Cubs News: Maddon defends Soler's lack of hustle on the bases |
Cubs manager Joe Maddon spoke to reporters before Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night. He was asked about his young outfielder
Jorge Soler that appeared to not run hard out of the box after at hit in the seventh inning in a 1-0 game.
“I was kind of surprised by it,” Maddon said via ESPN's Jesse Rogers. “At best he was going to get to third base anyway.” Soler looked like he just jogged to first and many fans thought that he had a shot to score after the ball was misplayed by right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall. “What happens sometimes you’ll see a guy hit a ball and their head is down and they don’t even know where it is,” Maddon said. “When he saw it from our perspective it was in the stands and it kind of blew back. I’m not making excuses for him but the best he could do was get to third base anyway.” The Cubs ended up losing 1-0 on Friday night and Soler is not in the lineup tonight as veteran Jason Heyward gets the nod by Maddon.
