CINCINNATI _ It was less than a month ago the Cubs were struggling and their fans were full of angst over another slow start.
Reminded of that before Thursday night's 6-2 loss to the Reds, manager Joe Maddon smiled and replied: "People are angst-filled."
The Cubs eventually came around and went into their seven-game trip to Cincinnati and Los Angeles with the best record in the National League. They were tied for the second-best record in the majors since May 27, behind the Yankees, and drew comparisons from Jon Lester to the 2016 World Series champions.
So was the angst attack just a "Chicago thing?"
"I think it is," Maddon said. "But I kind of like it. There's a certain level of entertainment value out of the whole thing. I've always liked when a fan base gets into it, and our fan base gets into it. You're always going to get the bandwagon riders, but there's this core group here that's very loyal.
"Our fans need to be entertained, so if you want to keep riding that emotional roller coaster, go ahead, And if you choose not to, that's probably (OK). It's like investing in the long-term as opposed to watching the (stock) quotes every day. That will drive you nuts."
While the Cubs have been on a nice roll since the end of May, there are still some days when the offense doesn't click and the pitching falls apart.
Thursday was one of those days, in spite Jason Heyward's four-hit night and Javier Baez's two-run double.
Even before the first pitch, the news that Albert Almora Jr. wasn't in the starting lineup led to some high anxiety back home. Almora was hitting .364 in his last 34 games and had risen to third in the National League batting race.
Maddon gave him a breather for Ian Happ, which appears to be a capital offense in the eyes of many fans.
The Cubs managed to get a quick lead on Baez's two-run double to the right-field corner in the third, and Kyle Hendricks was chilling through five innings, one day after Lester's seven shutout innings.
Hendricks carried the 2-0 lead into the sixth before issuing three walks, including one with the bases loaded to Eugenio Suarez after starting him out 0-2.
With Brian Duensing on the bereavement list, Maddon replaced Hendricks with rookie left-hander Randy Rosario _ who has been impressive thus far with an 0.60 ERA _ to face left-handed hitting Jesse Winker.
Rosario had earned the chance to pitch in a critical moment, and Maddon lauded his cool beforehand, saying: "I like when you meet a guy for the first time and he's not all bug-eyed."
But the absence of bug eyes didn't factor into this matchup, and Rosario gave up a grand slam to Winker on his second pitch to take the steam out of the road-tripping Cubs fans.
After three more singles, the one-run lead had turned into a four-run deficit, and the emotional roller coaster was on its way back down.
The Cubs had one more prime-time chance to get back in it, loading the bases with two outs in the seventh. But Amir Garrett, who sparked a bench-clearing incident here last month when he barked at Baez after striking him out, calmly struck out Anthony Rizzo on three pitches, the last one looking.
There was no repeat incident.
Rizzo simply crouched at the plate in disbelief for half a minute, then laid down his helmet and bat and took his position.
In spite of the loss, the Cubs have no reason to worry. According to fangraphs.com, their position players have 39 defensive runs saved this season, third in the majors behind the Diamondbacks and Brewers.
"I like where we are at right now, compared to last year at this time," Maddon said. "I'm pretty pleased with that, and more than anything, if we can just keep playing defense like that, I'll take it, take it, take it.
"Everyone wants homers. I want (defense). There is so much energy involved in that style of baseball. ... That, to me, is going to win. If we go out there with that mental attitude every night, the record is going to take care of itself."
And the emotional roller coaster goes on.
