Mets and Cubs Take Different Routes on the Road Back

Photo The Cubs rookie Kris Bryant is a rising star at third base. Credit Nick Wass/Associated Press Before we start with the baseball analysis, we must discuss the soda can. This is how it is with Joe Maddon’s teams, so just go with it.

Maddon, the irreverent manager of the Chicago Cubs, hired Simon Winthrop, a magician from Las Vegas, to perform for his players in their Citi Field clubhouse on Tuesday. The Cubs had lost five in a row, including a weekend sweep in St. Louis to the Cardinals, the runaway leaders in the National League Central. Maddon wanted to lighten the mood.

“The soda can was incredible,” Maddon said. “He took a crinkled soda can, empty, and demonstrated that it was empty.…