CHICAGO -- It's nearly mid-June and Joe Maddon is thinking about the playoffs, and the Cubs' manager is sending messages to the players so they realize what's necessary to get to the postseason.
"When you're playing with the ring in mind, you're not necessarily just trying to develop guys," Maddon said Friday. "When you have a group, which I believe we do, which is capable of more, you make adjustments or movement in the course of a game that tells the rest of the group, 'I realize somebody is doing better and somebody is not doing so good.