Lining up postseason rotation no easy task for Cubs

Really, Joe Maddon? You and the Cubs’ information geeks really think it’s smart to relegate Kyle Hendricks to the back of your postseason rotation?

This isn’t April, when Hendricks looked just fine working behind Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and John Lackey. It’s September, and the Greg Maddux clone has hit spots with his high-80s fastballs and nose-diving changeups for so long that he is emerging as arguably the National League Cy Young Award front-runner.

What about Monday night?

Hendricks mowed down a desperate Cardinals team for eight innings before Jeremy Hazelbaker’s leadoff homer in the ninth ended a no-hit bid at Busch Stadium. These were the exact circumstances that Hendricks will face in October, and he passed this test with flying colors.

Jim Deshaies, the terrific television analyst, used the late innings of the game to recall his skepticism the first time Rick Sutcliffe dropped a Maddux comparison on Hendricks in conversation. He said he’s seen the light.

“Only thing is, if you’re going to be Greg Maddux, you have to do [this] for 20 years,” Deshaies said. “But this has been a Greg Maddux-like year.”

The 26-year-old Dartmouth product is in only his second full season, but he has been the most effective pitcher in the Major Leagues since mid-June, going 11-1 with a 1.29 ERA in his past 15 starts. He’s 15-7 overall and has an 0.96 WHIP, second only to Max Scherzer’s 0.92 among qualifiers.

Hendricks is in line to win the first NL ERA title by a Cubs pitcher since 1945 — his 2.03 mark is almost a half run better than runner-up Noah Syndergaard’s 2.48 — but he could have to wait until Game 4 to make his first appearance in an NL Division Series.

Sound crazy?

In fairness to Maddon, this is speculation, as the manager hasn’t committed to any of this. He’s facing a situation with no clear-cut answers. How often do managers have to balance the potential contributions of three Cy Young Award candidates on one staff?

Hendricks, Lester and Arrieta have been extremely reliable for a team on pace to win 104 games, and both Lackey and apparent odd-man-out Jason Hammel also rank in the league’s top 16 in ERA. You could pull names out of a hat and not …

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