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| Jason Heyward has time to get hot |
As Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward returned to the starting lineup Monday for the first time since four days of mental cleansing on the bench, it was tempting to view the final six weeks of the season as his 39-game tryout for a starting job in the playoffs.
But that’s clearly not how manager Joe Maddon sees it – at least not with this much time left before October.
And Jason Heyward?
“I’m not worried about six weeks. I’m worried about tomorrow,” said Heyward, who three pitches after missing an RBI double by inches foul, hit his first homer since July in the fifth inning of Monday’s 5-1 victory over the Padres.
“Playoff wise, my teammastes know I can help this tema win,” He said. “My manager, my coaches — I know I can help this team win. That’s the bottom line.”
Heyward’s two-run shot was his lone hit in four at-bats, but “the kind of thing that can get his confidence going and get him going in the right direction offensively,” said Maddon, who pontificate on Heyward’s potential playoff role or status.
“I just want to make the playoffs and then we’ll take it from there,” the manager said. “He’s still got six weeks or so. There’s so much baseball to be played. So many different things are going to occur.
“He could become the hottest hitter in the National League over
the next month, and he’s very capable of that. I don’t even think about the
playoffs; I don’t think about playoff rosters.”
Heyward, whose season-long slump included a .225 average and
just five home runs entering Monday’s game, has struggled even worse since the
All-Star break: .170 with one homer.
The break seemed to help by the fifth inning, when he drove a
two-run homer just over the glove of leaping right fielder Patrick Kiviehan
with two outs. It was his first homer since July 29.
“It’s good to come through and help,” said Heyward, who laughed
off talk about how he felt getting back on the field after the four-day layoff.
Maddon said his only message to Heyward upon his return was:
“Just go play.”
“I want to see a smile on his face, playing hard like he always
does,” Maddon said. “I’d rather see him cut back on his work right now and just
play the game. I want him fresh mentally and physically, because there’s so
many different ways he can help you win a baseball game.
“He can’t try anything differently. He can’t work any harder.
It’s impossible. So just go play.”
Whether the $184 million contract “has got to weigh on you a
little bit” in the first year, as Maddon suggested, the manager said he’s been
impressed with Heyward’s poise and steady demeanor through the struggles.
“What you’re talking about is emotional intelligence,” Maddon
said.
And what he, at least, is not talking about is playoffs and
Heyward’s would-be role at that point.
“I don’t worry about stuff like that,” Maddon said. “I’ve been
involved in the playoffs several times. I don’t get ahead of myself ever, and I
don’t want to do that now.”
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