since the All-Star Break — obviously not the stuff of a championship team across nearly a month's worth of a sample size.

Digging deeper, however, and you see that the Cubs have been on the wrong end of several blowouts including the 18-5 loss to the Cardinals July 20 and the 9-0 defeat at the hands of the Royals last week. Of the Cubs' 13 second-half wins, 9 have come by three runs or less, including 6 one-run victories.

But the concerns are there, particularly with making sure the rotation helps pick up the slack down the stretch and reduce the stress on an already-taxed bullpen.

Cubs have combined to throw just 44 pitches and get 7 outs after the seventh inning all season — all of which can be credited to . Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, Mike Montgomery and now Cole Hamels have yet to throw a pitch in the eighth inning this year (though, obviously, Hamels has been fantastic in a small sample size and Montgomery saved the rotation when Darvish went down months ago).

Once the Cubs signed Darvish in February, there were many pundits across the game that believed this could be the top starting staff in baseball behind only the .

"Remember I thought in , this had a chance to be THE best rotation we've had here," Maddon said. "We've had some pretty good ones. And it just hasn't gotten to that point yet, but I still believe that it can, in spite of the fact that we haven't gotten the normal innings out of them."

The rotation is underperforming, but this has been by far the deepest stable of relief pitchers Maddon has had to work with in Chicago.

"You gotta give these bullpen guys a ton of credit and the depth that is organization has built," Maddon said. "The guys that have come up for cameos have contributed greatly to this moment.

"I've often talked about the bullpen — you gotta have that to win a championship and these guys are demonstrating that right now. And part of that is to not beat 'em up."

The Cubs still rank atop the National League in many offensive categories — including runs scored, OPS and on-base percentage — but anybody who's watched this team all year knows they are prone to rather extreme highs and lows.

Since the All-Star Break, it's mostly been at a low, contributing to that suboptimal run differential.

"Offensively, I don't see some of our guys at their normal levels," Maddon said. "I know we got this wonderful run differential [on the season] and we lead the league in runs scored, but how do you maintain that? That's my biggest concern."

Beyond Javy Baez's MVP campaign and the resurgence of Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist, the only thing that has been working offensively of late is Anthony Rizzo in the leadoff spot.

Maddon tossed the face of the franchise atop the order a month ago and hasn't moved him out — for good reason. In 27 starts at leadoff, Rizzo is slashing .347/.446/.604, good for a 1.050 OPS.

The rest of the lineup behind him has gone through its ups and downs lately, but that's also the nature of the game, especially in this day and age with strikeouts up and basehits down.

For perspective, a Phillies team that has been challenging for the NL East all season has experienced similar head-scratching offensive games on a regular basis:

A lot can change in in the span of a few weeks.

Just a few weeks ago, who considered Bote to be big part of this team in 2018 or beyond? When the Cubs traded for Hamels, they were hoping he could give them solid innings. Did anybody predict this level of success from the 34-year-old southpaw so soon?

With seven weeks left until postseason baseball, rest assured — there are still plenty of ups and downs coming for the Cubs.

Outsiders — fans and media — often seesaw with those ebbs and flows for many reasons, but the best one is this: It's simply no fun if you don't allow yourself to get completely caught up with moments like Bote's ultimate grand slam or Hamels' Rejuvenation Tour that has only lasted three starts.

But even if those outsiders are willing to ride that roller coaster even a little bit, the Cubs certainly won't inside the clubhouse.

"Never a good time to ride the roller coaster," Rizzo said. "I get motion sickness anyways."

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NBC Sports Chicago Of bat flips and Ford Escapes: The legend of David Bote grows By Vince Lovergine

If you didn’t know who David Bote was before Sunday night’s Cubs-Nationals game, you probably do now.

The unthinkable happened Sunday night when the Cubs third basemen hit a pinch-hit, two-strike walk- off grand slam at Wrigley Field, sinking the Nationals 4-3.

Bote has reached household name status with Cubs faithful; he made the media rounds Monday morning, speaking with 670 The Score and ESPN-1000 about his life before and after his historic night.

He has seen time between the big leagues and Triple-A this season. In fact, his Ford Escape is still parked in his apartment complex in Des Moines with half of his family’s stuff packed inside.

“David Bote's car remains in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Des Moines. It's a Ford Escape with "half our stuff packed in it." The Botes plan to retrieve the car at the end of the MLB season. — 670 The Score (@670TheScore) August 13, 2018

But given what happened Sunday night, it made all the extra mileage between Des Moines and Chicago worth it.

"I slept a couple hours last night." -- #Cubs' David Bote on the adrenaline and celebration of his walk-off grand slam against Nationals — 670 The Score (@670TheScore) August 13, 2018

It didn’t seem like the Cubs could get anything going against Nationals starting . The three-time winner tossed seven innings, yielding three hits, one walk, and 11 strikeouts. But Cole Hamles was just as impressive. Hamles also went seven innings, allowing one run and striking out nine. The Cubs trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the ninth.

But thanks to a and two hit batsmen, the Cubs found life. Bote turned on a 2-2 pitch and planted a pitch into the batters eye, making an emphatic bat flip as he started to round the bases. The crowd erupted, chanting “BOTE, BOTE, BOTE.” The excitement was so surreal that Bote was sprinting around the bases waiting to be mobbed by his teammates at home plate.

Bote’s media blitz continued as he joined ESPN 1000 to talk about his unforgettable moment.

“It was a special moment for sure. To come out and win like that, it was pretty cool.” Bote said.

“I thought I had it, I knew I hit it good…and I was like keep going keep going and I saw it land and I sprinted around the bases.”

“{Madson} has been lights out as any reliever and he’s a closer for a reason. I kept seeing the pitches that were down. He kept going lower and lower and stuck to it … I saw the next one and gave myself a chance.”

While Bote didn’t know if he’d get a chance to play in the game, he started getting loose in the sixth inning just in case manager Joe Maddon needed him in any situation. And it paid off.

“I was ready for anything whether it was a switch, pinch run, anything like that, and to be able to get the blood going.”

“I was thinking I’m ready to go, and the moment the move Joe is going to make, I hoped it would work.”

In the grand scheme of things, Bote won’t forget about this moment for a long time.

This could propel a run the Cubs have been looking for all season long.

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Chicago Tribune Everything you need to know about the Cubs-Brewers series at Wrigley Field By Paul Sullivan

A pennant race has no official starting date, but this week’s two-game miniseries at Wrigley Field between the Cubs and Brewers seems like a logical place to kick things off.

They’ve been neck-and-neck all year and really for the last two seasons. The Cubs hold a three-game lead in the NL Central.

The flashy, free-spending Cubs are more adept at playing the role of favorites, knowing they have more talent and a better track record. The upstart Brewers are professional agitators who thrive on being overlooked.

It’s a new twist on a classic matchup: Goliath vs. racing sausages.

So cue the Rolling Stones and start it up.

Managers

Hipster Joe Maddon matches wits with the tragically unhip . You couldn’t find two more diverse personalities than the showy Maddon and the laid-back Counsell, who famously threw shade at Cubs management in 2017 for calling a game on what turned out to be a sunny day: “It's the first time for us that we've had players treated for sunburn after a rainout.” Both are handling difficult situations with aplomb. Maddon is without two key players in Kris Bryant and closer Brandon Morrow, not to mention Yu Darvish. Counsell’s rotation is suspect, is still rehabbing and Counsell has had to keep the clubhouse together after Josh Hader’s old racist tweets were revealed. The Cubs are 8-3 against the Brewers in the season series with eight games remaining.

Matchups

On Tuesday, it’s Jhouys Chacin vs. Jose Quintana. Wednesday: Junior Guerra vs. Kyle Hendricks. Chacin (11-4, 3.91 ERA) was one of the best free-agent signings of the offseason and has been the Brewers’ most reliable starter. But Quintana is 2-0 with an 0.95 ERA against the Brewers this season and 4-1 with a 0.92 ERA in seven career starts against them. Guerra is 0-2 with a 5.46 ERA over his last five starts, while Hendricks has an 8.25 ERA in the first innings of his 24 starts.

Yin and yang

The Cubs, regulars on ESPN’s “,” are coming off a wild, 4-3 victory Sunday on David Bote’s walk-off grand slam. The last time the Brewers were featured on the Sunday game of the week was Sept. 22, 2013, against the Cardinals.

Fresh meat

Since they last met on June 13 at Miller Park, the Cubs added a new starter in Cole Hamels and a few new relievers, including , and Jorge De La Rosa. The Brewers stockpiled on offense at the trade deadline, acquiring and Jonathan Schoop, while dumping Brad Miller and sending Tyler Saladino to the minors. They also traded for White Sox closer Joakim Soria, who served up a ninth-inning grand slam in a crushing loss last week and wound up on the 10-day disabled list with a groin strain the next day.

The ‘freak’ play

Lorenzo Cain pulled off the signature moment of the series on June 12 at Miller Park, described by as the “freak” play. Yelich was caught in a between second and third on Cain’s grounder to short, so Cain ran toward second and directed Yelich to go back to the bag. Cain then zoomed back to first, which Anthony Rizzo had abandoned, leaving both runners and Brewers fans roaring in laughter watching the Cubs get faked out of their shoes. Counsell called Cain’s trickery “flat- out brilliant.”

Bullpens

Pedro Strop has been the Cubs closer in Morrow’s absence, going 7-for-8 in situations since July 19. Corey Knebel has been ineffective for the Brewers and seems likely to be replaced by Hader, who continues to dominate. The Brewers bullpen looks tired, but Kintzler also looked shaky in his last two outings against the Nationals, his former team. Cubs starter Mike Montgomery also is available out of the bullpen in case Maddon needs a reliable lefty to face left-handed-hitters Yelich or Travis Shaw late in a game.

MVP race

Slugger Jesus Aguilar is seldom mentioned in MVP talk. But if the Brewers win the division and finish with the best record in the league, Aguilar should at least be a finalist. Javier Baez is gaining momentum, and in two nationally televised games over the weekend, Baez’s MVP chances were boosted by the and ESPN broadcast crews. Even Fox reporter , the most powerful writer in the Baseball Writers Association of America, reluctantly admitted Baez was his MVP choice after being prodded by analyst A.J. Pierzynski. Rosenthal added it’s too early to choose an MVP, but Baez clearly is the favorite among the media elite.

Braun factor

No one loves coming to Wrigley Field more than , who is fueled by the nonstop booing he receives during every at-bat. Braun has 15 home runs and 63 RBI in 77 career games at Wrigley, with a .943 OPS. He loves Cubs pitching wherever he hits, with 33 homers and 120 RBIs in 163 career games against them. “It's always a place I've enjoyed playing, obviously,” Braun told me in 2016. “It's challenging as an opponent, but as a competitor, I just embrace that atmosphere, that environment. Definitely challenging but also a lot of fun. That being said, I don't worry about things that are out of my control." Maybe Braun can pass on the approach to Hader, who figures to receive the same harsh treatment if he gets in a game.

Cavalry update

Davies threw 86 pitches in his fourth rehab start Saturday and probably will have at least one more outing before returning to the Brewers. He’ll be with the team in Chicago for this series, and it should provide the Brewers a psychological boost at the very least. Bryant, Morrow and Darvish have yet to begin their respective rehab stints but should return by September when the race really heats up.

Coming attractions

Last year the race went down to the wire when the Cubs won three of four at Miller Park on Sept. 21-24 to increase their division lead to 5 1/2 games. After this series, the Cubs and Brewers meet six more times, from Sept. 3-6 in Miller Park and Sept. 10-12 at Wrigley Field.

Bote effect

The Cubs have David Bote on their roster. The Brewers do not.

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Chicago Tribune Joe Maddon offers thoughts on civility but shuts down talk of a future in politics By Teddy Greenstein

Joe Maddon thanked several people at the start of Monday’s third annual “Try Not to Suck” golf outing at Bryn Mawr Country Club.

He saluted Cole Hamels and David Bote for putting everyone in a great mood.

And he praised wife Jaye for “pointing me in the direction to become more philanthropic.”

Cubs greats such as and appeared at the Lincolnwood club, as did pitchers Mike Montgomery and Steve Cishek.

Montgomery said of his rust: “This is my third hole in, like, three months.”

Cishek obliterated a ball off the first tee but said he remains a double-digit handicap because of chipping yips. Maddon parked on the first tee, chatting with each group of golfers and hitting a drive for them to use.

Last year’s event netted $250,000 for Maddon’s Respect 90 Foundation and Hazleton Integration Project (HIP), according to tournament organizer and Chicago real estate developer Jerry Lasky.

HIP strives to unite people of different cultures in Maddon’s Pennsylvania hometown by providing a community center that hosts bilingual education, cooking lessons, dance classes, cultural discussions and sports programming.

“I think intolerance can be beaten down by good deeds, I really do,” Maddon said. “Most of the time the folks who are (against us) don’t want to take the time to understand what’s going on. They’re basing their views possibly on how they were raised or what they were told 40-50 years ago.

“Think for yourself, have an original thought. Come to our center and meet our kids. I promise you that you will be won over immediately. They’re that impressive. I challenge you to get off your porch, get out of your basement, stop watching your TV and formulate your own opinions.”

One night earlier, Maddon answered a question in a way that struck me. Addressing a report that he and ESPN analyst had a “heated discussion” in Sunday’s pregame meeting, Maddon said he told Rodriguez that he appreciated his candor: “It’s like what our country needs right now. You’ve got to meet in the middle at some point. You might have to understand the other side, which I think both Alex and I did.”

That got me thinking: Is there any way the 64-year-old Maddon would run for public office?

Jaye offered a “you never know” that afforded me some hope. But Maddon made his desires, or lack thereof, clear.

“Oh, no. Not at all,” he said. “Baseball is my vocation. All the other stuff is my avocation: Respect 90, the paintings, the T-shirt (slogans). I do believe you have to have diversions, but I don’t want my diversion to be politics.

“As a major-league manager, I try to create an impact based on what I believe. I try to support those that share our beliefs and try to understand those that don’t. And I think that’s the important part. When you disagree with somebody, it seems, that person is automatically supposed to become your enemy. And I could not disagree more vehemently about that. When someone disagrees with you, (the reaction should be) maybe I’m missing something here. Or try to compromise and have them see partly what you’re talking about. The method we’re employing right now is so unfamiliar to me.”

So on this point, there’s no compromising. Maddon for president ain’t happening.

“Hopefully what we do here in some non-intentional political way has an impact,” he said, “and eventually the politicians will do something about it.”

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Chicago Tribune David Bote won't change his approach after hitting an 'ultimate grand slam' By Teddy Greenstein

There’s an actual term for what David Bote did Sunday night — the “ultimate grand slam.”

It’s a walk-off, bases-full jack that erases a three-run deficit. It should really come with a side of pancakes.

Bote became the 29th player in MLB history to hit one, joining the likes of , , Buddy Bell, Roberto Clemente, Bobby Thomson and Babe Ruth.

But wait, there’s more.

This was just the seventh “ultimate grand slam” from a pinch hitter. And adding to the drama, it was the first to erase a 3-0 deficit since Sammy Byrd of the Reds in 1936. And Byrd’s came with nobody out, according to NBC Sports Chicago researcher Christopher Kamka.

There were two outs when Bote stepped to the plate. And two strikes. And this was at Wrigley Field. On ESPN. Against a Nationals team the Cubs wiped out in last year’s postseason.

“Magical,” Bote called it.

It was his first walk-off and just his third grand slam. The first came in high school at Faith Christian in Colorado. The second, he said, was at Class-A Daytona during his six-year journey to the big leagues.

Bote saluted superfan Bill Murray on the field after the game Sunday.

Cinderella story, outta nowhere.

Bote had more promise than “Caddyshack” groundskeeper Carl Spackler, but the former 18th-round draft pick never was ranked among the organization’s top 10 prospects.

“He’s the kind of guy, I’m telling you because I was a scout, who gets overlooked based on his draft status,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He is not talked about much until he really does something spectacular. He’s one of those guys who had to show it for people to believe it. He has worked his way into this situation. Give him credit. His work ethic is spectacular. His skill level is high. And it will keep getting better before it gets worse.”

Bote said he flourished in part because of Maddon’s philosophy.

Typical baseball wisdom says as a minor-leaguer in spring training, you should keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

“The whole adage of speak when spoken to?” Bote said Sunday night. “That’s not it (here).

“One time a couple of months ago, (Kyle) Schwarber said: ‘What, you’re not going to say hi? Yeah, we’re buddies. Say, what’s up?’

“It’s little things. Guys pat you on your back when you have a tough at-bat. From the staff down, Joe creates an environment of no ego, and everyone buys into it.”

Bote said he has fine-tuned his pinch-hitting approach with Tommy La Stella, who came through Sunday with his MLB-leading 17th pinch hit this season.

“You have to have your approach,” Bote said, “and be disciplined in what you want to do. And then be even more concise because you have no feel for the game because you’re not in it.

“Tommy is the best in the game at it. He is so in control of his emotions of what he wants to do. You’ll see him take pitches and think: Why didn’t he swing at that? Because he has his approach and he’s sticking to it. I’m learning from him to be convicted. Convicted in your approach.”

Maddon said Bote has a “humbled confidence” that will not change after what transpired Sunday night. Sure, but it might be a challenge for Bote to keep a level head after his star turn on national TV.

The Cubs social media team didn’t hold back on the hyperbole, posting a picture of Bote and Murray with the caption “Legends.”

Bote said a Cubs coach approached him after the game with this advice: Stay underwater.

“Don’t come up to the surface until the season’s over,” Bote said. “It’s a big game, sure, but it’s one game. Don’t let what’s happening outside affect what you’re trying to do. Keep grinding.”

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Chicago Tribune ESPN can't match Cubs voices Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer for the vivid picture of David Bote's slam By Phil Rosenthal

You heard everything but the bat flip.

Cubs announcers Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer were as spot-on as David Bote was against the Nationals in the 9th inning Sunday night, delivering a call far superior to that of ESPN's marquee "Sunday Night Baseball" crew.

It was one of those times when radio was far more vivid than television. Even just reading some of what Hughes and Coomer said over WSCR-AM 670, you'll sense the drama.

By now, you know what happened. Nationals starter Max Scherzer had gone seven innings, struck out 11, walked one and gave up just three hits. Koda Glover gave up a hit but held the Cubs scoreless in the eighth, setting up closer Ryan Madson for the ninth.

Madson neglected to tell anyone until after the game he was having back trouble. But a misplayed infield ball and two hit batters loaded the bases for rookie Bote, pinch-hitting with two outs and the Cubs down 3-0.

Hughes: “The Cubs are still alive. The bags are now loaded, so now the tying run is on base, the potential winning run is at the plate and David Bote is due up for the Chicago Cubs. Derek Lilliquist, the pitching coach, heads to the mound. We mentioned that Madson is far from invincible and we're seeing some evidence of that in this inning, Ron."

Coomer: "Well, we are and part of what we were just saying in that at-bat is he kept shaking pitches off. He hit (Albert) Almora with a . So you know that pitch wasn't really something they were going to want to go to. Then they go to his knuckle , and guess what pitch hits (Willson) Contreras? The knuckle curve. Now if you're Bote, you know, he's hit two guys with two off-speed pitches. Look and go to hack it. See if you get something you can hammer and you never know."

The count went to a ball and two strikes on a pitch that nicked the bottom of the , then 2-2. Bote and the Cubs announcers were teed up.

Hughes: "Madson has made 20 pitches. He has hit two batters and given up an infield single. Two and two on David Bote, trying to come through, and the pitch on the way. Bote drives one in the air. Deep center field. Back goes (Michael) Taylor. It's got a chance! It's a grand slam! A grand slam for David Bote! And the Cubs have won the ballgame! Can you believe it?"

Coomer: “Wow. As soon as he hit it, he knew it was gone. He started pointing in the air. Cubs win on a grand slam. Ho, ho, ho, ho, wow."

Hughes: “David Bote with a grand slam. The Cubs beat the Nationals. An incredible rally. What a finish. Just to the left of dead center. It looked like a low pitch, down toward the knees. He got all of it. Cubs win! Listen to this place."

Coomer: "We asked for an eruption. We got it! Four-hundred-fifty-foot to straight-away center off the bat of Bote on a 2-2 pitch! My God! What a bomb!"

Hughes: "More ninth-inning magic at Wrigley Field. Most teams, Ron, would be thrilled to have one night like this a year. This is now three incredible victories."

Perfect.

The other side of the pillow: It wasn't just the Cubs radio call that captured the moment. Charlie Slowes has called Nationals games since 2005, so you’d think he would be used to this sort of thing for the hard- luck Nats, but no.

"Madson sets," Slowes said. "He kicks. He delivers, and a swing and a fly ball to deep center. Taylor's going back, way back at the wall. It is gone, goodbye. It's a walk-off, pinch-hit, grand slam, and the Cubs have won the game and the series. And this is about as demoralizing a finish to a game that I have ever seen for the Nationals.

"Simply unbelievable. And exactly as you said, Dave (Jageler), because he couldn't throw his changeup, he became a one-pitch pitcher and the one pitch just went out of the park with the bases loaded after an infield dribbler, two hit batters, a grand slam for the rookie David Bote.

"On a night when Max Scherzer was simply brilliant and he deserved to win, the Nationals bullpen — minus Sean Doolittle, minus Kelvin Herrera — could not put this game away. Simply unbelievable. Final score, the Cubs, who had nothing on the board until that pitch, Chicago 4, Washington 3."

That's awfully good too.

Did he get it? ESPN play-by-play man was largely drowned out by the roar of the Wrigley Field crowd as Bote took Madson deep.

But it’s just as well. Here’s betting his "Did he get it? Did he get it? Walk-off slam!" isn’t even used at the ESPYs should Bote’s home run be nominated for an award.

Almost a minute of cheering later, Vasgersian turned his microphone back on. This is what he came up with to say: "They're clearing space beyond the fence on Sheffield for a David Bote statue here at Wrigleyville."

Analyst Alex Rodriguez also knew he should say something but he's still new at this and managed only a trifecta of cliches: "A Hollywood ending," "a magical swing" and "that's one that Mr. Bote will never ever forget."

A-Rod did eventually observe: "This is one night they can look back in the middle of October and say, 'Hey, this has the feel of 2016.'" And that sounds about right.

The best thing about the ninth-inning drama is it kept the detente (or whatever it is) between Rodriguez and Cubs manager Joe Maddon on the issue of Yu Darvish's recovery from getting more attention than it had to.

Funny because it's sort of true: Michael Wilbon, Cubs fan and co-host of ESPN's "," offered a pointed bit of media criticism on concerning Sunday night's postgame edition of "SportsCenter."

"Nice job by SportsCenter; my dear producers put Cubs walk off Grand Slam at No. 9 of Top Ten plays. If same ending had involved Yanks or Sawx Bristol would have commissioned a 30-for-30 on it in time for Get Up..."

Some on Twitter pointed out it was No. 10.

But by the early-morning edition of "SportsCenter," Bote's game-winner was upgraded to No. 1, with an acknowledgement of Wilbon's criticism (and White Sox center fielder Adam Engel at No. 3, taking away a home run with a leaping for the third time in one homestand).

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Chicago Tribune 3 things we learned from the Nationals-Cubs series By Teddy Greenstein

Three things we learned from the Nationals-Cubs series, which ended with the mother of all walk-offs:

1. The Cubs are one gritty bunch.

Jason Heyward floored it down the line to help cause a miscue on his soft grounder to second. took a pitch off the elbow. fouled off three pitches before taking one for the team – another . All that ninth-inning magic was needed to set up David Bote for his walk-off grand slam. “Our guys fight to the end,” veteran starter Cole Hamels said.

2. Joe Maddon has options galore.

The Cubs’ skipper craves players like Bote, who can play virtually everywhere on the diamond. (During his 61 games at Triple-A Iowa this season, he saw action at second, short, third and in left field.) That would allow Bote to maintain a role if and when Kris Bryant returns from the disabled list. It also will allow the likes of Ben Zobrist and to stay fresh down the stretch. It makes Maddon’s job easier – and harder considering he said “lineup construction” has been among his greatest challenges in 2018.

3. The rotation could change – or expand.

Few paid much attention to the final three frames of the Cubs’ 9-4 loss to the Nationals on Saturday. But Maddon was struck by Tyler Chatwood’s work, saying: “The last couple of hitters he threw to might have been his sharpest work all year, believe it or not. And he felt the same way.” Maddon cautioned that it was a “first step,” so it’s not as if Chatwood is about to bump off Jon Lester. But if the Cubs expand to a six-man rotation in September and Yu Darvish can’t answer the call, Chatwood could reclaim a spot.

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Chicago Sun-Times How do Cubs shed Brewers, win the fall? Just don’t screw up these 7 things By Gordon Wittenmyer

Depending on how you look at the Cubs heading into their two-game series against the second-place Brewers this week, they’re either so good they can out-walk a team to victory in a single inning, or they can wait until the last pitch of the game to score all the runs they need to beat the team with the best pitcher in baseball.

Or they’re the luckiest team in the National League.

Whatever this series against the hungry Brewers might say about either team with seven weeks left, the Cubs can assure themselves of another division title if they just don’t screw up these seven things:

1. Leave Anthony Rizzo right where he is for the rest of the season. He already thinks he’s the greatest of all time. Not only has he proven to be the Cubs’ best option for their problematic lineup spot, but the spot has proven to be the best option for him; his on-base percentage is more than 100 points better (.446) in his 27 games at leadoff. His OPS is over 1.000 in that spot and below .800 everywhere else this year. Who knows? With time, maybe he really can be the GLHOAT.

2. Don’t mess with Cole Hamels. The Cubs bet on rediscovering the former playoff ace when they traded for the slumping lefty last month, and Hamels said he was reinvigorated by the move before reeling off three impressive starts (2-0, 1.00 ERA). Now the Cubs need to keep him on his fifth-day schedule, even if it means rearranging others at times. Hamels made a point to say he looked forward to that routine after seven straight starts for the Rangers on extra rest (with a 6.69 ERA) leading up to the deal.

3. Give Alex Rodriguez a shot with that beer. Maybe it’s coincidence, but the head-scratching rehab of $126 million pitcher Yu Darvish took a sudden pain-free turn two days after Cubs manager Joe Maddon confronted A-Rod, the former Yankees star, for criticizing Darvish and suggesting a clubhouse problem during an ESPN broadcast. If Darvish’s new direction continues through another simulated game Tuesday, the Cubs might yet have the four-time All-Star for the final push.

4. Don’t wreck ’Shek. Setup man Steve Cishek has been the Cubs’ most valuable pitcher all year. He leads the entire staff in WAR (baseball-reference.com), and the No. 2 guy is on the DL (Brandon Morrow). But the hot-spot specialist with the 1.87 ERA also has as many appearances (56) in the NL as anybody except the Diamondbacks’ Brad Ziegler (57). If Cishek goes sideways down the stretch, so do the Cubs.

5. Free Kris Bryant. With all due respect to Babe Bote, the Cubs need their MVP back in the lineup, even at 80 percent. With Bryant’s shoulder ailing, the Cubs have used 10 different guys in the No. 3 spot in the order this year. With him in that spot, they’re 23-13 (.639). Bryant said over the weekend the pain is gone. So set a damn timeline already, and then make it happen.

6. Put Maddon’s scheduled cocktail with A-Rod to good use and enlist Rodriguez to join another Cubs broadcast ASAP to do his word magic on Jon Lester. It’s hard to imagine what else might work if Lester is as physically strong as he says he is and if his “stuff looks exactly the same” as it did in the first half, like Maddon says. It’s also hard to imagine the Cubs coming close to their goals this fall without a dramatic fix to whatever has caused an 8.65 ERA and 4.5 walk rate in Lester’s last eight starts.

7. Remember the No. 1 truism of the NL Central: The Brewers are the runny-nosed, half-pint, wannabe, Fonzie-licking, late-fading, always-a-pitcher-short Munchkins of the Midway. The only team with a chance of defeating the Cubs in this division is the Cubs.

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Chicago Sun-Times Grand-slam hero David Bote has made a name for himself among Cubs fans By Chris Kuc

One moment, rookie David Bote was getting his jersey torn to shreds by Cubs teammates during an epic celebration after his dramatic pinch-hit grand slam Sunday against the Nationals.

The next, Bote was getting a hug from actor Bill Murray in the Cubs’ clubhouse.

David Bote, this is your life now. Not bad for an 18th-round draft pick in 2012 who was basically unknown a year ago at this time.

Bote’s magical mystery tour continues unabated, and everyone in the vicinity of the Cubs is getting caught up in ‘‘Bote-mania.’’ Everyone but Bote, that is.

‘‘One of the hitting coaches was saying, ‘Stay underwater,’ ’’ Bote, 25, said shortly after belting a two- out grand slam in the ninth inning to give the Cubs a 4-3 victory Sunday night. ‘‘‘Just stay underwater. Stay where you’re at. Just keep grinding.’”

Which means what, exactly?

‘‘Just don’t come up to the surface until the season is over,’’ Bote said. ‘‘Just stay the course. Don’t let what is going on outside affect what you’re trying to do inside. Underwater, basically.’’

The way Bote was received after his titanic blast against the Nationals’ Ryan Madson, you’d think he could walk on water. But Bote, who wasn’t on anybody’s radar when it came to the Cubs’ roster at the start of the season, figures to stay grounded.

‘‘I just like his self-confidence,’’ manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘He does it in a way that’s not offensive. It’s not this braggart kind of a thing; it’s a humbled confidence. I promise you he’s not going to change. I don’t care how much success this guy has, he’s not changing. And he’s the consummate team player. All that shows through. Plus, he’s good.’’

Bote has been very good while often filling in for injured third baseman Kris Bryant. In 34 games, Bote is slashing .329/.418/.539 to go with his three home runs and 18 RBI.

‘‘He’s industrywide-known right now,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘His work ethic is spectacular. His skill level is high. He’s the kind of guy who gets overlooked and, based on his draft status, pretty much is not talked about often until he really does something spectacular. He’s one of those guys that he has to show it for people to believe it.’’

Bote’s slam was his second dramatic blast in the last three weeks. He hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning before Anthony Rizzo followed with a solo shot that gave the Cubs a 7-6 victory July 26 against the Diamondbacks. The celebration that day was raucous, but it didn’t match what greeted Bote when he arrived at home plate Sunday.

‘‘My jersey is in shreds,’’ Bote said. ‘‘Javy [Baez] pulled me down at home plate. I was like: ‘Man, I didn’t fall; Javy pulled me down.’’’

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Chicago Sun-Times Still rehabbing from surgery, Drew Smyly awaits chance to pitch for Cubs By Chris Kuc

There isn’t a day that goes by that left-hander Drew Smyly doesn’t envision himself pitching for the Cubs.

“I daydream about it every day,” said Smyly, who missed all of the 2017 season after Tommy John surgery. “The day I set foot on the Wrigley mound is going to be an exciting day for me, just with how many hurdles I’ve had to overcome.”

Smyly has progressed to throwing off the mound to hitters but isn’t quite there yet.

“I’m healthy, but I’m not ready to pitch every five days or every couple of days as a reliever,” Smyly, 29, said. “The holdup is just the recovery, the bounce-back.

“That’s my last hurdle to get over. I’m just not really responding the way I want. I would love to get out there as fast as possible, but your arm doesn’t really allow you to do it. I just have to go with the way my body tells me.”

Smyly’s body is telling him it’s too soon. “I could probably go throw every 10 days, but that’s not doing anybody any good,” he said.

“I think major-league average is 15 or 16 months [recovery] nowadays for Tommy John, and I’m at 13. I’m still very hopeful I’ll get into a game by another month or so.”

The Cubs, who signed Smyly to a two-year, $10 million free-agent contract Dec. 12, are hopeful, as well.

Smyly has a career ERA of 3.74 and 552 strikeouts in 570„ innings and could be a valuable addition in the latter stages of the season.

“I know Drew really well, and I know how good it is,” manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s enticing. You’d love to see it happen, but let’s just get him well first.”

For now, Smyly will continue to throw practice before eventually taking a minor-league rehab assignment.

“It’s tough, but there are still two months left plus October, so there is plenty of time to get in games,” he said.

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Chicago Sun-Times Despite a below-average number of HRs, Cubs still lead the NL in runs scored By John Grochowski

David Bote’s walk-off grand slam Sunday to beat the Nationals aside, the Cubs have not been a power- packed bunch this season.

Their 122 home runs rank 10th in the National League, where the league average is 130. Including runners on base, the Cubs have scored 194 runs on homers. That’s also 10th in the NL and makes them one of six teams below 200.

That’s a sharp contrast from 2017, when the Cubs homered 223 times, just one behind the NL-leading Brewers and Mets.

Nevertheless, the Cubs lead the NL with 576 runs, 16 more than the runner-up Dodgers and 55 more than the league average. In fact, their 4.92 runs per game are topped by only three teams in the designated-hitter-boosted : the Red Sox (5.49), Yankees (5.20) and Indians (5.08).

Major-league teams have scored 40.33 percent of their runs on homers this season. In the NL, the percentage is slightly lower at 39.15.

The Cubs have been one of the least homer-dependent teams, with 33.68 percent of their runs coming via homer. Only the Giants (33.40 percent of their 482 runs) are lower in the NL.

A large part of that is on-base percentage. The Cubs lead the majors with a .343 OBP, three points better than the Red Sox and eight points better than the Reds, who have the second-best OBP in the NL.

The Cubs are near the top in all OBP components, ranking second in the majors to the Red Sox (.270) with a .265 , second to the Dodgers (455) with 444 walks and third behind the Rays (71) and Rangers (68) with 61 times hit by a pitch.

The 10 Cubs who have 300 or more plate appearances all have OBPs higher than the NL’s .320 average. Topping the list is Ben Zobrist at .393, which ranks 10th in the majors and fifth in the NL. He’s followed by injured Kris Bryant (.380), with Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and all at .363. Willson Contreras (.362), Jason Heyward (.344), Albert Almora Jr. (.336), (.335) and Javy Baez (.325) round out the 10.

The Cubs’ batting average with runners in has been rising in the summer. It was a lowly .235 in mid-June, but it has risen to .247 and now is within six points of the NL average.

Even with a below-average batting average with runners in scoring position, the Cubs have been the NL’s best team in terms of RBI with runners in scoring position. They have 405 RBI with RISP, with the Braves (391), Pirates (383) and Reds (379) next in the NL.

The Brewers, who come to Wrigley Field for a two-game series starting Tuesday, have gone about business differently. Of their 533 runs, 43.4 percent have come on their 152 homers.

Led by Jose Aguilar’s 29 homers and Travis Shaw’s 23, the Brewers have been overpowering the opposition. But for the less homer-dependent Cubs, the key has been plenty of runners on base.

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Chicago Sun-Times Cubs’ David Bote, White Sox’ Adam Engel show gold can be found late in draft By Rick Morrissey

When told kids to never stop dreaming big and working hard, he wasn’t just saying the things you’d expect to hear in a Hall of Fame speech. He was speaking from tireless experience. He had been a 13th-round draft pick, which is to glamor what a turnip is to a precious gem.

Thome not only made it to the big leagues from that middling beginning, he ended up with 612 home runs, eighth most in history.

One of the cool things about baseball is that as long as you have talent, desire and a dogged work ethic, you can break free from the constraints of your draft position. Not always, but often enough to make a prospect stick with it. If that was ever in doubt, Sunday ended the discussion once and for all.

David Bote, the Cubs’ 18th-round pick in the 2012 draft, hit a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Nationals. The baseball world was still buzzing about it Monday.

Adam Engel, the White Sox’ 19th-round pick in the 2013 draft, made a leaping catch to rob the Indians’ Yonder Alonso of a home run. It was his third such rob-job in a week.

Bote was the 554th player taken in 2012, Engel the 573rd player taken the next year. If that wouldn’t make you feel like a number, nothing would. But this is baseball, and anything is possible – or at least more possible than in the other major sports. It certainly isn’t the NBA, where getting drafted in the second round of the two-round draft often means a life on the end of the bench or in the G League. In the NFL, Tom Brady is the ultimate rags-to-riches story, and he was a sixth-round pick.

If David Bote had introduced himself to Cubs fans on the street a year ago, they would have said, “I loved you in your Ziggy Stardust phase’’ or “I thought you were dead.’’ Now the rookie is hitting .329 after 34 major-league games, and some fans think there’s a very good chance he’s Kris Bryant’s long-lost brother.

Sometimes teams will draft a player in a low round, hoping he’ll take the bait instead of going to or returning to college. But many times, teams just don’t know what they have in a player. Drafting is still an inexact science, despite the all-out analytical effort to quantify potential. And even though the 18th and 19th rounds look like flyover territory, they’re not. Engel was considered a good prospect at the University of Louisville because of his speed and fielding, but he struggled at the plate for most of his junior year. Hence, his low draft position.

First-round picks usually get the benefit of the doubt on their journey because organizations have invested a lot of money in them. But teams also will stick with an 18th-round pick if they see potential and progress. Bote’s early minor-league career didn’t give much of an indication that someday his Chicago Cubs teammates would be mobbing him after a game-winning grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth at Wrigley Field.

He hit .232 in rookie ball in 2012, .227 in three Class A stops in 2013, .235 mostly in Class A ball in 2014, and .251 for the Cubs’ Class A affiliate in South Bend in 2015. He finally broke through in 2016, hitting .337 in 72 games for the in advanced Class A ball.

You wouldn’t think someone with that record would be deemed major-league material. But he did fairly well in 2017 at Class AA Tennessee (.272, 14 home runs and 59 runs batted in), and Bryant’s shoulder problems this season meant the Cubs needed someone who could play third base.

It’s a sport that rewards talent but also rewards people with the resolve to stick with the tedious life of being a minor-league ballplayer.

There are 40 rounds in the draft, a lot of minor-league rosters to fill and, if a player is lucky, enough time to develop and catch someone’s eye. It’s why Mark Buehrle could be taken in the 38th round in 1998 yet win 214 major-league games, a total that included a and a no-hitter. The Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg was a 20th-round pick (of the Phillies) and is in the Hall of Fame. was the Cubs’ 24th-round pick in 1985.

There used to be 75 rounds in the draft, which is how the Dodgers could take future Hall of Famer in the 62nd round in 1988.

You never know.

“I still can’t believe this has happened to me, a 13th-round draft pick out of central ,” Thome said in Cooperstown last month. “To every kid that is dreaming of standing here one day, take it one moment at a time. Don’t sail too high or sink too low. Learn to be good at handling failure. Be the first one to the ballpark. Be the last one to leave. Work hard, don’t complain, be a great teammate.’’

Because you never know — and you really never know in baseball.

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Chicago Sun-Times Anthony Rizzo pitches in at youth baseball camp in Rosemont By Madeline Kenney

Cubs Anthony Rizzo’s wish to pitch in a major-league game was granted last month when he made a two-pitch appearance in a Cubs’ loss. After that game, Rizzo concluded that his pitching career was likely done.

But that wasn’t the case Monday at his annual ProCamp baseball clinic at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont.

Rizzo’s MLB career zero ERA was not intimidating to the young campers selected to hit in the home run derby. And as a result, more than 20 wiffle-ball homers flew through the air under the dome.

How would Rizzo rate his outing?

“It was pretty good, I’m a little sore my from last outing,” Rizzo joked in reference to his ⅓ inning pitched in the Cubs’ 7-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on July 23.

More than 300 campers, aged 7 through 14, and their parents sat in a semicircle around Rizzo, who shared batting pointers between hitters.

“See the ball and hit it,” Rizzo told the crowd. “I know it’s not as simple as that … but that’s what I do.”

Rizzo, who was a little worn out from the Cubs’ thrilling 4-3 win thanks to David Bote’s walk-off grand slam on Sunday night, happily pitched over and over again to eager batters.

“It’s fun to pitch to these kids,” he said. “There’s some good talent here at this camp.

“To see the smile on these kid’s faces, it’s fun. You come out here and you see them all interacting. I’ll go out with the teams and I kind of interrupt with what they’re doing.”

At the three-hour camp, attendees worked on their form during several fundamental skills stations with area prep and college coaches.

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Daily Herald Hamels sets table for Chicago Cubs, Bote clears plate in big win By Bruce Miles

Baseball fans at Wrigley Field and around the country watched the continuing birth of a major-league career Sunday night and the rebirth of another.

Both bode well for the Chicago Cubs.

Rookie David Bote brought the house down with his walk-off grand slam, giving the Cubs another wild and wacky "Sunday Night Baseball" victory, this time 4-3 over the .

Bote has been up and down this year between the Cubs and their Class AAA Iowa farm team, but he may be here to stay.

On the other end of the spectrum, pitcher Cole Hamels just about matched Nationals ace Max Scherzer pitch for pitch through seven innings, as he gave up only 1 hit and 1 run.

The 34-year-old lefty came over from Texas in a July 27 trade after going 5-9 with a 4.72 ERA for the Rangers.

It looks now like he has taken a big swig from the fountain of youth as he has gone 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 18 innings in 3 starts with the Cubs.

Both players graced the postgame interview room. Bote still was coming down from the high of running the bases and getting doused with liquid refreshment during his on-field TV interviews.

Just as he was in spring training, Bote was poised and confident without coming off as cocky. He is in his fifth stint with the big club this season, and he has looked like he belongs each time.

The key, he says, is that his teammates, manager and coaching staff have allowed him to be himself. That has been a trait of the Joe Maddon-managed Cubs teams since 2015.

"It started in spring," Bote said. "The whole adage of, 'Speak when spoken to,' that's not it. One time, I think it was a couple of months ago, I didn't say hi to (teammate Kyle) Schwarber. (He said), 'You're not going to say hi?' It's like, 'Yeah, we're buddies, say what's up.'

"It's stuff like that, little things like, 'I'll come pat you on the back when you had a tough at-bat.' You build trust. From the staff down, Joe creating environments of no ego on his (inspiration-themed) paintings. Everybody buys into it, and it's awesome."

Bote was selected by the Cubs in the 18th round of the 2012 draft, the same draft that produced center fielder Albert Almora Jr. He spent six years in the minor leagues and broke out last year at Class AA Tennessee with a line of .272/.353/.438 with 14 home runs and 59 RBI.

Bote caught Maddon's eye in spring training, and in 34 big-league games this season, he has a line of .329/.418/.539 with 3 homers and 18 RBI.

"Some guy can come up and play pretty well, but the way he cavorts sometimes could rub people the wrong way. But David doesn't do that," Maddon said. "David is one of those seamless-transition kind of guys. He's easily accepted man to man. It's the way he speaks to you, the way he looks you in the eyeballs, the way he supports everybody else here. He's all about winning.

"And on top of that, he's playing so well. I think who he is and how he's playing are one and the same. Those two concepts or thoughts permit him to be accepted."

Renaissance man Hamels has been around the block a few more times than has Bote, who relished his quick trip around the bases Sunday night.

With Texas, Hamels was pitching for a last-place team going nowhere. There's another adage in baseball that says a "change of scenery can do a player good."

Hamels seems to like his new surroundings and the effect they may be having on his game, something the Cubs are counting on down the stretch and into the postseason, if they hold on and make it to October.

"I think anytime you get placed into a pennant race, you start to discover a little bit more that's in the tank that you might not necessarily have been able to go down and really gather," Hamels said. "At the same time, I was really focusing a lot even when I was down there (in Texas), trying to correct my mechanics.

"There was something that was off. I knew it was off. It's just a matter of trying to identify it and then putting in the work to get the muscle memory so that I could actually go out there and perform at the level I'm capable of doing.

"It's now being able to see that and getting the results. That's how you build momentum. That's how I get back to what I know I'm capable of doing. And it's going out there and helping the team win ballgames."

Of course, Hamels is no stranger to Wrigley Field. He pitched a no-hitter against the Cubs while with the in July 2015. About a year later, he came back as a member of the Rangers and beat the Cubs 4-1, pitching 8 innings of 4-hit, 1-run (unearned) ball.

"Being here in Wrigley, getting the fans behind you and getting that momentum, that gives you a little bit of jolt of energy that you can use," he said. "It's nice to actually be on their side this time."

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Daily Herald Constable: Bote miracle rekindles feelings from 'Sandberg Game' By Burt Constable

Even with our Chicago Cubs trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning and down to their last strike, my wife, Cheryl, and I are enjoying our night at Wrigley Field. It's a perfect summer evening with a soothing breeze. The fans around us are having fun. We did get to see masterful pitching performances from the Cubs' Cole Hamels and the Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer.

But, we both know what could make it better.

"It could happen," Cheryl says to me the moment before it does.

Twenty-five-year-old rookie David Bote, the 554th player taken in the 2012 draft, the guy on the Cubs' roster because star Kris Bryant is on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder, launches a ball into the night, into the center-field batting eye 442 feet from home plate, and into Cubs' lore as a game-winning, pinch-hit, walk-off grand-slam home run.

"It's magical. It's incredible. It's an unbelievable feeling," a Gatorade-drenched Bote says during the postgame, on-field interview for a national TV audience -- not that fans could hear him above our screaming. We are coming up with the words "magical," "incredible" and "unbelievable" on our own, as we blanket each other and giddy ushers with high-fives instead of Gatorade.

"You'll remember this one," an older fan says as we wend our way out of a joyous Wrigley Field.

I remember the last time my wife and I celebrated an epic comeback together at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were down 9-0 to the Houston Astros on Aug. 29, 1989, when the home team, anchored by Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace, staged an improbable rally before a 10th-inning, bases-loaded single by Dwight Smith gave the Cubs a 10-9 win.

Of course, that reminds me of sitting down the right-field line on June 23, 1984, for another walk-off victory that was perhaps the most memorable regular-season victory in Cubs' history. My friend, Mike, snagged us tickets for that nationally televised game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field against the hated St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs were down 7-1 by the second inning. Trailing 9-3, the Cubs scored five runs in the sixth inning to make it exciting.

By the bottom of the ninth-inning, the NBC TV booth already had awarded player-of-the-game honors to the Cardinals' Willie McGee, who hit for the cycle, the only time I've ever witnessed that rare feat at Wrigley Field. But we fans, who already sensed the 1984 season would be "magical," "incredible" and "unbelievable," knew it could happen.

In a battle of future Hall-of Famers, Sandberg hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning against Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter. After the Cards pushed across two runs in the 10th inning, Sandberg crushed another game-tying homer off Sutter in the 10th. It was exhausting for us fans who had to go into hysterics in consecutive innings. The game, which propelled the Cubs second-baseman to the season's MVP award, became known as "The Sandberg Game" everywhere except in the household of backup infielder Dave Owens, who got the game-winning, bases-loaded, pinch-hit walk-off single for a 12-11 victory in what he probably calls "The Owens Game."

As fans, my wife and I simply enjoy the moment as we walk into the Wrigleyville night after witnessing "The Bote Game." I've watched the replay a dozen or so times since seeing it live. Part of the fun of being a fan is imagining all the magical, incredible and unbelievable things that could blossom from the seeds planted tonight. I'm not only certain that Bote's homer will be part of the commemorative 2018 Chicago Cubs World Series Championship Season DVD, but I'm thinking it might even get a mention on Bote's Hall of Fame plaque in 2038.

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Daily Herald Rizzo leads baseball camp for kids in Rosemont By Daily Herald report

Monday was Anthony Rizzo's turn to help teach baseball skills to young players.

The Chicago Cubs first baseman joined a selection of area prep and college baseball coaches to lead a one-day camp for more than 300 kids in grades 1 through 8 at the Citi Anthony Rizzo Baseball ProCamp at The Ballpark at Rosemont.

Campers rotated through various stations focusing on the fundamentals. Rizzo even pitched to kids during a home run derby.

In recent weeks, Cubs stars Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber also have led skills camps in Rosemont that included hands-on instruction, lectures, skills stations, contests and games.

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The Athletic Sharma: Reliving the David Bote Game…one more time By Sahadev Sharma

As David Bote stepped to the plate Sunday night, Wrigley Field was buzzing. The 25-year-old rookie was an unknown to the crowd mere months ago, but at this moment, everyone knew his name, chanting it in anticipation of a magical moment. Bote delivered.

The now-heralded infielder has already carved out a spot for himself in Cubs fans’ hearts, becoming a favorite of the Wrigley faithful quicker than anyone could have imagined. And considering he wouldn’t even be here without a swing change and an injury to a former MVP, not to mention years of hard work, the story is all the more remarkable. But perhaps most interesting of all is that the league looked like it was about to adjust to Bote, as evidenced by his previous two games against the Nationals. But instead of falling into a weeks-long funk, as many rookies are prone to, Bote quickly adjusted back.

After a statement game on Aug. 7 when he had two hits and drove in three runs (all with two outs) in a 5-0 win over the Royals, Bote essentially forced manager Joe Maddon’s hand and made sure his name was written in the lineup the next day. He came away with no hits in that lopsided loss in Kansas City, but he hit the ball hard in two of his three at-bats, which usually leads to good results later.

Hitting the ball hard has been Bote’s calling card. After Sunday’s walk-off grand slam to give the Cubs a 4-3 victory over the Nats, Bote led all of baseball with a 96.1 mph average exit velocity. He has just 58 results, but it’s getting to the point where this isn’t just small sample size randomness. Bote is up there with the best of the best — , , and are next on the list.

Bote’s most marketable skill, hitting the ball hard, is what made him so intriguing in the minors as well. The Cubs saw the exit velocity numbers he was putting up, but noticed the ball went on the ground more often than not. A slight swing tweak led to the ball going in the air more frequently and we’re seeing the results.

On Friday, Bote was attacked well with up in the zone. On Saturday, he saw a lot of two- seamers down, leading to just his fourth multi- game of his career and the second time he had three strikeouts in the span of two games. Saturday’s game seemed to stick in Bote’s head.

“[Saturday] they got me a lot with the two-seam sinkers down and in all game,” Bote said after Sunday’s win. “I knew [Nationals closer Ryan] Madson had a and I knew he had a four-seam, but I had to pick one. I was like, ‘I’m not going to get beat down there today.’”

On Saturday, Bote struck out on a two-seamer from Nationals starter that bore down and in. It was a pitch he really had no chance to do anything with, outside of fouling it off to keep the at-bat alive. But it’s pitches like the one below that left Bote frustrated.

It’s a 1-1 pitch, a sinker that Bote ends up swinging right over. Pitches like that bother hitters. Bote knows that’s a pitch he can do damage with, but in that moment, he was unable to execute. Still, he didn’t forget about it.

The above is the first pitch Bote saw from Madson on Sunday. He’s looking down, gets a first-pitch fastball down and fouls it off. But he’s seen it now. It’s not sinking like Roark’s pitch, with less depth and some slight arm-side run. Bote has it timed up. He then takes a fastball away to even the count at one. The next pitch is below:

“The one that was down and away that he called a strike, I was like, ‘Ahh!’” Bote said. “You know, I’m looking for there. It was a close pitch, obviously, I was in the heat of the moment.”

That’s as borderline as a pitch gets. While technically it’s a strike according to Statcast, it’s also not a pitch Bote wants to swing at unless he’s in protect mode. That was a potential swing pitch as far as the league averages go. Maddon likes to say, “win 1-1.” He means it for his pitchers more often than not, but it works for batters as well. The general concept for years has been get strike one. But the difference between a 1-2 count and a 2-1 count is monumental. After a batter goes behind 1-2 this season, the league OPS is .503. After they get ahead 2-1, the league OPS is .809. That’s what I mean by it being a swing pitch. It could have changed the at-bat, and of course, the game. But Bote didn’t let it.

He took a pitch in the dirt to make it 2-2 (league OPS jumped to .604 after 2-2 counts), showing the poise of a veteran by not chasing a pitch. Instead of panicking, or just reacting, Bote was able to remember what had previously happened to him in the series. He was able to recall the scouting report on Madson and had made a decision that he would not be beat down again.

“Then I got that pitch and I was like, ‘Just get it in the air,’” Bote said. “That was my entire thing, hit it as hard as I can to center field. That was my approach, and get underneath it.”

That’s not an easy thought process for any player, let alone a player who is just 91 plate appearances into his big-league career. But Bote has proven time and again that he’s able to slow down the moment better than most. And he was able to deliver the most exhilarating regular season moment Wrigley Field has seen in quite a while.

You’ve seen it dozens of times already, no doubt. But hell, it can’t hurt to watch it once more. This is what Bote did on the next pitch.

Jason Heyward’s walk-off grand slam against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 6 was as unexpected as it gets. Kris Bryant had an unforgettable homer against the to help turn around the Cubs’ 2015 season. There’s not a Cubs fan who was around in 2007 who doesn’t still fondly recall Aramis Ramirez’s walk-off shot against the . But this one felt magical. It’s a story of a kid no one believed would be here. He was ready to give up the dream. But with the support of a loving family and a narrative that’s usually left for the movies, Bote was able to deliver the signature moment of the Cubs’ 2018 season. So far, anyway.

Moments like that and stories like Bote’s are why baseball still has a nostalgic feel to it.

But don’t expect this to be Bote’s peak. He has already shown he can quickly adjust to the ways the league attacks him. That may be reason enough to believe he isn’t a flash in the pan. According to FanGraphs, Bote has already accumulated 1.2 WAR through 34 games. That’s six times the value of Tommy La Stella, who has over 50 more plate appearances than Bote. And it’s tenths below both Albert Almora Jr. and Ian Happ, essentially a rounding of a difference, despite the fact that they have nearly four times the plate appearances that Bote has. And each of those players have been important to the Cubs’ success this year. But Bote is becoming invaluable.

People like to joke that Cole Hamels will end up being something in between and for the Cubs in the second half. Well, Bote will be somewhere in between Kevin Maas and Justin Turner. The bet here is that he ends up closer to the Turner side of the spectrum.

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The Athletic Editor’s notebook: David Bote raises the ‘W’ flag, then buys one? By Jon Greenberg

David Bote was the toast of the town on his off-day Monday, appearing on radio shows on both The Score and ESPN 1000 as the baseball world discussed his feats of strength on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”

How did he celebrate? Well, Bote was spotted at SportsWorld Chicago, the store at the corner of and Addison, on Monday morning buying, of all things, a W flag. Don’t the Cubs get those for free? It’s so befitting his story, I could totally believe it when I heard it.

Don’t be surprised if you see Bote jerseys at Wrigley Field the next two days as the Cubs finish off their homestand with a must-watch two-game series against the Brewers. According to my sources, fans are already paying for custom-made jerseys for the Cubs’ newest hero. How soon until the unlicensed T- shirts hit the streets? Soon, one T-shirt creator told me. I vote for The Bote Show, no matter the pronunciation of his last name.

Bote is a few more big games from getting the full giggly Chicago media overexposure treatment. But he’s not a passing fad. Given that Kris Bryant is still injured and Ian Happ is in a funk (he’s slugging .211 with 25 strikeouts since last homering on July 19), the Cubs will surely need Bote and his .329/.418/.539 slash line for the rest of this season. While it’s impossible to outdo a walk-off, pinch-hit grand slam to erase a 3-0 deficit, if Bote can deliver a few more knocks here and there, he’ll be fine.

Helping the Cubs stretch their lead over Milwaukee would be a nice way for Bote to keep burnishing his legend. The Cubs are up three games going into this series and no one who is paying attention expects the Cubs to take that Bote momentum and do anything with it. No, I expect the Cubs to keep a slim edge over Milwaukee through August and into September. The Cubs front office can scratch their collective head at some of the acquisitions Milwaukee has made — Defense anyone? — but the Brewers aren’t going away.

After this two-game series, the Cubs have six more games against Milwaukee in September, three on the road on Sept. 3-5, and then three at home on Sept. 10-12.

But that’s not the only highlight of next month. Have you looked at the Cubs’ September schedule? If Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Washington (which lost again Monday on a walk-off homer in St. Louis) remain in striking distance of a wild-card spot, every game save two series against and the White Sox will be against teams with playoff aspirations. That includes a three-game series with the Phillies that begins on Aug. 31 and what’s sure to be a wacky four-game series in Washington sandwiched between the two Brewers series.

The last week of the season is four against Pittsburgh and three against the Cardinals.

Forgive me for pecking out the schedule, but pennant race baseball is the best kind of regular-season action in sports, and thanks in part to their own inconsistency, the Cubs will be in the thick of one next month and I can’t wait.

Eloy Jiménez homered again for Triple-A Charlotte on Monday night, which is like saying a reporter ate the Snickers ice cream cone in the Wrigley Field pressbox. Some things are just assumed.

When will Eloy homer for the White Sox? I mean, any day now would be nice. The White Sox are awful — their 42-76 record is third-worst in baseball — and no one is going to their games. (They’ve trimmed more than 2,000 fans a game from last year’s already low average.) But neither of those reasons are why they should have already called Jiménez up. He’s ready. That’s why you bring him up. He’s ready, he’s ready, he’s ready.

I argued against service time gymnastics when the Cubs played those games with Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. I understand why teams should do it, but in this case, there’s no way the Sox could hold down Jiménez through early next season. I’ll give Rick Hahn and Co. the benefit of the doubt here. I can’t even imagine they’re thinking that. Rather than assume the worst, I’ll guess Jiménez is coming up in the next week. (Our James Fegan covered this issue quite well.)

After coming back from a two-week trip on the DL (left adductor strain) on July 15, Jiménez has hit nine home runs in 93 at-bats, hitting .376 and slugging .763. I understand how teams want a prospect to dominate a level for a significant time before moving up. It’s a step the Sox skipped in the past in the name of competition. (See Beckham, Gordon.) While Jiménez only has 35 games at the Triple-A level, given how he’s treating pitching, I don’t see any reason why he’s not up in the immediate future. He’s not Beckham. You can see he’s the real deal.

As for Michael Kopech, he’s at 120 1/3 innings and looking as strong and in control as he has all season. Last year he threw 134 1/3 innings, so he’s got just enough innings left in his arm, from a developmental standpoint, to start a late-season residency under Dr. Cooper. Kopech’s maturity has been his bugaboo, but wouldn’t it be a nice carrot to let him shine in the majors for six weeks before going into the offseason? He seems to be heading in the right direction, on and off the field.

The Sox are back home this weekend against the Royals. What better time for both players to have their South Side debuts? Ah, what do I know? I can barely use “druthers” in a sentence.

By the time you’ve read this, the Bears might’ve already introduced their first-round pick Roquan Smith to the media Tuesday at Halas Hall. As you’ve heard, our long provincial nightmare is over and he’s signing his rookie contract. I’m glad I skipped the entire “Roquan Watch” holdout saga. It was always going to end right around now, as the Bears prepare to head to Denver for “joint” practices (pun intended) before their third preseason game.

I don’t think the inside linebacker from Georgia will have much problem assimilating into Vic Fangio’s defense. Like me, he skipped all of Bourbonnais. Smart guy, that Roquan!

When it comes to contract demands, I’m typically biased in regards to the players, because in every sport, the teams hold most of the cards. I’m not sure what CAA Football, Smith’s agency, got in total concessions out of the holdout, but I’m guessing the Bears-centric leaks up until now didn’t tell the entire story. (CAA’s football division is generally tight-lipped.)

I’m all for labor turning the screws on management whenever they can, so as long as Smith is in playing shape and doesn’t immediately strain a leg muscle or something. It looks like a win to me in that he didn’t have to sleep in the Olivet Nazarene dorms, he didn’t lose any money and he didn’t have to bake in the unrelenting Bourbonnais sun.

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The Athletic Jason Heyward on why playoff experience matters, how the Cubs offense is evolving and those Bryce Harper rumors By Patrick Mooney

What a wasted weekend at Wrigley Field for the Washington Nationals, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, scoring nine runs against Jon Lester, getting seven scoreless innings from Max Scherzer and still leaving Chicago with only one victory over the Cubs.

Winning two one-run games against a talented-but-flawed Nationals team desperately trying to make up ground in the playoff race again showed the reservoir of depth and confidence the Cubs have built up across three straight trips to the National League Championship Series. All those big moments are ingrained in a team that rarely beats itself or shows any sense of panic.

Players, executives and owners are ultimately judged by championships and the Cubs have talked openly about becoming an organization that’s much bigger than just ending the 108-year World Series drought. But going back to the playoffs year after year after year creates so much value in terms of confidence and culture. This dramatic weekend at Wrigley Field produced enough flashbacks to last October, when the Cubs survived Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg’s no-hit bids and won an epic elimination game at .

“Experience is definitely the best teacher,” said veteran outfielder Jason Heyward, who’s gone to the playoffs six times in his first eight big-league seasons with the , St. Louis Cardinals and Cubs. “You find a way to win that series, there’s just so many good things about it that have to happen, the focus, the perseverance, all that stuff.

“The kind of attention we pay every day, the kind of focus we have offensively, there’s just building going on constantly with this group because it is so young and everybody’s [taking] different strides. It’s not easy to win, but we’ve found a way to have some success here in the recent past.

“Here we are again with still another opportunity in August to play for a division and try to clinch Step 1.”

The Cubs will have the NL’s best record (68-49) and a three-game lead in the division when the second- place Milwaukee Brewers show up for a two-game series that begins Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs are still in that position while 2016 NL MVP Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) is on the disabled list and without franchise first baseman Anthony Rizzo and All-Star Willson Contreras having monster offensive seasons.

Albert Almora Jr.’s batting average has dipped under .300. Addison Russell’s .702 OPS is 30 points below the big-league average. Manager Joe Maddon also picks his spots with Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and now David Bote.

Of course, Javier Báez is having an MVP-caliber season. But Heyward has finally been the offensive presence the Cubs envisioned when they signed him to the biggest contract in franchise history, guaranteeing eight years and $184 million after the ’ power pitching overwhelmed their lineup during the 2015 NLCS.

“It’s been very large, particularly because some guys have not gotten to the point where we thought they would,” Maddon said. “He’s kind of picked up the slack for some others. But he’s got the makeup to hit where he’s hitting right now — 2, 3, 4 — because he hits the ball, he makes contact and he hits better stuff. He hits better velocity and he hits better, it seems, in the latter parts of the game.

“Now here’s Jason really filling that void on a real consistent basis. Again, I think it was concurrent to him getting a concussion earlier this season. When he came back, all of a sudden, things started to fall into place for him. But he’s been a different cat in all the best ways and he’s a huge part of our lineup right now.”

After Washington starter Jeremy Hellickson threw 5 2/3 no-hit innings and loaded the bases with three consecutive walks Friday afternoon, Heyward faced lefty reliever Sammy Solis and smashed a two-run, game-tying single past diving second baseman . Heyward batted cleanup against Scherzer on Sunday night and helped keep the Cubs alive in the ninth inning as his infield single became part of the setup for Bote’s storybook two-out, two-strike, walk-off grand slam.

Heyward is a five-time Gold Glove , a leader in the clubhouse and a left-handed hitter with a .298 batting average and a .785 OPS since exiting Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol in the middle of May.

Do you take it personally when people talk about Bryce Harper coming to Chicago as a free agent?

“Oh, no, I don’t care,” Heyward said. “Whatever, I don’t care. It’s got nothing to do with me whether he’s here [or not]. I know where I want to be, and that’s that. Outside of that, nothing matters. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Heyward — who has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season and took less guaranteed money to play in Chicago and grow with this young group — called any Harper speculation “irrelevant” when the Cubs are in the middle of a pennant race.

Eliminating the Nationals from last year’s playoffs quickly got overshadowed by how the Cubs hit a wall against the Dodgers and then made sweeping changes to their coaching staff, believing their offense had to evolve and become multidimensional. The Nationals again saw how tough it will be to beat these Cubs in October.

“When you have a team that goes to the postseason, people pay attention,” Heyward said. “They say, ‘This is how we’re going to have to pitch this team.’ All in all, I feel like we’ve done a good job of staying pretty even and just finding a way, day in and day out. That’s the name of the game, of course, but even more so when every game is going to have a playoff feel. It’s definitely big that we just understand, ‘Hey, some days are going to be how they’re going to be.’

“That’s baseball. Just know you got to grind it out and keep going. Hopefully, our defense is able to keep it here — close enough — and we’ll see what happens.”

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The Athletic Tyler Chatwood is waiting for the phone to ring, searching for that familiar feeling By Jon Greenberg

“Uber-talented right-hander moving into his prime. He has great make-up. We think his best days are ahead of him. We’re getting him into an environment where we think he can gain consistency with all of his pitches and play to his strengths a little bit more.”

That was Cubs president Theo Epstein, the oracle of the North Side, on Dec. 7, 2017 after signing starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood to a three-year, $38 million deal.

The story back then was getting Chatwood out of Coors Field would remedy his wild home-road splits that bedeviled him in Colorado and locked up his potential. Chatwood, just 28, had already “survived” two Tommy John surgeries, fought off other injuries and still flashed the talent that captivated the Cubs and pushed them to jump a slow free-agent marketplace.

“He was really popular,” Epstein told me in late January. “A lot of teams saw beyond his basic performance stats and looked deeper into his ability. He was at the right price point and had a ton of suitors, so that drove the price up. We’re obviously happy he’s here and we’re fine with the deal we signed with him, too.”

Now, it’s not-so-early August and Chatwood is in the bullpen after a disastrous run in the rotation that saw him walk more batters than he struck out, which is hard to do over 92 innings.

Chatwood had a baseball-worst (among qualified starters) 19.4 percent walk rate and an 18.7 strikeout rate in 19 starts. In 12 of those starts, he gave up as many or more walks than hits. In 13 of those starts, he had as many or more walks than strikeouts.

As a starter, hitters slugged only .367 against Chatwood, but they had a .399 on-base percentage. In a way, it’s surprising he only had a 4.98 ERA as a starter. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and José Quintana (who is currently fifth among all qualified starters with a 10.5 walk percentage) all have higher slugging percentages against than Chatwood, but all have significantly lower on-base percentages against too.

If the Cubs don’t make it back to the World Series, the signing of Chatwood will be looked on as one of the reasons why. Call it outcome bias and you’re right, but decisions like this one will bother Epstein, if not quite haunt him come winter. Epstein knows too well about the volatility of free agents, but you can bet he wasn’t expecting Chatwood to fit into the Edwin Jackson mistake bin.

Small sample size and all, but Chatwood’s control ugliness hasn’t gotten better in the bullpen — five walks in 5 2/3 innings — but he’s only pitched three times, the last coming Saturday when he worked three scoreless innings, striking out two and walking two. He was signed for more than a one-year run, but it’s very likely he won’t start a game again until next spring training.

Back in December, a more innocent time when the Cubs still had dreams, Chatwood said the move away from the thin air of Coors Field should be a boon to his career, if not just his breaking pitches. It would help mentally, not just physically.

“I can focus on making my pitches,” he said in December. “I can work on it more consistently, I would say. I don’t have to worry about if it’s going to move or if it’s not going to move, or if I’m going to have to spin it different. Just focus on being more consistent and using my full arsenal instead of not using everything.”

Going by the FanGraphs data, Chatwood is throwing fewer fastballs and this season and more cutters and , but nothing was really working for him, hence the demotion to the bullpen and the trade for Cole Hamels, who is looking like a frontline pitcher once again.

When I talked to Chatwood on Friday, the new reliever was two days removed from giving up four runs on two walks and three hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief in a 9-0 loss to Kansas City. It was his second relief appearance and first since Aug. 1.

“I think I pitched once in the last eight days or something,” he said. “So it’s tough. You try to just work in between. I felt good the other day. I just gave up a bunch of runs.”

The Cubs would rather him feel good in the bullpen, regardless of results. It’s not like they’re counting on him to get high-leverage outs. Chatwood is an emergency pitcher who is going to get work in during extra-innings games or blowouts. When he got demoted, he told the media he was just going to throw and not obsess over mechanics or video work.

“A hundred percent,” he said. “I think that’s what I got away from. [I was] watching video and seeing and trying what I wanted to do rather than just going out there and feeling it. which is what I’ve done my whole career.”

I’m surprised Chatwood has teeth left after all the gnashing he was doing on the mound.

“It was really frustrating,” he said. “I had never dealt with that in my life. So every time you go out there, you feel good in between, and every time you got out there you just kind of felt like you’re grinding against yourself. You feel like you’re competing against yourself, rather than the other team. So it’s tough.”

In past years, Chatwood would’ve been the embodiment of all that’s wrong with the Cubs, a miscast talent plucked by a desperate front office who couldn’t handle the bright lights of Clark and Addison. In a way, he’s lucky that Yu Darvish’s absence and the inconsistencies of Lester, Hendricks and Quintana robbed him of some of the blame for the team’s biggest shortcoming, starting pitching effectiveness. But Chatwood was signed for starting pitching depth and his ineffectiveness stripped that strength from the Cubs. (Then again, maybe they don’t trade for Hamels if Chatwood is good, and he could be a playoff starter.)

Chatwood said, at least to me, that he hasn’t been overly negative with himself, just discontented. As far as fixes go, he said he’s been “staying over the rubber longer and getting the ball out in front” in his delivery and feels good about it. The Cubs have no shortage of pitching infrastructure, from coach to to to the legion of badge-wearing video splicers and analysts holed up in the Cubs’ offices.

“Yeah, but it’s more like you’ve got to be able to feel it,” Chatwood said. “You’ve got to find that feeling yourself. You can watch as much video as you want, but if you can’t go out there and repeat that feeling from watching on video. You’ve just got to find that feeling yourself.”

So that’s where Chatwood is right now, searching for a feeling whenever he gets to pitch, but otherwise sitting in the bullpen, waiting for the phone to ring to contribute.

As the Cubs try to put some distance between themselves and Milwaukee in the NL Central, they are sweating the returns of Darvish, Kris Bryant and Brandon Morrow, while hoping the starting staff can find some kind of equilibrium before October. Chatwood isn’t being counted on to get the Cubs to the postseason.

It made sense that Chatwood could thrive in Wrigley Field, that he would be a perfect signing for a team that needed him. But baseball is funny that way.

“When you think you’ve figured it out,” Chatwood said. “It’ll knock you right back down.”

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The Athletic The powerful lessons of trailblazing sports psychologist Ken Ravizza live on with Phillies whose lives he touched By Ben Harris

Not two minutes earlier he was talking about choking up on the bat, the scapular load in a swing and bat control. Baseball things. Then, Phillies hitting coach ’s voice, once calm and confident detailing the kinetics of a swing, raised an octave. His eyes teared up.

What would he remember most, he was asked, about Dr. Ken Ravizza, a former colleague with the Chicago Cubs and one of the most renowned mental skills coaches in the world, who died last month.

“When I got let go by the Cubs, he called me …” said Mallee. His voice trailed off. The conversation was no longer about baseball. It was about life. “I don’t want to get emotional,” he said. Mallee took a second, gathered himself, and pushed forward, a most fitting tribute to Ravizza, who preached the absence of a past or future. There is only now, and how you deal with that moment that defines you.

Mallee remembered that phone call, and, for a second, he was not the Phillies hitting coach. He was back in that moment, unemployed one year after helping the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.

“He helped me get past that moment,” Mallee said. “He was big on helping me get through that, because that was really tough for me, and he helped me get through it. He helped me get to the next pitch. Or the next team. Or the next moment.”

Ravizza passed away at the age of 70 on July 8, six days after suffering a heart attack. No one did more to push sports psychology forward to where it is today, to ease the long-held stigmas strangling athletes that urged, no, screamed to ignore the mental side of the most humbling sport. If you didn’t, or couldn’t, you were weak, unfit to be a professional athlete. The game has come a long way. Much of that is thanks to Ravizza.

Despite working with many major league teams, the Phillies were never among them. Still, the reverberations of his passing — the loss of a trailblazer who helped make baseball a healthier, safer place — were felt throughout the Phillies organization, from players, to coaches, to the team’s first mental skills coach. That was the reach of Ken Ravizza.

Cole Irvin sat with his University of Oregon teammates, not knowing what to expect. Ravizza stood up front. Irvin was about to be introduced to a mental preparation technique for the first time. During the sessions, Ravizza asked the players to put their feet on the floor of the locker room, or hotel conference room, or football practice meeting room, to sit up tall in their chairs, release deep breaths, and feel as if they were rolling a rubber ball from their toes to their brain.

“He just had a different approach to calming yourself down,” said Irvin, now a Triple A pitcher in the Phillies organization. “That’s kind of one of the first things that I took away. From then on I really bought into the whole mental side of baseball.”

“At the time it didn’t even cross my mind that there was one.”

Irvin was far from the first or last player Ravizza touched, whose mind he opened to the human side of baseball that was always there but often misunderstood, or neglected all together.

Ravizza brought this side of baseball out from behind the shadows. Although psychology is a medical field, Ravizza didn’t approach his job as a mental skills coach as a medical endeavor.

The Phillies first full-time mental skills coach, Geoff Miller, hired in 2017, has known Ravizza since Miller entered the field as student pursuing a master’s degree in sports psychology.

“Ken was an educator,” Miller said. “Ken was a teacher. He taught at Cal State Fullerton for 38 years. He taught sports psychology. He was teaching it to students, he wasn’t teaching it to athletes. So the athlete performance work he did was an application of the lessons he was teaching in the classroom.

“And what Ken brought to the game was a big piece of the puzzle in baseball players and managers and coaches and GMs understanding that this is not a medical thing. This is an educational thing. This is something that we learn and can learn how to do. I think that was probably Ken’s greatest contribution to the game, helping people understand the educational side to this.”

Despite his prominence in the field, Ravizza wasn’t an intimidator force-feeding his beliefs because he was smarter, or held all the secrets. It was an education, a give and take from a world-class teacher who would have been just as content to be anonymous.

“He’s world renowned,” Irvin said, “and it’s not every day you get to really feel and be in the same room as someone of that nature. And he never tried to make it known. He was Ken. Ken was Ken, and he wasn’t going to change. He was in the room to make you better.”

Mallee worked on three different major league coaching staffs before Philadelphia (in , Houston and Chicago) and saw varying mental skills resources along the way, both in availability and effectiveness.

“All the different places I’ve been, he was the best for me because he could relate to the player in baseball terms, not doctor terms,” Mallee said.

Because Mallee works with hitters who fail every day, his protégés must embody mental toughness. He learned from Ravizza how to get them through tough moments, just as Ravizza helped Mallee through his own difficult moment after his firing.

“Getting to the next pitch I think is a big deal,” Mallee said, bringing up one of Ravizza’s core concepts. “One thing that I learned that helped me with these guys is there’s no past, there’s no future. You have to play the game in the moment on this pitch. … That’s the thing I learned from Ken that I constantly bring to these guys.”

If you are in the moment, blissfully ignorant to the past or what lies ahead, there are no slumps. Slumps are elongated, agonizing stretches of inadequacy. In a moment, there is no agony. There are no oh-fers. There is only the next pitch.

“It’s about this pitch, right now, battling with the stuff that you’ve got that day,” Irvin said, recalling Ravizza’s teachings. “How are you going to make yourself better with one pitch? How is a position player going to get on at this one pitch when he just swung at a ball in the dirt?”

The mark of any good teacher, or “educator” as Miller called Ravizza, is an engaging dynamic that’s less like a lecture and more like a personal relationship. Ravizza’s pupils came out changed. Irvin didn’t just realize the mental side of baseball was important, he realized it existed. Epiphanies like these leave impressions, not just of the lessons learned, but of the teacher who opened those doors and the vehicles used to get the point across.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon knew Ravizza since their time together with the Angels in the 1980s. On the day his former mentor passed away, Maddon said, “I hear his voice in my head. He’s left an internal impact on all of us.”

Irvin still recalls that voice.

“Ken had a distinct voice,” he said. “One that you would try to, not make fun of, but you’d try to recreate his voice with friends and teammates.”

Ravizza didn’t just teach at his players hoping they’d absorb whatever they could. He turned them into conduits for his own lessons, an extension of himself to reinforce what they’d learned. His voice came out of their mouths.

“You do things, you say things in his voice, and it just resonates even more with you,” Irvin said. “You don’t think about it at the time, you just make guys laugh, and we loved Ken. You do those things because you enjoy being around the guy.”

Ravizza’s teachings turned into a subliminal ventriloquist act, burrowing away into the players’ subconscious only to be revealed when needed most, including by those who had never met him before.

“I’ve turned around and taught and helped my brother, who plays men’s volleyball, and I applied things that I’ve learned to men’s volleyball for him,” Irvin said.

There was only one Ken Ravizza, but pieces of him live on in those he taught, and those with whom they shared his wisdom.

It wasn’t just players. Ravizza was a welcoming presence for others like Miller when he was trying to enter the field 22 years ago. Miller was working on his master’s thesis at San Diego State, focusing on selection factors influencing whether high school MLB draft picks skipped college, and needed to connect with southern California baseball players.

“I was introduced to him and he was gracious, he was welcoming and inviting from the beginning,” Miller said. “I think he was that way to everyone in the field and I think that was one of the magical things about Ken is he was so personable and made everyone feel important.

“The field has grown a lot in the last 10 years,” Miller said. “I’ve been doing this for 14 years, and when I started I think there were maybe four of us doing it, and now we have over 40 people doing it. If you ask most mental skills coaches in baseball who was an influence, Ken was an influence in one way or another and part of it was just taking a call from someone he didn’t know and being encouraging.”

Miller spoke from the Phillies dugout on August 5, a few hours before the late would be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. Halladay’s story is intricately tied to that of Harvey Dorfman, another famed sports psychologist. Many times, Halladay credited his success to Dorfman’s book, “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching,” which helped him regain his shattered confidence after a 2001 demotion from the majors to A-ball. Dorfman also authored “The Mental Game of Baseball,” which, along with Ravizza’s book, “Heads Up Baseball,” are considered the seminal works on mental skills in baseball.

“It’s ironic today we’re talking about this because Roy Halladay was so tied to Harvey, and Harvey touched so many lives, too,” Miller said. “Both Harvey and Ken, those are the two, if there’s a Mount Rushmore, there’s only two guys on it. It’s those two guys. … I don’t know if any of us would be here without Ken or Harry.”

Ravizza will be remembered for many things, including his catch phrases. He put a mini toilet in the Cal State Fullerton dugout in the mid 2000s as a reminder for players to flush away mistakes and live in the present instead of fixating on the past. “Flush it” became a signature phrase.

Irvin remembers Ravizza stressing, “Don’t poop on the mound. He used another word, though.”

“It was just recognizing at the time that in your failure, to recognize what you’re doing wrong and how to get back to calming yourself down to bring yourself back to whatever level you need to be at to succeed,” Irvin described. “And that’s really kind of cool to apply not just to baseball, but to your life as well. He taught me a lot more things than just that.”

Ravizza’s spirit lives on people like Miller as much as any other, being a prominent member of the field Ravizza helped bring into the mainstream. The two spoke a week before his death.

“That’s what’s interesting about Ken. There are so many phrases like that: ‘Flush it,’ ‘the focal point,’ all of the tweetable phrases,” Miller said. “But the thing I’ll remember about Ken is the friend, and just the amazing person he was. Because those phrases were the headlines, and there was so much more to him. I think that was his genius. Everybody knew ‘Flush it’, but when you sat down with him, he never said ‘Flush it.’ He asked people about themselves and asked them what he could do to help them.”

It’s not the catch phrases that will stick with Miller. It’s the person, a kind soul and his lasting impact.

“To the day he died,” Miller said, “he was not just a pioneer in the field, but someone who really cared and was a caretaker for sports psychology, and for the industry, and for mental skills coaches everywhere.”

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