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Levine: For Chicago Cubs, Fewer Mistakes Lead To More Wins

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- "Doing simple better" has been the motto of the Joe Maddon regime since he signed on as the manager of the Chicago Cubs. To the credit of his coaches and players, they've done the "simple better" routine – in fact, better than anyone else in baseball this season.

In gaining a near double-digit lead in the NL Central, Maddon has often watched his quad play even with other teams until his troops have capitalized on a mistake or two by the opposition.

There's no better example than Friday, when an Arizona outfielder's misjudged ball led to the only run Chicago would need for a win. For the 38th time in 53 games, Maddon's club did more right than wrong to win a ball game.

"A lot of our success to this point has been built around pitching and defense," Maddon said. "We are accepting our walks and running the bases really well. We really haven't hit like I think we can yet. We have scored runs, but when it comes to beating on a baseball, we have not done it as well as we can. The offense has been able to move along at its own pace. We have not had a lot of heavy pressure to score a lot of runs. We have kept the other team down so well there is less pressure to perform on offense. That is the kind of baseball I like to teach. That is the kind of winning baseball that can sustain itself."

Although Maddon thinks the offense can get better, the Cubs have still won 20 games this season by five or more runs. That leads all of baseball in that department and surpassed the team's total of 16 such games in 2015. This early team dominance in the standings has allowed Maddon and his coaches a chance to teach in a relaxed, positive atmosphere this season.

"Right now, it's hard for a player to become defensive when you attempt to correct something that may be a little off," Maddon said about coaching with a big division lead. "This is the perfect opportunity to broach these subjects. We can get good responses by telling guys to go ahead and try things without losing being in the way. When you are in a positive mode and in a group setting that is going well communication flows better."

The Cubs are making errors, but for the most part, they haven't been in situations that have cost them games. Allowing the fewest runs and scoring the second-most in the league buys you a lot of street cred with your players. That's especially true when they don't make many physical or mental errors. That combination almost always leads to a high victory total.

"It's very gratifying to be in a position when your team does not make a lot of mistakes," Maddon said. "That is the 'Do simple better' concept. They just play catch. We don't have a lot of plays in play. We don't try to do a lot of things different against the team on the other side defensively. We just try to be in the right spot to play catch."

Having a run differential of plus-140 -- which is 72 more than any other team -- makes teaching easier for Maddon and his coaching group.

"We teach it's not about you and your day," Maddon said. "It's about us. You can have an 0-4 day and still help us win. That is all that matters. We are in a team sport and that is what we are always going about doing."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.

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