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Abracadabra! Joe Maddon brings in magician to end Cubs' losing streak

Chris Cwik
·Staff writer
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Baseball streaks can be fickle. One minute, you're on a five-game winning streak, then, presto chango, all of the sudden you've lost eight straight contests.

[On this week's StewPod: Looking back at a fun week in baseball with Jeff Passan]

Nobody understands this better than Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon. Maddon is known for keeping his clubhouses pretty loose, particularly when things get rough. That's why he decided to hire a magician to inspire the Cubs during a recent five-game losing streak.

Maddon apparently pulled the idea out of his ... hat after a weekend series in St. Louis, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

Maddon thought of the idea "on the plane or bus" after the Cubs' weekend series in St. Louis, where they were swept. They were on a season-high five-game losing streak, having fallen 11½ games behind the Cardinals going into Tuesday's games.

"It was about time," Maddon said. "Tough series in St. Louis. I don't want our guys to get all distraught for the wrong reasons. We played a good game. They beat us. Let's keep moving it forward."

Maddon even talked about baseball magic prior to introducing the magician to the club.

While some players were initially skeptical of the proceedings, it seems like everyone came around in the end.

"I'm not a big magic fan," pitcher Jon Lester said. "It kind of creeps me out a little bit, but it was cool. That's Joe."

In the end, the magician must have cast a spell on the Cubs. They went out and won Tuesday's game 1-0, putting an end to the losing streak.

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Some might view magic as lame, but it got the job done in this instance. Nobody was sawn in half during the stunt, either, so that has to be viewed as a success.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik