The Cubs are going to resume play on Friday against the Pirates and, after the fourth of July fireworks between the two teams, I was expecting a whole lot of spit and vinegar from Joe Maddon. Instead, the manager is his usual, cerebral self.
“There is a disconnect in some on-base percentage-based stats and the [Pirates] batting average. Those numbers are kind of close. The batted ball in play number has got to be extraordinary right now,” Maddon suggested recently.
Of course he knows that Pittsburgh’s BABIP is .319 because he’s an analytics guy and he has that data readily available.