Cubs Prove Exactly How Desperate They Are by Shockingly Playing Anthony Rizzo Despite Ankle Injury

Do you smell that? That's fear. And it's coming straight from Chicago.

Despite suffering a nasty-looking ankle injury, Anthony Rizzo, who was once believed to possibly not play another game this season, has been shockingly inserted into the lineup on Thursday night and is batting leadoff.

Curveball! Joe Maddon is pulling out all the stops as the Cubs continue to scratch and claw for an MLB playoff spot with the NL race as tight as can be.

But is this a responsible move? Unless the Cubs have been lying about the severity of his injury, then it should damn well be considered as such. Rizzo was on a scooter a few days ago with his ankle elevated. If he wasn't putting pressure on it on Tuesday, how is he ready to play first base and bat leadoff today?

This is seemingly desperation at its finest. The Cubs are tied for the second wild card spot at the moment with the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers, who they failed to bury last week. The Nationals are leading the way and have a 1.5-game cushion. Another problem is the Mets (three games back) and the Phillies (3.5 games back) aren't far off at all.

Chicago has seven upcoming games against the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals, so every win from this point on will be as crucial as ever. However, jeopardizing a player's health isn't the way to go about it, regardless if the Cubs have a shot at taking the NL Central.

This team should easily be taking care of business without Rizzo, but here we are.