Maddon rides coffee-shop 'vibe,' crafts lineup

MLB.com columnist Phil Rogers discusses how the Cubs could handle their loaded roster in the 2017 seasonThe Cubs manager created the starting nine while sitting in a coffee shop in Chicago. What was the inspiration?

"You know I like to go right, left, right, left," he said of mixing left-handed and right-handed hitters. "I still like [Bryant at] two. After all, he was the MVP, so that was OK. Rizzo, I think if you were to ask him any day of the week, he likes hitting third, and then Zobrist [fourth]. Everybody wanted Zo out of the four-hole until it was the seventh game of the World Series, and he did pretty good."

Carrie Muskat breaks down the expanded role Willson Contreras will have with…