Oops!

On Sunday, Willson Contreras of the Cubs pinch hit what he thought was a game-tying, two-run homer against the Reds at Wrigley Field.  Contreras stood in the batter’s box to admire his blast, only it hit off the top of the wall, forcing Contreras to hightail it to second base.  The Cubs would go on to lose, 2-1.

After the game, manager Joe Maddon addressed Contreras’ behavior in the batter’s box:  “Horrible [said Maddon of his pinch hitter’s standing there with a ball in play].  I didn’t like that at all, not at all.  That will be addressed.  The whole team didn’t like that.”

To his credit, Contreras faced the media and apologized.  “Thank God I was able to run hard and make it to second base because what I did was not good for baseball, and a lot of people were watching me.”  Contreras added that he was “embarrassed with myself.”  The question is why, exactly?

Why was Maddon upset and his player embarrassed?  Was it for the pose or misreading the hit?  Would Maddon have called out Contreras for showboating had it been a homerun?  Would Contreras be embarrassed if Reds’ pitcher Jose Castillo called him out or hit one of his teammates in retaliation?  Personally, I’d like to know.

One thing’s for certain, though.  The Cubs’ skipper is lucky to be working in Chicago, where our second-city syndrome keeps fans happy just to have a team in a playoff race.  In the course of a week, Maddon made a decision to bat a top reliever, resulting in injury, and another of his players couldn’t tell the difference between a homerun and a double.  In New York, that would be enough to have the masses calling for Maddon’s artfully-dyed scalp.

Joe Maddon is one cool cat, with seven lives to go.