When the Cubs moved Yu Darvish’s return to the rotation back one day, many assumed they didn’t want him pitching at Wrigley Field, where he was booed in his last outing before going on the 10-day disabled list with the flu.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said they simply took advantage of an off-day in the schedule that allowed them to move Jose Quintana into Monday’s slot in the makeup game against the Braves.
So the Cubs didn’t want Darvish to pitch in a different environment than the Friendly Confines?
“I know that that’s going to be easy to look at and say that we did do that,” Maddon said. “But just trying to gather as much time as we can coming off him being ill, and we just decided to go ahead and do that.
“If that day (off) was not available, if it did not turn out this way regarding the days in between starts, we could not have done it and he would’ve pitched (Monday). But because we could, we chose to do it that way.”
Maddon said the Cubs aren’t worried about Darvish’s mental state.
“Honestly, I’m not,” he said. “The guy has been good for so many years. He’s got an outstanding arm. I think sometimes he gets a little bit speeded up in what he’s doing. He and I have talked about that. But there’s too much success there for me to be worried about that. He would not be in the position he is if that were in fact true. (He just) needs to slow things down.”
Darvish will start Tuesday in Atlanta. In his last start against the Braves on April 13 at Wrigley, he allowed four runs on nine hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings in a 4-0 loss.
"I don't care if I pitched only five innings, (with) eight runs allowed or something like that, if this team won the game,” Darvish told Japanese reporters on Sunday. “The Braves are a good team, as they show in the standings. All I can do is do my best.”
Darvish said he’s still not 100 percent healthy but is close.
Shoe business: Ben Zobrist was not available Sunday to discuss his shoe controversy, one day after his Instagram post protesting MLB’s threat to fine or discipline him for wearing black shoes, a violation of uniform regulations.
Zobrist said Saturday he wanted to speak to MLB and the union before speaking with reporters. He wore pink shoes Sunday, so it wasn’t an issue.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks said the recent spate of MLB letters to players about uniform violations was difficult to comprehend.
“It kind of takes away from what the players can express and connect with the fans in a way,” he said. “You can go out there and wear neon arm sleeves, but you can’t wear gray spikes with your uniform. So there are a few things that don’t make a lot of sense to me.”
The mild-mannered Zobrist, who wore the shoes Saturday despite the threat, is an unlikely outlaw. But Maddon said it wasn’t surprising to him.
“If you attack something he believes in, I promise you he’s coming back at you,” Maddon said. “That’s who he is. He’s very convicted in his belief system. Regardless if it’s shoes or religion or playing second base or whatever, he’s going to tell you what he thinks when he’s convicted, which he is.
“His thoughts are not nebulous. They’re all ‘Zo.’ That’s what he believes. He felt he was somewhat attacked in a sense. And (he wrote) ‘This is why I was doing it. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong and I thought I was actually promoting the game.’
“So he told you that, and that’s exactly where he was coming from.”
Extra innings: Jason Heyward will not be activated Monday from the seven-day concussion disabled list. Maddon said, “We’re still working through the whole thing right now.” … The Cubs’ five stolen bases Sunday were their most since Sept. 16, 2015, in Pittsburgh, also a five-steal game. … Javier Baez had his 10th multi-RBI game of the season, tied for third in the majors.
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