The NL Central isn’t Joe Maddon’s concern anymore.

With the Cubs officially eliminated from playoff contention, Maddon will be judicious with using his players this weekend for their season-ending series in St. Louis. That may not be ideal for the red-hot Brewers, who sit one game behind the Cardinals in the NL Central. 

“We’re going to put a good team out there, but of course they’re going to bitch,” Maddon said, according to ESPN.com, when asked if he’d play his regular lineup against the Cardinals.

“Of course they are. I get it. But quite frankly, there are certain things I don’t give a s–t about. And that would be one of them.”

Maddon assured that his team would still be complete, just without many of the usual starters.

“I will put out the guys that I think are the appropriate guys to play based on what’s good for our people, not for their people,” he said. “But we’re going to put a good team out there regardless.”

Maddon may be in his final days managing the Cubs as he and team president Theo Epstein plan on discussing his future after the season .

The Cubs already shut down pitchers Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish. Other stars like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez are all still recovering from injuries.

Right-handed pitcher Alec Mills is set to start Friday’s series opener with Cole Hamels slated to pitch a few innings on Saturday. Hamels has been battling a sore shoulder and is only pitching to prove his capabilities heading into free agency this offseason.

The Cubs are still undecided on who will start Sunday’s game, noting that it could just be a “bullpen game.”

The Brewers, who have already clinched at least a wild-card spot, complete their regular season against the Rockies this weekend. But whoever wins the NL Central would avoid the one-and-done wild-card game and advance straight to the NLDS. The Cubs were once part of that equation, but Maddon’s team is in the midsts of a nine-game losing streak that has crushed their postseason hopes.

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