MILWAUKEE – Playoffs? Joe Maddon almost sounded like he had been pregaming a little too hard before his first press conference at The Cubby Bear last November.
And then the new Cubs manager offered to buy everyone the first round – a shot and a beer, The Hazleton Way – at the bar opposite the Wrigley Field marquee.
The party will continue into October, the Cubs finishing their regular season with 97 wins after Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
As crazy as that would have sounded at the beginning of spring training – when Maddon kept talking about the playoffs, man – how about that only being good enough for third place in the National League Central?