One of Joe Maddon's favorite morning rituals is sitting down with a big cup of java and typing up his lineup on his iPad Pro.
He tinkers, he edits and there's a chance he might just wipe the screen clean and start all over by his second cup.
But by the end of the day Maddon has a lineup card to hand to the plate umpire, and everyone has a chance to second-guess his decisions before the first pitch.
Former manager Lou Piniella used to say that nowhere are daily lineups more perused than by the Chicago media, which he claimed was "obsessive" over moving Alfonso Soriano from the leadoff spot.
Maddon seems to delight in sparking debate, putting a square peg in a round hole and watching the fireworks begin.
He did it more often in 2015 when he batted the pitcher eighth most of the time and inserted power-hitting rookie Kyle Schwarber into the No. 2 hole.
Lately Maddon has used the same top four hitters against most right-handers _ Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist _ and this season has returned to the more traditional lineup with the pitcher batting in the ninth spot.
But on Sept. 3, for instance, Maddon inserted Tommy La Stella into the nine hole against the Giants, batting starter Jake Arrieta eighth.
Why the flashback to 2015?
Maddon explained that the main reason for batting the pitcher eighth in '15 was to help then-rookie Addison Russell, who mainly batted ninth after being called up in late April, serving as a second leadoff man of sorts.
"A big part of the motivation last year was to protect Addison," Maddon said. "The other part was to get Rizzo and/or Bryant in the two hole, and I thought (Russell batting ninth) would feed to them better.
"But with the length of our lineup this year, having the pitcher eighth (wasn't needed). I thought we always would have a productive seven-hole hitter and I didn't want to really mess with that."
Russell batted ninth 116 times in 2015. The more traditional lineup, with a pitcher batting ninth, was turned in by Maddon only 12 times in their 142 noninterleague games in '15.
This year Russell has batted ninth only once, while spending time batting seventh (50 times), fifth (47), sixth (24), eighth (17) and cleanup (1).
"There are a whole bunch of different ways to look at it," Maddon said, adding that last year's rotation had a few starters who weren't going long into games, forcing him to make pinch-hitting decisions early on occasion.
"But more than anything it was about Addison, in my mind's eye. If you're hitting in front of the pitcher the first year, it's hard to see anything you like. That was my No. 1 motivator."
Because pitchers are usually poor hitters, the No. 8 batter doesn't get many good pitches to swing at. Russell said he eventually would like to wind up as a leadoff man, though he would have to get his on-base percentage up to merit the opportunity.
Russell understands the Cubs' lineup constructions are different than most teams because of their depth and power potential from top to bottom.
"You never really know (where you'll bat), especially with the type of lineup we have here, absolutely packed with heavy hitters," Russell said. "Leadoff would be nice, or the nine hole, I can go get my work in there as well. I like being in the middle of the lineup right now."
Russell finished second among major-league shortstops with 95 RBIs, trailing only the Astros' Carlos Correa, who had 96.
So learning to hit from the nine hole appears to have worked.
"First taste of the majors and all that, you see what they have to offer, and as you progress you feel like you want to move up in the lineup more," Russell said. "I think right now I'm in a good spot, still trying to get better obviously.
"Only time can tell where I'll wind up. My goal isn't to get to the leadoff spot. My goal is to help contribute to this team, and I think we've all been doing that well."
Maddon gets some advice on lineups from his staff and the front office and has plenty of data to absorb to put the right players in the right spot against the right pitcher.
President Theo Epstein insists it's "Joe's call" as to who bats where, with no front-office interference.
"He'll ask for input from time to time," Epstein said. "Like over the winter and in spring training. He generally questions us about how the different players we have fit in best from a complementary standpoint, sabermetrically, and how certain lineup principles manifested with our group.
"And day to day he gets information from our (research and development) guys on the matchups and the opposing starter."
That would be the so-called Geek Squad that does the numbers-crunching so Maddon doesn't have to.
Maddon has one very easy lineup decision he could make in his sleep, writing in Dexter Fowler in the leadoff spot. If Fowler hadn't re-signed, the Cubs considered using Zobrist, Schwarber or Jason Heyward as the leadoff man.
Heyward primarily batted anywhere from third through six with the Cardinals in 2015, compiling a .902 OPS from the three hole and a .925 OPS from the six hole. Maddon inserted him into the No. 2 hole at the start of the season and kept him there for months, despite a .240 average and .657 OPS in the spot.
After Heyward struggled in the first half, Maddon moved him down, mostly to the six hole, where he hit .247 with a .669 OPS.
"I've hit ninth, so it doesn't really matter," Heyward said of his lineup spot. "I've hit in every spot in the lineup in seven years. ... I'm in there and I know I can help my team win and that's why I'm in there."
Heyward isn't completely out of his slump but contributed in some key situations over the last month, driving in the tying and winning runs in the Sept. 4 13-inning victory over the Giants.
Bryant has been used mostly in the two hole since Heyward's move, which makes more sense because of his .385 on-base percentage. That theoretically provides Rizzo and Zobrist with more RBI opportunities.
Epstein concedes Bryant likely will wind up a No. 3 hitter in his career but pointed out the game has changed, and more teams are letting their best hitter bat second to get more at-bats.
Maddon now has plenty of lineup decisions to ponder for the playoffs.
Will he sit Heyward against left-handers? Should Russell or Zobrist be the one to protect Rizzo? Who will serve as designated hitter if the Cubs get to the World Series?
As long as he has his trusty iPad Pro and a coffeehouse nearby, he'll get by with a little help from his geeks.
