Joe Maddon: "I'm not giving S – t" If "B — h" brewers talk about Cubs playing backups | Bleacher's report

Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon does not intend to let the Milwaukee Brewers 'or their fans' concerns influence his training choices for a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Milwaukee is one game behind the Cardinals in a tight race of the Central National League. Maddon explained that he would not play his best players this weekend with the Cubs eliminated from the playoffs.

"Of course, they go b — h, and I understand, but quite frankly, there are some things that I do not really give to know, and it would be one of them," he says, by Paul Sullivan of Chicago Tribune.

While Milwaukee will be frustrated by the Cubs if he loses against the Cardinals, Maddon owes nothing to the defending Central NL champion and has faced a number of serious injuries in the past.

In the past month, Anthony Rizzo had an ankle injury, Javier Baez suffered a broken thumb and Kris Bryant suffered an ankle injury during the race. These are probably the top three players in the Cubs, and the North Siders do not have to run the risk of further injury after being eliminated from the playoffs.

These injuries partly explain their nosing to finish this season.

Chicago was at the heart of the race with Milwaukee and St. Louis, but lost eight straight games in what could be Maddon's last season with the team. His contract expires after this season and his inability to meet high expectations hardly bodes for his immediate future with the team that he has helped lead in the 2016 World Series.

The Brewers have a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at the same time as the Cubs face the Cardinals. They will have to win their games and hope that Chicago's backup options work well enough to win at least one of three games.