Joe Maddon upset with Cubs' schedule, varying start times
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Monday he was displeased that his team was forced to play an early-afternoon game on Memorial Day at home after traveling to the Windy City following a game in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.
Before Monday's game against the Washington Nationals—which began at 1:20 p.m. CT in Chicago—Maddon wondered aloud why the Cubs were playing that early following Sunday's game at the Arizona Diamondbacks, which began at 4:10 p.m. ET at Chase Field.
“I don’t understand why [the] Memorial game has to be played during the day,” Maddon told reporters, according to ESPN.com. “There’s fireworks and stuff [you can do at night].”
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Due to Chicago city restrictions, the Cubs are limited to 43 night games. The league average is 54, so the Cubs play more day games than any other team. No restrictions, however, are placed on 3:05 p.m. local time starts.
“This is something we really need to look into in the future,” Maddon said. “To really homogenize this thing a little bit more. I think routine is really important to us.”
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Monday's game against the Nationals opened a six-game homestand for the Cubs that includes five different start times. All three of the games against the Nationals will start at different times (2:20 p.m. ET, 7:05 p.m., 8:05 p.m.) before three games against the Kansas City Royals beginning at 4:05 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 2:20 p.m.
The Cubs have lost three of their last four, dropping them to 24–20 at second in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Mike Fiammetta
