It’s just baseball and whatever. But I can’t remember the last time I was this angry about something very bad that happened to the Cubs that didn’t have to happen. And that includes the fact that they were even in DC today playing this stupid game.
In the 10th inning, having already taken a one-run lead and loaded the bases with one out, Joe Maddon elected to send his most critical reliever, Pedro Strop, to the plate to bat. That, despite have Tommy La Stella available on the bench, despite the fact that Strop had already thrown 21 pitches over 1.2 innings, and despite the fact that Strop is a relief pitcher, who is not typically running out of the box.
The results were utterly disastrous:
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That looked like a hamstring injury right away, and Joe Maddon confirmed as much after the game.
Joe confirms Pedro Strop left hamstring soreness and probably out a while.
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) September 14, 2018
As you likely know by now, even the mildest hamstring injuries keep big leaguers out of action for upwards of a month. Even on a lightning fast timeline, Strop would probably be out until the end of the month.
I want to hear the explanation on this decision, and/or I want to hear a concession that it was a colossally terrible call, regardless of the injury.