CHICAGO -- In true Joe Maddon style, the Chicago Cubs’ regular season ended with their World Series-winning manager playing mad scientist.
But this wasn’t the usual Maddon lineup tinkering.
With a deep and relatively healthy team, he was trying out his options for the postseason, beginning with 38-year-old pitcher John Lackey making his first regular-season relief appearance since 2004.
“Give him a test out of the bullpen,” Maddon said after a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. “See what it looked like, that kind of thing.