CHICAGO _ Joe Maddon will continue to make calls to the bullpen. But he won't make calls to Cubs management to request fresh arms.
"I really rely on the (front-office) people," Maddon said Friday after the bullpen could not hold leads of 4-3 and 5-4 in a 6-5 loss to the Reds. "I'm really good at staying in my lane, bro."
Maddon, characteristically upbeat despite the loss, said he loves the AT&T commercial in which a nervous customer asks a tattoo artist: "Uh, aren't you supposed to draw it first?"
The man holding the pen replies: "Stay in your lane, bro."
"The best commercial ever," Maddon said. "I laugh every time I see that. I actually looked up the actor's name."
His name is Blake Gibbons, for the record. He could not help the Cubs on Friday, nor could Tyler Chatwood, Carl Edwards or Brandon Kintzler. All were unavailable after having to make up for back-to-back four-inning starts by Cole Hamels and Jon Lester.
Steve Cishek was asked to close after a 2 1/3-inning stint Sunday and a 25-pitch outing Wednesday, and the result was a lack of sharpness.
Cishek politely declined to comment on Maddon's assertion that his tank was three-quarters full.
"I've been used quite a bit throughout my career," he said. "With my style, people assume I tend to have a rubber arm, and to some degree it's true. I have to go out with what I've got."
