Joe Maddon Suggests Cubs Should've Relaxed and Partied More on the Road This Year

While staying out to the wee hours of the night is normally a CAUSE of a team's championship aspirations dissolving, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon seems to think that the reason Chicago might miss the postseason is because they didn't go out on the town enough.

Maybe this 82-75 record could have been avoided if the Cubs had simply decided to live a little when they were on the road, harkening back to their smoother chemistry of years past.

“If you want to look into it any more deeply, it may have to do with behavior before the game, what you do,” Maddon said. “I’m not accusing them of going out at night, because I wish they would. That’s the one part of this game we’re missing is that guys don’t go out and have a beer and talk about stuff."

Maybe Craig Kimbrel would stop giving up home runs and the bottom of the lineup would find some consistency if...they went out and talked more? If you don't see the correlation, don't worry, you're not alone.

The Cubs are 31-44 on the road, and that ultimately falls on Maddon, who it seems is becoming more likely to have his contract snoozed on by the day.

The "lack of partying" quip sounds like desperate words from a desperate manager, but he's right that the way the team interacts with each other simply has to be better moving forward. Something isn't quite right regarding the culture around the Cubs, and a major change could be in the works.