Levine: Cubs Continue Road Warrior Act
By Bruce Levine--
MILWAUKEE (CBS) -- Nearly a quarter of the way into the season, the Cubs have compiled an MLB-best 14-4 road record entering play Thursday and appear to have the resiliency to sustain their quality play regardless of the venue.
The close-knit Cubs' confidence in any situation -- be it with the lead or a deficit, at home or on the road, in a high-scoring game or contest in which runs are hard to come by -- has caught the eye of manager Joe Maddon happy.
"Even the last game against Pittsburgh at the the end of the game we lost, I noticed every man on the railing at the end," Maddon said of a 2-1 loss to the Pirates on Sunday at Wrigley Field. "Last night, you could have gotten frustrated so many times after hitting the ball hard without having any luck. The guys grind it away, and eventually that comes back to you. I saw it. They are all leaning on the rail like birds on a wire. It was outstanding."
In their marathon 2-1 win in 13 innings against the Brewers at Miller Park on Wednesday night, the Cubs once again showed immunity to slight malfunctions and mini-slumps. Dating back to a May 11 doubleheader loss to the Padres, the Cubs are 3-4 and scuffling a little bit for the first time this season.
All of that said, Chicago took a 7.5-game division lead over over second-place Pittsburgh entering play Thursday. The Cubs are 23-4 in their last 27 regular-season road games dating back to mid-September of last season. this group feel at home on the road. In that stretch, they've outscored the home team 157-63.
Most recently, the Cubs' starting pitching has carried the burden of some offensive shortcomings. In the past three games, the Cubs haven't scored a run while their starting pitcher has still been in the game.
In Wednesday's win, Chicago was 0-of-13 with runners in scoring position. The Cubs are just 2-8 when scoring fewer than four runs this season. Of course, the good news is that they're 26-2 when scoring four or more runs.
Maddon has helped foster a strong group mentality that helps keep this team close both at home or on the road.
"Our guys do really hang out a lot together on the road," Maddon said. "Whether it's the going out to dinner type stuff or grabbing a drink, what I see on this team is a lot of the veteran guys talking to the younger guys. Our younger guys are so easy to accept because they are so humble. Their work ethic is spectacular. Now I see them as young veterans. They dish some grief back to the older guys. All of this is always happening. I think that bond can really carry a lot of weight toward the end of the season."
Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, who will get the ball Friday at San Francisco, has his own idea of why the club is so consistent, echoed Maddon's thoughts.
"This team probably does it more than most," Arrieta said of hanging out on with teammates on the road. "The more crap you give each other shows how much you care about them. That is kind of what we have going on around here. Everybody gives each other a hard time, regardless as to how long they have been around. That helps keep everyone loose."
The team dinners are like the celebrity roasts you see on Comedy Central, according to some of the participants.
"The only thing we don't do is throw food at each other, and that might happen at some point," Arrieta said. "Yeah, we like each other. We really do."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
