Oct. 20--When the familiar opening to the theme song to "Rocky" began blaring in the Cubs clubhouse after their Game 2 loss to the Mets on Sunday, no one had to look far to find the DJ.
The music was coming from the office of manager Joe Maddon, who wanted his players to forget about being down 2-0 in the National League Championship Series and start looking ahead to Game 3.
A subliminal message?
"Part of it is that, and part of it is just to let them move this thing along," Maddon said after Monday's workout at Wrigley Field. "One of my concepts is to win hard for 30 minutes or lose hard for 30 minutes regardless of the time of year. And of course, Rocky did set a great example in 1976 for all of us.
"So when you get behind the eight ball a little bit, sometimes you just go pound on some big slabs of beef in the cooler and you come back and you're fine."
It's easy to visualize Kyle Schwarber or Anthony Rizzo pounding on a big slab of beef, but as the series moves to Wrigley Field, Cubs fans would prefer they pound on Mets pitching.
The Cubs hit .159 in the first two games, scoring only three runs in a virtual rerun of the offensive meltdowns during the 2007 and '08 postseasons.
With No. 3 starter Kyle Hendricks facing talented young right-hander Jacob deGrom in Tuesday's critical game, that old Cubbie angst has returned to Wrigleyville after a much-needed reprieve during the wild-card win over the Pirates and division series win over the Cardinals.
There's no shame in being a worrier. It's cathartic for some, and Maddon said last week in St. Louis he's fine with fans worrying about what might happen.
But Maddon likes to say he doesn't "vibrate on that frequency," and he keeps the positive vibes flowing so his players don't caught up in all the negativity. Losing the first two games in New York was tough, but the sun came up Monday morning.
"We were a little tired and had our heads down after we lost," closer Hector Rondon said. "But now we're fine. We feel really good where we are. Now we have a chance to play at home and can get back. We know we can come back."
They've done it before, and the Cubs feel they can do it again.
"We're not going to lose confidence in ourselves and we're not going to panic," Schwarber said. "That's the big thing. It's hard to look at it like we're down two games. We have to focus on just winning the next game. That's our mindset."
Baseball is still fun and games for this team, no matter if the stakes are much higher.
But real life intruded on the Cubs clubhouse last week on the day they clinched the division series as the team learned of the death of 78-year-old security guard Bob Gehrke, who was frequently assigned to man the tunnel between the clubhouse and dugout.
Gehrke, a former Marine, was the first one to bump fists with the players and coaches as they came into the clubhouse after wins. He greeted everyone with the same cheery words: "You have a good day, sir."
And he was an unabashed Cubs fan who in 2013 forced the Cardinals to remove some mysterious cables running from the visitors clubhouse to the video room after complaining to management they could be stealing signs.
When Maddon spoke to Gehrke before Game 3 of the division series, Gehrke began crying.
"This was my first year getting to know him," Maddon told the Tribune. "He was totally absorbed in what we did. I was concerned the other day before I heard the news because his daughter had just passed away and he could not have been more distraught. It was impossible. And of course he was not a strong guy to begin with.
"It was awful for all of us to hear the news. Bob was a fixture. With the potential to do what we have a chance to do, and him not actually being here to see it, it kind of bothers you a little bit.
"But that's how life plays out. I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know him. And his spirit is right down there in that tunnel."
While mourning the loss of a friend, the Cubs continued to focus on the task at hand. Life plays out, and you just keep going.
This has been an emotional year for the Cubs, from Ernie Banks' death through the late-season playoff run and the wild postseason celebrations leading up to the NLCS.
It could all end abruptly this week if the Mets pitching continues to dominate. Or the Cubs could bounce back and continue their magic act into November.
Either way, they're home again now, ready to keep pounding on that big slab of beef. One day after playing the theme song, Maddon was reminded that Rocky Balboa lost his bout in the original "Rocky."
"It was just about the effort," Maddon replied. "He came back."
psullivan@tribpub.com
