CHICAGO -- Jason Heyward did not start for the third consecutive game after he scraped his left hand sliding on the warning track in Pittsburgh trying to catch a foul ball. Heyward has had trouble gripping the bat and throwing.
"He was not ready to hit [Tuesday]," manager Joe Maddon said.
Could Heyward go on the disabled list?
"I don't know," Maddon said. "I'm not ruling it out, I'm not ruling it in. If there's a really good healing process, we'll see him. He's already been down a couple days, we could give it a couple more days with the 10-day DL, it becomes more amenable."
• Every morning, Maddon tries to take 20 minutes to meditate. It's something he started doing about seven or eight years ago, and has shared the technique with a few players, including Thomas La Stella.
"I do believe whatever you want to focus on in the morning, you can manifest during the course of the day, whether it's being calm, whether it's being courageous," Maddon said. "Whatever that component of your life that you'd like to manifest during the course of the day that you think will result in a positive outcome -- I'm always talking about process. I don't focus on results, I focus on how to get the good results."
He will lie on his back with a pillow over his head so the room can be as dark as possible and listens to an app.
"It's crazy how when you're able to [meditate] consistently ... it's incredible how you can slow things down," Maddon said.
• Through 70 games one year ago, the Cubs were 47-23 en route to winning 103 games and the World Series. This season, they're 36-34 through 70 games and entering Wednesday were a half-game back in the National League Central.
"I'm enjoying it, in a perverse way," Maddon said about the challenge this year. "Of course, I'd rather we were 10 games up but I'm good with what's going on now. It is challenging and every year presents differently. Right now, there's been a lot of little micro-stuff injury-wise, nothing horrible but guys banged up a little bit. And then you're trying to situate youth, giving them more opportunity to play. ... It is challenging but I'm kind of enjoying it."