With three meaningless games left before the Chicago Cubs kick off what they -- and their championship-starved -- fan base hope is a historic playoff run, manager Joe Maddon had to assess some in-house drama as the team prepared to play the Reds in Cincinnati during the final series of the regular season.

Chicago locked down its playoff berth on Sept. 16, and since then, Maddon has been liberal with his rest and substitution patterns.

The changes rankled some of his regulars, most recently Jake Arrieta and Miguel Montero, who made their feelings known after an 8-4 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday night.