Veterans a guiding force for behind young Cubs

Kyle Hendricks had entered a pitcher's nightmare.

The Milwaukee Brewers' Khris Davis and Jean Segura started the bottom of the second inning of the mid-May game by grounding out. A Martin Maldonado bunt single, however, was followed by a five-pitch walk to Elian Herrera.

Then pitcher Matt Garza singled to load the bases, and that brought Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez to the plate and Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Montero to the mound.

"He (Montero) asked me what I've got, and I said 'I want to go changeup away here,'" Hendricks says. "And he (Montero) just looks at me and goes 'No. Throw a sinker away.' I'm convicted to change it, but I do trust him."

With the bases loaded, Gomez popped up a sinker on the outside of the plate to shortstop Starlin Castro for the inning's final out.

"That was a huge stepping point because now I go out there, and I know I can trust not to call every pitch on my own," says Hendricks.

"I can trust on key calls, and that's huge to make yourself comfortable that you don't have to think about every pitch."

It's well-documented that Chicago is leaning on its talented youth this season. While Hendricks, 25, is by far the youngest in the rotation, the Cubs feature an infield containing players all 25 or younger. They replaced 23-year-old right fielder Jorge Soler, who is on the 15-day disabled list, with 25-year-old Junior Lake in the starting lineup.

There have been growing pains. The Cubs, who have the second most errors in the National League (48) in errors and 12th in batting average (.243). Yet more than a third of the way through the season, the Cubs (33-27) remain in the thick of the playoff hunt.

While the young players have helped propel the Cubs out of the funk of five consecutive seasons of 87 losses or more, the Cubs also have relied on a veteran influence to guide them. These players not only include the high-profile addition of starting pitcher Jon Lester, but other less-talked-about veterans such as catchers Montero and David Ross and outfielder Dexter Fowler.

"I listen to those guys (veterans) all the time, just to pick their mind and see how they think," says Addison Russell, the Cubs' 21-year-old second basemen. "It opens up my eyes to the type of player I can be.

"Maybe one day whenever I'm a veteran, some rookie can look at me like that."

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Maddon steers ship

At the center of the team's turnaround, of course, is manager Joe Maddon, whose patience has been especially helpful to young players.

"He (Maddon) has just let me do my thing honestly," Hendricks says. "One of the biggest quotes he ever gave me was that he thinks coaches are needed to make someone good, but he thinks coaches need to stay out of the way to make someone great. Meaning you need to become great on your own."

Says Maddon on starting so many young players: "It's kind of different. I remember a couple of years ago, I think when I saw (Mark) Teixeira, Michael Young, Alex Rodriguez and (Hank) Blalock, and I thought, 'That's a hell of an infield right there.' This group has the ability to be as good as that group, and, of course, there are other guys still on the way."

Russell's transition from shortstop to second base started April16 with ClassA AA (Des Moines) Iowa. At the time, Maddon said the organization was being proactive in getting Russell ready to fill a need on its major league roster. That preparation was short-lived, however, as Russell, one of the top prospects in baseball, was called up to the major leagues five days later.

"It's easy for me to watch him and understand that this could be happening in Double-A right now, but it is happening on a major league baseball field," Maddon says. "You have to be patient and understanding of what is going on and how difficult the adjustment is that he is going through. Addison is really good at accepting constructive criticism."

The abrupt transition, unsurprisingly, had led to seven errors entering the week, the most by any second baseman in the majors. According to Maddon, though, Russell's infield mechanics are clean.

"When I first switched over to be a second baseman, I really didn't even know what straight up was to a lefty, what straight up was to a righty, and double-play depths were obscure to me," Russell says.

The veterans have given the younger players confidence, too, taking control when situations arise that many on the team seldom have faced early in their careers. With two outs and two men on in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 2-1 game against the Washington Nationals on June 4, backup catcher David Ross clinched the victory, ending the game by picking off the Nationals' Clint Robinson at first base.

Seeing Ross, 38, on the field has been a comfort to Russell.

"When we come into the middle of the diamond, he already knows what to do," he says. "He already has the plan set."

Ross, a key role player on the Boston Red Sox's 2013 World Series-winning team, was signed by the Cubs this offseason to provide value beyond what he can do on the field (.167 with four RBI in 27 games).

"We've got young guys, guys with middle-of-the-road service and some veteran guys. It's a great mix," Ross says. "I'm big into knowing that the guys can trust me and that I have their best interest in mind whenever I try to help them, tell them something or even criticize them."

With a young team, however, there are many moments from which to learn. The most high-profile instance was June 3, when Lake hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot off the Miami Marlins' Dan Haren.

First, Lake stared at the ball as it soared into the left-field bleachers. Then, he put his right hand to his lips in a gesture toward Marlins players as he rounded third base. Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto and Lake exchanged words at home plate. Each team's bench cleared, and Lake apologized for his actions after the game.

"We're learning, and we will learn as we go," Ross says. "We have taken some bumps along the way, but I think we have learned some of our best lessons from some of the mistakes we made."

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Pitching in

The veteran starting pitching staff, which features four out of five starters — Jason Hammel, 32; Jake Arrieta, 29; Lester, 31; and Hendricks — with ERAs below 4.00, relieves Hendricks of stress.

"We hang out all the time, talk pitching, talk baseball and just hang out. They have been a tremendous help to me, just making me feel comfortable," Hendricks says. "Every team we face, there are guys with certain tendencies that we will talk about."

"I'm not pressured to have to be the guy because all these guys, they're the veterans, and they are the ones holding the staff up," Hendricks says. "They're going to win the big games. I know my role right now is just to keep the team in the game."

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Soler, Baez and Bryant

Fowler, another veteran acquisition this offseason (from the Houston Astros in a trade), has taken a similar approach as Maddon in his relationship with Soler, who was hitting .265 with four homers and 19 RBI was on the disabled list with an ankle injury.

"The guy's talent is amongst the tops in the game," says Fowler, 29, a former top prospect with the Colorado Rockies. "He has a good arm, he takes good routes to the ball, and he feels like he has been out there for a while. A guy like that, you don't really want to coach too much. Maybe give him a pointer here or there."

The Cubs stand to have another elite prospect, Javier Baez, arrive soon. The 22-year-old shortstop has begun to play some third base for Iowa. This action feeds speculation third basemen Kris Bryant, the team's top prospect who has made the most impact of the young players, will shift to the outfield.

Before this season, Bryant, the second overall pick in 2013, had not played the outfield since his time at the University of San Diego, but he has started once in center and left field this season.

"We make mistakes. We are working daily to eliminate them," Maddon says. "Part of our record not being better than it is is reflected in some of those mistakes. I think it's going to be really fun to see how good our guys are in July and August."

And perhaps, with a nudge from some well-placed veterans, the Cubs might squeeze into the playoffs.

McLaughlin reported from Washington.