On Sunday, the Cubs will play their 81st game and reach the year’s halfway point. Getting through that much of the season successfully has been a mental and physical balancing act for manager David Ross and his players.
It’s a lot of juggling getting players back in their rhythm after an injury and deciding how best to handle guys who are struggling.
“You try to communicate as best as you can and talk to them and make sure how they’re feeling and where they’re at in their headspace,” Ross said. “We have those conversations and try to figure out the best way to set them up for success and give them all sorts of time to work on things.”
Those conversations vary from player to player. Ross errs on the side of talking to them a lot about how they’re feeling, but being a father has helped him know when to back off.
“When they start telling me to shut up or rolling their eyes, I kind of treat it like my kids. I usually pause then,” Ross joked.
Players have to figure out how to manage their own workloads, too, and a day off can feel like either a momentum killer or a reset.
“It’s a constant battle of deciding when you get those off days or when you’re down,” Ian Happ said. “How much work to do and how much to give yourself a mental lull and a physical break.”
When Happ is in a good stretch and gets a day off, he likes to keep his pregame routine exactly the same so he won’t feel like he’s lost momentum. Getting back in the flow after an injury can be a different story.
“It’s tough because sometimes you come back and you get to play every day, and sometimes the injury limits the amount of exposure you get,” Happ said. “Where the team is as far as how they’re competing, and how the other guys have been doing dictates that.”
Rare Friday night game
Friday afternoons at Wrigley Field are a staple of the Chicago summer, but when Ross was perusing the schedule during spring training, this Friday stood out to him as a time to buck the day baseball tradition.
Coming back from a night game against the Mets Thursday, Ross said he didn’t get to his house until 3:30 in the morning. A 1:20 start would have left about six hours until he and his players usually start arriving at the ballpark.
“It just helps the players in recovery,” Ross said of the move to a 7:05 start. “It’s really a player safety issue.”
Ross said he noticed the tough turnaround months ago and immediately started going through the proper channels in the Cubs organization to get city approval to play at night.
Injured making progress
Nico Hoerner (hamstring) did infield work again before Friday’s game and took batting practice. Ross said there is no clear plan yet for how Adbert Alzolay (blister) will return. The team has not decided yet whether a rehab start in the minors will be needed. Trevor Williams (appendicitis) threw a successful bullpen and will throw another in 3-4 days, and Matt Duffy (back) took a slight step back, but Ross reported that he’s resuming some baseball activities.
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